The Bush Administration: Consistently bad for organized labor

[angka]

(courtesy Jonathan Postal, vice chair, Western Caucus, DNC)

BUSH BEGAN TARGETING ORGANIZED LABOR EARLY

Bush Started His Anti-Union Campaign After Less Than A Month In Office:
Less Than a Month into His Administration, Bush Issued Four Major Anti-Worker Orders.
Two of Bush’s Anti-Labor Executive Orders Were Found to Be Illegal.
Bush Issued an Executive Order Banning Unions in the Department of Justice in 2002.
Bush Appointed Anti-Worker Lawyer to Be Labor Department Solicitor General.

Bush – Strike Breaker:
Bush Administration Threatened to Use U.S. Troops to Break Potential Port Strike on the West Coast.
Bush Halted Strike among United Airlines Mechanics in 12/01.
Bush Told United Not to Offer More Money to Mechanics.
Bush Prevented Strike among Northwest Airlines Mechanics in 3/01.
Bush Promised to Prevent Strike at Delta Airlines.
Before Bush, There Had Been Only One Intervention in Airline Labor Dispute in 35 Years.

Bush Supported Silencing Workers’ Voices In The Political Process:
Bush Supported “Paycheck Protection” in His “Statement of Principles” for Campaign Finance Reform.
“Paycheck Protection” Would Hurt Working Families, Help Big Business.
Chao Silenced Labor Department Employees Critical of Bush.

BUSH FOUGHT WORKPLACE SAFETY PROGRAMS, CONSISTENTLY SIDED WITH BUSINESS
First Major Bill Bush Signed Hurt Workers:
First Real Bill Bush Signed Was Repeal of Workplace Ergonomics Rules.
Bush Administration Planned to Issue Less Stringent Ergonomics Regulations in 2002.

Bush Consistently Sides With Business Against Workers:
Bush proposed eliminating overtime for 8 million workers.
Bush Rescinded Federal Regulations Preventing Federal Contracts from Going to Companies that Broke Labor Laws.
Bush Administration Delayed Ergonomics Record-Keeping Requirement for One Year.
Bush’s Labor Department Relaxed Enforcement of Workplace Laws Because of Business Interest Lobbying.
Bush’s OSHA Wanted to Focus on Compliance and Voluntary Programs.

Bush Relentlessly Attacks Federal Employees
Bush held the annual pay raise for federal workers to less than half that of the military.
Bush has proposed privatizing 25 percent of the federal workforce.

BUSH CUT IMPORTANT FUNDS FOR WORKERS IN HIS BUDGETS
FY 2004 Budget Cut Funding for Important Labor Programs.
FY 2004 Budget Held Funding Flat for Vital Labor Programs.
FY 2004 Budget Reduced Funding To Safeguard Employment Standards.
Bush Administration Spokesman Defended Small Department of Labor Increase.
FY 2004 Budget Cut Services for Youth Job Training Programs.
AFL-CIO President Criticized Bush Budget.
Bush’s Budget Increased Funds for Investigating Organized Labor; Didn’t Fund More Enforcement at the SEC.
Bush’s FY2003 Budget Cut Labor Department by Almost $3 Billion.
Bush’s FY2003 Budget Eliminated Almost Half of the Labor Department’s Job Training Programs.
Bush’s FY2003 Budget Cut the Youth Opportunity Grants Program by $180 Million.
Bush’s FY2003 Budget Cut almost $9 Million, More than 80 Positions from OSHA.
Bush’s FY 2002 Budget Cut Labor Department Funding by About Five Percent.
Bush’s FY 2002 Budget Called for Reforms Which Would Weaken Davis-Bacon Laws.
Bush Labor Department Rescinded Almost $5 Million in Grants for Worker Safety Programs to Make Room for Bush’s Tax Cut.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION: CONSISTENTLY BAD FOR ORGANIZED LABOR

Picking up where he left off in Texas, Bush made sure to include many anti-worker actions in his first-year agenda. Bush wasted no time in rolling back the progress made for America’s working men and women during the Clinton administration, making ergonomics repeal the first major bill he signed. Less than a month into his term, Bush signed four major anti-worker executive orders. Bush’s budgets have contained significant cuts to the Labor Department, including cuts for job training programs. However, Bush managed to find enough money in his budget to propose increased funds to investigate unions, but not to increase staff at the SEC to investigate corporate crimes.

BUSH BEGAN TARGETING ORGANIZED LABOR EARLY

Bush Started His Anti-Union Campaign After Less Than A Month In Office:
Less Than a Month into His Administration, Bush Issued Four Major Anti-Worker Orders. Less than a month after being sworn into office, Bush issued four executive orders curbing the rights of working men and women. AFL-CIO president John Sweeney said that the orders were “mean spirited and anti-worker” retribution against unions for supporting Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 elections. The orders were:
Bush Signed Executive Order Banning Project Labor Agreements. Bush issued an order banning project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal construction projects. PLAs allowed contractors and unions to negotiate wages and conditions for projects in order to assure an ample supply of labor and to ensure no strikes on the project.

Bush Issued Order Requiring Contractors to Post Anti-Union Notices. Bush signed an order requiring federal contractors to post anti-union notices. The order reinstated an order issued by Bush’s father that required contractors to post a notice telling workers that they do not have to pay any portion of their union dues that is used for political activities. President Clinton revoked the earlier version of order from the first Bush administration, calling it “distinctly anti-union.”

Bush Eliminated the National Partnership Council. Bush issued an order eliminating the National Partnership Council. The Council worked to bring management and labor in government agencies together to resolve differences and to find new ways to work together.

Bush Revoked Job Protection Policy for Service Industry Workers Contracting With the Federal Government. Bush signed an order revoking a job-protection policy for service industry workers that contracted with the government. The order revoked a rule designed to reduce turn-over in low-wage jobs by requiring federal contractors to rehire displaced workers when the government changed contractors.

Two of Bush’s Anti-Labor Executive Orders Were Found to Be Illegal. Two of the four executive orders Bush issued in February 2001 were later found to be illegal by federal judges. On 11/7/01, a federal judge ruled that Bush’s order banning PLAs violated the National Labor Relations Act. Then, on 1/2/02, another federal judge found that Bush’s order requiring federal contractors to post anti-union notices also violated the NLRA.

Bush Administration Sabotaged Wilson Bridge PLA. The Bush administration sabotaged an attempt by Maryland to use a project labor agreement to build a new Wilson Bridge across the Potomac River. Bush’s Federal Highway Administration refused to allow a PLA on the project and threatened to withhold $2 billion in federal funding for the project if Maryland went through with negotiating one.

Bush Issued an Executive Order Banning Unions in the Department of Justice in 2002. Bush issued an executive order barring unions from parts of the Department of Justice on 1/7/02. Bush’s order affected more than 500 federal workers at various agencies within the DOJ. Bush said that union contracts could restrict workers at the Department of Justice from protecting Americans and national security, even though federal law prohibits strikes among federal workers. “We’re outraged by this,” said Steven Kreisberg, associate director of collective bargaining at AFSCME. “A lot of these Justice Department workers have been members of unions for 20 years and there’s never been an allegation of a problem. It’s a very cynical use of the Sept. 11 tragedy by an antiunion administration.”

Bush Appointed Anti-Worker Lawyer to Be Labor Department Solicitor General. Bush used a recess appointment to make anti-worker lawyer Eugene Scalia the top lawyer for the Labor Department. Scalia will provide legal guidance for almost every Department initiative. Scalia has testified against ergonomics protections when they were being developed by the Clinton administration and criticized ergonomics as “junk science.” In his 10-year career as a labor lawyer, Scalia fought for big corporations and only represented two workers. Scalia’s appointment was not likely to be confirmed by the Senate.

Bush – Strike Breaker:
Bush Administration Threatened to Use U.S. Troops to Break Potential Port Strike on the West Coast. The Bush administration threatened to use Navy personnel to run West Coast ports if members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union went on strike. “The government has no business in these negotiations,” said ILWU spokesman Steve Stallone. “We never even got a chance to begin negotiating before they started interfering. This is why negotiations are completely deadlocked.” According to Stallone, a Labor Department lawyer said that the Bush administration would use Navy personnel to run the ports or would push legislation that would weaken the union’s ability to strike if the union staged a walkout or strike. The contract for the 10,500 ILWU members working in west coast ports ran out on 7/1/02 and negotiations for a new contract had not been completed as of August 2002. The union’s contract with the Pacific Maritime Association controls the flow of about $260 billion in cargo that moves through America’s 29 major Pacific ports. “The Department of Labor is supposed to represent workers in the administration,” Stallone said. “But what we have is a Department of Labor whose attorney wants to overthrow the National Labor Relations Act, the very law he's supposed to be enforcing.”

Bush Halted Strike among United Airlines Mechanics in 12/01. Bush appointed an emergency board, forcing a 60-day cooling off period in negotiations between United Airlines and its mechanics union. If no agreement is reached after the cooling off period, only Congress could prevent a strike. The 15,000 members of the International Association of Machinists at United have been working at 1994 wage levels since July 2000 when they made major contract concessions in exchange for United stock. United’s mechanics work for about $7 per hour less than mechanics at American Airlines.

Bush Told United Not to Offer More Money to Mechanics. The Bush administration warned United not to offer more money to its mechanics’ union to avoid an impending strike. The administration reportedly told United officials that if they offered more money for the mechanics’ contracts then United shouldn’t bother coming to the new federal loan guarantee board for financial help.

Bush Prevented Strike among Northwest Airlines Mechanics in 3/01. Bush appointed an emergency board to mediate between Northwest Airlines and its mechanics’ union in March 2001. Bush’s move forced a 60-day cooling off period, delaying a potential strike by the union. Northwest’s mechanics had been without a contract for almost five years when Bush intervened to prevent a strike.

Chao Served on Northwest’s Board from 1999 to 2001. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao served on the board of directors for Northwest Airlines from January 1999 until she was appointed by Bush.

Bush Promised to Prevent Strike at Delta Airlines. In April 2001, Bush promised Delta Airlines officials that he would intervene to prevent a strike if the company could not reach a deal with its pilots’ union. Delta Chairman Leo Mullin said that Delta had “constant reassurances” that Bush would intervene if no deal were reached. Earlier, Bush had said that he intended to “take the necessary steps to prevent
airline strikes from happening this year.”

Before Bush, There Had Been Only One Intervention in Airline Labor Dispute in 35 Years. Before Bush’s first year in office, there had been only one presidential intervention in an airline labor dispute in 35 years. Bush intervened in two disputes and threatened to intervene in two others.

Bush Supported Silencing Workers’ Voices In The Political Process:
Bush Supported “Paycheck Protection” in His “Statement of Principles” for Campaign Finance Reform. Bush included so-called “paycheck protection” in his “statement of principles” for campaign finance reform. As the Senate was preparing to take up debate on campaign finance reform, Bush sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott outlining his “statement of principles” on the subject. Bush said that as part of his campaign finance reform, he wanted to require labor unions to require unions to get members permission before their dues money could be used for political purposes.

“Paycheck Protection” Would Hurt Working Families, Help Big Business. So-called “Paycheck Protection” measures supported by Bush and the GOP would actually hurt working families by giving them less of a voice in the political process while not restricting big business’ political influence. Paycheck protection measures would subject unions to burdensome restrictions while not affecting corporate spending on political activities, even though corporations already outspend unions 11 to 1.

Chao Silenced Workers Critical of Bush. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao prohibited the union that represents department employees from sending its newsletter through office mail. The newsletter contained an article and cartoon critical of Bush administration tax policy, and Chao said the Labor Department’s mail could not be used for this purpose.

BUSH FOUGHT WORKPLACE SAFETY PROGRAMS, CONSISTENTLY SIDED WITH BUSINESS

First Major Bill Bush Signed Hurt Workers:
First Real Bill Bush Signed Was Repeal of Workplace Ergonomics Rules. The first major bill Bush signed was a congressional repeal of workplace regulations designed to prevent injuries from repetitive motion. Shortly after taking office, Bush backed efforts by congressional Republicans to repeal the ergonomics standards. OSHA, which produced the regulations said that they would cost businesses $4.5 billion to implement but would save $9 billion through increased productivity and reduced sick days. Bush planned to block implementation of the ergonomics rules even before he took office.

Bush Administration Announced Plan to Develop Voluntary Ergonomics Guidelines. More than a year after Bush officially repealed the Clinton administration’s ergonomics regulations, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao announced that the administration would develop voluntary ergonomics guidelines for certain industries as part of its four point ergonomics plan. OSHA planned to announce the guidelines for certain industries about six months after Bush’s plan was announced.

After a Year of Inaction, Bush’s “Plan” Still Doesn’t Have Any Guidelines. More than a year after Bush repealed the Clinton administration’s ergonomics regulations, Bush released a “plan” that still does not contain any ergonomics guidelines. “It’s the emperor’s new clothes,” Jackie Nowell, safety director for the United Food and Commercial Workers said. “They had 13 months to develop guidelines for specific industries and they haven’t, and now they say they need six more months to develop guidelines.”

Bush’s “Plan” Is Based on Voluntary Industry Participation, Provides No Guarantees for Suffering Workers. Bush’s “plan” calls for no mandatory steps by businesses to prevent repetitive stress injuries, instead relying on voluntary actions by businesses to address ergonomic hazards in the workplace. Bush’s plan only calls for OSHA to develop voluntary ergonomics guidelines for certain industries, but provides no penalties for businesses or industries that do not follow the guidelines.

Despite More Than a Decade of Research, Bush’s “Plan” Calls for More Study While Workers Suffer. Despite more than a decade’s worth of research revealing the deleterious effects of repetitive stress injuries, Bush’s “plan” calls for yet more research. Bush wants OSHA to establish an advisory committee to study ergonomics-related injuries.

Bush “Plan” Calls for More OSHA Responsibilities but He Cut OSHA Funding this Year. Bush’s “plan” called for additional responsibilities for OSHA but his FY2003 budget actually cut almost $9 million in funding and 83 positions from the agency. Bush’s “plan” calls for additional outreach and training and called for new training grants to address workplace injuries.

Bush Consistently Sides With Business Against Workers:
Bush proposed eliminating overtime for 8 million workers. Bush's proposal to overhaul overtime rules could reclassify workers as managers, administrative workers or professional employees, leaving them ineligible for overtime pay. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that overall 8 million workers would be affected by the Bush plan.

United Food and Commercial Workers: Change is “a Massive Give-Away for Employers.” Nick Clark, the assistant general counsel of the United Food and Commercial Workers in Washington, stated that Bush’s overtime change is “a massive give-away for employers at the expense of workers.”

Bush Rescinded Federal Regulations Preventing Federal Contracts from Going to Companies that Broke Labor Laws. Bush repealed a federal regulation that prevented federal contracts from going to contractors that had violated federal labor laws. The rule had been issued by President Clinton in 2000 after an Associated Press analysis found that hundreds of contractors were eligible for federal contracts despite convictions or lawsuits for defrauding the government. A General Accounting Office study found that in one year 261 federal contractors with 5,121 health and safety law violations received $38 billion in contracts. Bush’s repeal came after lobbying from the business community.

Bush Administration Delayed Ergonomics Record-Keeping Requirement for One Year. Bush’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration delayed implementing its definition of “musculoskeletal disorders” (MSDs) and work-related hearing loss as a part of its new record-keeping regulations. The MSD reporting requirement was delayed until 1/1/03, while other workplace injury reporting requirements will become effective 1/1/02. The delay means that employers will not have to determine which workplace injuries should be classified as MSDs or ergonomic injuries in 2002. Critics of the move said that it will make it harder to determine which injuries were the results of ergonomic hazards while business groups welcomed the move saying that the delay was needed to flush out the definition of ergonomic injuries.

Bush’s Labor Department Relaxed Enforcement of Workplace Laws Because of Business Interest Lobbying. After heavy lobbying from business groups, Bush’s Labor Department decided to ease enforcement of workplace laws. The Department said that it would emphasize compliance assistance for companies, rather than enforcement of workplace laws. The Department’s shift in focus from enforcement to compliance came after lobbying campaigns from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups. The business groups said that department inspectors looked too closely at small infractions, requested too much data and used different standards in different places.

Bush’s OSHA Wanted to Focus on Compliance and Voluntary Programs. Bush’s OSHA decided to focus on compliance and voluntary programs and to use enforcement only to stop the worst law breakers. “We’ve reached the law of diminishing returns with enforcement,” said Bush’s OSHA chief John Henshaw.

Bush Relentlessly Targets Federal Employees:

Bush Held the Annual Pay Raise for Federal Workers to Less than Half that of the Military. Bush used a loophole in federal pay law to reduce the pay raise for federal employees to 2 percent, less than half of the 4.1 percent increase Bush authorized for members of the military. AFLCIO president John Sweeney said the decision was “shameful, and makes clear that Bush is making federal employees pay for his own fiscal recklessness.”

Bush Has Proposed Privatizing Over 25 Percent of the Federal Workforce. Bush has proposed privatizing half of all the federal workers that perform “commercial” functions, or jobs that could be done in the private sector. The proposal could privatize the jobs of 425,000 federal workers.



BUSH CUT IMPORTANT FUNDS FOR WORKERS IN HIS BUDGETS

FY 2004 Budget Cut Funding for Important Labor Programs. Bush’s FY 2004 budget for the Department of Labor slashed funding by 1 percent, and numerous programs faced steep cuts. The One Stop Career Centers Program, which provides employment information, would lose $12 million. The Unemployment Insurance Program would lose $88 million. The Bush Budget also eliminates all $98 million in funding for the H-1B skill training grants program. Funding is slashed by $111 million for WIA National Programs, which provide employment and training for Native Americans.

FY 2004 Budget Held Funding Flat for Vital Labor Programs. Funding for labor exchange services and Work Incentive Grants, which help individuals with disabilities find employment, would be frozen. The budget also freezes funding for the Community Service Employment for Older Americans program.

FY 2004 Budget Reduced Funding To Safeguard Employment Standards. The Bush Budget also slashes $338 million in funding for the Employment Standards Administration program. The Budget also cuts funding for enforcement of wage and hour standards for by $1.2 million. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration would lose $3.3 million for Safety and Health Statistics, which provides analysis of OSHA data. Finally, the Budget cuts funding administration of the Mine Safety and Health Administration by $3.1 million.

Bush Administration Spokesman Defended Small Department of Labor Increase. The Bush Budget gave cut many programs in the Labor Department and provided others with no increase. Defending the budget, assistant secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration John Henshaw said, “Our country's most important priority continues to be our nation's security.”

FY 2004 Budget Cut Services for Youth Job Training Programs. The Bush Budget eliminates the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Program, a program that assists agriculture workers find jobs. The Budget also cuts the Youth Opportunity Grants Program, which assists low-income youth in finding jobs. By freezing grant funds, the Bush budget cut services for 65,500 youth. According to the Administration, youth training and employment grants will only serve 380,300 participants in 2004, compared with 445,800 the previous year.

AFL-CIO President Criticized Bush Budget. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said of the Bush Budget, “From Medicare to education, from job training to jobless benefits, from transportation to public safety, and from Medicaid to Social Security, the Administration’s 2004 budget neglects priorities and hollows out the most trusted services to pay for tax cuts so unbalanced that President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney would get back more in taxes than the average American worker earns in one year. The Bush Administration is skimping on jobs and the economy. For almost two years, workers have paid the price for the recession, yet the Bush Administration budget neglects the workers who have suffered the most, cutting job training programs and failing to offer an aggressive plan to create jobs by investing in public programs such as building roads, schools and hospitals.”

Bush’s Budget Increased Funds for Investigating Organized Labor; Didn’t Fund More Enforcement at the SEC. While Bush’s FY2003 budget increased funds in the Labor Department to investigate alleged crimes in organized labor by 12 percent, it included no money to hire new enforcement staff at the SEC to investigate corporate crimes. Bush’s SEC budget provided “zero-growth” in terms of the ability to hire, according to SEC Executive Director James McConnell. Bush’s SEC budget also did not provide the $76 million that the Commission needs to give its employees pay parity with federal banking regulators.

Bush’s FY2003 Budget Cut Labor Department by Almost $3 Billion. Bush’s FY2003 budget proposed cutting the Labor Department’s budget by $2.9 billion, a 4.8 percent cut. Bush’s budget would cut the Department’s budget from $59.4 billion to $56.5 billion. Bush’s budget cut the Labor Department’s discretionary budget from $12.3 billion to $11.4 billion, a 7.3 percent cut. The budget cuts would come from agencies to enforce job safety standards, minimum wage requirements and job training programs, including several programs to help laid-off workers get new jobs.

Bush’s FY2003 Budget Eliminated Almost Half of the Labor Department’s Job Training Programs. Bush’s FY2003 budget eliminated eight of 17 job training programs within the Department of Labor. Overall, funding for job training programs in the Department of Labor dropped $505 million in Bush’s FY2003 budget. And, Bush’s budget would cut the total number of job training programs run by the federal government from 48 to 28.

Bush’s FY2003 Budget Cut the Youth Opportunity Grants Program by $180 Million. Bush’s FY2003 budget cut the Youth Opportunity Grants Program from $225 million to $45 million. The program helps young people in high poverty areas and, according to the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, was cost effective and “has yielded impressive results.” Bush’s budget would fund the first round of grants announced for their full five years, but would not fund any additional rounds of grants. “These grants are early intervention funds to build our 21st century workforce,” Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said. “For our country to have the prepared workforce it needs, we can’t afford to let at-risk youths slip through our fingers.”

Bush’s FY2003 Budget Cut almost $9 Million, More than 80 Positions from OSHA. Bush’s FY2003 budget cut $8.9 million form the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and cut 83 positions from its staff. Bush’s budget cut $1.3 million from OSHA’s Safety and Health Standards program and $700,000 from federal enforcement activities. Bush’s budget also turned an $11.2 million grant program for worker training into a $4 million grant program geared towards employers.

Bush’s FY2003 Budget Cut almost $4 Million, More than 45 Positions from the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Bush’s FY2003 budget cut $3.6 million and 46 positions from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Bush’s FY 2002 Budget Cut Labor Department Funding by About Five Percent. Bush proposed a five percent budget cut the Labor Department’s funding in his FY 2002 budget. Bush’s budget cut the Department’s funding from $11.9 billion in 2001 to $11.3 billion in 2002.

Bush’s FY 2002 Budget Called for Reforms Which Would Weaken Davis-Bacon Laws. Bush included savings based on Congress passing changes to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage laws in his FY 2002 defense budget. Bush’s budget assumed that the threshold for applying Davis-Bacon would be increased from $2,000 to $1 million. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) said that such savings assumptions were based on “phony numbers” because the Congress would not pass changes to Davis-Bacon.

Bush Labor Department Rescinded Almost $5 Million in Grants for Worker Safety Programs to Make Room for Bush’s Tax Cut. In 2001, Bush’s Labor Department rescinded $4.8 million in OSHA grants previously approved for 19 organizations for worker safety programs to help make room for Bush’s tax cut. The grants had been awarded to businesses, universities, labor unions and nonprofit organizations. The average grant was about $250,000 with a 10 percent matching contribution required from recipients and was renewable for up to five years.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Is that...

Jonathan Postal the uber-geek or Jonathan Postal, the ex-singer of The Readymades?

[Octafish]

2. Great post! Um. Remember the "Made in China" box flap?

The boxes were all re-labeled "Made in USA" for the photo op. What a turd!



Whole story:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/madeinusa_030122.html

[angka]

3. read it all cone kick

nt