Free Republic

DETROIT—If President Trump’s trade war has a physical battleground, it is Michigan, where companies and workers are already feeling the beginning of an onslaught that could blow a hole in the state’s economy. Nearly 20% of the economy is tied to the auto industry, which has become increasingly dependent on parts and vehicles from Canada, Mexico and China—imports Trump hit with steep tariffs in recent weeks. This trade has grown so large that Michigan ranks fifth in the nation by the size of its imports and exports, even though its total economy ranks 14th. Detroit’s automotive executives have shifted into...

A labor union representing farm workers that for more than a decade begged the Border Patrol to enforce immigration laws is now part of a lawsuit against the Border Patrol for doing just that. The lawsuit, filed by the United Farm Workers (UFW) and five Kern County residents, seeks to stop the Border Patrol from future enforcement actions that stop, arrest, and remove “community members” from the country. The lawsuit was filed in response to a week-long immigration enforcement operation conducted by Border Patrol agents assigned to the El Centro Sector of the United States Border Patrol in January. The...

Union baron Mick Lynch has vowed to seize control of the UK economy. Mr Lynch, whose RMT union brought much of the country to a standstill through rail walkouts, said the “prize” is “universal” influence over all of the nation’s industries. The Royal College of Nursing left Chancellor Rachel Reeves red-faced after announcing it was rejecting the Government’s 5.5 per cent pay hike offer in the middle of her speech. And Mr Lynch called for a sweeping expansion of union powers which would make it easier to shut down industries if their demands are not met. He said: “The problem...

United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain slammed former President Trump in a Wednesday speech announcing the union’s endorsement of President Biden, calling the Republican front-runner “a scab.” “Donald Trump is a scab,” Fain said, prompting applause from union members. “Donald Trump is a billionaire and that is who he represents. If Donald Trump ever worked in an auto plant, he wouldn’t be a UAW member, he would be a company man trying to squeeze the American worker.” “Donald Trump stands against everything we stand for as a union, as a society,” Fain continued. “When you go back to our...

Harlem civil rights leader Al Sharpton on Saturday slammed one of the most powerful unions in New York for its failure to direct its assets into minority-run investment funds. During his weekly broadcast from his National Action Network headquarters in Harlem, Sharpton said he’s concerned that the influential 1199 Service Employees International Union Local is not investing in a way that reflects the diversity of its members, following an exclusive report by The Post about the union’s hypocritical investment strategy.

On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) stated that Secretary of State Pete Buttigieg hasn’t had enough involvement in trying to avert a potential rail strike, which, along with rising diesel costs, “will be a one-two shot to an already struggling economy.” Waltz said that in addition to the cost of gas spiking if there’s a rail strike, “the cost of diesel is through the roof as well. You know, the average trucker used to spend 300, $400 to fill up his rig. Now, he’s spending over $1,000, and this will be...

Home Depot workers in Philadelphia rejected the first store-wide labor union at the world’s largest home improvement retailer Saturday night, a loss for a fledgling movement to organize at major U.S. companies. Workers voted 165 to 51 against forming a union representing 274 employees at the store, WHYY-FM reported. The National Labor Relations Board oversaw the voting. A board spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press for information about the vote. The defeat for the organizers, who sought to join Home Depot Workers United, could discourage activist workers who have successfully formed the first unions...

The White House-brokered agreement to avert a railroad strike has the potential to fall apart, threatening widespread economic disruption right before the midterm elections. Rail workers are set to vote on the tentative deal reached between unions and railroads Thursday morning. If any of the 12 rail unions fail to ratify a new contract, nearly 125,000 rail workers could be headed for a strike. The agreement would mandate two-person crews, cap health care costs and allow workers to take time off for medical appointments or other scheduled events without being penalized, all key concessions won by unions. The deal also...

Little do people know that this administration has tried to avert total disaster amid a rail strike set to effect Friday at midnight. Thirty percent of the nation’s freight would be shuttered, and the cost per day to the US economy will be around $2 billion. Most passenger and commuter rail services will also cease operating. Ten of the twelve major railway unions have agreed to the new agreements, though the two largest, which represent engineers and conductors, has not signed off. They still have lingering questions about sick leave and penalties for missing work. Thus far, these two are...

President Biden expressed his support for labor unions and boasted about Democratic legislative victories during a Wisconsin labor event just two months ahead of the November midterms. Speaking at Milwaukee Laborfest, the president said Labor Day is “a special day to me as well because the fact of the matter here is I wouldn’t be here without unions! Unions. Electricians, iron workers … teamsters, laborers, bricklayers, transit workers, plumbers and pipefitters, steel workers.”

(WASHINGTON) – The following is the official statement of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa regarding the ongoing blockade by the Freedom Convoy protest at the United States-Canada border. “The Teamsters Union denounces the ongoing Freedom Convoy protest at the Canadian border that continues to hurt workers and negatively impact our economy. The livelihood of working Americans and Canadians in the automotive, agricultural, and manufacturing sectors is threatened by this blockade. “Our economy is growing under the Biden Administration, and this disruption in international trade threatens to derail the gains we have made. Our members are some of the hardest workers...

The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), which represents West Virginia coal miners as well, said that the bill contained important measures that would benefit coal miners — like an extension of funding to aid victims of black lung disease, tax incentives to urge manufacturers to build new factories and employ ex-miners and protect union workers. Cecil Roberts, the union’s president said in a statement: “We are disappointed that the bill will not pass. We urge Senator Manchin to revisit his opposition to this legislation and work with his colleagues to pass something that will help keep coal miners working,...

Seattle firefighters who lost their jobs over the COVID vaccine mandate dropped off their boots, said a prayer with their families, and cooked breakfast for the homeless in Occidental Park on Tuesday. On Monday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan had indicated that the Seattle Fire Department reported 91% of its employees vaccinated against COVID-19, and 6% were allowed a religious or medical exemption. Seattle firefighter Andrew Pittman, who hasn’t been terminated, but doesn’t expect to be accommodated, was among those who left his boots and walked to the park. He told the Dori Monson Show he estimates about 100 firefighters will...

Jeb Bush RetweetedI'm proud to receive @BPUnion's endorsement. Our borders pose the most critical homeland homeland security threat our state faces due to illegal drug smuggling and human trafficking. As Texas Attorney General, I will fight to secure and protect our border. pic.twitter.com/LViJn3RxNz— George P. Bush (@georgepbush) September 4, 2021

The de Blasio administration has canceled a long-scheduled $900 million deferred compensation payout to current and former teachers, citing the coronavirus-induced financial crisis. The payout due this month — the last in the series of five stemming from union negotiations between 2009 and 2011 — was called off as the city attempts to limit the number of administration-wide layoffs, First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan wrote to the teachers union Thursday. “It is the city’s desire to avoid the necessity for layoffs, and to make a retroactive payment at this time would therefore be fiscally irresponsible,” Fuleihan wrote in a letter...

Will County billboards that warned motorists about bridges stoked public-safety fears and helped convince state lawmakers of the need to approve a $45 billion infrastructure plan. The billboards and their impact arguably deserve to rank among the top political stories of the year, if not the decade. Construction unions paid to display the messages “Cross bridge at your own risk” and “Bridge ahead in critical condition” on electronic billboards near Interstate 80 bridges over the Des Plaines River in Joliet. The billboards heightened motorists’ fears about crumbling infrastructure and generated bipartisan support for the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois program. Marc...

Union workers can say a lot while under the protection of American labor law. For example: “Go back to Africa, you bunch of —ing losers!” That was only one of the racial epithets shouted in 2012 by picketing Ohio tire workers at a group of replacement employees, many of them black. When the tire company fired one offender, its decision was overturned by an administrative judge. That ruling was upheld by the National Labor Relations Board in a 2016 decision, Cooper Tire . These kinds of precedents, employers say, put them in a bind between labor law and workplace standards—even...

The Universal Postal Union’s member nations agreed Sept. 25 to improve its payment system for the international exchange of Letter Post Packets. The international organization, also known as the UPU, has established a system that determines the amount a country will be paid for delivering international Letter Post products that originate in another country. This system is known as “terminal dues.” This week in Geneva, UPU members held a special meeting — known as an Extraordinary Congress — to discuss the current terminal dues system as it applies to Letter Post small packets that contain goods. The meeting provided an...

Union auto workers voted, by a large majority, to authorize strikes while the United Auto Workers (UAW) union negotiates contracts with General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Fiat Chrysler. UAW members voted about 96 percent to allow union workers to strike while UAW leaders negotiate contracts with GM, Ford, and Chrysler — a vote that merely authorizes strikes and does not indicate that strikes will be held. UAW President Gary Jones said in a statement:

Something usually not discussed on Labor Day weekend is the violence and thuggery which has always been part of the union movement. And it still happens. The history of the labor movement in the U.S. is littered with extremists who use violence to get their way. At the beginning of the union movement, the violence was outer-directed; toward the government, management, or the police who were using violence themselves to destroy the labor movement. As the movement matured, the abuse became directed inward, targeted towards keeping the rank and file “in line,” going after replacement workers, or sabotaging the particular...