Trump Administration’s Proposed Reversal of Contraceptive Services Coverage Is Wrong for Working Women and Families
The Donald Trump administration’s draft proposal to reverse the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employers and health plans cover most contraceptive services at no cost is wrong for working women and families. The draft as written allows any employer—whether a church, a non-profit related to a church, or a for-profit corporation—that has any moral or religious objection to choose not to cover these contraceptive services. It also exempts any insurance company with a moral or religious objection from covering contraceptive services.
The AFL-CIO has long been committed to ensuring that women have the right to quality health care, including equal access to contraception, and the ability to exercise that right regardless of where they work. When the U.S. Supreme Court undermined that right in its 2014 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the AFL-CIO objected to the expansion of employers’ ability to restrict working women’s rights to contraceptive services and the unprecedented extension of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Trump administration now relies on that same act to expand dramatically what kind of objections to providing contraceptive services may be made and which entities may raise them. And the administration’s expansive reading of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act threatens the LGBTQ community as well, in light of state and federal laws proposing religious exemptions from marriage equality and anti-discrimination laws.
The National Women’s Law Center, the National Partnership for Women & Families and the ACLU have condemned the proposal because it threatens the health and economic security of working people. The AFL-CIO is joining with them and others to stop this proposed change before it can do real harm.
The rights of working people to contraceptive equity and health care are protected by federal anti-discrimination laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Working people who come together in union to negotiate fair pay and fair treatment on the job also have created contractual rights to contraceptive coverage and against workplace discrimination. The administration’s proposal ignores those rights, and that it cannot do.
The draft proposal is part of a larger assault on civil and human rights. The AFL-CIO recently joined the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and more than 100 other organizations in signing a letter calling for an end to this assault.
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 06/09/2017 - 10:33New U.N Report: Working People's Freedom to Stand Together Is Under Attack
A new U.N. report highlights how the rich and powerful prevent far too many working people in the United States from asserting their most basic human and workplace freedoms.
Maina Kiai, former U.N. special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, led a mission to the United States in 2016 and documented the obstacles that working people confront when they exercise their freedom to join together in union. His findings are damning.
The overarching story that surfaces in the report is that wealthy corporations and corporate lobbyists are actively blocking working people’s freedom to join together in union on the job and that U.S. legal framework “provides few incentives for employers to respect workers’ rights.” According to Kiai, these are some of the intimidation tactics the wealthiest 1% use to chill the exercise of rights are fully legal:
- When facing a union organizing drive, 75% of employers hire consultants specializing in “union avoidance.” These consultants openly boast of their success in suppressing unionization. This is a $4 billion industry dedicated to taking away people’s freedom to join together in union using strategies of fear, intimidation and misinformation.
- Employers also routinely cross the line and engage in unlawful tactics to prevent freedom of association. They do so because they can—with little or no consequence.
- Employers who fire people for engaging in concerted action or threaten to shut down the workplace if working people decide to stand together rarely face consequences, and when they do, the remedies are long delayed and notoriously weak.
Sadly, rather than working to strengthen this legal framework, many government officials collude with corporate CEOs and employers to dismantle the power of existing unions and keep new ones from forming. The special rapporteur was alarmed to learn that Mississippi and other states openly court companies by touting the lack of the freedom of people to join together in union and ability to exploit working people.
In addition, 28 states have enacted “right to work” laws, which are deliberately crafted to take away people’s freedom to join together and negotiate. By weakening people’s workplace freedoms, they contribute to unfair labor practices and violate international human rights law that require governments to protect the exercise of rights. Corporate CEOs and lobbysists have contributed to the steep decline of voice on the job and perpetuated income inequality, concentrating wealth in the hands of the rich and powerful few who are rigging the rules in their own favor and weakening our democracy.
The report also highlights the many structural remnants of the legacy of slavery in our country, which can be clearly seen in the gaps in our labor protections. Millions of working people are excluded from the basic protections of our labor law, including people who engage in agricultural and domestic work. This work, once done by people who were enslaved, is now predominately done by immigrants, many of whom are undocumented.
More than 5% of the workforce in our country lack formal work authorization, with much higher concentrations in low-wage, hazardous industries. As the special rapporteur has noted, immigration enforcement in the United States generally takes priority over protecting labor rights, allowing employers to retaliate in ways that can lead to deportation.
The report also makes clear that just because working people may have visas, this does not necessarily mean they have rights. Guest worker programs in the United States tie workers to specific employers and allow for rampant exploitation.
On another front, the special rapporteur has made strong statements affirming that the right to strike is intrinsic to the fundamental right of freedom of association. Nonetheless, this report highlights numerous limitations to the right to strike in the United States, including prohibitions on secondary strikes and strikes by public employees, as well as the ability of employers to replace people who are on strike. In the special rapporteur’s view, the permanent replacement of people who are on strike negates the right to strike, stripping working people of their strongest tool for pressing their demands.
Unfortunately, the realities for working people in the United States have not improved since the rapporteur’s visit. The budget introduced by the president slashes funding for agencies responsible for defending our workplace rights, while dramatically increasing funds to arrest, detain and deport working people. Rather than addressing such profound injustices, the new administration is doubling down on enforcement strategies that scapegoat and criminalize communities of color.
The obstacles to freedom to join together in union in the United States violate international standards and norms, and undermine the most fundamental principles and rights at work. Working people had little rights before there were laws to protect them, and it was through organizing and asserting their freedoms that they created a legal framework to foster a vibrant labor movement. As that legal framework grows ever more hostile to the freedom of working people to come together and negotiate, working people must once again flex their collective muscles and find ways to rebuild their power.
Jackie Tortora Fri, 06/09/2017 - 10:14Are You Ready for a 35% Raise?
Starting today, working people could see a 35% increase in the value of their 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts over a career. That is because new protections, designed to ensure the retirement savings system truly works for working people and retirees, begin to take effect.
Under this new pro-saver rule, known as the "fiduciary rule," a paid adviser who gives investment advice on your individual retirement accounts has to act in your best interests, charge reasonable fees and avoid making misleading statements. The change applies only to investment advice for retirement accounts like 401(k) plans and IRAs; for non-retirement accounts and government employee retirement plans, the old rules still apply.
Like most people, you probably assumed the law already required financial advisers to put their clients' best interests first. While registered investment advisers have been required to do this, other investment professionals, like stock brokers and insurance agents, have been exploiting legal loopholes that have allowed them to recommend investments with the largest kickbacks or commissions, as long as the investments were generally "suitable" for their clients.
These financial conflicts of interest take a huge bite out of your retirement savings because you end up with investments that cost more and generate lower returns than investments that are in your best interests. Conversely, eliminating your adviser’s conflicts of interest can create big gains. You will earn bigger net of fees returns that could add 35% more to your accounts over 35 years of investing.
While the good news is those loopholes close today, there is some bad news, too.
Some of the new protections—most importantly, the provisions making the best interest standard for advice on IRAs legally enforceable by you—do not take effect until Jan. 1, 2018. Wall Street lobbyists are pushing hard to stop that from happening, and President Donald Trump has directed Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to "reconsider" the rule. The new Department of Labor may try to rescind retirement savers' 35% raise by stopping these protections from ever going into effect. It is important to let your U.S. representative and senators know you want all of the protections of the new rule.
If you would like to find out more about what these new protections will do for you, check out the latest guidance for retirement investors from Barbara Roper of the Consumer Federation of America.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 06/08/2017 - 14:23Finding Pride
It was early on the afternoon of Aug. 12, 2004. I was on an annual family vacation in the Poconos, in northeast Pennsylvania. I was 23 years old. I got word that my then-home state governor, Jim McGreevey of New Jersey, had hastily called a press conference. Rumors about the governor’s sexual orientation had followed him around for years. I remember asking my father what he thought the press conference was about. “Pay to play or something like that,” he said. There is a long and troubling history of corruption in New Jersey politics. Something told me this press conference would be different. I had a pit in my stomach.
CNN carried it live. I was watching alone in one of the resort’s bungalows. The governor started: “Throughout my life I have grappled with my own identity, who I am.” Bam. He was coming out. I started to shake. Then I started to cry. As McGreevey fully admits, he didn’t come out. He was shoved out, in large part because of his own bad decisions and questionable ethics. But it was one of the most beautiful speeches I have ever heard. It is this passage that I still carry around on my phone to this day:
I do not believe that God tortures any person simply for its own sake. I believe that God enables all things to work for the greater good. In this, the 47th year of my life, it is arguably too late to have this discussion. But it is here, and it is now. At a point in every person's life, one has to look deeply into the mirror of one's soul and decide one's unique truth in the world, not as we may want to see it or hope to see it, but as it is.
As McGreevey spoke these words, I remember thinking: I can’t wait until I’m 47. I have to come out.
It was Aug. 5, 2005, nearly a full year after McGreevey’s historic speech. And I was still in the closet. A few months earlier, I made out with a girl at a bar in front of close friends. I remember thinking: What the hell am I doing? I was a fraud. I prepared to head back to the Poconos for my family vacation. But my parents wanted to talk first. This couldn’t be good. A couple of my cousins had approached my father to express concern about my drinking. My first reaction was defensive. Alcoholism runs in my family. Why was I being singled out? My father asked if I was happy. I said, “No.” Finally, I felt the words moving from the depths of my body up toward my mouth. It was time. “I’m gay,” I said and began weeping. My parents were not just accepting, they were exceptional. In the following days, I embarked on a road trip to tell the people closest to me. Each shared words of encouragement. Everyone accepted me—except me. Just like McGreevey, I was shoved out.
The next years were a grind. I refused to leave the comfort zone of my routines. I spent all of my social time with straight friends. I closed down bars. One year, during Capital Pride, I got so intoxicated that I was passed out in bed before the parade began. I talked a good game. I joined LGBTQ organizations. I posted about marriage equality and employment nondiscrimination on social media. But I didn’t date. I had no gay friends. Community was nonexistent. I had come out but gone nowhere.
At age 30, I sought the help of a therapist. His advice was direct and clear. Stop drinking. Stop punishing yourself. Live a life that is free and true. I remember thinking sarcastically: “OK, I’ll get right on that.” But each week as we talked and strategized, I became more convinced that something had to change. The evidence was right there in front of me. In his coming out speech, McGreevey said there is a point in every person's life they must decide their unique truth in the world. This was that moment for me. I was an alcoholic. And my disease was holding me back from a life of happiness.
So on Dec. 20, 2015, I quit drinking. A year later, as I celebrated 365 days of sobriety, my therapist wrote this on his blog:
Recently, I had the privilege to witness change. After four years of working with a very hopeful and otherwise successful man battle alcohol, I attended his 1-year sobriety celebration. When he walked into my office, he came with a glimmer of hope—knowing something should be different—but had little idea of the next steps to take. Despite a very active social life, he was lonely for LGBT friends/family. He wanted a boyfriend. He wanted to be in better shape. He wanted to lose weight. But without vision, without a clear idea of how to change, it was sometimes hard to sustain hope. The route was long, sometimes difficult, sometimes circuitous. But he persevered. His life is utterly transformed.
The transformation my therapist described is ongoing but undeniable. I am proud of who I am, challenges and all. I recently returned from a trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where I spent time with a network of gay sober men who are enriching my life in countless ways. I am starting to date. I’ve lost 60 pounds and am more active than ever. I’m less self-conscious. I like what I see in the mirror.
Harvey Milk said that if a bullet should enter his brain, he wanted it to destroy every closet door. I took down my closet door 12 years ago this August. But for too long, I stood in the door frame filled with doubt, pity and self-loathing. That is finally starting to change. Inch by inch. Step by step. Day by day.
Pride to me is authenticity. It’s honesty. And it’s hope. As we head into a weekend of inspiration, as Pride At Work celebrates solidarity and honors our out-union leaders, as Washington, D.C., marks pride, and as the nation marches for equality, I will be there. By choice. With enthusiasm and optimism. Sober.
And that makes me really proud.
Tim Schlittner is the AFL-CIO director of speechwriting and publications and co-president of Pride At Work.
Jackie Tortora Tue, 06/06/2017 - 08:35Tags: Pride at Work
With Pride: What Working People Are Doing This Week
Welcome to our regular feature, a look at what the various AFL-CIO unions and other working family organizations are doing around the country and beyond. The labor movement is big and active—here's a look at the broad range of activities we're engaged in this week.
Actors' Equity:
One week from today: march with us in @LAPride’s #ResistMarch! Info & RSVP: https://t.co/GgHLsR1vSK pic.twitter.com/07lCSicqp5
— Actors' Equity (@ActorsEquity) June 4, 2017AFGE:
It's #WorldEnvironmentDay! Let's not go back to these days → #1u https://t.co/kRbqwQeCSG pic.twitter.com/LNlwfE62tc
— AFGE (@AFGENational) June 5, 2017AFSCME:
AFSCME Raises Alarm Over IT Outsourcing in OH under Gov @JohnKasich https://t.co/YB1PTtkbQm #1u #OHunion #OHleg
— AFSCME (@AFSCME) June 5, 2017AFT:
School vouchers don't just undermine public schools, they undermine our democracy https://t.co/d1t3WKbVUN
— AFT (@AFTunion) May 31, 2017Air Line Pilots Association:
Help ALPA stand up for the safety of Canadian #airline pilots and passengers! https://t.co/fJm1BJNejX #safeskies #safetysaturday
— ALPA (@WeAreALPA) June 3, 2017Alliance for Retired Americans:
How did your elected officials do protecting #SocialSecurity & #Medicare? Check out the Alliance 2016 Voting Record:https://t.co/cC39QPPB2t pic.twitter.com/MqDiUJ45FL
— Alliance Retirees (@ActiveRetirees) June 5, 2017Amalgamated Transit Union:
Spokane #transit workers sue authority over refusal of pro-union bus ad https://t.co/uYUQvFZcct #1u #publictransit
— ATU, Transit Union (@ATUComm) June 5, 2017American Federation of Musicians:
Festival calls not paying musicians "networking opportunity.” Actually it's called exploitation when we aren't paid
https://t.co/Sv4J1rlPVs
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance:
This June we celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month! Share why you stand with immigrants & tag us @APALANational. #IStandWithImmigrants #IHM2017 pic.twitter.com/sCivf066fK
— APALA (@APALAnational) June 2, 2017Association of Flight Attendants-CWA:
June is Pride Month! AFA-CWA supports all LGBTQ Flight Attendants & workers in their fight for protections on the job & in their communities
— AFA-CWA (@afa_cwa) June 1, 2017Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers:
17 job-supporting @DemSenators tell @MDLZ @Nabisco CEO: Stop offshoring U.S. production & U.S. JOBS! https://t.co/zjFJ04ch3d #OreoJobs #1u pic.twitter.com/ytKIaheHMX
— BCTGM International (@BCTGM) June 5, 2017Bricklayers:
The so-called right-to-work is a misguided movement that strips the American workers' collective voice: https://t.co/Udt5INCzFt #RTW #1u
— Bricklayers Union (@IUBAC) June 5, 2017Coalition of Black Trade Unionists:
The Rev. Terry Melvin,@CBTU72 President, welcomed the convention congregation to the finest worship service in the labor mvmt. #cbtu17 #1u pic.twitter.com/yFgYK5b9sW
— CBTU (@CBTU72) May 28, 2017Communications Workers of America:
CWAers are in full Get-Out-The-Vote mode, working the phones for @PhilMurphyNJ’s campaign for New Jersey governor https://t.co/5wYrmaiR0Y
— CWA (@CWAUnion) June 3, 2017Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO:
“Forming a union will allow us to do a better job of advancing our goals and those of the university..." #1u https://t.co/QiyqzBkWAD
— DPE (@DPEaflcio) June 5, 2017Electrical Workers:
Low-wages, workplace accidents mar construction industry in U.S. South https://t.co/K5WUUlzp8E #1u
— IBEW (@IBEW) June 5, 2017Farm Labor Organizing Committee:
ICYMI: huge victory for #farmworkers in NC! https://t.co/ucYtdOrugr
— FLOC (@SupportFLOC) May 26, 2017Fire Fighters:
RT @CAFirefighters: Already short-staffed @cityofredding preps dangerous new #firefighter layoffs. https://t.co/KxgegwaMzP
— IAFF (@IAFFNewsDesk) June 5, 2017International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers:
Women Make Less Than Men Straight Out of College. And It's Getting Worse. https://t.co/5l2Q88s8bI @IFPTE #womenscommittee #1u #canlab
— IFPTE (@IFPTE) June 2, 2017International Labor Communications Association:
2017 ILCA Labor Media Contest deadline extended to June 30, 2017! View and Download the Call for Entries here: https://t.co/ClgKuzqleX pic.twitter.com/APqebkXDAF
— ILCA Communications (@ILCAonline) June 2, 2017Ironworkers:
Iron Workers ready for the future https://t.co/giqjyWNxET #ThursdayThoughts
— Ironworkers. (@TheIronworkers) June 1, 2017Jobs with Justice:
The tomato-growing industry has been transformed for the better by @CIW, through its Fair Food Program. https://t.co/vdHGT91U48
— Jobs With Justice (@jwjnational) June 5, 2017Labor Council for Latin American Advancement:
"NEPA is fundamental to combating #EnvironmentalRacism." - Chapter President Eddie Rosario of NYC LCLAA #ProtectNEPA #1uLatino #GreenLatinos pic.twitter.com/Dl6jvoOwoc
— LCLAA (@LCLAA) June 4, 2017Laborers:
#LIUNA Local 1089 in Canada invests in children’s mental #healthcare at @bluewaterhealth https://t.co/dfw3ALOzVp pic.twitter.com/egtKwi17fo
— LIUNA (@LIUNA) June 1, 2017Machinists:
A true labor-management partnership at the VA https://t.co/mkGVRot4K7 via @thehill @NFFE_Union #1u
— IAMAW (@MachinistsUnion) June 5, 2017National Association of Letter Carriers:
Indianapolis Branch 39 members Dave Tunison (l) & Jim Gilmour raised nearly $2,000 for @MDAnews during the recent @MDACentralIN Musclewalk. pic.twitter.com/nBNkHFP7hw
— Letter Carriers (@NALC_National) May 28, 2017National Day Laborer Organizing Network:
.@CityAttorneyLA—we need you to side with LA’s immigrants https://t.co/fVGT5SAbqk #FreeRomulo pic.twitter.com/tZWbBywZQZ
— NDLON (@NDLON) June 2, 2017National Domestic Workers Alliance:
#StatusOfBlackWomen is the most comprehensive report on Black women in every state. Report releases on June 7! pic.twitter.com/XN5uI3OSJV
— Domestic Workers (@domesticworkers) June 5, 2017National Guestworker Alliance:
Celebrating a big win against racism, xenophobia, and criminalization in Louisiana! https://t.co/gPduQHqpvi #immigration #resist pic.twitter.com/yqvMPien2M
— GuestworkerAlliance (@NGAdignity) May 31, 2017National Nurses United:
Big winners in California’s new healthcare plan: Households and small businesses https://t.co/niNGwcWCLx #HealthyCA #SB562
— NationalNursesUnited (@NationalNurses) June 4, 2017National Taxi Workers Alliance:
Signs of Wage Error by Uber Came Well Before an Admission https://t.co/WapWZgmk7h
— NY Taxi Workers (@NYTWA) June 2, 2017The NewsGuild-CWA:
Workers at GateHouse publications won a stunning victory at May 25 shareholders meeting. $NEWM https://t.co/AwT3appNys pic.twitter.com/OrAEDOh2fz
— NewsGuild (@news_guild) May 31, 2017NFL Players Association:
The #NFLPA goes green to close out #mentalhealth month. The staff is here for you. Visit https://t.co/UtmneSwJx2 to learn more. pic.twitter.com/3Kte48xsJn
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) June 1, 2017North America's Building Trades Unions, AFL-CIO:
Laborers win significant battle to protect Illinois prevailing wages https://t.co/g5vXxtgAH8
— The Building Trades (@BldgTrdsUnions) May 31, 2017Pride At Work:
March with P@W & Labor at the @EqualityMarch17! Meet at 9 AM, outside the @AFLCIO - 2 blocks from the start of #EqualityMarch #1u #1upride pic.twitter.com/gH0BMxQFJk
— Pride at Work (@PrideatWork) May 31, 2017Printing, Publishing & Media Workers Sector-CWA:
Our Government Printing Office employees are among those under assault by Trump Budget https://t.co/oGFBz3mfLB
— CWA Printing Sector (@CWAPrintingSect) June 5, 2017Professional Aviation Safety Specialists:
Say "No" to HR1461! PASS joins Federal Workers Alliance to oppose bill that will harm veterans & the dedicated employees @DeptVetAffairs
— PASS (@PASSNational) June 2, 2017Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union:
On-call scheduling is officially banned in #nyc thank you @NYCMayor #FairWorkWeek pic.twitter.com/uGONPJ6EIC
— RWDSU (@RWDSU) May 30, 2017School Administrators:
Hall Passes, Buses, Lunch Duty: What If The Principal Could Focus On Achievement? https://t.co/9MmXDskCu9
— AFSA Leadership (@AFSAUnion) June 3, 2017Solidarity Center:
6 million+ #SouthAfrica workers are w/o jobs. In a country of 55M ppl & 22M workers, that figure is staggering.https://t.co/ayK5240A7z
— Solidarity Center (@SolidarityCntr) June 5, 2017Transport Workers:
One way to succeed in business? Have a daughter! https://t.co/g2ZM3fLksh
— TWU (@transportworker) June 5, 2017Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO:
This is a serious problem and proof that unions are needed now more than ever. #1u https://t.co/7cgnnJ1gCt
— Transp. Trades Dept. (@TTDAFLCIO) May 25, 2017UAW:
New post on https://t.co/Gt7c4AVX2y! We Are the UAW – Potter Park Zoo https://t.co/mcPisVIM9b
— UAW (@UAW) June 1, 2017United Food and Commercial Workers:
MT @labourreporter: Teachers at the Islamic Institute of Toronto join UFCW https://t.co/cHUflLy63O #union pic.twitter.com/ojJBgTTDyW
— UFCW (@UFCW) June 1, 2017Union Label and Service Trades Department, AFL-CIO:
Locals 455, 540 and 1000 Stand Together to Defeat Anti-Union Legislation in Texas https://t.co/9BNTFA8QIZ
— Union Label Dept. (@ULSTD_AFLCIO) May 31, 2017UNITE HERE:
After 49 years, one airline food worker earns only 31¢ over his city's airport minimum wage. #FedUp @United https://t.co/RdWhe4bgnp pic.twitter.com/3kPjw4mTjh
— UNITE HERE (@unitehere) June 5, 2017United Steelworkers:
Calif. Public Employee Board Files Complaint after Oak Valley Hospital Rescinds Union Rights https://t.co/LZ9Thlw04L
— United Steelworkers (@steelworkers) June 5, 2017Working America:
Hundreds of Walmart Employees Say They've Been Punished for Taking Sick Days #paidsickdays #paidleave https://t.co/pqQVYkzFoC
— Working America (@WorkingAmerica) June 5, 2017 Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 06/05/2017 - 13:06Undermining Our Democracy: The Working People Weekly List
Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s this week’s Working People Weekly List.
Op-Ed School Vouchers Don't Just Undermine Public Schools, They Undermine Our Democracy: "Trump wants to siphon billions of dollars from public schools to fund private and religious school vouchers. It’s an idea that’s bad for kids, public education and our democracy."
Workers Want a Green Economy, Not a Black Environment: "To justify withdrawing from the Paris climate change accord, President Trump said during his press conference today, 'I was elected to represent the city of Pittsburgh, not Paris.' From terrible experience, Pittsburghers know about pollution."
Trump Helps Republicans Revive House Bill That Weakens Unions: "The AFL-CIO was particularly outraged by the provision that said voters who stayed home for union elections would be counted as casting a 'no' ballot. 'If political elections were held in this fashion, virtually no one would have been elected, because the number of people who stay home, leave ballot sections blank or vote for someone else outstrips the number of votes officeholders receive,' the AFL-CIO wrote in response to a pro-ERA op-ed."
In Texas, S.B. 4 Is an Attack on All Working People: "A powerful new video from the Texas AFL-CIO shows that the state’s new 'show your papers' bill, S.B. 4, isn’t just an attack on immigrants, but an attack on all working people. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed S.B. 4 into law last month. In response, many communities and organizations, including the Texas AFL-CIO, are choosing to fight back."
13 Ways the Trump Budget Hurts Working People: "There are tons of analyses and numbers that could keep economists busy for days, but the bottom line is President Donald Trump’s budget will have negative effects on the lives of everyday Americans. Here are some of the most notable examples of a budget that betrays working people...."
A Memorial Day Message from Will Attig, Iraq War Veteran and Union Veterans Council Executive Director: "I want everyone to take a second to reflect on what Memorial Day means to you. As a member of one of the hardest-hit Infantry units in Iraq, this day means a lot to me. It represents the 51 names memorialized on a wall at Fort Campbell, Ky. Those names represent 51 comrades, friends and brothers whom my unit lost during Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom, they are but just 51 names out of a list of 1.1 million American veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice."
St. Louis Plumbers Go Above and Beyond to Save Kitten: "Union plumbers, members of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters (UA) Local 562, responded to a service request at a hospital with a plumbing problem. But this call was a little different, a 6-week-old kitten had fallen into the drain and gotten stuck. Alan Glosemeyer and Chad Beckmann responded by tirelessly working to save the kitten."
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 06/02/2017 - 14:10Could Your Old Boss Keep You from Getting a New Job?
Non-compete agreements and their increasing use by employers in low-wage and skilled trades industries was the topic of discussion on Wednesday, when the North Carolina State AFL-CIO held its first-ever Facebook Live chat with experts at the North Carolina Justice Center's Workers’ Rights Project.
Director Allan Freyer and senior attorney Carol Brooke, with the Workers' Rights Project, are the authors of a new North Carolina Justice Center brief, titled Keeping Secrets? How Non-Compete Agreements for Low-Wage Workers Hurt Hiring and Hold Down Wages.
About 1 in 5 Americans are currently working under a non-compete—an agreement between an employer and an employee that, once the employee leaves, will restrict the type of employment they can accept afterward. Usually the restrictions are limited by time and geographic region.
Originally, non-compete agreements were signed in high-wage, high-skill industries with crucially important employees who might know a company’s trade secrets, have received significant company-specific training, or held access to key customer information.
That practice has changed in recent years for the benefit of bosses but not working people (or the marketplace).
Non-competes are now being used in low-wage industries like housecleaning and food service—not with the people keeping the accounts, but the people doing the cleaning and making the food—jobs where there are no trade secrets or proprietary knowledge at risk.
In the absence of a collectively negotiated union contract, the only leverage most individual frontline workers in low-wage jobs have to bargain for better pay is their labor—and the threat of taking it elsewhere or going into business for themselves.
Now their bosses are using the threat of lawsuits over non-compete violations to trap people making sandwiches, digging ditches and cleaning apartments in low-wage jobs that don’t allow them to enjoy the fruits of their labor—at least 14% of the nation’s workforce, according to the Justice Center.
In a win for its 10 former employees, a Chapel Hill-based housecleaning company agreed to stop trying to enforce an agreement after the Justice Center came to their defense, arguing in Orange County Superior Court that non-compete agreements in low-wage industries violate state policy by imposing unreasonable hardships on people trying to get a better or different job.
"When the workers started, they didn’t understand what they were signing," Brooke said. "Those who did understand the implications felt they had no choice if they wanted the job."
Enforcement of non-compete agreements varies by state. Courts in green states can rewrite entire agreements. Courts can rewrite illegal clauses in blue states and will invalidate non-competes with even one illegal clause in red states (source).
How courts view non-compete agreements varies from state to state, but courts in most states disfavor their use. California and two others ban them completely. North Carolina courts look at whether the agreement is in writing, whether the employee is getting anything in return, and if the time and area restrictions are reasonable—which, in the case of most people earning little more than the minimum wage, they are not.
"Even if the workers win in the end, it's a lengthy process," Brooke said. "The workers we represented went through over two years of stress and constant concern."
Non-compete agreements are also a growing problem for mid-wage, skilled trades workers like plumbers, who often have had significant training but work within a general occupational body of knowledge and under a code that’s available to anyone who wants to be a plumber. Existing firms are using non-competes to lock down these employees, preventing competition and limiting the ability of customers to hire whomever they want.
"There is legitimate interest in preventing your company from being burned from the inside by employees," Freyer said. "But a contract that prevents a plumber from working for three years is ridiculous."
So, what can people do to end the abuse of non-compete agreements in low-wage and skilled trades industries?
Find work at a unionized employer because union contracts that don’t already forbid non-compete agreements would require negotiations before bosses could impose them. (Read how the same federal law imposing that requirement could be used at non-unionized employers.)
But without a union on their side—after going through the entire hiring process before they’re handed a non-compete agreement and told to sign it—most people will find themselves between a rock and a hard place, Brooke said.
"That’s why we need some kind of public policy fix that affects all workplaces and all employers," Freyer said. "We need a solution for all workers."
Policymakers could start by producing a minimum income standard under which people can’t be forced to sign a non-compete—or just do away with them all together.
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 06/02/2017 - 13:15The Economy Adds 138,000 Jobs in May, and Unemployment Little Changed at 4.3%
The U.S. economy added 138,000 jobs in May and unemployment was little changed at 4.3%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A troubling sign, reinforcing the weakness of the numbers, was the revision of the preliminary numbers for March and April downward, a combined 60,000 fewer jobs than earlier reported. That normally indicates a slowing in net job creation from new firms being created and old firms going out of business. This continues the recovery of the labor market at a tempered rate, which means the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee should continue to let the economy grow at this rate and not raise interest rates.
In response to the May jobs numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted:
The slow recovery in the Prime Age EPOP affirms the labor market is healing, but not healed https://t.co/OqofB9PnnU
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) June 2, 2017Average weekly hours amazingly flat, yet another sign the labor market is not tight @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/iPVu27QECI
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) June 2, 2017After a trend since 2014 of slowly recovering, state and local government employment slows, down 8,000 in states and 9,000 in local @AFSCME
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) June 2, 2017Food services and drinking places continue to add jobs 30,300 in May #Fightfor15 victories helping workers @AFLCIO @AFLCIONextUp
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) June 2, 2017Last month's biggest job gains were in professional and business services (38,000), food services and drinking places (30,000), health care (24,000), and mining (7,000). Employment in other major industries, including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government, showed little change over the month.
Among the major worker groups, unemployment rates in May decreased for blacks (7.5%), adult men (3.8%), adult women (4.0%) and teenagers (14.3%). Unemployment was up slightly for Asians (3.6%) and was essentially unchanged for Hispanics (5.2%).
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed in May and accounted for 24.0% of the unemployed.
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 06/02/2017 - 11:40In Texas, S.B. 4 Is an Attack on All Working People
A powerful new video from the Texas AFL-CIO shows that the state’s new “show your papers” bill, S.B. 4, isn’t just an attack on immigrants, but an attack on all working people. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed S.B. 4 into law last month. In response, many communities and organizations, including the Texas AFL-CIO, are choosing to fight back.
Visit No S.B. 4 to learn more and take action.
The video includes members of Communications Workers of America, AFT, Theatrical Stage Employees, AFSCME, Texas Building Trades, United Steelworkers, Workers Defense Project and Electrical Workers.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 06/01/2017 - 11:0313 Ways the Trump Budget Hurts Working People
There are tons of analyses and numbers that could keep economists busy for days, but the bottom line is President Donald Trump’s budget will have negative effects on the lives of everyday Americans. Here are some of the most notable examples of a budget that betrays working people:
1. JobsIt will kill nearly 2 million jobs by 2020 through huge budget cuts.
2. Tax CutsIt will waste trillions of dollars on tax cuts for big corporations and the wealthiest 1% and increase the tax incentive for global corporations to send jobs overseas.
3. MedicaidIt will cause millions of people to lose Medicaid coverage because of its $1.6 trillion in cuts to the program.
4. Social SecurityIt will cut Social Security’s earned benefits by $64 billion, and some workers will be hit with an average of $7,000 in cuts to their initial disability benefits.
5. MedicareIt will cut $59 billion in Medicare and undermine financing of the Medicare program.
6. EducationIt will devastate public schools, eliminate after-school programs and much-needed training for teachers, and make it harder for young people to go to college by cutting student loan funding by $143 billion over 10 years.
7. Workers’ RightsIt will threaten workers’ freedoms by decimating the National Labor Relations Board while increasing funding for union audits and undermining workers’ pension plans.
8. Safety and Health for Working PeopleIt will eliminate the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s worker safety and health training program, gut job safety research, wipe out investigations of chemical accident, and weaken OSHA’s ability to inspect workplaces, leading to more workers being injured and killed on the job.
9. Training for Working PeopleIt will deny training and employment services for nearly 7.7 million adults, displaced workers, seniors, young people and farm workers.
10. Working WomenIt will harm working women, especially working mothers, by cutting funding for Medicaid, food stamps, and child care assistance and eliminating the only federal agency mandated to represent the needs of wage-earning women.
11. Federal EmployeesIt will cut federal employees’ retirement benefits by $117 billion and cut their pay by 6% by forcing them to pay more toward their retirement.
12. InfrastructureDespite its proposed $200 billion infrastructure initiative, it will continue to neglect crumbling infrastructure by cutting $206 billion in existing federal infrastructure programs, including Amtrak, rail, transit, superfund cleanup, public housing repair, water and other programs.
13. Immigrant Working PeopleImmigrant workers, who are a positive part of our communities, and unions face attacks because of increases in funding for programs to arrest, detain and deport them.
Jackie Tortora Tue, 05/30/2017 - 16:17Tags: President Donald Trump
A Memorial Day Message from Will Attig, Iraq War Veteran and Union Veterans Council Executive Director
As we prepare for the Memorial Day weekend, I want everyone to take a second to reflect on what this holiday means to you. As a member of one of the hardest-hit Infantry units in Iraq, this day means a lot to me. It represents the 51 names memorialized on a wall at Fort Campbell, Ky. Those names represent 51 comrades, friends and brothers whom my unit lost during Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom, they are but just 51 names out of a list of 1.1 million American veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice. So please, take a few minutes this weekend to reflect on what those young men and women fought and died for. Ask yourself, are you doing everything you can to support our nation and your fellow man?
To many veterans, this is not a celebratory weekend, this is a time that we reflect and grieve for the ones we have lost. Please keep that in mind on this most important day.
"We erect monuments so that we shall always remember, and build memorials so that we shall never forget." —Arthur Danto
Kenneth Quinnell Sun, 05/28/2017 - 20:00Tags: Union Veterans Council
St. Louis Plumbers Go Above and Beyond to Save Kitten
On Monday, union plumbers, members of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters (UA) Local 562, responded to a service request at a hospital with a plumbing problem. But this call was a little different, a 6-week-old kitten had fallen into the drain and gotten stuck. Alan Glosemeyer and Chad Beckmann responded by tirelessly working to save the kitten.
Check out the local media coverage of this heartwarming story.
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 05/26/2017 - 11:16Two Movements, One Goal: The Working People Weekly List
Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s this week’s Working People Weekly List.
Civil Rights and Labor: Two Movements, One Goal: "A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess." —A. Philip Randolph
UFCW Members Make Safety a Priority at Tyson Poultry Plant: "On a typical day at the Tyson Foods processing plant in Glen Allen, Virginia, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 shop steward Aleta Johnsons was operating the Packmat bagging machine. All of a sudden, she heard a co-worker yelling, 'Stop, stop, stop! Please help—stop the line!'"
23 Million People Lose Health Insurance Under the House Republican Plan: "Three weeks after members of Congress voted 217-213 to pass the so-called American Health Care Act, they—and we—finally know how much damage it will do, and it is not pretty. Congress’ own experts in the Congressional Budget Office said that the Republican health plan will cut 23 million people off of health insurance within a decade, while cutting taxes by $992 billion, overwhelming for the wealthy few and corporations. Remember, this is the plan then-presidential candidate Donald Trump promised would provide 'insurance for everybody.'"
8 Things You Need to Know About a New Bill to Raise the Federal Minimum Wage: "Working people continue to lead the fight for living wages. We support the Wage Act of 2017, introduced today, to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, index it to median wages and increase the minimum wage for tipped workers. Here are the key details of the legislation, introduced by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)."
The President’s Broken Promises on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid: "Donald Trump made a straightforward promise to the American people when he asked for their votes: He would not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. Unlike the way many politicians talk, he did not qualify or hedge this promise to give him an out if he changed his mind later, and many Americans took his promise at face value."
6 Reasons Curtis Ellis Is a Terrible Pick for Trade Post: "News has emerged that Curtis Ellis is being considered by President Donald Trump as one of the finalists to run the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs. The job is considered to be a key part of any effort to boost U.S. manufacturing jobs while cracking down on labor abuses overseas. Here are six reasons why this move is a bad idea and will harm working people."
Working People at AT&T End Three-Day Strike: "On Friday, 40,000 AT&T workers, members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), walked off the job on a three-day strike to protest the company's failure to invest in good jobs with a future at AT&T wireless, wireline and DIRECTV. The groups striking represent working people in 36 states and the District of Columbia. This is the first time AT&T wireless employees have gone on strike."
Shuler Joins Graduate Teachers Seeking Recognition of Their Union at Yale's Commencement: "Thousands of supporters rallied today at Yale University's commencement in solidarity with the graduate teachers who formed a union with UNITE HERE Local 33. The university has refused to recognize the union and come to the negotiating table."
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 05/26/2017 - 10:51Civil Rights and Labor: Two Movements, One Goal
A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess.
A. Philip RandolphOne of our most celebrated labor leaders, A. Philip Randolph, an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, knew the connection between the labor movement and the civil rights movement was key to a truly inclusive democracy. He stood for access at the ballot box as well as to economic security—ideally through a good job with decent benefits and a union. Today, we find ourselves back in a place where our civil, economic, political and social rights are under constant attack. The violence we see against black youth—the heart-wrenching killing of Trayvon Martin, the homicide of Jordan Davis--the passage of “right to work” laws in states like Michigan, Missouri and Iowa that have deeply racist and divisive roots, and the constant attack on immigrant communities by the current administration affirm we still have work to do.
As trade unionists, labor leaders, parents and civil rights activists, we have dedicated our time, talent and resources to advancing the agenda for people who are simply working for a better life. We believe there has never been a more critical point in our nation’s history when it is so crucial for us to reconnect deeply the movement for working people with the movement for civil and human rights. We cannot forget that the March on Washington was about freedom, economic equity and good jobs. The intersection of human rights, civil rights and workers’ rights has always been a part of our struggles for independent power both here and abroad. We must continue to uplift those movements in an intersectional way to ensure we are able to win justice at the workplace and the ballot box to make a difference for those we serve.
This summer, one of the oldest and largest civil and human rights organizations, the NAACP, will come to the city of Baltimore for its annual convention. The NAACP has stood as a coalition partner to the labor movement since 1909. There are many organizations we as a movement value and partner with through shared program and the NAACP remains one of those core allies, despite the shifts that happen in the world around us. We have great leadership within both the labor movement and the NAACP. We have seen how powerful it is when leaders like AFT’s Lorretta Johnson stand shoulder to shoulder with the Rev. William Barber, leader of the NAACP North Carolina State Conference. We know our journey together must continue as we fight to assure that “the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess.”
We must expand our vision by creating solidarity without borders so that working people will be treated with the respect we are due. Thus our history and our very purpose demand that we be in the forefront of the struggle to assure first-class citizenship to all people, of all colors, and all creeds without regard to sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. Our struggles are one; our hopes are one; our dreams are one. The past is not dead, it's not even past.
To participate in the 2017 NAACP Labor Luncheon in Baltimore, please click here: cvent.com/d/n5q3qx
James Settles Jr., also known as Jimmy, serves as a vice president and member of the Executive Board at the UAW. He is a national board member and Labor Committee vice-chair of the NAACP.
Robin Williams serves as the national vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). She is a national board member and Labor Committee vice-chair of the NAACP.
Richard Womack Sr. is the emeritus assistant to the AFL-CIO president and former director of the AFL-CIO Civil, Human and Women’s Rights Department. He is a national board member and Labor Committee chair of the NAACP.
Jackie Tortora Thu, 05/25/2017 - 17:58UFCW Members Make Safety a Priority at Tyson Poultry Plant
On a typical day at the Tyson Foods processing plant in Glen Allen, Virginia, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 shop steward Aleta Johnsons was operating the Packmat bagging machine. All of a sudden, she heard a co-worker yelling, "Stop, stop, stop! Please help—stop the line!"
She ran to the conveyor belt, where she saw five-pound bags of wingettes piling up and falling on the floor. Then, she immediately pulled a switch and stopped the line.
Just 10 days earlier, this would not have been possible. Only managers had the power to stop the line. But thanks to a recently instituted reform worked out between Local 400 members and Tyson management, any worker has the power to halt the entire production line if he or she witnesses a safety hazard, as Aleta did.
"We’re supposed to have 10 to 13 people on our line, but since I’ve been working there, we’ve only had six," Aleta said. "On that day, there were just four and one was a new person being trained while the line was running. It was too much too fast for too few people. That’s why the chicken was piling up and why I stopped it.
"A manager came back, asked what was going on and I explained what happened," she recalled. "He said, 'Take your time—I’ll try to get two more people for your line.' They never came, but he told us to work at our own pace. So about 10 minutes later, we were able to get things back up and running, and we adjusted the speed so we weren’t overwhelmed."
Aleta makes a point of being safety conscious: "One day several months ago, I was rethreading the Packmat machine," she said. "It’s not supposed to turn on when the door’s open but the trip wire was blown and that’s what happened. It ripped the sleeve off my smock and could have taken my arm off. It scared the living daylights out of me. We had a standing room only emergency meeting afterward to address the problem."
A combination of union activism and management concerned about the company’s reputation elevated the importance of safety and the need to empower workers to take action. Tyson launched a national program called "We Care," with the direct input of the UFCW. The first plant to implement the program was the Glen Allen plant, thanks to monthly meetings between workers (including Aleta) and plant managers—meetings required by the collective bargaining agreement between Local 400 and Tyson.
"I’ve seen a difference in management since we’ve had these monthly meetings," Aleta said. "The atmosphere is a lot different. They’re taking us seriously when we make recommendations and following through. And not just on safety—the meetings also led to improvements in the pay process and our ability to schedule personal days. There are things we need to work on—like better-staffed lines and an end to 10-hour workdays—but it’s coming along. And our union has been so helpful in all of this."
Thanks to these efforts—and the courage and decisiveness Aleta showed—safety protections for Tyson workers are getting stronger every day.
This post originally appeared at the UFCW Local 400.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 05/25/2017 - 13:1723 Million People Lose Health Insurance Under the House Republican Plan
Three weeks after members of Congress voted 217-213 to pass the so-called American Health Care Act, they—and we—finally know how much damage it will do, and it is not pretty. Congress’ own experts in the Congressional Budget Office said that the Republican health plan will cut 23 million people off of health insurance within a decade, while cutting taxes by $992 billion, overwhelming for the wealthy few and corporations. Remember, this is the plan then-presidential candidate Donald Trump promised would provide “insurance for everybody.”
The biggest hit to health coverage comes from the Republican plan’s attack on Medicaid. The House-passed bill cuts 14 million people off Medicaid within 10 years. Many of these are working people who earn so little they cannot afford to buy private coverage or whose employers do not offer them any health benefits. They also include some of the three in five senior nursing home residents whose care is paid for by Medicaid, the two in five kids who get access to medical care only because of Medicaid, and the nearly half of pregnant women whose childbirths are covered by it.
Working people who get health plans through their jobs also get hit: 3 million fewer people will have workplace coverage within a decade. That is because the Republican plan gets rid of the Affordable Care Act requirement that medium and large employers offer their full-time workers affordable, comprehensive health benefits or risk paying a penalty. It also makes permanent the so-called Cadillac Tax on decent, middle-class health benefits, which the CBO previously has estimated will cause some employers to stop providing health benefits.
This does not take into account the additional damage that Trump’s new budget will inflict on Americans’ health care. Released on Tuesday, his budget cuts an additional $610 billion from Medicaid over 10 years and likely will cause millions more people to lose health coverage. It also cuts $5.8 billion from the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides access to health care for 6.3 million children whose families do not qualify for Medicaid but do not earn enough to pay for private insurance.
How many more people will lose coverage is not nearly the whole story. The House Republican plan jacks up the cost of buying individual health insurance for many people, especially older Americans ages 50 to 64 with lower incomes. CBO estimates that a 64-year-old earning $26,500 in 2026 will see her out-of-pocket premium increase between 700% and 847% because of the Republican plan.
The House bill includes an age tax that lets insurers charge older Americans five times as much as young adults. It lets insurance companies set much higher premiums for some people who have medical conditions, like diabetes and cancer, to penalize them for going without coverage for two months or more, if a state chooses to allow this kind of price discrimination. It does not matter if you lost coverage because you lost a job or could not afford it. The House plan also cuts premium help for moderate- and low-income people, especially older people. It also eliminates any requirement that coverage be affordable, whether it is from an insurance company or your employer.
On top of this, the Republican plan also increases what many people have to pay on top of their premiums when they actually get medical care. It eliminates the ACA’s help paying deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance for people struggling to make ends meet. It lets states get rid of the basic benefit package of essential health benefits, meaning more kinds of treatment will not be covered at all, or there will be no limit on what you have to pay for those treatments out of your own pocket. It also pushes people into less comprehensive health plans that charge even bigger deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 05/25/2017 - 12:33Tags: President Donald Trump
8 Things You Need to Know About a New Bill to Raise the Federal Minimum Wage
Working people continue to lead the fight for living wages. We support the Wage Act of 2017, introduced today, to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, index it to median wages and increase the minimum wage for tipped workers.
Here are the key details of the legislation, introduced by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.):
1. Gradually raising the wage to $15 by 2024 would directly lift the wages of 22.5 million working people. The average increase would be $5,100 a year, a 31.3% raise.
2. Another 19 million workers would see raises as employers would raise the wages of employees making more than $15 in order to attract and retain more experienced workers.
3. The increase would erase decades of erosion in the value of the real minimum wage. By 2019, the minimum wage would pass the inflation-adjusted high point of 1968.
4. Increasing the minimum wage to $15 would generate $144 billion in additional wages by 2024, money that would overwhelmingly be directly reinvested in the economy as lower-paid workers spend most of the extra earnings. This spending would increase business activity and lead to job growth.
5. The increase would overwhelmingly go to adult workers, most of whom work full-time, and many of whom have families. The average age of the affected workers would be 36 years old.
6. The benefits of the increase would disproportionately affect women, people of color and single parents.
7. The increase would raise wages for the parents of 24% (19 million) of U.S. children. The workers with families—defined as a worker with a spouse or a child in the home—who would benefit, on average, provide 63.8% of their family’s total income.
8. Indexing the minimum wage to median wages will make sure that future growth is shared across the economic spectrum, preventing growth of inequality and improving living standards in the United States.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 05/25/2017 - 11:31Tags: Minimum Wage
The President’s Broken Promises on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid
Donald Trump made a straightforward promise to the American people when he asked for their votes: He would not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. Unlike the way many politicians talk, he did not qualify or hedge this promise to give him an out if he changed his mind later, and many Americans took his promise at face value.
Here’s just one of the times Trump made this promise:
I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Huckabee copied me.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2015Fast-forward to this Tuesday—just 123 days into his presidency. Trump released his first budget, and he clearly and undeniably is breaking this promise. Here’s how:
The Trump budget cuts Social Security’s earned benefits by up to $64 billion over 10 years. It makes direct cuts in Social Security benefits, including a 50% cut in the maximum retroactive benefit a worker can receive after she is first approved for disability benefits. This means an average cut of $7,000. It also targets benefits for people with severe, long-term disabilities by forcing participation in test projects designed to keep or stop workers from getting benefits. It ties these projects to a requirement that total Social Security disability benefit payments be cut by 5% by 2027.
The Trump budget cuts Medicare by $59 billion over 10 years. This cut is part of the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA), which has been endorsed by Trump and is incorporated into his budget. It repeals the additional Medicare tax on individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and couples earning more than $250,000 a year. This Medicare cut depletes the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund two years sooner than expected and increases the fund’s long-run shortfall by more than half.
The Trump budget cuts Medicaid by as much as $1.5 trillion over 10 years. This includes more than $850 billion in cuts that are part of the House-passed health care bill and $610 billion in new cuts on top of those. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the provisions in the AHCA will cut off 14 million people from Medicaid within 10 years. With its new funding cuts, the budget likely will cut off millions more people from coverage.
Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 05/24/2017 - 16:35Tags: President Donald Trump
6 Reasons Curtis Ellis Is a Terrible Pick for Trade Post
News has emerged that Curtis Ellis is being considered by President Donald Trump as one of the finalists to run the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB). The job is considered to be a key part of any effort to boost U.S. manufacturing jobs while cracking down on labor abuses overseas. Here are six reasons why this move is a bad idea and will harm working people:
1. Ellis is a frequent columnist and commentator on extremist blogs that present themselves as news organizations but in fact specialize in inaccurate and misleading content. He frequently posts for WND, a site best known for enthusiastically embracing the claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Ellis’ nativist views are well-documented, embarrassing to U.S. diplomatic efforts and profoundly at odds with promoting worker rights for all. For instance, in one essay, he said that the left, including Obama and Hillary Clinton, planned the “liquidation of white, blue-collar working families” in order to “fundamentally transform” America. “The decimation of America’s middle class and industrial strength is a case of murder, not accidental death. It was done with premeditation, malice and forethought.... If you believe, as do the leftists, that America has more than it deserves and Americans are racists, the global redistribution of our wealth—even if it means the death (literally) of American working people—is a desired outcome, a feature not a bug.”
2. Ellis specified in another column how he thought Obama would liquidate white, blue-collar families: “Stalin used bullets and the gulag to eliminate his class enemies. Today’s executioners rely on Obamatrade, alcohol, drugs and suicide to do the job.”
3. He claimed that Obama was part of an effort to outsource American jobs, leaving working people “robbed of the opportunity to support their wives and children ... literally drinking and drugging themselves to death.”
4. Ellis wrote a column claiming that legal immigrants were devastating to the U.S. and that they make America worse. He is a big supporter of a wall to keep out undocumented immigrants.
5. His history of controversial statements will embarrass the U.S. in international relations. A human rights nonprofit stakeholder said: “It’s alarming to think our diplomatic counterparts could Google this guy and find these paranoid and xenophobic rantings. It would immediately undermine him and place at risk the U.S. leadership on promoting labor rights as part of the global trade agenda.”
6. He’s not prepared for the work, despite his time on the job. A senior Labor Department source said: “Despite being with the department for four months, Ellis still does not seem to understand the most basic aspects of the work. There is widespread concern that if this is the person who represents the interests of the American workforce in international negotiations and other foreign affairs, other countries are going to eat our lunch. It won’t end well for American workers."
Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 05/23/2017 - 14:03Tags: President Donald Trump
Shuler Joins Graduate Teachers Seeking Recognition of Their Union at Yale's Commencement
Thousands of supporters rallied today at Yale University's commencement in solidarity with the graduate teachers who formed a union with UNITE HERE Local 33. The university has refused to recognize the union and come to the negotiating table.
Eight union members who were on a hunger strike broke their fast today.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler joined the graduate professionals and delivered remarks from the rally.
Let me read you a bit of Yale’s mission statement.
Yale is committed to improving the world today and for future generations....We carry out this mission through the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community of faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
So my question is this: How are you improving the world by denying student-workers a voice on the job?
How are you fostering a free exchange of ideas by refusing to bargain?
Do you really want Yale to be the Walmart of the Ivy League?
Do you really want Yale to be the Walmart of the Ivy League?
Liz ShulerShuler reminded the university that under the law, graduate teachers are employees. Some have speculated that Yale's stalling tactics are because it hopes a newly engineered National Labor Relations Board put in place by the Trump administration could roll back gains won by graduate teachers.
Shuler said:
Yale teaching assistants meet the common law definition of employees. They also meet the common sense definition.
They work. For pay. And they voted democratically to form a union.
It is time for Yale to acknowledge what is right in front of them.
Brave, proud union members who decided to make this campus their home.
When these student-workers look at that Yale degree on the office wall of whatever amazing job they do next, will they remember a university that did right by them? Or will they remember just another employer that made their lives harder for power and greed?
Yale, you can fix this today.
If you need someone to beat, stick to Harvard.
Jackie Tortora Mon, 05/22/2017 - 13:41Tags: graduate
