Posts tagged economy
Biden Administration Unveils Historic Rules for High-Paying Clean Energy Jobs The White House
June 19, 2024 // Clean energy projects that meet the requirements of these final rules will receive a fivefold increase for clean energy tax credits for deployment of wind, solar, nuclear, hydrogen, and other clean energy technologies, as well as for projects receiving allocations under the Section 48C Advanced Energy Projects credit., providing a significant incentive for project developers to pay prevailing wages to workers for construction, alteration, and repair of clean energy projects and to hire registered apprentices to earn while they learn by working on those projects. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su also published a blog highlighting the use of Project Labor Agreements as a best practice for large construction projects and a tool to help project developers comply with the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. Project Labor Agreements, or pre-hire collective bargaining agreements that set the terms and conditions for employment on a construction project, help workers and developers alike by providing strong worker and wage protections while ensuring a reliable supply of skilled workers to help deliver projects on time and on budget.
Dockworkers Cancel Bargaining, Threaten Strike at U.S. Seaports
June 11, 2024 // Automation has been a flashpoint for longshore labor talks on both coasts. Daggett has vowed to stem the tide of automated machinery being used to lift, carry and stack containers on docks around the world. In a speech last year he accused the Biden administration of standing by while foreign-owned carriers use the machinery “to eliminate good paying American jobs.” People familiar with the negotiations say most issues specific to local ports have been resolved, but some issues, such as automation, are unresolved.
Are Unions Experiencing a Renaissance? Not Quite
January 24, 2024 // The reality is that, although the absolute number of union members has risen, nonunion jobs have increased faster.2 Gallup data support the apparent lack of worker demand for joining a union. Although 17% of workers are highly interested in joining a labor union, six in 10 U.S. employees say they are “not interested at all,” unchanged from 2022.
Commentary: Kevin Kiley: American Dream in danger
January 22, 2024 // AB 5 offers a warning to the nation. It is one reason California has ranked first or second in the country when it comes to unemployment and poverty, and last in the country in wage growth. Congress must reject the nationalization of AB 5 and protect the diverse range of work arrangements that contribute to the American economy. We must oppose the ongoing attacks on worker freedom and ensure that worker preferences and autonomy are accounted for in all policy decisions. More than ever, we must support the right of enterprising Americans to pursue their calling as they see fit. To that end, I am introducing legislation to nullify Biden’s Independent Contractor rule, and urge all Members of Congress to support it.
GOP Reps: Biden’s New Rule Rips Freedom Away from Workers, Small Businesses | Opinion
January 17, 2024 // Biden's rule on independent contractors circumvents Congress, the people's representation, to enact a disastrous policy similar to that in California's Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) and the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. AB5, enacted in January 2020, led to countless Californians who were working as freelance employees losing their income mere weeks before the COVID pandemic. The radical PRO Act would take away independent contractors' ability to work how they see fit. Taking these failed far-Left policies nationwide would devastate millions of American businesses by depriving individuals of entrepreneurial opportunities, the ability to set their own hours, and the flexibility to care for their families the way it suits them.
Freelancers Added Over $1 Trillion To U.S. Economy In 2023
December 26, 2023 // According to recent data published in Upwork Research Institute’s Freelance Forward 2023 survey, freelancers contributed a staggering $1.27 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2023 — marking a 78% increase since 2014. The survey, which included over 3,000 professionals, reveals the substantial economic contribution and growing importance of freelance work.
Opinion: After pandemic ‘labor hoarding,’ hospitality jobs may be cut
December 13, 2023 //
Wages are rising. Jobs are plentiful. Nobody’s happy.
November 21, 2023 //
Op-Ed: Biden’s joint-employer rule is bad for workers
November 9, 2023 // Included in the Employee Rights Act are the commonsense provisions of the Save Local Business Act, which would provide much-needed clarity in determining joint-employer status and prevent franchise owners from becoming corporate middle managers. More specifically, the bills amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act to clarify that two or more employers must have “actual, direct, and immediate” control over employees to be considered joint employers. It rolls back a convoluted joint-employer scheme that threatens job creation and undermines the American dream, and it restores a commonsense definition of employer to provide certainty and stability for workers and job creators. Simply put, the Employee Rights Act seeks to update our nation’s labor policies to match the needs of the 21st-century worker and workforce.
The Actors Strike Is Over, Ending Hollywood’s Long Limbo
November 9, 2023 //