Labor

Last month, I reported that Obamacare had stirred up serious buyers remorse among unions who were discovering the law was driving up insurance costs, wreaking havoc with contractual negotiations, and making union jobs less competitive. While Big Labor is lobbying for special Obamacare subsidies and exemptions, one union has given up on trying to make the law work for them and is now publicly calling for a full Obamacare repeal.

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama proposed raising the minimum wage to $9.00 per hour. In support of this initiative, the White House has blogged about it and published a "fact sheet," as well. Acting Secretary of Labor Seth Harris has even conducted a "minimum wage tour" to draw attention to the issue.

For someone who aggressively campaigned on the notion that the Republican party cares disproportionately about the rich, President Obama’s economic scorecard is rather illuminating.

Tomorrow at the White House, President Barack Obama will bring in "progressive and labor leaders" for an immigration discussion. He'll also be meeting with "business leaders" to discuss the same topic.

Today, President Obama’s belief in a “living Constitution” came up against a ruling that enforced our fixed Constitution.  A 3-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously declared Obama’s “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board to be unconstitutional.  In making those appointments when the Senate was still in session, Obama sought to do an end-around that deliberative body — a move made all the more striking by the fact that the Senate was, and is, controlled by his own party.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has accepted the endorsement of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), according to an announcement from the Republican's reelection campaign. The organization "is one of the largest unions in the state, representing over 20,000 laborers across New Jersey primarily within the construction and manufacturing trades."

Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan, encouraged folks to "keep fighting!" after her side lost the labor dispute that will now give union members the right-to-work.

In the Washington Post, Robert Samuelson highlights how Obamacare would needlessly complicate our society, make it more maddeningly litigious, give the I.R.S. more prominence, and make it harder for workers to get employers to give them so much as 30 hours a week. 

A new chart from the minority side of the Senate Budget Committee details the fact that, since January 2009, for every person added to the labor force, 10 have been added to those not in the labor force. Here's a chart showing the dwindling labor force:

According to the Sunlight Foundation, the White House retweeted a message that stated, "@HildaSolisDOL WE NEED NATIONAL WORKERS UNION! LABOR LAWS 2 FEW 2 WEAK! WORKING PEEPS SLAVES 2 WALL ST! #HappyLaborDay #un ..."

Earlier today, Democrats announced that Costco CEO Jim Sinegal will be speaking at their convention in September. But while Sinegal has been a faithful supporter of President Obama, even holding a fundraiser for the president at his Washington state home recently, the choice of him as a speaker in Charlotte is likely once again to aggravate labor unions.

Philadelphia
Speaking at the Workers Stand for America union rally in Philadelphia today, Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wasted no time attacking newly announced Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.