Posts tagged Elon Musk
Unions Sue DOGE, Calling It ‘Unbalanced’ For Excluding Opponents Of Efficiency
January 20, 2025 // The lawsuit said AFGE’s president, Everett Kelley, requested that a representative of the federal employees union be appointed to the cost-cutting panel because AFGE “has a deep knowledge of the federal government.” It complains that Norm Eisen, a far-left lawyer and lawfare practitioner who has tried to thwart Trump, also applied, only to be told that “we have no room in our administration for Democrats.” The lawsuit claims that DOGE is an advisory committee that should be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which would require it to have members with balanced views, and meetings and materials open to the public. It said the Grace Commission, a Reagan-era cost-cutting panel, was structured under FACA.
Fearing AI will take their jobs, California workers plan a long battle against tech
January 19, 2025 // More than 200 trade union members and technologists gathered in Sacramento this week at a first-of-its-kind conference to discuss how AI and other tech threatens workers and to strategize for upcoming fights and possible strikes. The Making Tech Work for Workers event was convened by University of California labor centers, unions, and worker advocates and attracted people representing dock workers, home care workers, teachers, nurses, actors, state office workers, and many other occupations.
House Oversight Republicans open Congress with rants against telework, unions
January 17, 2025 // Rachel Greszler, a visiting fellow at the conservative Economic Policy Innovation Center and a former Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 contributor, described actions like the Social Security-AFGE telework contract update as an effort to “Trump-proof” agency workforces and suggested Congress should pass legislation allowing presidents to reopen collective bargaining agreements upon assuming office. And they should ban official time, the practice by which agencies agree to pay union officials their normal salary for time spent on representational duties, like in collective bargaining negotiations or representing employees during grievances or disciplinary hearings.
Opinion: Better Capitalism Will Reduce The Need For Unions
January 17, 2025 // But now, slowly but surely, we see the pendulum starting to swing again. A new generation of corporate leaders increasingly recognize the downsides of shareholder primacy and the benefits of multi-stakeholder capitalism. Some companies are moving away from treating workers as replaceable widgets — as pure cost centers — and increasingly see them as the key to improving productivity and innovation, which are now the key drivers of long-term profit. Some notable examples in recent years include Delta Airlines, Home Depot, Costco, Best Buy, and JP Morgan Chase.
Trump Faces Federal Employee Unions in Government Efficiency Battle
January 3, 2025 // “For President-elect Trump to succeed at making the federal bureaucracy more efficient and accountable to the American people, he’ll have to once again do battle with federal unions,” Max Nelsen, a labor policy expert at the Freedom Foundation, told The Center Square.
As Trump’s DOGE plans crackdown, Social Security union secures telework deal
December 5, 2024 // The agreement comes as the incoming Trump administration and its newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, vow to require federal workers to return to the office full time in an effort to cull their numbers. The updated contract deal locks in the current levels of telework for American Federation of Government Employees members at the agency until late October 2029, according to a letter written by Rich Couture, AFGE general committee spokesperson and head of the union’s Council 215, and viewed by CNN. The agreement was signed by SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley just before he stepped down to run for Democratic National Committee chair.
Thousands of Federal Employees Land Work-From-Home Deal Ahead of Trump
December 5, 2024 // Unions have been pushing the outgoing Biden administration to extend existing collective bargaining agreements with federal workers in advance of Trump's inauguration next month, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Some union leaders are urging the current White House team to issue an executive order calling for such moves.
Comer highlights bill challenging work from home deal for federal employees
December 4, 2024 // The protections target tens of thousands of Social Security staff and are part of several efforts in anticipation of Trump’s plan to reshape America’s workforce, Bloomberg first reported. The outlet noted that the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing more than 40,000 employees, reached an agreement with the Social Security Administration (SSA) last week.
Commentary: Labor unions prepare for battle against Trump’s federal workforce plans
November 25, 2024 // Federal unions will be a favorite target, as they were previously. In 2018, Trump issued three executive orders that nearly blew away the ability of federal employees — notably, not just union members — to be fully represented by labor organizations, particularly in grievance procedures. President Joe Biden revoked those orders shortly after taking office. Beyond what Trump did before, what he might do next has union leaders ready for a fight
US federal workers hope Republicans will curb Trump, Musk firings
November 22, 2024 // The U.S. government is the country's largest employer. While workers are concentrated in Washington, D.C., and nearby Maryland and northern Virginia, some of the greatest concentrations of federal workers can be found in areas like southern Oklahoma and northern Alabama, which are represented by Republicans in the House. The biggest federal employees' union, the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 750,000 federal workers, is also looking to Congress, said Jacqueline Simon, the AFGE's policy director.