Posts tagged Republicans
Wages are rising. Jobs are plentiful. Nobody’s happy.
November 21, 2023 //
Biden-backed wind power company cancels New Jersey projects despite $1B in subsidies
November 1, 2023 // Under the Inflation Reduction Act, renewable developers stand to receive tax credits of up to 30% for qualifying investments that use union labor, and more credits if the project meets additional criteria. White House spokesperson Michael Kikukawa said in a statement that “momentum remains on the side of an expanding US offshore wind industry,” despite the collapse of the Ocean Wind project. “While macroeconomic headwinds are creating challenges for some projects, momentum remains on the side of an expanding U.S. offshore wind industry — creating good-paying union jobs in manufacturing, shipbuilding, and construction; strengthening the power grid; and providing new clean energy resources for American families and businesses,” Kikukawa said.
Working Families Party kicks off first-ever national convention in Philadelphia
October 11, 2023 // The convention began in Philadelphia Friday night with hundreds of members, who came from Pennsylvania, New York and the party’s 19 state chapters nationwide, in attendance. Local and federal lawmakers joined national party leaders, labor leaders and community organizers at the Downtown Sonesta hotel to celebrate the party’s growth over the past 25 years – and to discuss its future. The progressive Working Families Party, established in New York in 1998, aligns itself with major labor unions and grassroots community organizations. The party’s priorities include fairer treatment of workers, a higher minimum wage, universal paid sick leave and more equitable education, environmental and tax reforms. Despite its progressive leanings, the party has consistently punched above its weight in recent elections. WFP has endorsed and campaigned for President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, and Gov. Josh Shapiro – and recently announced an endorsement of Judge Daniel McCaffery, the Democratic candidate for state Supreme Court, one of this year’s most contested races.
Biden ESG rule survives challenge from 25 red states
September 24, 2023 // Kacsmaryk’s 14-page ruling rejects the red states’ argument that the environmental and sustainable governance (ESG) rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Employment Retirement Income Security Act, which regulates retirement plans. He wrote that the Biden administration rule still complies with those statutes, because it prioritizes financial considerations over environmental ones and thus has no “overarching regulatory bias in favor of ESG strategies.” “[W]hile the Court is not unsympathetic to Plaintiffs’ concerns over ESG investing trends, it need not condone ESG investing generally or ultimately agree with the Rule to reach this conclusion,” he wrote.
As Democrats back auto workers, GOP spots a divide over EVs
September 18, 2023 // The administration has been doling out funding provided by the 2021 infrastructure law for electric vehicle charging infrastructure and giving tax credits for electric vehicle buyers enacted in a 2022 reconciliation bill. Autoworkers see the push to electric vehicles as resulting in jobs in non-union factories in the U.S. and abroad, a contradiction of Biden’s promises to boost domestic manufacturing. The workers are also disgruntled about the EPA’s proposed rule on tailpipe emissions. The walkout began after the carmakers’ offers failed to meet the UAW’s demands for a double-digit wage increase over four years, reinstatement of cost-of-living pay increases, and more paid time off.
UAW strike 2023 against Detroit automakers: Live updates, news from the picket sites
September 15, 2023 //
Newsom in the hot seat after California passes bill to give striking workers unemployment benefits
September 15, 2023 // At an event hosted by Politico on Tuesday, the governor expressed concerns about the unemployment insurance fund's debt but didn't say whether he would veto the bill. California's unemployment fund is more than $18 billion in debt after it borrowed money from the federal government to pay for unemployment benefits. "I think one has to be cautious about that before you enter the conversation about expanding its utilization," Newsom said. Democrats, on the other hand, have been voicing their support for the unions.
As Hollywood strike drags on, Biden’s relationship with unions becomes complicated
September 6, 2023 // For example, in the 2020 election, labor unions contributed $27.5 million to Biden’s campaign while his opponent, former President Donald Trump, received less than $360,000, according to Open Secrets. The states with the largest concentration of union workers are hardline Democratic states, like Hawaii, New York, Washington, Oregon, New Jersey and California. In 2022, 10.1% of American wage and salary workers belonged to unions compared to 20.1%, in 1983, signifying a large drop in membership. But this hasn’t translated to a drop in popularity for unions, at least according to recent polls.
Labor leader Shuler touts union support as possible auto strikes loom
September 1, 2023 // Unions would support President Joe Biden in his reelection campaign next year, Shuler said, praising the president’s work to deliver federal infrastructure spending. Biden campaigned on infrastructure improvements and supported the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law Congress passed in 2021. The law supports millions of jobs, she said, not only in construction and transportation but in the service industry as well. Every job created by the federal spending should be a union position, Shuler said.
What You Need To Know About Gen Z’s Support for Unions
August 10, 2023 // Nevertheless, to sustain a lasting revival of union membership in the United States over the coming years as today’s young workers make up an increasing share of the workforce, it is imperative for lawmakers to pass measures that would help these workers exercise their right to come together in collective bargaining. Congress has a number of measures that it could pass to help workers of all generations form unions without corporate interference, such as the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which would strengthen workers’ legal organizing protections. Young workers need policymakers who champion their right to speak up on the job.