President-elect Donald Trump’s designated appointment of Congresswoman Lori Michelle Chavez-DeRemer as Secretary of Labor in his incoming administration has been hailed in some quarters as an act friendly to labor. Others, however, were urging caution.
Her labor-friendly bona fidescome from the fact that she was only one of three Republicans in the House of Representatives who co-sponsored the pro-labor Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The act was defeated in the face of Republican opposition.
But AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler was skeptical that it would mean that the Trump administration would be friendly to workers. “Donald Trump is the President-elect of the United States—not Rep. Chavez-DeRemer—and it remains to be seen what she will be permitted to do as Secretary of Labor in an administration with a dramatically anti-worker agenda,” noted Shuler. “Despite having distanced himself from Project 2025 during his campaign, President-elect Trump has put forward several cabinet nominees with strong ties to [anti-union] Project 2025.”
And Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers’ union, pointed out that it is the National Labor Relations Board that is charged with preventing union busting, not the Department of Labor. “During his first term, Trump appointed anti-worker, anti-union National Labor Relations Board members,” said Pringle. “Now he is threatening to take the unprecedented action of removing current pro-worker NLRB members in the middle of their term, replacing them with his corporate friends. And he is promising to appoint judges and justices who are hostile to workers and unions.”
Since 2021, the year President Biden took office, the number of union election petitions filed with the National Labor Relations Board has skyrocketed, the board recently reported. In the last year alone, the requests have jumped 29 percent from nearly 2,600 to nearly 3,600. Under the law, if 30 percent of the workers in a workplace sign union authorization cards, the NLRB is charged with reviewing the petitions and conducting an election. And if a majority of the workers select a union, the employer must bargain in good faith with that union.
The big jump in union election filings reflects the labor-friendly policies of the Biden administration and the presidential appointments to the NLRB that has changed the board’s policies.
Over the years, however, Republican appointees to the board have disproportionately been corporate-friendly lawyers, or even those advising companies on how to avoid unionization. This has severely weakened the ability of unions to get the board to enforce the law. Many unions have avoided the NLRB altogether.
The change in NLRB policies has created one big problem – a shortage of personnel to handle the huge caseload of approving petitions and supervising elections. The board pointed to the fact that when it faced a similar situation back in 2011 during the Obama administration, it had 62 percent more field staff. Cuts during the Trump years have since made the situation difficult.
https://www.spotlightonlabor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/icon.png500500Paul Beckerhttps://www.spotlightonlabor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/spotlight_logo_.pngPaul Becker2024-10-24 17:59:592024-10-24 18:02:25NLRB REPORTS BIG SURGE IN UNION ELECTION FILINGS
After striking for just a few days, dock workers at Atlantic and Gulf ports suspended their strike action until the end of the year unless negotiations between their union, the International Longshoreman’s Association, and the US Maritime Alliance, representing the shipping industry, reach a contract by then. (See item on Labor News page of this website.) ILA members have been working under a six-year contract that expired Sept 30. During that time they have seen their real income deteriorate during the pandemic when many ports could not operate. The workers unload cargo from ships docked in the ports They are seeking substantial pay increases to make up for their losses and protection from automation severely cutting into their jobs.
UNION LEADERS URGE CAUTION IN JUDGING TRUMP PICK FOR LABOR SECRETARY
Labor BriefsPresident-elect Donald Trump’s designated appointment of Congresswoman Lori Michelle Chavez-DeRemer as Secretary of Labor in his incoming administration has been hailed in some quarters as an act friendly to labor. Others, however, were urging caution.
Her labor-friendly bona fides come from the fact that she was only one of three Republicans in the House of Representatives who co-sponsored the pro-labor Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The act was defeated in the face of Republican opposition.
But AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler was skeptical that it would mean that the Trump administration would be friendly to workers. “Donald Trump is the President-elect of the United States—not Rep. Chavez-DeRemer—and it remains to be seen what she will be permitted to do as Secretary of Labor in an administration with a dramatically anti-worker agenda,” noted Shuler. “Despite having distanced himself from Project 2025 during his campaign, President-elect Trump has put forward several cabinet nominees with strong ties to [anti-union] Project 2025.”
And Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers’ union, pointed out that it is the National Labor Relations Board that is charged with preventing union busting, not the Department of Labor. “During his first term, Trump appointed anti-worker, anti-union National Labor Relations Board members,” said Pringle. “Now he is threatening to take the unprecedented action of removing current pro-worker NLRB members in the middle of their term, replacing them with his corporate friends. And he is promising to appoint judges and justices who are hostile to workers and unions.”
Payday Report, 11/23
NLRB REPORTS BIG SURGE IN UNION ELECTION FILINGS
Labor BriefsSince 2021, the year President Biden took office, the number of union election petitions filed with the National Labor Relations Board has skyrocketed, the board recently reported. In the last year alone, the requests have jumped 29 percent from nearly 2,600 to nearly 3,600. Under the law, if 30 percent of the workers in a workplace sign union authorization cards, the NLRB is charged with reviewing the petitions and conducting an election. And if a majority of the workers select a union, the employer must bargain in good faith with that union.
The big jump in union election filings reflects the labor-friendly policies of the Biden administration and the presidential appointments to the NLRB that has changed the board’s policies.
Over the years, however, Republican appointees to the board have disproportionately been corporate-friendly lawyers, or even those advising companies on how to avoid unionization. This has severely weakened the ability of unions to get the board to enforce the law. Many unions have avoided the NLRB altogether.
The change in NLRB policies has created one big problem – a shortage of personnel to handle the huge caseload of approving petitions and supervising elections. The board pointed to the fact that when it faced a similar situation back in 2011 during the Obama administration, it had 62 percent more field staff. Cuts during the Trump years have since made the situation difficult.
Huffpost, 10/15
OCTOBER BITS AND PIECES
Labor Briefs, miscDOCK WORKERS SUSPEND STRIKE
After striking for just a few days, dock workers at Atlantic and Gulf ports suspended their strike action until the end of the year unless negotiations between their union, the International Longshoreman’s Association, and the US Maritime Alliance, representing the shipping industry, reach a contract by then. (See item on Labor News page of this website.) ILA members have been working under a six-year contract that expired Sept 30. During that time they have seen their real income deteriorate during the pandemic when many ports could not operate. The workers unload cargo from ships docked in the ports They are seeking substantial pay increases to make up for their losses and protection from automation severely cutting into their jobs.