Posts tagged Florida
President Trump is making government accountable again
May 8, 2025 // But the American people would benefit most of all. They need a government that’s more efficient, effective and most of all, accountable — a government that advances the agenda that voters backed at the ballot box. Trump’s reform would help make that vision a reality, making it easier for him and future presidents of both parties to enact their priorities and deliver for voters.
New Trump civil-service reform rule nearer to going into effect
May 7, 2025 // According to former Department of Labor official Vincent Vernuccio, who is now president of the labor nonprofit Institute for the American Worker, OPM may amend the rule or issue it as it’s proposed, which could happen within the next few weeks or months. “So, you’re talking about 50,000 federal employees—about 2% of the workforce who will become ‘at will’,” Mr. Vernuccio said. “These are still career employees,” he said. “They still have protections. They’re not changing that. It’s just that if they are in a policy-influencing position, they’re ‘at will’, and they can be removed if they’re throwing sand in gears of policy.” He added, “And if they simply don’t want to do their jobs and they don’t want to implement the policies that the people’s duly elected representatives have implemented, they can be removed.”
Podcast Newt Gingrich, Vinnie Vernuccio; Episode 837: Protecting the American Worker
May 5, 2025 // Newt’s guest is Vincent Vernuccio, president and co-founder of the Institute for the American Worker. They discuss the significant labor policy developments and legislative efforts aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in both public and private sectors. Their conversation covers the introduction of the Start Applying Labor Transparency (SALT) Act, which seeks to amend the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to ensure greater transparency in financial transactions between unions and labor consultants. Vernuccio also explains the implications of President Trump's executive action, Schedule F, which aims to make certain federal employees at-will to enhance accountability. They also discuss the challenges posed by public sector unions and the potential impact of Senator Josh Hawley's Faster Labor Contracts Act, which could impose arbitration on private sector union negotiations. Vernuccio emphasizes the need for modernizing union models to align with today's workforce demands for flexibility and merit-based advancement.
Op-ed: The evidence is in: Forcing workers to join unions destroys good-paying jobs
May 5, 2025 // He then noted: “This difference is substantial, equivalent to a 28 percent increase in manufacturing employment” in right-to-work counties relative to their forced-unionism neighbors. Practically all elected officials in the U.S. claim to support the creation of new manufacturing jobs and the retention of current ones. But the many Big Labor politicians in Washington, D.C., who support the elimination of state right-to-work laws and the expansion of union bosses’ forced-unionism privileges to all 50 states are objectively in favor of the destruction of good-paying manufacturing jobs.
New Campaign Exposes UNITE HERE’s Anti-Worker Tactics
May 1, 2025 // The groundbreaking new campaign, featuring the mini-documentary “The Reality of Union Bullying by UNITE HERE,” shows the reality of deceptive promises and intimidating behavior from one of America’s most powerful unions, as well as the steps workers are taking to safeguard their rights from union bosses. “They’re supposed to protect us, but they just take our money and our voice,” says Erika, a San Francisco hotel worker who has been forced to pay dues for years. “The only time UNITE HERE would talk to us was when we would get paid.” Erika is not alone. Across the country, Maria, a Chicago Hilton worker, has faced the same intimidating behavior as UNITE HERE officials attempt to muscle into her workplace. The video detailing these heartbreaking experiences has already gone viral, amassing well over a million views.
Clark Atlanta launches labor institute to develop Black strategists for a renewed union movement
April 29, 2025 // Clark Atlanta University has partnered with national labor rights group Jobs With Justice to launch a first-of-its-kind academic center for training young Black and Brown labor movement leaders, on the belief that the South is the front line for revitalizing the US labor movement as a force in political democracy. The Labor Institute for the Advancement of Black Strategists is housed within the historically Black university’s W.E.B. Du Bois Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy.
Ex-Clearwater police union leader accused of tipping off drug dealers faces trial
April 27, 2025 // He is charged with misuse of public office for unlawful disclosure of criminal investigative information and unlawful use of two-way communications devices. He was released on bond from the Pinellas County Jail hours after posting $200,000 bail the night of his arrest. Hours later, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri held a news conference where he said Lise’s disclosures to Turner and Smith endangered the life of an undercover sheriff’s office detective who made nine purchases from their organization over the course of the investigation.
Backgrounder: Trump Civil Service Reform Proposed Rule
April 27, 2025 // On April 23, 2025, OPM proposed a new rule to improve accountability for federal career employees, especially those in policy roles. The rule implements President Trump’s Executive Order 14171, which he signed on his first day in office. Executive Order 14171 explicitly directed OPM to render civil service regulations implemented during the Biden administration inoperative, citing the President’s authority to manage the executive branch. Among other things, the rule would create a new job category called Schedule Policy/Career in the excepted service for policy-influencing positions, making them at-will employees and, therefore, meaningfully accountable for their performance and conduct.
Sen. Fazio to Union Boss ‘Don’t California My Connecticut’
April 12, 2025 // The evidence isn’t anecdotal anymore — it’s a nationwide pattern. According to the Heritage Foundation, “About 2.8 million more Americans moved out of high-tax states than moved to high-tax states between April 2020 and July 2023.” The migration wasn’t limited to CEOs and tech moguls: “This pattern is true of all income groups, though this pattern is especially true of those making $200,000 or more annually.” In fact, between 2020 and 2023, “The 10 states that have the highest taxes as a share of state GDP… lost 2.3 million residents,” while the 10 lowest-taxed states gained over 2.1 million. High-income individuals, the very people targeted by Connecticut’s proposed capital gains surcharge and mansion tax, are by far the most mobile: “There are nearly 60 people making $200,000 or more who move out of high-tax states for every 40 who move in.” These aren’t people looking to dodge minor inconveniences. They’re voting with their feet — despite the high costs of relocation
Minnesota Electric Utility Employee Challenges IBEW Nationwide Policy Coercing Worker Contributions to Union’s Political Activity
April 10, 2025 // An employee of Agralite Electric Cooperative, an electric utility company in Western Minnesota, has just filed federal charges against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) union, challenging nationwide restrictions union officials impose on workers who wish to cut off financial support for union political activities. The worker, Theresa Klassen, filed charges against both the IBEW international union and IBEW Local 160 at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 18 in Minneapolis. Klassen is represented for free by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.