Posts tagged Biden
Morris Tri-State Asphalt Workers Decisively Vote Out Teamsters Union Officials
December 16, 2022 // Morris-based Tri-State Asphalt employee Brent Johnson and his coworkers have successfully voted Teamsters Local 179 union officials out of their workplace, following Johnson’s filing of a worker-backed petition earlier this month requesting a vote to remove the Teamsters union. Johnson received free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation in filing the petition for his coworkers. The vote, conducted by Indianapolis-based National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 25, tilted overwhelmingly against continued union boss control, with nearly 80 percent of the employees voting to reject the union. The NLRB is the agency responsible for enforcing federal private-sector labor law, which includes holding union “decertification votes” among workers.
Sick leave and family leave priorities for workers heading into new year
December 15, 2022 // The bitter negotiations that nearly brought the country’s freight rail system to a halt last week hinged on one quality of life issue: worker leave. Rail workers nearly went on strike over paid sick leave. They lost their fight, but in the post-pandemic era, the issue of how and when workers can take leave from their jobs is at the core of several major labor negotiations.
Labor unions, including AFSCME, rally for Biden at NEA
September 28, 2022 // He talked about the American Rescue Plan, which passed Congress with help from AFSCME members and brought the economy back from the brink, and about the Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower prescription drug costs, reduce the deficit and do so much more. He got big cheers from the crowd when he mentioned his plan for student debt relief, which will lower loan balances for millions of borrowers – “a game changer” for many Americans, he said. Biden praised his administration’s track record on the economy, pointing out that 10 million jobs have been created since he became president. He also said more than 220 million Americans have been vaccinated against COVID-19 since he took office.
California’s Latest Gift to Big Labor
September 8, 2022 // California may have fired the first shot in an interstate political arms race. If lawmakers in blue states begin forcing taxpayers to fund national progressive political organizations, politicians in red states will inevitably feel that forcing their respective tax bases to subsidize conservative groups is necessary and justified. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how this could accelerate the nation’s descent into extreme partisanship and winner-take-all governance. Given the already precarious state of civil society, that’s the last thing the country needs.
Op-ed: The Teachers’ Unions’ Blame Game
August 23, 2022 // AFT’s allocation of 30 percent of its 2020–21 expenditures to politics, totaling $48.4 million in political activities and another $5.9 million in contributions. And they’re only second to the National Education Association (NEA), which devotes nearly 50 percent of its expenses to political endeavors, according to research from Americans for Fair Treatment. Given that the NEA spends twice as much on politics (almost all of which is devoted to Democrats) as on representing its members, the union resembles a political, rather than membership, organization.
Labor unions run full court press in favor of Democrats $739B Inflation Reduction Act
August 9, 2022 // Labor union bosses have praised the legislation as a big win for their members. The AFL-CIO is particularly pleased with the hundreds of billions of dollars the bill directs to climate-related initiatives. "These provisions dramatically lower the cost of clean energy, positioning the U.S. to make deep carbon emissions reductions while preserving and creating millions of jobs, with an especially big boost to manufacturing," said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. "Importantly for fairness and diversity, it pushes investment to fossil fuel and underserved communities. While the 'union bonus' incentives we advocated for were not included, the bill retains provisions that strengthen prevailing wage, apprenticeship and domestic content standards throughout."
Opinion: If Democrats want votes, they should rain fury on union-busting corporations
August 9, 2022 // The power of workers relative to the power of the investment class must be rebalanced. Rebuilding the power of unions is the only way out of this trap, unless you are credulous enough to believe that we will all be rescued by the sudden radicalization of the tax policymakers on the House ways and means committee. If you ever want to live in a country where the American dream is more than a cruel, tantalizing joke, you have a stake in the revival of organized labor. History shows that organized labor thrives when it has the government’s support, and suffers without it. We are supposedly living under the most pro-union president of our lifetimes. So? Let’s hear some damn fire, man. The only reason companies feel so free to abuse their workers is that they don’t believe anyone will make them pay for it.
Federal Employees’ Job Satisfaction Surged Under Trump, Slips Under Biden, Survey Finds
August 9, 2022 // According to the Office of Management and Budget’s annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, federal employees’ overall satisfaction surged under the administration of then-President Donald Trump, and has already tumbled under the administration of President Joe Biden. Between 2016 and 2020, employees’ overall satisfaction rose by 8 percentage points. Over just the first year of the Biden administration, from 2020 to 2021, federal employees’ overall satisfaction plummeted 5.3 points. Public Service Reform Act, Rep. Chip Roy, Blueprint for Reorganization,
Trucking Looks for New Owner-Operator Strategies as Independent Contractor Model is Threatened
August 2, 2022 // Motor carriers that use owner-operators in California are working to re-evaluate their operations in order to meet strict restrictions on the use of independent contractors, as labor officials at the national level push to crack down on “employee misclassification” as well. Recent independent trucker protests that brought the Port of Oakland to a crawl gained plenty of media attention, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office indicated a lack of concern. Landstar, Joe Rajkovacz with the Western States Trucking Association, oil and gas industry, two-check system, TransForce AB5 Dedicated Solutions Program, TransForce, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, and New York,
Biden spotlights effort to rescue union pensions
July 7, 2022 // Reassuring frustrated blue-collar voters, President Joe Biden on Wednesday visited Ohio iron workers to highlight federal action to shore up troubled pension funding for millions now on the job or retired — and to make his political case that he’s been a champion for workers in the White House. Bill DeVito, Jeffrey Carlson, Rob Portman, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, Republican J.D. Vance,