Posts tagged Congress
Union racked up massive tab on swank DC hotel stay to battle Trump — and still lost
April 30, 2026 // Social media posts show SEIU members from around the country converged in Washington, D.C., between June 23 and June 29, 2025, to confront lawmakers and stage protests against the tax and spending cuts under consideration in Congress. Department of Labor disclosures logged on June 30, 2025, reveal that the union spent $1.2 million of members’ dues at the Salamander Hotel to cover a series of expenses labeled as "support for political activities." The One Big Beautiful Bill Act served as the cornerstone of Trump's second-term economic agenda. While supporters touted tax breaks for service workers and small business owners, critics argued cuts to health and food subsidies would harm less affluent Americans. This disagreement sparked fierce opposition, including the SEIU's seven-figure protest campaign, though Trump ultimately signed the bill into law on 4th of July weekend 2025.
The Fast and the Spurious: Teamster allies push Faster Labor Contracts Act
April 30, 2026 // For union leaders, the important part is just getting the contract signed. The fact that it is flawed or potentially unworkable is secondary to generating union dues. Unions typically demand that contracts contain so-called security clauses, provisions that require management to automatically deduct union dues from workers’ paychecks and route them into the labor organization’s account. That’s the real reason for the urgency to get the contract.
Republicans must not help Democrats gut workplace democracy
April 29, 2026 // If they can’t reach an agreement in time, the federal bureaucrats would force the creation of an arbitration panel, which would then unilaterally impose a collective bargaining agreement. But workers wouldn’t be allowed to vote for the contract, even though it dictates the terms of their employment. Voting on a contract is standard practice precisely because it lets workers make their voice heard and control their future. Before Cassidy named the bill, he described what it would do. The shop steward replied that taking away the contract vote would mean “removing democracy from the workplace.” He then said that democracy “is the whole point of the union.” The shop steward may not have known then that the senator was describing a proposal that his own union supports. But he was absolutely right: Forcing a contract on workers without a vote is the opposite of workplace democracy.
Congressional progressives introduce $25 federal minimum wage plan
April 28, 2026 // Noah Finley, National Federation of Independent Business Illinois state director, has argued both the previous increase and new proposal would be harmful to businesses across the state. “Our members here in Illinois, they've been really struggling with the $15 an hour minimum wage in the state. That has been a huge burden for them,” Finley said. “They've had to cut back on employees. They've had to raise their prices. So, this is bad for workers, it's bad for consumers and it's bad for small businesses.”
Op Ed: Workers deserve a vote
April 28, 2026 // Collective bargaining in this industry works because both sides have to live with what they negotiate. An arbitrator on a federal deadline doesn’t have to live with anything. They write the contract and move on. But the district and the workers are stuck with it for two years. That’s the bill’s core flaw: it assumes labor negotiations only ever go slowly because of bad faith, but really, they often just take time to get right. Rushing that process and handing the outcome to an outside panel doesn’t produce better contracts.
Labor Department’s reworked joint employer rule restores common sense
April 23, 2026 // The Labor Department came out with a draft rework of its joint employer rule. CEI labor policy expert Sean Higgins points to some good fixes but underscores the need for Congress to reform the law instead of leaving decisions to regulators:
Op-ed: Congressional Republicans Should Unshackle Entrepreneurs
April 16, 2026 // Efforts to restore clearer regulations around contractor standards recognize these realities. However, a future administration can scuttle any regulation its Labor Department issues. Legislative clarity solves that problem, and Congress has a vehicle to provide it. The Modern Worker Empowerment Act clarifies standards for independent work, protecting legitimate independent businesses while preserving safeguards against worker misclassification. A law, duly passed and signed, means real, future-proofed certainty for entrepreneurs, freelancers and the organizations that rely on them.
A giant barrier to being self-employed is falling, state by state
April 13, 2026 // As more states pass permanent reforms, millions of independent contractors could gain access to benefits they’ve never enjoyed. But states aren’t the only ones that can act. Congress could also amend federal law so that companies may offer benefits without facing liability. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) and Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-California) have introduced bills to that effect in their respective chambers. They deserve the support of the full Congress and the White House in giving millions more workers long-term financial security along with the flexibility that self-employment provides. The portable benefits revolution can’t sweep the nation fast enough.
Commentary: Congress is about to undo DOGE’s biggest win
April 13, 2026 // That corrupt flow of campaign cash into Congress’s coffers is ultimately why, instead of being eliminated by DOGE, the FMCS is on track to be given a whole new set of powers. New Jersey Democrat Donald Norcross recently filed a discharge petition on the Faster Labor Contracts Act. The petition will force the House to vote on the bill once it reaches 218 signatures. The bill can easily hit that target if all 214 House Democrats sign the petition, along with any four of the bill’s 17 Republican cosponsors. Understanding a politician’s real priorities often requires zooming into these quiet battles over little-known agencies.
Op-ed: A bipartisan bill that would hurt employers and unions
April 12, 2026 // The bill would mandate that workers sometimes be subjected to labor contracts that they never vote for. The idea is to reduce the amount of time it takes between a union being recognized as the collective bargaining agent in a workplace and the enactment of an agreement. The National Labor Relations Act requires recognized unions and employers to negotiate in good faith, but it does not say how long that negotiating may last. In some cases, it can last years.