Posts tagged Biden administration
House Committee Debates NLRB’s Fairness and Transparency
June 18, 2025 // Also at issue was how workers vote for or against unionization. When workers select a union, said Vincent Vernuccio, president of the Institute for the American Worker, they should be allowed to make that choice “securely and privately” and “without intimidation or coercion.” He cited the “true language” of the NLRA that says a “union must be chosen by the majority of all the employees in a unit.” Vernuccio advocated for the use of secret-ballot elections in place of card check, an organizing method in which a union gathers worker signatures.
Sen. Joni Ernst pushes to ban taxpayer-funded union time in One Big Beautiful Bill Act
June 16, 2025 // Approximately $160 million of your money went toward fed workers’ union time as of 2019, the last time such data was available, and Ernst (R-Iowa) has been on a quest for more recent information. Her legislation, dubbed the “Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallet Act,” would compel government unions to reimburse taxpayers for all of their taxpayer-backed activities. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) has championed the measure in the House.
Federal government reverses course on Florida union law, appeals court holds lawsuit
June 16, 2025 // An appeals court Tuesday put on hold a lawsuit that Florida filed against the federal government, after the Trump administration reversed course on a controversial 2023 state law that placed restrictions on public-employee unions. The law included a series of restrictions, including preventing most public employees from having dues deducted from their paychecks and requiring unions to be recertified as bargaining agents if fewer than 60% of eligible employees pay dues. The lawsuit deals with interplay between the state law (SB 256) and a longstanding federal law designed to ensure that transit workers’ collective-bargaining rights are protected before federal transit money is provided to local agencies.
Right to Work Foundation Submits Legal Brief Opposing Biden “Project Labor Agreement” Rule for Federal Construction Projects
June 5, 2025 // Amicus brief at Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals exposes rule as discriminating against nonunion workers and contractors in violation of Constitution
US judge blocks Trump from nixing union bargaining for TSA officers
June 4, 2025 // -A federal judge on Monday said the administration of President Donald Trump likely broke the law by stripping 50,000 transportation security officers of the ability to unionize and bargain over their working conditions. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman in Seattle, Washington, blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from canceling a union contract covering TSA officers pending the outcome of a lawsuit by four unions challenging the move.
NASA spent almost $900K on taxpayer-funded union time last year — to negotiate trivial workplace issues: ‘Absurd’
June 2, 2025 // “They’re left negotiating for tedious things that are of zero or negative benefit to taxpayers,” Rachel Greszler, a senior research fellow on workforce and public finance at the Heritage Foundation, previously explained to The Post. “This includes things like the height of cubicle panels, securing designated smoking areas on otherwise smoke-free campuses, and the right to wear Spandex at work.” In 2023, there were 43 employees at NASA who logged in taxpayer-funded union time, with about 6,588.5 hours of union work done that year. By 2024, that jumped to 49, with 8,780.25 union work done, according to the new data.
Trump hails US Steel-Nippon deal, says steelmaker will be ‘controlled by the USA’ — but offers few details
June 1, 2025 // "I have to approve the final deal with Nippon and we haven't seen that final deal yet," Trump told reporters on the tarmac following the Pittsburgh event. "But they've made a very big commitment, and it's a very big investment." In his remarks at the rally, the president said U.S. Steel will maintain all of its current operating blast furnaces at full capacity for a minimum of 10 years.
ATA Endorses Modern Worker Empowerment Act
May 26, 2025 // The ATA official also pointed to a Republican-sponsored bill as a tool meant to reinforce the industry’s support for the Trump-era independent contractor model. The Modern Worker Empowerment Act, introduced by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) in February, would establish a comprehensive test for arriving at a worker classification. “If enacted,” Mehrens explained, “this bill would codify the common-sense framework from the first Trump term to determine whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee.”
MICHIGAN: Independent Contractor Restrictions, New Wage Mandates Advance in Senate Proposal
May 18, 2025 // Senate Bills 6 and 7 would reshape employment laws in Michigan by adding problematic and onerous new “wage transparency” mandates and penalties on ALL employers and industries. Although the Senate Labor Committee limited the California-style independent contractor test to the construction industry (NAICS Sector 23), the change will significantly hinder the industry’s ability to use contractors and subcontractors — including business-to-business relationships — ultimately driving up costs across the board.
OMB memo requires agencies to track federal employees’ attendance
May 14, 2025 // The General Services Administration recommends that agencies capture data from employees when they swipe their ID badges at security checkpoints, or use data from their laptops or daily check-ins to approximate how many employees are working in federal buildings. The OMB memo gives agencies until May 19 to start collecting building occupancy data. That data includes a summary of daily occupancy totals for each day of the week and the average occupancy of each building based on a two-week average. OMB expects full implementation by July 4.