Posts tagged Democrat
Trump fires US labor board member, hobbling agency amid legal battles
January 28, 2025 // As a board member, Wilcox voted to bar employers from holding mandatory anti-union meetings, to create a new path for unions to represent workers outside of the decades-old election process, and to make it easier to require companies to bargain with contract and franchise workers. Abruzzo in a statement said the board's efforts to empower workers in recent years would have a lasting impact. "So, if the Agency does not fully effectuate its congressional mandate in the future as we did during my tenure, I expect that workers with assistance from their advocates will take matters into their own hands," she said.
COMMENTARY: The SEIU and the Teamsters Changed to Lose
January 16, 2025 // Give O’Brien credit as an adversary; he is at least trying something new, even if it is for the same old Big Labor policy program of forced dues, forced representation, rigid work rules, and government control of the economy. His shift in tone—only tone—has already paid dividends for him and his fellow union bosses, including such left-wing luminaries as Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, in the coming second Trump administration.
Democratic legislative staff in Washington approve first-ever labor contract
January 13, 2025 // The contracts also outline new ways to resolve conflicts between elected officials and legislative staff. And there are provisions to create a “transition” pool for union members facing the loss of a job because the lawmaker they work for retires, loses re-election or leaves office for another reason. Knapp said the Senate contract lays out how a person facing the loss of work could get a job as a session aide to avoid unemployment. There’s also language ensuring the employer provides workers, who are at-will employees, with two weeks notice before being let go or two weeks pay if fired.
Shawn Fain was Kamala Harris’ most forceful union backer. It could cost him his job
December 30, 2024 // United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain was one of the most prominent union leaders backing Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s US presidential election and one of the harshest critics of Donald Trump while on the campaign trail. And because of that, he’ll have a powerful enemy when Trump takes back the White House on January 20.
Senate Democrats fail to secure NLRB majority under Trump in razor-thin vote
December 11, 2024 // A Democrat-led push to secure a majority on the National Labor Relations Board until 2026 fell short on Wednesday, as Senate Republicans and two independents blocked the nomination of Lauren McFerran to continue serving on the labor board.
Schumer moves to lock in place Democrat-majority labor board
December 11, 2024 // Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is attempting to ensure that the Democrats retain control of the National Labor Relations Board, the main federal labor law enforcement agency, until at least 2026 by extending the term of its current chairwoman, Lauren McFerran. A Senate floor vote on McFerran’s nomination is pending and, while it is possible that Senate Republicans could block it, it is not clear if enough will show up for the vote to do that. The vote may happen on Wednesday. This matters because the current board has been an aggressive advocate for unionization.
A California labor union helped oust a Democrat from the state Capitol. His replacement wants to curb union power.
December 10, 2024 // "This is an unprecedented circumstance where a labor union spent well over a million dollars of their members' monies to take down a Democrat with a solid labor record to the benefit of a Republican that has been anti-labor throughout his legislative career," Newman said. "It's really stunning." The California Federation of Labor gave Choi a 6% on its annual legislative scorecard in 2022 when he served in the state Assembly, where he voted against bills to support fast-food workers, allow striking workers to keep health benefits and protect farmworkers who unionize. The same year, Newman received an 87% score, voting in favor of many union-backed bills.
California Senate leader calls union ‘morally bankrupt’ for opposing a vulnerable Democrat
November 18, 2024 // The union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, was furious at Newman for joining a group of Senate Democrats in killing a bill last year that the union sponsored, according to Newman and his Senate colleagues. The bill sought to enshrine the rights of workers at the University of California in the state constitution. A spokesperson for the union and its lobbyist, Richie Ross, could not be reached for comment. The union, representing 30,000 workers at 10 UC campuses as well as medical centers, clinics and research laboratories, is planning a two-day strike for next week, the latest in a longstanding labor battle that was reflected in the worker rights issues raised in the bill.
Bernie Moreno, former car dealer elected to Senate, says Fain is a hack not helping workers
November 12, 2024 // Moreno did try to save jobs back in 2018 when General Motors announced it would permanently close its Lordstown Assembly plant in northeast Ohio, which built the Chevrolet Cruze sedan. As the Free Press reported in 2019, Moreno met with GM leaders, proposing to buy 150,000 to 180,000 Cruze cars to start a global ride-hailing company similar to Uber. GM CEO Mary Barra rejected the idea. GM shuttered Lordstown that spring.
Op-Ed Andrew Holman: Union political spending doesn’t represent all their members
October 30, 2024 // Most of Pennsylvania’s public sector unions’ certifications date back to the 1970s, meaning many of their employees have never had the opportunity to vote on their representation. Without accountability, public sector unions are free to divert resources from representation toward partisan politics with no regard for members. The rank-and-file deserves better from their unions.