Posts tagged Senate
Rand Paul chooses ranking member slot at Senate HELP
November 12, 2026 // Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., announced Wednesday he plans to serve as the top Republican on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee when Democrats take control of Congress next year. The move clears the way for Senate Ethics Chairman James Lankford, R-Okla., to use his seniority to ascend to ranking Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which Paul currently chairs, and touches off several other shifts at the top of other committees.
Labor Unions Won Big on Election Day, With Ballot Initiatives and Friendly Politicians
November 9, 2026 // Perhaps most ominous are the developments at the federal level. Prior to the election, a bill called the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA) started to pick up steam in Congress. The legislation is sponsored by pro-union Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.) and has a handful of Republican supporters on Capitol Hill. The FLCA cleared the House of Representatives but so far has stalled out in the Senate due to lack of votes. But now, depending on how the remaining uncalled Senate races shake out, the FLCA may be within a stone's throw of President Donald Trump's desk. If Democrats secure 56 seats in the Senate, that puts theoretical support for the FLCA at 58 votes once Republican support is factored in (in addition to Hawley, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R–Ohio) is also a co-sponsor of the FLCA).
(Language Alert) Commentary: Will Labor Strike to Overcome Trump’s Vetos?
November 5, 2026 // CWA Local 7250 President Kieran Knutson, who launched the call for the Minneapolis General Strike with four local union presidents, said that labor must keep the option of striking on the table. “Labor has to start understanding that elections may change who is in office, but our ultimate power comes from our numbers and our leverage as workers,” Knutson told Payday Report. “We need to make that leverage a permanent part of our arsenal - not just during contract expiration or first Tuesday in November.”
Teamsters Voted Trump. O’Brien is Still Sending Their Dues to Democrats Anyway.
November 4, 2026 // No Teamsters financial support went to Sen. Moody or Sen. Marshall this cycle. Meanwhile, Teamsters' PAC, DRIVE, was sending checks to the two biggest Democratic super PACs fighting for control of Congress: $300,000 to Senate Majority PAC in September and $500,000 to House Majority PAC in October. That's $800,000 aimed at handing Chuck Schumer the Senate and Hakeem Jeffries the Speaker's gavel. O'Brien endorsed Marshall on September 3. Two weeks later, DRIVE sent $300,000 to the super PAC whose whole purpose is flipping Republican Senate seats. Then on October 6, DRIVE gave half a million dollars to House Majority PAC, the group that exists to defeat House Republicans like Mike Lawler. Sixteen days after that, O'Brien was standing next to Lawler calling him a friend of labor.
Commentary Mailee Smith: Federal labor bill could force social agendas into private school contracts
October 8, 2026 // A union that organizes employees with the intent of ultimately closing their schools also is capable of organizing a private school with the intent of introducing drastic contract provisions, especially when those provisions already have been demanded in its other contracts. The FLCA would give teachers unions an additional tool in their arsenal against anything that isn’t a traditional public school.
Editorial Board: Congress wants faster union contracts — except for its own staff
October 8, 2026 // Nicole Waring, the shop steward in Khanna’s office, explained why it took so long. “There’s a lot of back and forth. It takes time to review each passback of the contract [and] redline everything,” she told Politico. “The biggest thing was we wanted to make sure that this contract would be governable, and rather than just make things convenient and take shortcuts, make sure that it was going to be something that we knew would stand the test of time.” Other staff explained that going slowly was important because union contracts are binding and directly affect workers’ lives. They noted the unique workplace circumstances of a congressional office. Here’s the thing: Every workplace is unique. Every union contract directly affects workers’ lives. And that’s why the government should never force a contract on people without their consent.
Editorial: Against the Hollywood bailout
October 1, 2026 // The greatest job decline after Covid was in 2023, before Hollywood’s chief competitor, the U.K., expanded its film subsidies. That was the year of the industry’s “double strike,” when actors and writers simultaneously walked off studio lots for months. Hundreds of projects were delayed or outright canceled as filming rolled to a halt, costing the entertainment industry billions of dollars. When studios finally signed contracts to end the strikes, they had to accept unions’ core demands, ballooning their compensation in perpetuity. Is it any wonder they have looked to film elsewhere? The proposed federal tax credit would bail out the union workers who bargained for more than they were worth. It would subsidize almost all labor costs — for employees and contractors, both pre-production and post-production — of film crews, animators, special-effects artists, writers, actors, and even producers and directors. There are no limits on eligible compensation, so taxpayers would pick up a good chunk of the salaries of Christopher Nolan and Tom Cruise.
Vinnie Vernuccio: Labor reform finally has congressional momentum
September 30, 2026 // Those reforms will take time to pass, whereas ending racist or sexually harassing language in unionization campaigns should be easy to get across the finish line soon. Clearly, Congress is capable of rallying behind pro-worker labor reforms. The House’s bipartisan passage of the Ending Predator Access to Union Power Act proves it, and hopefully it will clear the Senate soon.
Reed Larson built a movement for the long fight
September 24, 2026 // As union membership continues a decadeslong decline, nearing historic lows, union officials are spending billions on politics every election cycle. Traditionally, Democrats have been the main recipients of union political funding. However, major unions, notably the Teamsters, have begun to turn toward populist Republicans to advance their legislative agenda. Teamsters head Sean O’Brien has taken up with Republicans such as Sen. Josh Hawley (MO), who, along with union-label Democrats, introduced the Teamsters-endorsed FLCA into the Senate.
Opinion This Labor Day, Respect the Right to Join (or Not) a Union
September 8, 2026 // In that scenario, regulators should consider holding a new vote on whether current workers want a union. While it would be legal for the earlier group’s vote to bind the new hires, it may not be fair because the new workers may have a different opinion. This needs to be resolved before the union is established. Federal law has long been stacked against workers who seek to decertify unions that don’t represent their interests because that decertification has to be done through the union itself. Unsurprisingly, many unions will oppose their own members in these situations. If the workers are truly united in favor of a union, they will get one eventually. And if they aren’t united in favor of one, that wish should be respected, too. It should be the workers’ choice, after all.