Posts tagged Mike Johnson
Commentary: Are Unions Rising from the Political Grave?
September 21, 2026 // Here again, however, there may be less than meets the eye. Despite its surprising bipartisan support, the FLCA would raise significant constitutional questions if enacted. By relying on a government-mandated arbitration panel to resolve labor disputes, the law effectively empowers the state to impose contractual terms on private parties—a form of what constitutional lawyers call “state action.” As attorneys Alex MacDonald and Vinnie Vernuccio observe: “[S]tate action opens the door to a slew of constitutional requirements and restrictions, notably to protect rights of free speech and association.”
Trump formally proposes pay freeze for most federal workers, 3.8% increase for law enforcement
September 1, 2026 // Trump first proposed the pay freeze as part of his fiscal 2027 budget proposal. Though the document was silent on federal employee compensation, officials with the Office of Management and Budget quickly clarified that its omission equated to a planned freeze for 2027. In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, dated Thursday, Trump said increasing most federal employees’ pay would be “unacceptable and unfair” given the inflation that occurred under the Biden administration. Inflation actually has risen from 2.8% when former President Biden left office to 3.3% as of last month.
Op-ed: How ‘pro-union conservatism’ is a win for the radical Left
August 14, 2026 // The AFL-CIO has funneled over $107 million to “Working America,” a voter canvassing operation affiliated with the union. Since 2015, the Service Employees International Union has sent nearly $39 million to “The Fairness Project,” a progressive ballot initiative operation that is currently working to defeat a proposed abortion ban in Hawley’s home state of Missouri. Union operatives see “organizing” a workplace to form a union as just another kind of political organizing that a professional left-wing activist would do, which is why, once they take control of workplaces and begin negotiating a contract with the employer, unions push their political objectives, not just workplace conditions.
Nation’s largest federal employee union campaigned against veterans benefits package
July 23, 2026 // The American Federation of Government Employees argued that the Republican-led legislation, which bundles together more than 60 veterans bills, contains partisan measures that will send more veterans to the private, for-profit health system outside the traditional VA network of hospitals and clinics for their care. The AFGE represents approximately 300,000 VA employees, according to the union. AFGE was joined by dozens of other labor unions opposing the bill.
These Republicans keep undermining Trump. This week proves it
June 11, 2026 // Specifically, the Faster Labor Contracts Act would empower a federal agency that Trump has called to eliminate. It could then impose a collective bargaining agreement on workers if the union and employer don’t reach an agreement within three months. But the workers wouldn’t even get a vote, fundamentally gutting workplace democracy. As Trump’s administration said in 2020, “Involuntary contracts that do not work for employees or their employers could force layoffs or even bankruptcies — ultimately, harming workers.” This bill is one of the Democrats’ top priorities. It should never be a priority for any Republican. Several of these Republicans pulled a similar stunt in January, when they killed House leadership’s plan to vote on the Save Local Business Act. The bill would have prevented a heavy-handed mandate from the Obama and Biden years that put many franchises, subcontractors, and small businesses at risk of layoffs or even closure. Yet LaLota said that he and his colleagues would only support a watered-down version. Trump has proposed a regulation that’s similar in intent to the legislation that was killed, yet by refusing to support the bill, these Republicans are all but ensuring that a future Democrat president will overturn this necessary reform.
Why Would Any Republican Support Forced Unionism?
June 9, 2026 // What makes this even more shocking is that President Trump has proposed completely eliminating the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which the bill would supercharge. The president understands that contracts imposed by government bureaucrats are more likely to be based on political than economic logic, and that negotiations are better left to the private parties. Ironically, government-imposed contracts are likely to harm the workers whose union bosses are pushing this idea. Because when economics don’t add up, it’s the workers who pay in layoffs, reduced hours and the diversion of capital investments that would have raised productivity. This risks broader economic disruption by creating a threat perception that, at any time, a single union request could trigger a government-enforced contract clock. That perception would tend to chill hiring and investing, especially by smaller businesses that can’t afford to fight out an arbitration battle.
Why Are Republicans Looking To Pass Obama-Era Forced Unionization Bill?
May 20, 2026 // Instead of contract bargaining, there would be “binding arbitration.” For 90 days, unions and employers would come to the table as normal and work toward an agreement. After that, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service could be called in to “mediate” the talks for an additional 30 days. If no agreement was reached, the agency gained the power to convene an arbitration panel that would write up a contract that bound both the union and the employer for two years. EFCA made unionization faster, but only by taking away checks that workers and employers had on union bosses. Today, unions are still pushing for the “binding arbitration” half of EFCA. It’s on the smorgasbord of provisions in the so-called PRO Act, a union-backed bill supported by all but a few congressional Democrats, and it’s central to the Faster Labor Contracts Act.
Commentary: Josh Hawley’s Pro-Union Bill Would Let Washington Write Your Contract
May 16, 2026 // A Hawley-backed bill, known as the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA), seems to be picking up steam and may soon pass the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, the FLCA is a trifecta of bad public policy: It suffers from constitutional infirmities, revives a corrupt government agency, and takes away the voice of both businesses and workers. Earlier this Congress, Hawley introduced the FLCA in the Senate, alongside one other Republican senator and three Democratic senators; he has since picked up another Republican and 10 more Democrats. Companion legislation in the House has 99 cosponsors, 17 of which are Republican.
DAVIS: An Example Of A Big Government Overreach We Seriously Do Not Need
May 1, 2026 // A Mercatus Center analysis of 147 studies over three decades found that when union contracts are driven by outside pressure rather than mutual agreement, the result is slower job growth, reduced business investment, and a higher likelihood of layoffs down the road. Big wins at the bargaining table, secured by outsized union leverage rather than cooperation, have a way of costing workers more than they gained. The FLCA also isn’t a new proposal. It is a single provision pulled from the PRO Act, the Democrats’ broad rewriting of labor law. That legislation has failed to make it into law for good reason—it would hurt the very workers it claims to protect.
Republican centrists and populists combine to kill series of GOP labor bills
January 14, 2026 // Several of the GOP rebels also expect a bill led by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) that was teed up for a vote later in the week will also be pulled. That bill, the Save Local Business Act, would amend which employers would be considered joint employers of workers who worked for a different employer. The AFL-CIO argued this week that the bill would let “big corporations hide behind complex business structures.”