Posts tagged Lisa Murkowski
Pro-Union Shift Expected With Labor Board Member’s Pending Exit
August 21, 2023 // Abruzzo has asked the board to resurrect the Joy Silk doctrine—which would allow unions to bypass an official NLRB election with a card-check vote instead—and overturn the 1940’s Babcock & Wilcox ruling to make captive audience meetings unlawful. In another pending case, the board also may decide the fate of the 1970 Ex-Cell-O precedent, which prohibits the NLRB from forcing companies or unions to accept provisions of a collective bargaining agreement. Overturning that decision would allow the board to levy financial remedies against companies to compensate workers for what they could’ve earned with good-faith contract negotiations. The NLRB’s August agenda also includes finalizing regulations to expand the factors that can trigger a joint-employer finding. The rule, proposed nearly a year ago, would eliminate the stricter joint employment standard established by the Trump-era board. Other pending cases could boost the potency of worker strikes, expand the scope of labor law protections, and make other changes that bolster worker and union power.
‘Good for Nobody’: The Biden Cabinet Pick Who Can’t Even Get a Vote
June 23, 2023 // But Su, who has long been championed by progressives and labor unions, has attracted the ire of business groups and the right, where deep-pocketed groups are putting pressure on senators to reject her nomination. Given that Manchin, Sinema, and Tester could face difficult elections next year, that pressure could be very persuasive. For Biden, the stakes are high. He has made a case for himself as the most pro-organized labor president in generations, and the Department of Labor is a key cabinet post for advancing his policies. If Su’s nomination withers, it could be a blow to his labor agenda. Beyond that, a failure to confirm Su would certainly be a hit to the perception of Biden’s juice on Capitol Hill. In his presidency so far, he has only withdrawn one Cabinet-level nominee, Neera Tanden, his initial pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget. It would also likely pour some cold water on progressives’ ambitions to expand their influence at the high echelons of the Biden administration.