Posts tagged Democrats
Rand Paul chooses ranking member slot at Senate HELP
November 12, 2026 // Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., announced Wednesday he plans to serve as the top Republican on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee when Democrats take control of Congress next year. The move clears the way for Senate Ethics Chairman James Lankford, R-Okla., to use his seniority to ascend to ranking Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which Paul currently chairs, and touches off several other shifts at the top of other committees.
Commentary: Democrats swept Nevada. Now protect all workers.
November 10, 2026 // Corporate opponents will undoubtedly argue that mandatory benefit contributions raise hiring costs, which is accurate. Businesses frequently utilize contract labor specifically to lower payroll overhead by omitting benefit contributions. That cost savings comes directly at the expense of freelancer security, and closing that loophole is precisely the goal. Critics may also push to make benefit contributions voluntary. Nevada has already considered this approach: a voluntary portable benefits bill sponsored by Republican Senator Lori Rogich passed the Senate in 2025 before expiring at the end of the session. That proposal left employer contributions optional and allowed businesses to deduct contribution costs directly from freelancer pay upon written consent. Similar voluntary frameworks exist in Louisiana and Utah.
Post-midterms, federal unions push for pay raise, restoration of bargaining rights
November 6, 2026 // Labor leaders said they are hopeful lawmakers could tackle some priorities in Congress’ "lame duck" session, ahead of Democrats’ formally taking control of both the House and Senate next year.
(Language Alert) Commentary: Will Labor Strike to Overcome Trump’s Vetos?
November 5, 2026 // CWA Local 7250 President Kieran Knutson, who launched the call for the Minneapolis General Strike with four local union presidents, said that labor must keep the option of striking on the table. “Labor has to start understanding that elections may change who is in office, but our ultimate power comes from our numbers and our leverage as workers,” Knutson told Payday Report. “We need to make that leverage a permanent part of our arsenal - not just during contract expiration or first Tuesday in November.”
Teamsters Voted Trump. O’Brien is Still Sending Their Dues to Democrats Anyway.
November 4, 2026 // No Teamsters financial support went to Sen. Moody or Sen. Marshall this cycle. Meanwhile, Teamsters' PAC, DRIVE, was sending checks to the two biggest Democratic super PACs fighting for control of Congress: $300,000 to Senate Majority PAC in September and $500,000 to House Majority PAC in October. That's $800,000 aimed at handing Chuck Schumer the Senate and Hakeem Jeffries the Speaker's gavel. O'Brien endorsed Marshall on September 3. Two weeks later, DRIVE sent $300,000 to the super PAC whose whole purpose is flipping Republican Senate seats. Then on October 6, DRIVE gave half a million dollars to House Majority PAC, the group that exists to defeat House Republicans like Mike Lawler. Sixteen days after that, O'Brien was standing next to Lawler calling him a friend of labor.
Op-ed: Big Labor Schemes Power Grab for Democrats
November 3, 2026 // But there’s reason to doubt the sincerity of labor groups in building a long-lasting relationship. Away from the headlines, Big Labor has been an obstacle against the Trump Administration in court. Unions have sued the Trump Administration more than 70 times–nearly once a week–to stop initiatives including reducing and reorganizing the bloated federal bureaucracy, reducing federal spending, and reining in rogue “independent” bureaucracies full of personally motivated actors who didn’t want to be accountable to the President.
Consumer Action for a Strong Economy: New Issue Brief Examines Organized Labor’s Political Agenda
November 2, 2026 // According to the brief, unions have filed more than 70 lawsuits challenging President Trump’s agenda, directed the vast majority of their political contributions to Democrats, and backed redistricting efforts designed to increase Democratic representation in Congress. Taken together, those actions raise questions about organized labor’s recent outreach to Republicans. “Working families deserve transparency from organizations asking Congress for more power,” said CASE Chairman Gerard Scimeca. “At the same time union leaders are seeking greater support from Republicans, they continue spending millions backing Democratic candidates and opposing key parts of President Trump’s agenda.”
Editorial Board: Congress wants faster union contracts — except for its own staff
October 8, 2026 // Nicole Waring, the shop steward in Khanna’s office, explained why it took so long. “There’s a lot of back and forth. It takes time to review each passback of the contract [and] redline everything,” she told Politico. “The biggest thing was we wanted to make sure that this contract would be governable, and rather than just make things convenient and take shortcuts, make sure that it was going to be something that we knew would stand the test of time.” Other staff explained that going slowly was important because union contracts are binding and directly affect workers’ lives. They noted the unique workplace circumstances of a congressional office. Here’s the thing: Every workplace is unique. Every union contract directly affects workers’ lives. And that’s why the government should never force a contract on people without their consent.
AFT Dues Funded Left-Wing Infrastructure, From the Center for American Progress to the Clinton Foundation
October 8, 2026 // According to its annual filing with the Department of Labor, the AFT gave $250,000 to the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning public policy organization. It gave $100,000 each to: Emily’s List, a political advocacy group backing women who support abortion; the National Action Network, the Rev. Al Sharpton’s advocacy group; and the American Prospect, a news outlet co-founded by Clinton-era Labor Secretary Robert Reich. The AFT gave $75,000 to the Bill, Hillary, & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and $10,000 to the Human Rights Campaign. “It is political advocacy by another name,” Michael Watson, research director at the Capital Research Center, told the Daily Signal in an interview Tuesday.
Editorial: Against the Hollywood bailout
October 1, 2026 // The greatest job decline after Covid was in 2023, before Hollywood’s chief competitor, the U.K., expanded its film subsidies. That was the year of the industry’s “double strike,” when actors and writers simultaneously walked off studio lots for months. Hundreds of projects were delayed or outright canceled as filming rolled to a halt, costing the entertainment industry billions of dollars. When studios finally signed contracts to end the strikes, they had to accept unions’ core demands, ballooning their compensation in perpetuity. Is it any wonder they have looked to film elsewhere? The proposed federal tax credit would bail out the union workers who bargained for more than they were worth. It would subsidize almost all labor costs — for employees and contractors, both pre-production and post-production — of film crews, animators, special-effects artists, writers, actors, and even producers and directors. There are no limits on eligible compensation, so taxpayers would pick up a good chunk of the salaries of Christopher Nolan and Tom Cruise.