Posts tagged Biden-Harris administration
Commentary Is Big Labor Reducing Worker Wages, Opportunities for Growth?
September 3, 2024 // But the Biden-Harris administration’s embrace of Big Labor—as in big national labor organizations, as opposed to small, local unions—actually hasn’t helped workers as unionized workers’ wages have fallen behind the wages of nonunion workers over the past four years. Unlike small local unions that are in better positions to represent the unique needs of their members and that may even have productive relationships with management, the Big Labor movement is increasingly putting politics, power, and one-size-fits-all policies above the personal well-being of many workers.
Union members aren’t just voting on labor this year
August 27, 2024 // She believes Harris can deliver for her and fellow union members, calling the Democratic nominee a “breath of fresh air” for whom she’s canvassing alongside UNITE HERE colleagues. Gangwer, meanwhile, said he has struggled to grapple with recent inflation. He pushed off “must-do’s” on his home, like a partial roof replacement, because it’s too expensive. His co-workers have become more willing to vote for Republicans in recent years, he said, citing the party’s commitments to cut taxes and an emphasis on law and order.
Op-Ed: Greszler: Harris, Walz policy records undermine pro-worker rhetoric
August 23, 2024 // the Biden-Harris Administration is also picking winners and losers among blue-collar workers. Its regulations governing wages and labor agreements on government contracts are disastrous. They almost exclude non-union workers from federal contract jobs, including 89% of construction workers who aren’t unionized; force many workers who perform federal contract jobs into unions, including requiring them to pay into union pensions they’ll never receive. Not only that, but despite the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to empower and unionize more workers, the unionization rate hit a new record low of 10% in 2023 (6% among the private sector), and the gap between union and non-union wages also hit a record low. That’s because union wages increased 6.4 percentage points less than non-union wages between 2019 and 2023. For Walz’s part, he’s signed a slew of labor laws ostensibly aimed at helping workers, but by driving up the costs and legal liabilities of employing people in Minnesota, they have instead hamstrung job growth in the state.
Presidents from 6 labor unions throw support behind Kamala Harris at DNC: Watch speech
August 23, 2024 // "We are going to build a younger, darker, hipper, fresher, sneaker wearing labor movement," Verrett said. "A movement that is going to be more inclusive and built for the middle class. And we are going to end poverty-wage work once and for all”
Open Rebellion Against Teamsters GP Sean O’Brien
August 21, 2024 // During the TNBC conference, Chris Silvera of Local 808 delivered a gruesome critique of O’Brien over his embracement of the pro Right-to-Work Trump. But more importantly, he also called on the members to make “the general president a one-term general president.” International vice president-at-large – John Palmer who was also present at the event received a great reception after being the first officer to openly lead the rebellion against O’Brien. Already following O’Brien’s fascistic speech at the RNC, Palmer announced he was seeking to build an opposition slate to unseat O’Brien and “send him back to the truck.” To the surprise of everyone, Joint Council (JC) 28 in the state of Washington headed by Western Region vice president – Rick Hicks, in a press release attacked Trump’s and Elon Musk’s union busting conversation, before endorsing Harris for president. The executive board of Local 186 led by Abel Garcia in Ventura CA became the first local of the largest joint council in the nation, JC 42, to also endorse Harris.
Op-Ed: Two visions of government contend in the 2024 elections
August 20, 2024 // Trump cites mass immigration and U.S. job losses to other nations as harming American workers by increasing the supply of job seekers while reducing the demand for labor. Trump’s policy proposals focus on creating jobs and favoring current U.S. workers, attending to both sides of the problem.
How a Biden federal employee got paid for ‘teleworking’ while actually spending four DAYS in jail on a DUI charge
August 15, 2024 // Vargas was also arrested on three other occasions, including for multiple DUIs, between 2020 and 2022. During that time, she also served as the former president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3138. Read More EXCLUSIVE Social Security whistleblower reveals 'weeks to months' response time for 'simple requests' due to telework abuse article image In April 2023, Vargas allegedly 'confessed' to an AFGE staff member that she misappropriated $17,000. However, after a review, the federation found that the amount was actually closer to $20,500. In August 2023, she was 'suspended' from all AFGE affiliated offices.
Harris secures support from union leaders. But workers are still weighing their options.
August 14, 2024 // A video message from Fain praising Walz on the union’s Facebook page elicited a tsunami of negative comments from factory workers across the country, many of whom voiced their support for the Republican ticket.
Opinion: Bill Would End Taxpayer-Funded Union Activities by Federal Employees
August 5, 2024 // Although the Trump-Pence administration tried to rein in official time—limiting it to no more than 25% of employees’ time—the Biden-Harris administration reversed those reforms. Taxpayers presumably once again pay some employees to spend 100% of their time working for their unions. I say presumably because the Biden-Harris administration removed the Office of Personnel Management’s webpage on official time, which had provided transparency for more than a decade on how many federal employees did work for their union instead of for taxpayers, and how much time they spent doing it. Although we no longer know how many federal employees use official time, or how much total time they’re using, the disappearing webpage doesn’t indicate that official time has declined.
Hundreds of AT&T Employees Across California and Texas Petition for Votes to Remove Union Installed Through Coercive “Card Check”
August 2, 2024 // “If Ms. Cain and Mr. Gonzales had filed their decertification petitions just a few weeks later, hundreds of AT&T Mobility workers across Texas and California would be summarily denied their right to vote out union officials who seized power over them in a hasty and coercive manner,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “This is yet another example of the Biden-Harris Administration’s effort to heap legal privileges on its union boss political allies, all at the expense of workers who just want to exercise their free choice when it comes to deciding who should speak for them in the workplace.