Posts tagged federal government
Commentary: Who Is Big Labor, Anyway?
February 5, 2025 // If the Current American Plurality wants to hold together, it will need to find ways to support workers as a whole, not cheaply chase the union members that BLS and other data reveal to be unripe for recruitment by throwing more traditional members of the coalition under the bus. The Taft-Hartley Consensus approach to labor relations, which Republicans have advanced for 80 years, offers the opportunity for those workers who freely choose to organize unions to continue to do so while protecting the rights of workers who choose not to form unions or choose to work independently. It should not be cheaply abandoned in service to myths about whom the conservative movement is seeking to court.
Costco, Teamsters, reach ‘tentative agreement’ likely averting strike as company’s DEI controversy rages on
February 3, 2025 // The Teamsters are accusing the grocery club of not sharing its record 2024 profits – which doubled since 2019 - with its workers and have claimed Costco has engaged in "illegal and reckless behavior," including kicking union reps out of stores, preventing employees from wearing Teamster buttons and changing the locks on union bulletin boards. Talks broke down in January when Costco refused to reach a card check agreement. Card checks would make it easier for workers to join unions by eliminating secret ballots. About 85% of Costco's unionized employees voted to authorize a strike.
Trump offers all federal workers an 8-month buyout to resign
January 29, 2025 // Of the 3 million federal workers, roughly 374,000 or 12%, work in the Washington metropolitan area, which includes the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and parts of West Virginia, according to data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. The largest percentage of federal workers are employed outside the nation’s capital. Federal workers account for the 15th largest workforce in the nation, and their average tenure is 11.8 years, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Office of Personnel Management data.
‘I am terrified’: Workers describe the dark mood inside federal agencies
January 27, 2025 // At the State Department, the shutdown of those programs was something many saw coming. But some were startled by the directive that they report individual cases of people’s job descriptions being changed to “disguise” the DEI element to a special Office of Personnel Management email address. Some saw it as an order to snitch on colleagues. Others, who prepared for Trump’s return to office, had begun working months ago with outside nonprofits to archive websites they feared would be taken down by the Trump administration — including information on ending gender-based violence around the world.
Legal options for job seekers impacted by Trump’s hiring freeze
January 22, 2025 // For federal civilian job seekers with offers in hand, President Donald Trump’s federal hiring freeze has brought sudden uncertainty — and limited recourse. The freeze, signed into effect Monday at noon, stops hiring for civilian federal employees and is part of a broader plan to downsize the federal workforce.
I4AW Report: Transparency Needed in the Process of Federal Collective Bargaining
January 14, 2025 // I4AW’s report, titled “Transparency Needed in the Process of Federal Collective Bargaining,” reveals that likely hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are spent each year on costs associated with the process of collective bargaining between the federal government and labor unions.
More membership losses for National Education Association
January 13, 2025 // The National Education Association is still shedding members, according to the latest edition of a report it filed with the federal government. The national labor union that represents teachers and school staffers saw its membership drop from 2,451,693 to 2,439,963 in the past year, for a loss of 11,730 members. Each year, the union and its affiliates must file an LM-2 report with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Federal bailout gives $635 million to carpenters union pension plan
November 24, 2024 // The federal government is spending $635 million in taxpayer funds to bail out a multiemployer pension fund for a Detroit carpenters union. Pension experts warn that the bailout comes with little or no accountability and no indication that it won’t happen again. Julie Su, acting secretary of labor, announced the bailout in a video posted to her X account Oct. 18. Su credited the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, which appropriated $86 billion for union pensions.
NC Farm Bureau sues US Dept of Labor
October 29, 2024 // “Our complaint is that the DOL doesn't have the authority to require collective bargaining or to provide collective bargaining and self-organization rights to workers; that's Congress' job,” said Jake Parker, general counsel for the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation.
Half a century later, ILA returns to strike mode
September 13, 2024 // The ILA is one of the least aggressive unions when it comes to coastwide strikes, especially relative to its militant West Coast counterpart: the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which orchestrated stoppages and slowdowns just last year to attain its desired contract. In many respects, then, the ILA is riding the wave of labor’s recent successes that were achieved through hard-line tactics. In August 2023, the Teamsters celebrated the ratification of a new agreement with UPS. A few months later, the United Auto Workers secured large pay raises and other benefits for its members after a 46-day strike against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors.