Posts tagged Joe Biden
Unions face a moment of truth in Michigan in this year’s presidential race
October 18, 2024 // Union leaders have said his first term was far from worker-friendly, citing unfavorable rulings from the nation’s top labor board and the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as unfulfilled promises of automotive jobs. They emphasize Democratic achievements in states like Michigan, including the recent repeal of a union-restricting right-to-work law enacted over a decade ago by a Republican-controlled legislature. With membership dwindling in states like Michigan, Fain will need to attract more than just union workers to secure a victory for Harris, who has campaigned in the state alongside him. If the union president cannot deliver Michigan after all these efforts, it could raise questions about his union's political influence in future elections.
Harris faces challenge with union voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania
October 9, 2024 // One labor official who requested anonymity said many members of his union come from more culturally conservative households and aren’t very familiar with Harris’s record on labor issues. “We have a lot of Republicans in our membership,” the official said, adding that union members reflect society’s spectrum of different political views. That diversity within union membership, however, didn’t stop labor groups from embracing Biden in 2020, as well as Clinton in 2016 and former President Obama in 2012 and 2008.
Proposed federal pay adjustment could boost wages for thousands of blue-collar feds
October 9, 2024 // Geographically, based on the proposal, OPM’s regulations would give federal pay increases mainly to FWS employees working in Alabama, California, Maine, Maryland and Pennsylvania. In particular, the proposed regulations would most prominently impact federal employees working at three major military installations: Tobyhanna, Letterkenny and Anniston Army Depots. The challenges leading to the persistent federal pay disparities are two-fold. In some cases, there are differences between blue-collar FWS employees and white-collar GS employees. In other cases, there are pay disparities among FWS employees working within the same wage area, OPM explained.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien eviscerates the Democratic Party: ‘They have f**** us over for the last 40 years’
October 8, 2024 // 'I'm a Democrat but they have f***** us over for the last 40 years and for once we're standing up as a union saying what the f*** have you done for us?' O'Brien said in scathing remarks. 'I'm getting attacked from the left you know and since I've been in office over two and a half years we've given the Democratic machine $15.7 million. 'We've given Republicans about $340,000 truth be told, so it's like you know people say the Democratic party is the party of working people, but they're actually bought and paid for by big tech,' O'Brien explained.
Dockworkers strike suspended, tentative agreement includes 62% pay raise over 6 years
October 4, 2024 // The tentative agreement would increase workers’ wages by 62% over the life of the 6-year contract, sources familiar confirm to ABC News. This represents a significant increase from the shipping industry group’s offer of a 50% wage increase earlier this week. The union had been pushing for a 77% pay hike over six years.
Op-Ed: Biden’s Longshoreman Strike
October 3, 2024 // American ports are less efficient than most in the world owing to union work rules and restrictions on automation.
Port Strike Leader Harold Daggett and ILA Union’s Political Donations
October 3, 2024 // In 2022, the PAC contributed nearly double, with $220,000 to Democratic candidates and $13,500 to Republicans. In the last 10 years, most annual contributions have averaged under $200,000—significantly less than in previous decades. In 2000, the PAC gave $562,300 to Democrats and $41,750 to Republicans, a total of $607,050. The largest individual campaign donations at the time were $18,000 to then-Democratic Whip David Bonior. A separately registered ILA PAC identifies North Bergen, New Jersey—where the union is headquartered—in its name. Similarly, the PAC contributes to campaigns and other PACs, making several small donations to state and U.S. House races. In 2020, it donated $5,000 to Biden's presidential campaign and $50,000 to a general majority PAC, according to OpenSecrets.
Biden Backs ILA Strikers Warning Shippers on Price Spikes
October 2, 2024 // “Now is not the time for ocean carriers to refuse to negotiate a fair wage for these essential workers while raking in record profits,” Biden said in a statement from the White House. “My administration will be monitoring any price gouging activity that benefits foreign ocean carriers, including those on the USMX board.”
CNN’s Harry Enten Has Very Bad Union News for Harris, Polling Shows How Much Trouble She’s In
October 1, 2024 // That's not going to be good for her, particularly in the Rust Belt. I wrote about some of the trouble they were having there earlier, in Michigan, including with polling that Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) was warning them about. If we look at what union members were telling MSNBC were their concerns -- jobs and illegal immigration -- you can see why they would more naturally gravitate to Trump, versus Harris. It's also why Trump might have more of a pull for members than a regular Republican out of central casting migh
In swing states that once went for Trump, unions organize to prevent a repeat
October 1, 2024 // This year, UNITE HERE says it is once again mobilizing its members and plans to knock on more than 3 million doors in Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan “to ensure that Kamala Harris wins the presidency.” In Wisconsin, the Laborers are building political messaging into a union project to engage members more closely, “connecting union members with other union members,” Miller said, to explain how negotiations affect wages and health and retirement benefits, as well as the importance of increasing union representation.