Posts tagged Trump Administration
America’s Largest Teachers’ Union Prizes Activism Over Education
April 2, 2026 // Members of America’s largest teachers’ union, the National Education Association (NEA), were back in training in February, this time for a confidential webinar entitled “Advocacy and Free Speech Rights for K-12 Educators.” The leaked slide deck, posted by the watchdog group Defending Education, reveals that the NEA is less focused on American students’ stagnant test scores than on training its members to become activists, while using misinterpretations of the First Amendment as a shield.
Op-ed: New Options for Your 401(k)
April 1, 2026 // The law doesn’t allow ulterior motives to infect plan investments. The duty to invest for the sole financial benefit of plan participants doesn’t allow fiduciaries to pursue political agendas or engage in self-dealing. The Labor Department will be ready to enforce the law if plan fiduciaries act with a disloyal motive or threaten the retirement security of American workers. The department isn’t promoting any particular investment option. We aren’t picking winners and losers. We are leveling the playing field so that plan fiduciaries can exercise their judgment—selecting plan investments without fear of undue liability. We are applying the principle-based rules that the law requires.
The Trump administration paid these employees not to work for more than a year. It just called them back
March 26, 2026 // “The department made the choice to bring these employees back to work to focus on other, non-DEI related tasks,” the spokesperson said. “To be good stewards of taxpayer money, it was common-sense to repurpose these employees to carry out the department's mission. We are proud to say the department will no longer push a woke agenda like DEI initiatives which were designed in the previous administration to divide America.” In the intervening year, employees who did not seek other employment frequently felt like they were on the verge of losing theirs. “The year has been marked with depression and anxiety,” the employee said. “We would hear rumblings that something would happen ‘soon’ but that would be said several times and nothing would happen.”
Largest federal workers union warns ICE agents are not trained to replace TSA and putting them in airports ‘does not fill a gap. It creates one’
March 24, 2026 // TSA officers’ call-out rates reached their highest level of the shutdown on Sunday, with 11.76% of workers, or more than 3,450 employees, not showing up to work, DHS data showed. That included about 40% of TSA officers from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to DHS data.
United Auto Workers units finalize agreements with UC, avoid strike
March 24, 2026 // The three units – UAW Local 4811’s academic student employees unit, Research and Public Service Professionals-UAW and Student Services and Advising Professionals-UAW – represent more than 40,000 UC academic and research employees, including teaching assistants. The ratification marks SSAP-UAW and RPSP-UAW’s first contracts with the University, while UAW Local 4811’s previous contract expired Feb. 28. About 89% of academic student employees across the UC – and 85% at UCLA – voted to ratify the contract, as well as 98% of RPSPs and 99% of SSAPs, according to an email sent to UAW Local 4811 members.
Vinnie Vernuccio: Trump’s new union transparency tool is a game changer for workers
March 21, 2026 // Less than $600. That’s how much taxpayer money the Trump administration just spent to give American workers more of the transparency they deserve. On March 17, the Department of Labor rolled out an improved system — www.unionreports.gov — that lets workers quickly see how labor unions are spending their members’ dues. This information is essential to helping workers decide if unionization is right for them. The new transparency system is surely one of the most efficient and effective uses of taxpayer dollars in American history.
US Department of Labor launches data visualization tool for union reporting forms, providing valuable insight on union spending
March 19, 2026 // The data visualization tool release follows the department’s launch of a modern open data portal at data.dol.gov that is providing more transparency and efficiency for users to access data related to the American workforce. Both updates help bring the department into alignment with the Federal Data Strategy established during President Trump’s first administration.
Union sues Trump admin. alleging workers lost jobs because they are immigrants
March 17, 2026 // The workers claim they lost their jobs because they are immigrants. Advertisement All four worked as cabin cleaners and had what were called "Customs access seals." These seals allowed individuals, such as airport workers, to enter U.S. Customs and Border Protection security areas within the airport.
Commentary: The Federal Government Just Moved to Restore the Owner-Operator Model – Here Is What Actually Changed, What Did Not, and What You Still Need to Watch
March 16, 2026 // Three times in five years. That is how many times the federal standard governing whether an owner-operator is legally classified as an independent contractor or an employee has fundamentally shifted under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The 2021 Trump rule. The 2024 Biden rule. And now, on February 27, 2026, the Department of Labor’s formal proposal to rescind the 2024 rule and return to something close to the 2021 framework. Each time this pendulum swings, the trucking industry produces a wave of celebration or alarm depending on which direction it moved. The industry’s reaction to this latest move has been heavily celebratory — and not without reason. But if you are running a small fleet or operating as an owner-operator, the celebration needs to come with a clear-eyed understanding of what this rule change actually does, what it does not do, and where the real risk to your business model still sits.