Posts tagged Secretary of Labor
Business Group Alarmed by Rumored Candidate for Secretary of Labor
November 21, 2024 // CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen: “We were alarmed by press reports that President-Elect Trump is considering Rep. Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor given her past support of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which is a signature bill for President Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders and opposed by the vast majority of Republicans. The legislation has been repeatedly rejected on a bipartisan basis by Congress and opposed by business groups representing almost every industry, as was evident when 280 organizations signed onto a CDW letter opposing the bill in July 2021.
COMMENTARY: Don’t Let the Teamsters Pick the Labor Secretary
November 20, 2024 // It’s not as though congressional Republicans don’t have an alternative. The Employee Rights Act would protect secret-ballot elections, independent contracting, and franchising and prohibit union intimidation and the collection of personal information, while continuing to allow states to enact right-to-work laws. It has 84 Republican co-sponsors, and the latest two were added within the last week. Yet rather than support that bill that would build on conservative labor-policy successes, Chavez-DeRemer was one of only three Republicans who supported the PRO Act instead.
Report Rips Biden–Harris Labor Secretary Julie Su
September 23, 2024 // One individual used the name “Mr. Poopy Pants” on his official application and “received an approved claim.” Rapper Nuke Bizzle filed “92 fraudulent applications” and posted a video about the ease of ripping off California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) that gets a lot of attention in the “Widespread Fraud” report. “EDD, under leadership of Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) secretary Julie Su, made the decision early in the pandemic to ‘pay and chase’ after she was informed that keeping integrity checks in place would lead to a backlog in processing claims largely due to EDDs outdated IT,” the report says
Biden to sign executive order on labor standards during Michigan visit
September 6, 2024 // The White House touted Friday’s order as the latest step from Biden to prioritize workers and labor standards. The administration cited his creation of a Made in America office, a White House task force on worker organizing, a government rule to protect workers from extreme heat on the job and federal investments in apprenticeships. Biden’s trip to Michigan comes as he is increasing his travel, with a focus on his commitment to labor unions and his administration’s investments in communities across the country.
Open Rebellion Against Teamsters GP Sean O’Brien
August 21, 2024 // During the TNBC conference, Chris Silvera of Local 808 delivered a gruesome critique of O’Brien over his embracement of the pro Right-to-Work Trump. But more importantly, he also called on the members to make “the general president a one-term general president.” International vice president-at-large – John Palmer who was also present at the event received a great reception after being the first officer to openly lead the rebellion against O’Brien. Already following O’Brien’s fascistic speech at the RNC, Palmer announced he was seeking to build an opposition slate to unseat O’Brien and “send him back to the truck.” To the surprise of everyone, Joint Council (JC) 28 in the state of Washington headed by Western Region vice president – Rick Hicks, in a press release attacked Trump’s and Elon Musk’s union busting conversation, before endorsing Harris for president. The executive board of Local 186 led by Abel Garcia in Ventura CA became the first local of the largest joint council in the nation, JC 42, to also endorse Harris.
Commentary: Kamala Harris Is Bad News for Gig Workers
August 8, 2024 // Though framed as an overdue deliverance for besieged workers, AB 5 was a gift to labor bosses who dreamed of organizing California gig workers, especially ride-share drivers, and who lusted after the potential dues they could rake in. It was also one of the most-detested laws passed in California in memory. There was no grassroots movement behind AB 5, no uprising among freelancers. It was a top-down scheme fueled by union agitation and then, like so many other lousy public policies hatched in California, unleashed across the country. AB 5’s impact was immediate — and ugly. Workers’ opportunities were narrowed. Many lost their incomes. Businesses faced higher labor costs, and entrepreneurs felt the chill of the dead hand of activist policy-making. The promise of the gig economy, expected to expand globally by roughly 123 percent over the next five years, turned bleak in California. With their businesses in the balance, Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash generously funded a ballot initiative, Proposition 22, that would classify “drivers for app-based transportation (rideshare) and delivery companies as ‘independent contractors,’ not ‘employees.’” Voters approved it overwhelmingly. App-based drivers favored Prop. 22 — four out of five said they were “happy” that it passed, 76 percent said it “benefits me personally,” and 75 percent recommended that lawmakers pass “similar laws in other states so drivers across the country can benefit.”
COMMENTARY: Julie Su Subpoenaed Again After Failure to Comply with House Committee
May 9, 2024 // Julie Su has shown a flagrant disregard for congressional oversight. She already made clear that she does not believe Congress’s advice and consent is necessary for her to serve indefinitely as Acting Secretary, having sat in the position for over a year despite being rejected by the Senate. Now Su has shown repeatedly that she does not care about Congress’s power to request department records and hold the executive branch accountable for its actions.
Stalled Labor Pick Julie Su Lets Herself Off the Hook for California’s Missing Billions
April 2, 2024 // California’s auditor notes that the U.S. Department of Labor has issued helpful “guidance” for state finance officials in “Unemployment Insurance Program Letter 05-24.” Flip over to the U.S. Department of Labor’s DOL 05-24 letter and you learn what Julie Su is up to. The DOL memo says a Covid-era agreement between the feds and state unemployment departments “required states to use the CARES Act funds ‘for the purpose for which the money was paid to the state’ and to ‘take such action as reasonably may be necessary to recover for the account of the United States all benefit amounts erroneously paid and restore any lost or misapplied funds paid to the state for benefits or the administration of the Agreement.” But how will the federal DOL know whether states took “such action as reasonably necessary to recover” the billions stolen by fraudsters? Because the states will tell them so, or, as the DOL put it in inimitable Orwellian language: “Applying state finality laws to the CARES Act UC programs means that, in many instances, the state will not need to take retroactive action to resolve monitoring findings.”
Owens Leads Labor Union Transparency Bill
March 21, 2024 // Imagine a scenario where an employee, without the knowledge of their colleagues and employer, is receiving compensation from a union while advocating for its interests within the workplace,” said Congressman Burgess Owens “This deception not only breeds suspicion but also erodes the very foundation of trust and transparency between employers and employees. The #SALTAct seeks to address this issue by requiring union salts to disclose their affiliation with the Department of Labor, ensuring transparency and fairness in the workplace.”
IWF Signs Independent Contracting Coalition Letter
March 18, 2024 //