Posts tagged Senate
10 Questions Julie Su Is Afraid to Answer in Front of the American People
February 27, 2024 // Under the rule of Chairman Bernie Sanders, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will instead hold a closed-door executive session to rubber-stamp Su’s nomination. It does not appear that Senators will have any opportunity to question the nominee––in fact, she likely won’t even be required to appear in person. Moreover, as the HELP website states, “There is no video broadcast for this event.”
Biden Takes a Destructive California Idea National
February 4, 2024 // The Biden administration appears undeterred by the lessons of recent history. The California law unleashed chaos in the state’s politics and courts. Politicians delegated to union leaders the power to hand out exemptions to politically favored groups. Lawyers, doctors, psychologists, dentists, podiatrists — almost anybody with an advanced degree was exempt. When newspapers editorialized against the new law — noting that they rely on freelance photographers, reporters, editors, designers, and delivery people — they, too, were excluded from the new regulations. Suddenly free from the dead hand of state regulators, the newspapers turned as one and editorialized in favor of the new law. A federal judge said the process was shot through with “corruption,” “backroom dealing,” “pure spite,” and “naked favoritism.” But more important, A.B. 5 crushed tens of thousands of California business owners — those who operate as independent contractors as well as those who employ or otherwise rely on them. Now Biden and Su plan to bring the crazy to every American state.
US House Votes to Repeal Labor Board Rule on Contract, Franchise Workers
January 16, 2024 // The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to repeal a federal labor board rule set to take effect in February that would treat companies as the employers of many contract and franchise workers and require them to bargain with those workers’ unions. The House voted 206-177 to nix the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule, which has been heavily criticized by business groups. The vote sends the proposal to the Senate where Democrats hold a one-seat majority but Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, has said he opposes the rule.
Opinion: Senate minimum wage bills make bipartisan compromise possible
January 7, 2024 // Setting a national minimum wage is difficult politically. State and local economies vary significantly . For example, both average salaries and cost of living in states with the highest, Massachusetts and Hawaii, respectively, are more than 70% greater than in Mississippi, one of the poorest, where the average salary is $45,000 and the cost of living is $32,000. As of Monday, 22 states increased their minimum wages, raising pay for an estimated 9.9 million workers and resulting in $6.95 billion in additional income, the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute estimates. Minimum wages in Maryland, New Jersey, and upstate New York reached or exceeded $15 an hour for the first time, joining California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington, and the rest of New York. Seven more states have passed legislation or ballot measures to reach or surpass $15 an hour in the coming years: Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Washington has the highest state minimum wage, increased from $15.74 to $16.28 due to an inflation adjustment. Still, by increasing the federal minimum to $17 an hour over five years, the Democrats’ Raise the Wage Act of 2023 would affect 28 million workers,
The Biden Administration’s Anti-Worker Policies Set to Fail Again
December 28, 2023 // “Conservatives in Congress are holding the line against President Biden’s desire to make California labor policies a standard for the entire Nation. This latest rejection of President Biden’s pick for labor secretary is another reminder to President Biden that restrictive contracting laws, high minimum wage requirements, and excessive regulations on small businesses do not put American workers first. These disastrous, anti-worker policies are why people are leaving California in droves, and we should not export them to the entire country.”
Senate left without voting to confirm Julie Su as labor secretary. She’ll stay on the job though.
December 26, 2023 // “We are going to be very clear — Julie Su will be renominated (as) Secretary of Labor in the new year. That is something that we are committed to,” said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. Sen. Bill Cassidy, top Republican on the committee that would first have to approve the nomination, remained opposed to Su as secretary. Democrats have a committee majority, and control 51 Senate votes, but have been unable to get enough votes to formally confirm Su. Cassidy, R-La., said in a statement last week that “We need a qualified Secretary of Labor who can impartially enforce the law, properly manage a department, and refrain from partisan activism. Ms. Su failed to show her ability to do any of those three thing “It is clear Ms. Su lacks the necessary votes for confirmation. I urge President Biden to put forward a nominee who is committed to fair enforcement of our nation’s labor laws and is capable of being confirmed in the Senate.”
After years of setbacks, California legislative workers win the right to unionize
October 9, 2023 // Several factors gave supporters hope this year. Chief among them was the Legislature’s leftward shift after the 2022 midterm election, which brought in a fresh class of diverse, progressive and labor-friendly Democrats. McKinnor amassed 42 co-authors from both chambers, including Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Senator Dave Cortese (D-Santa Clara), chair of the Senate labor committee. Last month, California lawmakers in both chambers approved AB 1 by more than a two-thirds majority. Many of the Democrats champion unions and labor issues, a point of contention among some staffers who argued the members should play by the same rules as the rest of California’s employers.
Biden Bypasses Senate Confirmation in Labor’s Julie Su
October 3, 2023 // According to the GAO, she can stay in the top Labor Department post without Senate confirmation. That effectively cuts out the voters and sets a poor precedent. Now, should some federal secretary depart, the president need only appoint an “acting” replacement. According to the Government Accountability Office, that person can avoid Senate confirmation and remain on the job, regardless of their suitability for the post.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom to name former Kamala Harris advisor to Feinstein Senate seat
October 2, 2023 // Butler's biography on the Emily's List says she currently lives in Maryland, but that line was deleted from the website Sunday evening within hours of the news of her appointment. Newsom's office told ABC News that Butler moved to the Washington D.C. area when she became president of EMILY's List in 2021 but she is a longtime resident and homeowner in California, and will re-register in the state before being sworn in.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IGNORES PROTOCOL – INSTALLS UNCONFIRMED ACTING LABOR SECRETARY JULIE SU TO PRESIDENTIAL LINE OF SUCCESSION
September 25, 2023 // “Beyond keeping Su as Acting Secretary, she’s been added to the official Cabinet webpage in the presidential line of succession — ahead of sitting Cabinet members who actually received a vote of confirmation.” Withe concluded, “President Biden champions himself the most pro-union president in our nation’s history — but what he really means is that he’s been bought and paid for by Big Labor bosses for his entire career, and now those labor leaders are calling in their favors.”