Posts tagged White House
GOP Senators Push Bills to Modernize Labor Laws
November 10, 2025 // The proposed bills aim to bring outdated labor statutes into the 21st century by addressing how work is done today rather than how work was done nearly a century ago, according to the senators who introduced the bills. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led the effort with support from Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Tim Scott, R-S.C.
Americans for Fair Treatment: AFFT v. USPS – Re-Processed Documents
November 6, 2025 // Through 3.5 years of FOIA litigation, Americans for Fair Treatment (AFFT) obtained 519 pages of initially hidden and then redacted USPS records concerning Project T—the White House’s COVID-19 test kit distribution program. Newly released material clarifies coordination between the USPS and the White House, revealing extensive White House involvement in program design, privacy policy, and communications with Congress.
America Doesn’t Have Enough Weapons for a Major Conflict. These Workers Know Why.
October 28, 2025 // Historically, in the fight against their bosses, unions have had only one real weapon to wield: their numbers. The primary goal of a labor strike is to blockade production and inflict pain on the company so that it will negotiate better terms. But in Orlando, it was hard for the union to enlist enough workers for the fight. Florida is a “right to work” state, meaning that union membership is optional. Workers in an organized factory are free to return to their stations and get back to work, leaving everyone else on the picket line to fight for a contract that would eventually apply to everyone.
Union Lawsuit Challenges NASA National Security Rebrand
October 27, 2025 // The IFPTE lawsuit, filed earlier this month, challenges the White House’s assertion that national security is NASA’s “primary function,” adding that NASA has been collectively bargaining with IFPTE local unions for over 60 years and “at no time has such bargaining ever been questioned as inconsistent with national security.” It argues that President Donald Trump’s actions exceed his authority and unfairly target the union, which has publicly protested the administration’s cuts at the agency. IFPTE represents approximately 6,000 employees at NASA. The lawsuit follows an August executive order that bars some agencies — including NASA and parts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — from engaging in collective bargaining on the grounds that negotiating union contracts could hinder agencies’ ability to operate effectively and quickly, creating a national security risk.
How are unions pushing back against Trump’s attacks on labor and layoffs?
October 21, 2025 // Unions are battling the administration in federal courtrooms nationwide, after filing dozens of lawsuits to try to halt attempts to shed hundreds of thousands of government employees, strip collective bargaining rights from over a million workers, and gut some federal agencies. On Wednesday, they made a significant breakthrough: Judge Susan Illston, of the US district court’s northern district of California, granted a temporary restraining order blocking Trump’s latest mass layoffs from the government shutdown.
White House may nix pay for workers furloughed during shutdown
October 9, 2025 // Mark Paoletta, the OMB general counsel, wrote that the 2019 law is “not self-executing” and requires further appropriations to pay furloughed workers as part of stopgap legislation to end the funding lapse. The memo, which is labeled “pre-decisional and deliberative,” says that the requirement for “excepted” employees to keep working creates “binding legal obligations” to pay those workers. On the other hand, Paoletta writes there is no such obligation for furloughed workers who were “not performing services for the government” during the shutdown.
AI Needs Data Centers—and People to Build Them
October 6, 2025 // That brings us to the second tool for expanding the skilled workforce: convincing more people to pursue a career in the trades. Here, policymakers should tap into the vast potential workforce among young men released from prison for nonviolent offenses by expanding inmates’ access to vocational education. Only a small fraction of this group currently receives such training. And to train more would-be tradesmen in general, we need to make training more effective—and more interesting. Technology can help here, too. Leading construction-equipment makers already use virtual reality and augmented-reality systems for their training simulators. Tests show VR training significantly improves users’ training-completion and employment outcomes.
White House withdraws Antoni’s nomination to lead BLS
October 1, 2025 // “Dr. EJ Antoni is a brilliant economist and an American patriot that will continue to do good work on behalf of our great country," a White House official said in a statement, promising the president will announce a new nominee "very soon." The Senate committee overseeing the Labor Department never scheduled a confirmation hearing, and on Tuesday, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she remained concerned about Antoni's nomination. A person familiar with the nomination said several other Republicans expressed similar hesitation.
Federal workers unions call on Schumer, Jeffries to hold the line even if it means a shutdown
September 30, 2025 // In a letter to minority leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Federal Unionists Network and 35 local, council and national unions urged the Democrats to reject any proposal that cuts health care, social security, Veterans’ Affairs and scientific agencies. “We are directly impacted when the government shuts down: our members would no longer be able to work, get paid, or fulfill their mission of serving the American public,” the letter states. “But we believe the most important thing is fighting against the centralization of executive power and for the long-term survival of the critical services the federal government provides, even if that means allowing the government to temporarily shut down.” The American Federation of Government Employees — the largest federal union representing 820,000 federal workers — is not a signatory on the letter.
Long Island Railroad Unionized Employees Are Ready to Strike on September 18
September 9, 2025 // Five unions could participate in the strike, representing about half of LIRR’s 7,000 employees. Two groups – the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers – began voting this week to organize the protest, while two others – the Transportation Communications Union and the International Association of Machinists – had already decided to do so a month ago. It is unclear whether the fifth and final union, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, will join the initiative. A month ago, the unions rejected an offer of a 9.5% pay increase over three years, which had been agreed upon by some LIRR and MTA employees.