Posts tagged Elon Musk
More Than 150,000 Federal Workers Accepted Trump’s Resignation Incentives
August 6, 2025 // A new government estimate, along with a study by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, provides a long-awaited window into the scale of the departures.
US agencies shrink layoff plans after mass staff exodus
July 16, 2025 // This is the latest example of the Trump administration walking back announcements to cut federal workers, after more aggressively pursuing staff reductions earlier this year. The Department of Veterans Affairs said in July that it would reduce staff by about 30,000 people rather than 80,000. Upon taking office in January, President Donald Trump launched a campaign to overhaul the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce, led by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. By late April, about 100 days into the effort, the government overhaul had resulted in the firing, resignations and early retirements of 260,000 civil servants, according to a Reuters tally.
Supreme Court clears way for Trump to downsize the federal workforce
July 10, 2025 // The labor unions and nonprofit groups that sued over the downsizing offered the justices several examples of what would happen if it were allowed to take effect, including cuts of 40% to 50% at several agencies. Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco were among cities that also sued. “Today’s decision has dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy. This decision does not change the simple and clear fact that reorganizing government functions and laying off federal workers en masse haphazardly without any congressional approval is not allowed by our Constitution,” the parties that sued said in a joint statement.
Editorial: Unionizing Uber and Lyft drivers may speed up their robotic replacement
July 2, 2025 // Here’s the issue for drivers. Labor talks are playing out as Uber and its competitors are investing heavily in driverless vehicles, just like Tesla. Uber isn’t hiding that future. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi even told The Wall Street Journal this year he expects AVs to gradually overtake human drivers.
Editorial: Unionizing Uber and Lyft drivers may speed up their robotic replacement
June 27, 2025 // And as anyone who regularly takes an Uber well knows, the prices went up once the cabs were vanquished. A lot. Taxi prices, a source of complaint for generations of Chicagoans, now often look like a bargain in comparison to Uber or Lyft, especially when it rains or there’s a ballgame in the neighborhood. As Big Tech’s variable pricing ravages our wallets, regulated rates have never looked better to many of us. With ride-share prices rising, policymakers are now weighing how best to support drivers — but those efforts, including unionization, could unintentionally make things worse for both riders and drivers as driverless technology gains traction.
The president of the AFL-CIO says she’s committed to the fight against Trump’s immigration policies
June 18, 2025 // We’re deploying strategies in the courts, in Congress. We have pension fund investments that we know can be used strategically as leverage as well. We’re the only institution in the country that has a network of local labor bodies in every state and every city in this country. We have access to working people and workplaces that we can use to educate and train and activate on a moment’s notice. We [were] not going to just close up shop and move on after David’s been released. This is just the start.
Targeting DOGE, labor group puts up billboards warning of heat deaths at national parks
June 6, 2025 // The National Parks Conservation Association, an independent advocacy organization, estimates that around 2,500 employees — roughly 13% of the National Park Service’s staff — took buyouts or accepted early retirements or deferred resignations as part of DOGE’s efforts to significantly slash the size of the federal government. There are concerns that deep cuts across the National Park Service could jeopardize public safety.
Trump’s mass layoff threat drives US government workers to resign
May 21, 2025 // Mass resignations driven by fear of firings Trump and Musk aim to cut federal workforce by 12% Unions angry over perceived harassment, forced resignations Tens of thousands of U.S. government workers have chosen to resign rather than endure what many view as a torturous wait for the Trump administration to carry out its threats to fire them, say unions, governance experts and the employees themselves. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on taking office to dramatically slash the size and cost of government. Four months later, mass layoffs at the largest agencies have yet to materialize and courts have slowed the process.
Lefty groups behind ‘grassroots’ anti-Trump protests in US propped up by billionaires and dark-money network
May 7, 2025 // Dozens of lefty groups behind the country’s supposedly “grassroots” May Day protests have been largely bankrolled by two billionaires and a dark-money network of progressive nonprofits. More than $500 million from Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss’ organizations, hedge-fund tycoon George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and the dark-money Arabella network flowed to the progressive groups between fiscal years 2016 and 2023, according to an analysis shared with The Post. The funding wasn’t intended for the May Day protests per se, but it has been propping up many of the self-styled “grassroots” progressive activist groups over time.
Exclusive-US cancels FDA bargaining session over layoffs, union says
May 7, 2025 // Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman on April 25 issued an injunction to block the executive order from being implemented, pending the outcome of a lawsuit by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents about 160,000 federal employees including as many as 9,000 FDA staff. The Trump administration has appealed that injunction. A five-hour, virtual meeting between the union and the Department of Health and Human Services to discuss mass layoffs at the FDA was axed the evening before it was set to take place. No reason was given for the cancellation and no attempt was made to reschedule it, according to NTEU chapter president Anthony Lee.