Posts tagged Executive Order
Unpacking Kamala Harris’ record on federal workforce issues
July 26, 2024 // As vice president, Harris led a White House task force that made recommendations for how agencies could reduce barriers for public and private sector workers to organize or join a union. In the year after agencies began implementing these recommendations, the number of federal employees who are dues paying members of a union increased by 20%. “We are fighting to protect the sacred right to organize. We are protecting the sacred right to organize because we know when unions are strong, America is strong,” Harris said at a Service Employees International Union convention in May.
WIOA Reauthorization Draft Includes “Blacklisting” Provision, Violating Employers’ Due Process Rights
July 3, 2024 // The blacklisting provision, if implemented, would bar employers from WIOA funding based on findings that are still subject to appeal. As a result, an employer may be denied funding even though a court may rule on appeal that the employer did not violate the law. Efforts to blacklist employers from federal initiatives and funding began under the Obama administration when it issued Executive Order 13673, “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces,” in July 2014. The Executive Order called for the debarment or suspension of federal contractors from the federal procurement process for allegations of labor and employment law violations. A final rule and guidance implementing the Executive Order were issued in August 2016, but both were blocked from taking effect by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and by Congress via a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution.
Opinion | A Reckoning for Biden’s Lawless Labor Chief
June 11, 2024 // Mr. Biden has timed his appointments to the labor board to minimize resistance. He broke with tradition by not choosing a Republican to fill an open seat when the previous chairman, picked by President Trump, retired in 2022. Instead Mr. Biden waited until now to select a Republican at the same time he has renominated Ms. McFerran. He hopes presenting the two as a package will make it easier for vulnerable Democrats to approve Ms. McFerran. It’s an offer the Senate should refuse. Reapproving the sitting chairman would be business as usual in a Senate that has whooped through too many of Mr. Biden’s progressive nominees. The economy and the rights of workers will suffer if Ms. McFerran is confirmed again after her demonstrably lawless record.
A Lawsuit Seeks to Stop the National Destruction of Trucking Through the DOL Indep. Contractor Rule
February 14, 2024 // The U.S. DOL is using bureaucratic means to make an end-run around already failed legislation (see The PRO Act) in order to destroy independent professionals and small businesses across the nation. The Rule embeds the same tenets found in the ABC Test, which supports AB5, and we all know how well that went in California. The state's trucking industry, in particular, continues to fight hard against AB5, and their battle is being watched by the rest of the industry in other states. Now, a Louisiana business has filed a lawsuit to stop the rule, which is scheduled to take effect on March 11.
Commentary: Biden Administration’s New Investments in Electric Vehicle and Battery Production Could Benefit Black Americans
February 2, 2024 // While some have suggested that transitioning to EVs would necessitate lower pay and standards for auto workers, the UAW’s gains to the contrary show how the Biden administration’s clean energy plan is actually increasing the leverage of U.S. autoworkers and helping them retain or regain a foothold in America’s middle class. These new investments and labor protections demonstrate significant progress for American workers and the auto industry relative to 2017 through 2020, which saw multiple U.S.-based auto plants close. What’s more, in U.S. history, 2023 marked the lowest annual unemployment rate for Black Americans. The strong labor market in Black communities makes it all the more crucial for automakers to invest in skills training, outreach, and their workforces in order to find and retain the requisite talent to fill the tens of thousands of new jobs created by these investments. If they do so, and efforts by the far-right to water down or repeal the Inflation Reduction Act are defeated, there is ample reason for optimism that ballooning investments in EV and battery production in Black communities will help sustain the strong labor market for Black Americans in the months and years ahead.
Commentary: The Hollywood Strikes Stopped AI From Taking Your Job. But for How Long?
December 28, 2023 // The “learn to code” crowd has all new ammo. Even Biden’s executive order was clear about the fact that the US government wanted to attract the best and brightest in the field. But that’s job creation, not job displacement. New technologies create jobs all the time, but with AI, some of those jobs pay pennies. What’s more, AI can also ask you to train it to do your job before picking up your tools. Going forward, the likelihood that AI will displace many entry-level jobs while creating a few highly skilled gigs seems high. The biggest questions in AI right now nearly all revolve around what these machines are learning from people, whether it’s human skill or human bias.
California: Offshore wind terminal to be built primarily with union hands
August 17, 2023 // Two of five commissioners (Aaron Newman and Craig Benson) noted their hesitation in voting due to the concerns of non-union construction workers but ultimately voted in support. Harbor district executive director Larry Oetker noted that this type of agreement is necessary — a recent executive order mandates any construction project over $35 million funded with federal dollars must include a labor agreement. The grant for phase 1 of the project involves the district requesting more than $300 million in federal dollars, according to an email from District Development Director Rob Holmlund. The agreement, which was negotiated largely by Jeff Hunerlach, from the Building and Construction Trades Council of Humboldt and Del Norte Counties and Chris Hannon, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, includes some provisions for non-union workers. It allows for any construction under the amount of $250,000 to be exempted from the agreement, according to a presentation from Oetker, who noted the benefits include no work stoppages in the process of construction. Union members said that labor agreements streamline the project by providing the skilled workers needed and to keep things on budget. Lynette Mullen, who said she was hired about three weeks ago by the Humboldt Builders' Exchange (an association of around 300 businesses in the construction industry) to get to the bottom of the labor agreement, said that the Exchange wants fair and equal opportunity toward the project and have more of a chance to weigh into agreements. She said people are frustrated they're being forced to join a union and pay into the union, adding that the Exchange understands the harbor district needs to do the agreement for federal funding. "This has been the saddest thing I've ever seen," she said. Environmental Protection Information Center, Missing and Murdered Indigenous People,
Op-ed Lawmakers: Protecting teachers’ paychecks is an Oklahoma priority
May 9, 2023 // Teachers across the country seem to be awakening to the gulf between their own values and the political bent of the unions. The National Education Association, which is one of the nation’s largest teachers union, ended 2022 with a net loss of 40,107 members, marking its lowest membership level since 2006. But educators shouldn’t be left to resist union overreach on their own. They need their state leaders to hold unions accountable and to protect teachers’ rights. Oklahoma leaders already have begun tackling this important issue. In 2021, we authored legislation, now reintroduced as Senate Bill 99, which would help protect teachers’ First Amendment rights to decide whether to pay union dues. Gov. Kevin Stitt followed in 2022 with an executive order calling for action on teacher notification, which would guarantee teachers a written notice to confirm that joining and paying a union is optional. State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters also has been a vocal proponent of teacher paycheck protection. Now the issue is front and center once again, not just in Oklahoma but across the country. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a legislative proposal earlier this year to protect teachers’ constitutional freedoms, reduce union overreach and get Florida taxpayers out of the business of collecting union dues. Meanwhile, state leaders in Indiana also are prioritizing the needs of their teachers, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has introduced similar legislation.
VA and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Reach Tentative Agreement to Better Serve Veterans and Support VA Employees
April 12, 2023 // This tentative agreement follows three key agreements VA made with the National Federation of Federal Employees in February. Over the past two years, VA has taken several critical steps to support bargaining unit employees, including 1) reestablishing the National Partnership Council, a forum for open communication between labor leaders and VA leadership; 2) restoring official time for Doctors, Nurses, Physician Assistants, and other Title 38 employees, meaning that these employees can use work hours to advocate on behalf of their bargaining unit coworkers; 3) reestablishing yearly and Semi-Annual Labor Management meetings with VA union partners; and 4) including the unions pre-decisionally in critical employee-centric decisions, such as the creation of the VHA REBOOT Task Force to address employee burnout.
Opinion: What Can We Learn from Growing Federal Sector Unions? (Hint: Maybe Clean Slate Works)
April 11, 2023 // Biden did much more than just not be Trump or speak in support of labor generally. His administration also put in place several polices that created conditions of true neutrality. For example, the Office of Personnel Management put out memos to ensure that federal managers maintained real neutrality during organizing campaigns. Those memos directed managers to consult with labor-management specialists before responding to employees’ questions about organizing to ensure that they did not convey any inaccurate or biased information. OPM also directed federal managers to actually make it easier for unions to organize. For the first time, agencies are required to allow unions to post information about their organization and contact information for union representatives on office bulletin boards, public websites, or employee-only intranets. OPM also directed agencies to share a list of bargaining-unit employees and their work email addresses with union officials and to invite unions to participate in the orientation process for new bargaining unit employees. The Biden Administration also encouraged agencies to restart labor-management forums, which the Trump Administration had tried to shut down.