Posts tagged Obama administration
Biden OSHA Revives Union-, Worker-Friendly Inspection Rep Rule
January 19, 2023 // “It was a backdoor way to unionize, outside the bargaining process,” Conn said, adding that she’s not surprised the policy is seeing a revival considering the Biden administration’s pro-union stance. Who Gets Say This OSHA rule could clarify the role of union representatives during inspections, said Steve Sallman, director of safety and health for the United Steelworkers. Employers with union workforces generally understand that their employees can designate a union local member to participate in an inspection, Sallman said. But there have been problems when a national union office sends a staff member who isn’t an employee at the workplace to participate in an inspection, Sallman said. Employers have refused to let national union representatives into worksites, sometimes leading to OSHA seeking a court order to allow the participation.
What Home-Based Care Agencies Should Know About The Independent Contractor Proposed Rul
November 29, 2022 // “In other words, just the ability to manage somebody that is not exercised in any way can be considered employment. I think that takes it a step too far. The question should really be about what is actually occurring, not what is possible.”
Is the Uber, Lyft and gig economy battle over workers nearing its end game?
October 17, 2022 // Proposed Department of Labor rules stop short of classifying Uber and Lyft drivers as employees. But the Biden administration’s pro-worker bias has analysts wondering what may come next in the battle over the gig economy and union momentum in the U.S. workforce. In a worst-case scenario, costs could rise as much as 30 percent for on-demand transportation companies just getting to break even, analyst says, and that means fares may rise as well.
If You Like Your Uber, Can You Keep Your Uber?
October 14, 2022 // Democratic administrations favor having fewer independent contractors and a standardized set of benefits. This gives more power to unions to organize workers. If Uber were the employer of all drivers, a union could ask Uber to support unionizing the labor force. It is practically impossible to organize independent contractors. Public sector unions made 90 percent of their contributions to Democratic candidates in the 2020 election cycle, according to OpenSecrets.com. With the share of wage and salary workers who belong to unions declining from 20 percent in 1983 to 10 percent in 2021, unions are under pressure to recruit more members to fund union officials’ salaries and member pension plans.
Rideshare, retailers brace for tough U.S. independent contractor rule
September 28, 2022 // The meetings at the White House were one-sided, with officials at OIRA letting groups speak and not participating or asking follow-up questions, several employer sources said. They are interpreting that as a sign the Biden administration's mind is made up. Some of the groups have been trying, and failing, to convince the White House that any broad rule would hurt workers who want to remain independent and have flexibility...More than one-third of U.S. workers, or nearly 60 million people, performed some sort of freelance work.
TSA Union Local Leader Gets House Arrest for Misappropriating Funds
September 1, 2022 // LeClair was charged with one count of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in April, and she pleaded guilty in June. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani sentenced her to six months of home confinement, followed by three years of probation, and ordered her to pay restitution in the amount she stole from AFGE. The maximum penalty for a federal wire fraud conviction is 20 years in prison.
Congress’ Vote on Delphi Pensions Bailout Shows Problem With Putting Unions Above Law
July 28, 2022 // Congress is set to vote this week on HR 6929 to retroactively bail out the pensions of about 20,000 former Delphi auto-parts employees who had their pensions reduced beginning in 2009. This proposed bailout, the Susan Muffley Act of 2022, is different in a number of ways from the recent no-strings-attached $97 billion bailout of about 250 select union pension plans, but it highlights the problem of lawmakers putting powerful unions above the law and requiring taxpayers to pay for their wrongdoing. Delphi Salaried Retirees Association, Bruce Gump, James Sherk, Todd Zywicki, Auto Bailout or UAW Bailout? Taxpayer Losses Came From Subsidizing Union Compensation,
OPM, NTEU offer recommendations to improve relationships between agencies, unions
July 22, 2022 // Earlier this year, the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment made 70 recommendations to enhance federal unions, including providing information on unions to federal employees and improving transparency. labor-management relations, Tony Reardon, Tim Curry, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Obama and Clinton administrations, Frontline employees
Department of Labor Rule – Coalition Letter
July 22, 2022 // The January 7, 2021 DOL rule has provided clarity to the decades-old economic realities test for the modern workforce, helping to apply determinations in light of the different types of work and technologies used to work and connect with customers today. Instead of removing this clear and sensible standard and attempting to diminish or eliminate independent contracting, we urge you to preserve paths to self-employment that allow tens of millions of working Americans, parents of children with special needs, workers seeking career changes, disabled workers and workers caring for disabled family members, and entrepreneurs growing small businesses of their own to pursue work on their own terms. Brent Wm. Gardner, Brandon Arnold, Grover Norquist, Michael J. Lotito, Greg Sindelar, Krisztina Pusok, Ph. D., The American Consumer, American Legislative Exchange Council, Lisa B. Nelson, Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Andrew F. Quinlan, Robert Fellner, Heather R. Higgins, Independent Women's Voice, Bethany Marcum, Alaska Policy Forum, Mike Stenhouse, Mike Hruby, New Jobs America, Paul Gessing, Rio Grande Foundation, Seton Motley, Less Government, Robert Alt, Steve Delie, Brian Minnich, Daniel Erspamer, Pelican Institute, Eric Peterson, Pelican Center for Technology and Innovation, Randy Hicks, Georgia Center for Opportunity, Alliance for Opportunity, Jeffrey Mazzella, Center for Individual Freedom, Douglas Carswell, Mississippi Center for Public Policy, David Williams, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Ryan Ellis, Center for a Free Economy, Phil Kerpen, American Commitment, James Taylor, The Heartland Institute, Adam Brandon, FreedomWorks, Elaine Parker, Job Creators Network Foundation, Brandon Dutcher, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Thomas A. Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste, Justin Owen, Beacon Center of Tennessee, Matthew Kandrach, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, Charles Mitchell, Commonwealth Foundation, James L. Martin, 60 Plus Association, Saulius “Saul” Anuzis, 60 Plus Association,
Congress thwarted Biden on unions. Or did it?
June 24, 2022 // “One of the biggest problems with this DOL is its obvious union favoritism,” the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), said at a hearing this month. “This department has bowed low enough before union bosses to taste dirt. How many times has the Biden administration’s DOL kowtowed before union bosses instead of standing up for workers?” From installing former union official Marty Walsh as Labor secretary, to outfitting the National Labor Relations Board with union alums, to issuing a spate of union-friendly executive orders, the White House has taken significant steps toward expanding union membership despite the challenges presented by a narrowly divided Congress. Steve Rosenthal, Rep. Donald Norcross, Shane Larson, Communication Workers of America, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Doug Parker, Alice Stock, Lauren McFerran, Bobby Scott, Nick Niedzwiadek