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Participants seen holding signs and marching on a picket line during a solidarity event in Manhattan showing support for Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama. (Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Declaring that all U.S. workers have the right to bargain collectively without intimidation or coercion, President Joe Biden on Sunday delivered a public message of support to Amazon employees attempting to unionize at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama in the face of furious employer opposition.
"I made it clear when I was running that my administration's policy would be to support unions organizing and the right to collectively bargain," the president says in a two-minute video posted to Twitter Sunday night. "I'm keeping that promise."
While Biden did not explicitly advocate voting in favor of unionization--saying, "It's not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union"--his comments were viewed as an unusual and remarkable intervention by a sitting president in a heated and potentially seismic organizing push by employees of a notoriously anti-union company.
"We haven't had this aggressive and positive of a statement from a president of the United States on behalf of workers in decades," Faiz Shakir, former presidential campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and founder of More Perfect Union, told the Washington Post. "It is monumental that you have a president sending a message to workers across the country that if you take the courageous step to start to unionize you will have allies in the administration, the NLRB, and the Labor Department. It means a lot."
In the new video--released after the president faced pressure to vocally support the Bessemer effort--Biden says that "you should all remember that the National Labor Relations Act didn't just say that unions are allowed to exist. It said that we should encourage unions."
"So let me be really clear: it's not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union," the president continues. "But let me be even more clear: it's not up to an employer to decide that either."
"There should be no intimidation, no coercion, no threats, no anti-union propaganda," Biden added. "No supervisor should confront employees about their union preferences... Every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union. The law guarantees that choice. And it's your right, not that of an employer, it's your right. No employer can take that right away. So make your voice heard."
\u201cWorkers in Alabama \u2013 and all across America \u2013 are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace. It\u2019s a vitally important choice \u2013 one that should be made without intimidation or threats by employers.\n\nEvery worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union.\u201d— President Biden (@President Biden) 1614560506
"This is a huge, huge deal," Evan Weber, political director of the youth-led Sunrise Movement, wrote in response to Biden's remarks.
HuffPost labor reporter Dave Jamieson tweeted that while "union supporters will still be disappointed Biden does not overtly endorse the BAmazon Union campaign... this two-minute video might be more than Obama ever did from the bully pulpit when it comes to collective bargaining."
"Honestly, just seeing a president mention the National Labor Relations Act--let alone explain a central tenet of the law--is kind of bewildering, and shows how much has shifted in the last few years," Jamieson added.
Nelson Lichtenstein, a labor historian and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said Biden's pro-union statement "puts Obama to shame."
\u201cBiden's pro-union video has 1.4 million views. It needs 14 million more, for starters. It will be used in every union organizing campaign for the next four or eight years. The president's use of the phrase "anti-union propaganda" is powerful, negating so much corporate rhetoric\u201d— Nelson Lichtenstein (@Nelson Lichtenstein) 1614587174
Workers at the Bessemer facility began voting on whether to unionize last month, and the election will run through March 29. Possibly fearing that a successful organizing push at the roughly 6,000-employee Alabama warehouse could embolden union drives elsewhere, Amazon has worked hard to crush the Bessemer effort. As labor journalist Steven Greenhouse reported for The Guardian last week:
Bessemer Amazon has mounted a fierce campaign against the [Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU)]. It texts several anti-union messages each day to workers. It has forced workers to attend 'information' meetings where managers belittle unions. It even put anti-union posters in the bathroom stalls. "You go to the bathroom for privacy, but then you have a flyer right in your face," [Amazon employee Darryl] Richardson said. "That feels like a type of harassment. That's extreme to me."
In a statement Sunday night, RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum thanked Biden for "sending a clear message of support for the BAmazon Union workers in Alabama seeking to bring the first union to an Amazon warehouse with the RWDSU."
"As President Biden points out, the best way for working people to protect themselves and their families is by organizing into unions," Appelbaum said. "And that is why so many working women and men are fighting for a union at the Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama."
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Declaring that all U.S. workers have the right to bargain collectively without intimidation or coercion, President Joe Biden on Sunday delivered a public message of support to Amazon employees attempting to unionize at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama in the face of furious employer opposition.
"I made it clear when I was running that my administration's policy would be to support unions organizing and the right to collectively bargain," the president says in a two-minute video posted to Twitter Sunday night. "I'm keeping that promise."
While Biden did not explicitly advocate voting in favor of unionization--saying, "It's not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union"--his comments were viewed as an unusual and remarkable intervention by a sitting president in a heated and potentially seismic organizing push by employees of a notoriously anti-union company.
"We haven't had this aggressive and positive of a statement from a president of the United States on behalf of workers in decades," Faiz Shakir, former presidential campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and founder of More Perfect Union, told the Washington Post. "It is monumental that you have a president sending a message to workers across the country that if you take the courageous step to start to unionize you will have allies in the administration, the NLRB, and the Labor Department. It means a lot."
In the new video--released after the president faced pressure to vocally support the Bessemer effort--Biden says that "you should all remember that the National Labor Relations Act didn't just say that unions are allowed to exist. It said that we should encourage unions."
"So let me be really clear: it's not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union," the president continues. "But let me be even more clear: it's not up to an employer to decide that either."
"There should be no intimidation, no coercion, no threats, no anti-union propaganda," Biden added. "No supervisor should confront employees about their union preferences... Every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union. The law guarantees that choice. And it's your right, not that of an employer, it's your right. No employer can take that right away. So make your voice heard."
\u201cWorkers in Alabama \u2013 and all across America \u2013 are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace. It\u2019s a vitally important choice \u2013 one that should be made without intimidation or threats by employers.\n\nEvery worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union.\u201d— President Biden (@President Biden) 1614560506
"This is a huge, huge deal," Evan Weber, political director of the youth-led Sunrise Movement, wrote in response to Biden's remarks.
HuffPost labor reporter Dave Jamieson tweeted that while "union supporters will still be disappointed Biden does not overtly endorse the BAmazon Union campaign... this two-minute video might be more than Obama ever did from the bully pulpit when it comes to collective bargaining."
"Honestly, just seeing a president mention the National Labor Relations Act--let alone explain a central tenet of the law--is kind of bewildering, and shows how much has shifted in the last few years," Jamieson added.
Nelson Lichtenstein, a labor historian and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said Biden's pro-union statement "puts Obama to shame."
\u201cBiden's pro-union video has 1.4 million views. It needs 14 million more, for starters. It will be used in every union organizing campaign for the next four or eight years. The president's use of the phrase "anti-union propaganda" is powerful, negating so much corporate rhetoric\u201d— Nelson Lichtenstein (@Nelson Lichtenstein) 1614587174
Workers at the Bessemer facility began voting on whether to unionize last month, and the election will run through March 29. Possibly fearing that a successful organizing push at the roughly 6,000-employee Alabama warehouse could embolden union drives elsewhere, Amazon has worked hard to crush the Bessemer effort. As labor journalist Steven Greenhouse reported for The Guardian last week:
Bessemer Amazon has mounted a fierce campaign against the [Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU)]. It texts several anti-union messages each day to workers. It has forced workers to attend 'information' meetings where managers belittle unions. It even put anti-union posters in the bathroom stalls. "You go to the bathroom for privacy, but then you have a flyer right in your face," [Amazon employee Darryl] Richardson said. "That feels like a type of harassment. That's extreme to me."
In a statement Sunday night, RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum thanked Biden for "sending a clear message of support for the BAmazon Union workers in Alabama seeking to bring the first union to an Amazon warehouse with the RWDSU."
"As President Biden points out, the best way for working people to protect themselves and their families is by organizing into unions," Appelbaum said. "And that is why so many working women and men are fighting for a union at the Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama."
Declaring that all U.S. workers have the right to bargain collectively without intimidation or coercion, President Joe Biden on Sunday delivered a public message of support to Amazon employees attempting to unionize at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama in the face of furious employer opposition.
"I made it clear when I was running that my administration's policy would be to support unions organizing and the right to collectively bargain," the president says in a two-minute video posted to Twitter Sunday night. "I'm keeping that promise."
While Biden did not explicitly advocate voting in favor of unionization--saying, "It's not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union"--his comments were viewed as an unusual and remarkable intervention by a sitting president in a heated and potentially seismic organizing push by employees of a notoriously anti-union company.
"We haven't had this aggressive and positive of a statement from a president of the United States on behalf of workers in decades," Faiz Shakir, former presidential campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and founder of More Perfect Union, told the Washington Post. "It is monumental that you have a president sending a message to workers across the country that if you take the courageous step to start to unionize you will have allies in the administration, the NLRB, and the Labor Department. It means a lot."
In the new video--released after the president faced pressure to vocally support the Bessemer effort--Biden says that "you should all remember that the National Labor Relations Act didn't just say that unions are allowed to exist. It said that we should encourage unions."
"So let me be really clear: it's not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union," the president continues. "But let me be even more clear: it's not up to an employer to decide that either."
"There should be no intimidation, no coercion, no threats, no anti-union propaganda," Biden added. "No supervisor should confront employees about their union preferences... Every worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union. The law guarantees that choice. And it's your right, not that of an employer, it's your right. No employer can take that right away. So make your voice heard."
\u201cWorkers in Alabama \u2013 and all across America \u2013 are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace. It\u2019s a vitally important choice \u2013 one that should be made without intimidation or threats by employers.\n\nEvery worker should have a free and fair choice to join a union.\u201d— President Biden (@President Biden) 1614560506
"This is a huge, huge deal," Evan Weber, political director of the youth-led Sunrise Movement, wrote in response to Biden's remarks.
HuffPost labor reporter Dave Jamieson tweeted that while "union supporters will still be disappointed Biden does not overtly endorse the BAmazon Union campaign... this two-minute video might be more than Obama ever did from the bully pulpit when it comes to collective bargaining."
"Honestly, just seeing a president mention the National Labor Relations Act--let alone explain a central tenet of the law--is kind of bewildering, and shows how much has shifted in the last few years," Jamieson added.
Nelson Lichtenstein, a labor historian and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said Biden's pro-union statement "puts Obama to shame."
\u201cBiden's pro-union video has 1.4 million views. It needs 14 million more, for starters. It will be used in every union organizing campaign for the next four or eight years. The president's use of the phrase "anti-union propaganda" is powerful, negating so much corporate rhetoric\u201d— Nelson Lichtenstein (@Nelson Lichtenstein) 1614587174
Workers at the Bessemer facility began voting on whether to unionize last month, and the election will run through March 29. Possibly fearing that a successful organizing push at the roughly 6,000-employee Alabama warehouse could embolden union drives elsewhere, Amazon has worked hard to crush the Bessemer effort. As labor journalist Steven Greenhouse reported for The Guardian last week:
Bessemer Amazon has mounted a fierce campaign against the [Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU)]. It texts several anti-union messages each day to workers. It has forced workers to attend 'information' meetings where managers belittle unions. It even put anti-union posters in the bathroom stalls. "You go to the bathroom for privacy, but then you have a flyer right in your face," [Amazon employee Darryl] Richardson said. "That feels like a type of harassment. That's extreme to me."
In a statement Sunday night, RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum thanked Biden for "sending a clear message of support for the BAmazon Union workers in Alabama seeking to bring the first union to an Amazon warehouse with the RWDSU."
"As President Biden points out, the best way for working people to protect themselves and their families is by organizing into unions," Appelbaum said. "And that is why so many working women and men are fighting for a union at the Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama."
One legal expert called it "unquestionably a win for the Trump administration, but on remarkably narrow and modest terms."
Republican-appointed justices handed the second Trump administration its first win at the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, allowing the Department of Education to temporarily freeze millions of dollars in grants intended to help states combat K-12 teacher shortages while a legal battle over the money plays out.
The emergency order was unsigned, but the three liberals—Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor—all dissented, and Chief Justice John Roberts noted that he "would deny the application" without offering further explanation. That means the decision came from the other five right-wingers, including three appointees of President Donald Trump.
The decision stems from a federal lawsuit filed in the District of Massachusetts by a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general last month after the U.S. Education Department "arbitrarily terminated approximately $600 million in critical grants" for two programs: the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) and Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED).
The coalition's initial complaint explains that Congress authorized the funding "to address nationwide teacher shortages and improve teacher quality by educating, placing, and supporting new teachers in hard-to-staff schools, especially in rural and other underserved communities, and in hard-to-staff subjects, such as math and special education."
"The department's actions appear to encompass 'policy objectives' of ending disfavored but lawful efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion—objectives that Congress expressly directed grantees to carry out in creating these programs, including by identifying that these teacher preparation programs should assist 'traditionally underserved' local education agencies... and ensure 'general education teachers receive training in providing instruction to diverse populations, including children with disabilities, limited English proficient students, and children from low-income families," the document details.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun—an appointee of former President Joe Biden—found that the coalition was likely to succeed on the merits of its claims under the Administrative Procedure Act and issued the temporary restraining order sought by offiicals in California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin.
However, the country's high court granted a stay on Friday, concluding that the Trump administration "is unlikely to recover the grant funds once they are disbursed," the plaintiff states "have the financial wherewithal to keep their programs running" during the legal fight, and if they "ultimately prevail, they can recover any wrongfully withheld funds through suit in an appropriate forum."
In a dissent that was under two pages, Kagan wrote that "nothing about this case demanded our immediate intervention. Rather than make new law on our emergency docket, we should have allowed the dispute to proceed in the ordinary way."
Jackson argued in her longer dissent, joined by Sotomayor, that "this court's eagerness to insert itself into this early stage of ongoing litigation over the lawfulness of the department's actions—even when doing so facilitates the infliction of significant harms on the plaintiff states, and even though the government has not bothered to press any argument that the department's harm‐causing conduct is lawful—is equal parts unprincipled and unfortunate. It is also entirely unwarranted."
In a footnote that drew attention from court watchers, Jackson accused the majority of handing the Trump administration "an early 'win'—a notch in its belt at the start of a legal battle in which the long-term prospects for its eventual success seem doubtful," and expressed concern that "permitting the emergency docket to be hijacked in this way, by parties with tangential legal questions unrelated to imminent harm, damages our institutional credibility."
I am fascinated by this fourth wall–breaking footnote from Justice Jackson criticizing the majority for handing the Trump administration "a notch in its belt at the start of a legal battle in which the long-term prospects for its eventual success seem doubtful." It's more about optics than law ...
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— Mark Joseph Stern ( @mjsdc.bsky.social) April 4, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Trump's billionaire education secretary, former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, welcomed the ruling as "an important step towards realizing the president's agenda to ensure that taxpayer funds that support education go toward meaningful learning and serving our students—not to train teachers in radical racial and gender ideologies."
Meanwhile, Steve Vladeck, CNN's Supreme Court analyst and a Georgetown University Law Center professor, said that Friday's decision "is unquestionably a win for the Trump administration, but on remarkably narrow and modest terms."
"It leaves open the possibility that the plaintiffs are going to win not just this case, but a bunch of other challenges to the government's cancellation of grants, while freezing the order in this specific case. And even that was a bridge too far for Chief Justice Roberts and the three Democratic appointees," he added. "It's a victory for the government, but a short-lived one that may soon be overtaken by far more significant losses in the other pending cases in which Trump has asked the justices to intervene."
CNN noted that the Supreme Court "has already resolved two emergency appeals from the Trump administration" and is still considering others on topics including Trump's efforts to end birthright citizenship and to invoke the Alien Enemies Act for mass deportations.
"The North Carolina Republican Party is one step closer to stealing an election in broad daylight," said one state Democrat.
Allison Riggs, a Democratic associate justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, vowed to continue a legal battle over her narrow November victory after a state appeals panel on Friday took a major step toward invalidating more than 60,000 votes.
Riggs' GOP challenger, Judge Jefferson Griffin, lost by 734 votes—but rather than conceding, he has sought to have select ballots thrown out. In Friday's 2-1 decision, Republican Judges Fred Gore and John Tyson gave the targeted citizens 15 days to provide documentation to election workers confirming their eligibility to vote. If they don't do so, their votes could be discarded.
"We will be promptly appealing this deeply misinformed decision that threatens to disenfranchise more than 65,000 lawful voters and sets a dangerous precedent, allowing disappointed politicians to thwart the will of the people," Riggs said in a statement.
"North Carolinians elected me to keep my seat, and I swore an oath to the Constitution and the rule of law—so I will continue to stand up for the rights of voters in this state and stand in the way of those who would take power from the people," she added.
Since Riggs has recused herself from the case, only six of the North Carolina Supreme Court's justices will hear her appeal, "raising the possibility of a 3-3 deadlock," The News & Observer reported Friday.
As the Raleigh newspaper detailed:
If that were to happen, the most recent ruling of a lower court prevails, which means Friday's decision from the Court of Appeals could stand.
Riggs has said that if she loses at the state court level, she intends to return the case to federal court.
Republicans already hold a 5 to 2 majority on the state Supreme Court. If Griffin ultimately wins his case and replaces Riggs, that majority will grow to 6 to 1, further complicating Democrats' hopes to retake control of the court in coming elections.
Although the court fight is far from over, Griffin spokesperson Paul Shumaker and North Carolina GOP Chair Jason Simmons cheered Friday's decision, from which Democratic Judge Toby Hampson dissented.
Hampson's dissent begins by pointing out that Griffin "has yet to identify a single voter—among the tens of thousands petitioner challenges in this appeal—who was, in fact, ineligible to vote in the 2024 general election under the statutes, rules, and regulations in place in November 2024 governing that election."
"Changing the rules by which these lawful voters took part in our electoral process after the election to discard their otherwise valid votes in an attempt to alter the outcome of only one race among many on the ballot is directly counter to law, equity, and the Constitution," Hampson argued.
Democratic leaders in North Carolina and beyond also blasted the majority's decision. State Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said that "Judge Tyson and Gore put party affiliation above the rights of North Carolina voters" when they "legitimized Jefferson Griffin's unconstitutional challenge" to tens of thousands of legally cast votes.
Reminder: From my legal and partisan sources, this ultimately gets decided based on how fed courts address military and overseas voters who didn't provide photo ID (and were expressly advised before election that they didn't need to). Why it matters: andersonalerts.substack.com/p/nc-supreme...
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— Bryan Anderson (@bryanranderson.bsky.social) April 4, 2025 at 2:23 PM
North Carolina House of Representatives Minority Leader Robert Reives (D-54) declared: "We cannot mince words at this point: The North Carolina Republican Party is one step closer to stealing an election in broad daylight. Justice Allison Riggs won her election—full stop. Our democracy continues to be tested, but we cannot allow it to break."
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin warned that "this partisan decision has no legal basis and is an all-out assault on our democracy and the basic premise that voters decide who wins their elections, not the courts. If upheld, this could allow politicians across the country to overturn the will of the people."
"North Carolinians chose Allison Riggs to be their North Carolina Supreme Court justice," Martin stressed. "They won't stand for Republicans trying to take their votes away or those of active duty North Carolina military. It's six months past time for Jefferson Griffin to concede this race that he lost."
Bob Phillips, executive director of the nonpartisan voting rights organization Common Cause North Carolina, was similarly engaged, saying: "Today's ruling is a disgrace. This poorly conceived decision is an extreme overreach and sides with a sore loser candidate over the citizens of our state. If allowed to stand, the ruling would inject chaos into North Carolina's elections in ways that could disenfranchise tens of thousands of lawful voters and invite similar challenges nationwide."
Phillips continued:
Let's be clear: these North Carolina voters did absolutely nothing wrong. They followed the rules and cast ballots that should count. To say otherwise now is an affront to the rule of law and our Constitution.
If Griffin gets his way, never again will the people of North Carolina be able to have confidence in the outcome of our elections. Instead, Griffin's reckless lawsuit will open the door to an endless stream of other sore loser candidates who will attempt to throw out enough votes until they can cheat their way into office.
This fight is not over. We are confident that the courts will ultimately see Griffin's ploy for what it is: an unconstitutional attack on our freedom to vote.
"The people of North Carolina will continue to protest against Griffin's outrageous attack on our rights," he added, "as we continue our work to protect our family members, friends, and neighbors who are targeted by Griffin's disgraceful scheme."
"How the government reacts will tell us so much about how far down the road to autocracy we are," said one lawyer.
A U.S. judge on Friday ordered the return of a Maryland resident who the Trump administration mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador last month, according to The Associated Press.
Prior to issuing the ruling, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis called the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia "an illegal act."
The judge, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, gave the Trump administration end of the day of the day on Monday to bring him back to the United States.
Supporters outside the courtroom cheered as the judge handed down her order, according to The Washington Post.
Responding to the ruling on social media, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said: "This is a big win. Now Trump must comply with the judge's order."
Immigration lawyer Ava Benach wrote: "The right decision. How the government reacts will tell us so much about how far down the road to autocracy we are."
The right decision. How the government reacts will tell us so much about how far down the road to autocracy we are.
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— avabenach.bsky.social (@avabenach.bsky.social) April 4, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Abrego Garcia was among hundreds of people the administration expelled in mid-March to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador after targeting them for alleged gang ties.
In a court papers filed earlier this week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting field office director admitted that the removal of Abrego Garcia on March 15 "was an error."
Abrego Garcia was deported despite the fact that in 2019, a U.S. immigration judge ruled that he could not be deported to his native El Salvador because he would likely face gang persecution there.