Posts tagged Elizabeth Warren
Local Teamsters and the union’s Massachusetts-based chief at odds in crucial N.H. Senate race
September 9, 2026 // Brown began by talking about his own longtime membership in performing arts and media union SAG-AFTRA, which he leaned on to burnish his worker credentials when running against Warren. “There’s still people who are contributing dues, which I did for decades,” said Brown. “Chris Pappas has never done that. … What has he done for the unions? Like, what has he actually sponsored and passed that helps unions?” O’Brien noted Pappas’s co-sponsorship of the Faster Labor Contracts Act, a key legislative priority of labor unions. Brown and O’Brien both agreed it was “easy” for Pappas to do so, but when O’Brien asked him whether he would support the legislation, the Republican didn’t give a definitive answer, saying he would “learn more about that particular issue.”
Op-ed: To High Praise and Hallelujahs, Trump Nominates Keith Sonderling for Secretary of Labor
June 30, 2026 // As Acting Secretary, Sonderling has strongly advocated for Trump's pro-business and pro-worker agenda, touting the manufacturing jobs that have been returned to the U.S., and has worked tirelessly to beef up and expand apprenticeships through the U.S. Department of Labor for small businesses and private-sector concerns. Under Biden's DOL, apprenticeships were issued through the major labor unions like the AFL-CIO and SEIU, effectively cutting out any private sector opportunities. Sonderling has also long been a champion for defined benefit pension plan sponsors to be able to use group annuities to protect pension benefits through pension risk transfers, and to allow employers to incorporate retirement plan options like cryptocurrency assets and private credit funds. But most pivotal, Sonderling is working hand-in-hand with the Fraud Task Force to eradicate the rampant unemployment insurance fraud.
Teachers’ union AFT slams crypto market bill, warns of ‘profound risks’ for America’s retirement plans
December 11, 2025 // The American Federation of Teachers, the powerful labor union that represents 1.8 million members, is urging the Senate Banking Committee to reconsider its crypto market structure bill, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, calling the proposed legislation “as irresponsible as it is reckless” in a letter exclusively obtained by CNBC. In the letter that AFT president Randi Weingarten sent to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), she wrote the union opposes the bill based on the “profound risks to the pensions of working families and the overall stability of the economy.”
US senators demand Wells Fargo welcome employee unions
September 18, 2025 // A group of Democratic senators called on Wells Fargo (WFC.N), opens new tab to end its alleged campaign against employee unions, saying a more constructive approach could address a toxic workplace culture and help the bank recover from scandals that prevented it from growing.
US union membership declining in ‘right-to-work’ states, report reveals
September 8, 2025 // Right-to-work laws allow workers represented by unions to stop paying dues for the services and benefits they receive through union representation, depleting resources from labor unions. Public sector workers in all 50 states have also had their collective bargaining rights stripped through the imposition of right-to-work laws by the US supreme court’s 2018 decision Janus v AFSCME. In 2024, states that protect collective bargaining saw an increase of nearly 10,000 union members, compared with the loss of 200,000 union members in states with right-to-work laws.
Plan Sponsors Get Go-Ahead on Alternatives as DOL Shifts Stance
August 22, 2025 // For plan sponsors, this regulatory shift provides much-needed clarity and removes a significant deterrent that had been hanging over alternative investment discussions. The DOL has essentially returned to a neutral, principles-based approach that allows fiduciaries to evaluate all investment options based on their merits rather than facing special scrutiny for considering alternatives.
Democrats boycott DC restaurant hotspots on behalf of union workers
June 10, 2025 // More than 50 congressional Democrats signed a union pledge to boycott a half dozen Washington, D.C., restaurants. The Democratic lawmakers signed Unite Here Local 25's pledge to boycott restaurants, including Le Diplomate, Osteria Mozza, The Occidental, Rasika, Modena, and Bombay Club. Many are favorites of the Democrats' power elite — Le Diplomate was one of former President Joe Biden's favorite spots during his presidency.
Top 3 Ways Teamsters Boss Sean O’Brien Stabbed President Trump In The Back
November 21, 2024 // More than $2.6 million in Teamsters political donations went toward registered Democrats and Democratic campaign arms. The Teamsters also funded anti-Trump activist groups like the ACLU that plan to bury a second Trump term in litigation. This should come as no surprise. When Trump was in office, the Teamsters worked to sabotage passage of the Trump Tax cuts and prevent confirmation of Trump’s Supreme Court picks. 94% of Teamsters political spending has gone to Democrats since 1990. The Teamsters rank-and-file voted for Trump because he supports worker freedom.
Republicans Should Beware the Big Labor Snake
July 31, 2024 // If presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris wins in November, organized labor will tighten its grip on American workers. In 2020, Ms. Harris ran on banning right-to-work provisions, codifying “card check” union election theft and sectoral bargaining. If Ms. Harris imposes her radical agenda, organized labor will likely expand its tentacles into new frontiers, such as pharmacists and ride-hailing companies. Republicans should understand that the best way to win over union workers is by doubling down on Mr. Trump’s worker freedom agenda. Tax cuts and deregulation spur economic growth and job creation, a rising tide that lifts all boats. Right-to-work laws ensure that American workers are not forced to pay dues to a union boss to put food on the table. Strong protections for independent contracting allow Americans to make a living by being their own boss.
Op-Ed: Labor Department stuck in 1930s with rule against independent contractors
January 23, 2024 // With a national rule, however, few of those escape options are possible. Freelancers are unlikely to flee the country, and there is no such thing as a national ballot measure. The department has only just finalized the rule, so revisions are unlikely unless there is a change in control of the executive or legislature this November. Independent contractors face an extremely uncertain future. The reason why the rule is likely to be such a problem is because it is based on a vision of what the workplace should look like from a century ago, when large corporations dominated. Large corporations made sense when it was harder to be nimble as a business. Nobel Prize winner Ronald Coase explained the reason we have corporations at all is because of the presence of what are called transaction costs. If I have a business idea that requires the services of someone else, I face those costs. If the business idea requires someone with advanced mathematical calculation skills I don’t have, I can either contract with someone who has those skills to do the work every time I need it, or I can hire them as an employee instead and have them always available.