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For Immediate Release
March, 07 2019, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
Kristen Voorhees, voorhees@civilrights.org, 202.548.7166
House Delivers on Democracy Reform, Senate Must Follow
WASHINGTON
Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the passage of democracy reform package H.R. 1, the For the People Act:
"This week marks the 54th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when Representative John Lewis - along with 600 voting rights activists - were viciously beaten on their march in Selma. Their efforts led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act later that year. The passage of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, represents another crowning achievement in ensuring our democracy works for everyone. The bill's transformative provisions will ensure that elections in America are free, fair, and accessible for all.
"People turned out in record numbers during the 2018 election to reject the assault on voting rights and cast their ballot for democracy reform. Now that the House has passed H.R. 1, it is incumbent upon the Senate to take up this critical legislation, and for Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act."
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Through advocacy and outreach to targeted constituencies, The Leadership Conference works toward the goal of a more open and just society - an America as good as its ideals.
(202) 466-3311LATEST NEWS
US Labor Board Bans Captive Audience Meetings to Ensure 'Truly Free' Worker Choice
"Today's decision better protects workers' freedom to make their own choices in exercising their rights," said the chair of the National Labor Relations Board.
Nov 13, 2024
In a decision that advocates say will likely be reversed during the second administration of Republican U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday ruled that employers cannot force workers to attend anti-union speeches.
The NLRB's 3-1 decision in Amazon.com Services, LLCmeans that workers will no longer have to take part in so-called "captive audience meetings," which employers often use as a union-busting tool and a form of coercion. The agency explained that such meetings violate Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act "because they have a reasonable tendency to interfere with and coerce employees."
"However, the board made clear that an employer may lawfully hold meetings with workers to express its views on unionization so long as workers are provided reasonable advance notice of: the subject of any such meeting, that attendance is voluntary with no adverse consequences for failure to attend, and that no attendance records of the meeting will be kept," the NLRB added.
NLRB Chairperson Lauren McFerran, a Democrat, said in a statement that "ensuring that workers can make a truly free choice about whether they want union representation is one of the fundamental goals of the National Labor Relations Act."
"Captive audience meetings—which give employers near-unfettered freedom to force their message about unionization on workers under threat of discipline or discharge—undermine this important goal," McFerran added. "Today's decision better protects workers' freedom to make their own choices in exercising their rights under the act, while ensuring that employers can convey their views about unionization in a noncoercive manner."
In April 2022, the NLRB's general counsel office issued a memo asserting that captive audience meetings are illegal. At least 11 states have banned such meetings. Other states are in various stages of considering or enacting bans or restrictions on them.
Workers' rights advocates hailed Wednesday's decision, although labor journalist Hamilton Nolan quipped on social media that employees should "enjoy this brief shining period before the Trump NLRB reverses this decision."
However, More Perfect Union producer Jordan Zakarin argued that Democrats can protect this "monumental win for labor" for "the next few years" if "they finally confirm" President Joe Biden's nomination of Joshua Ditelberg—a Republican lawyer who has represented companies including Amazon, Airbnb, and UnitedHealth—to fill the fifth NLRB seat.
According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI)—a Washington, D.C.-based, pro-union think tank—U.S. employers spend an estimated $433 million per year on union-busting consultants.
"This reality makes it harder for workers to fight for their collective bargaining rights because they do not know the extent of their companies' investments in union-busting, a figure that could empower them at the negotiating table when employers claim they can't afford to increase pay and benefits," EPI said last year.
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Democratic Governors Form Coalition to Fight 'Increasing Threats of Autocracy'
"You come for my people, you come through me," said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker recently.
Nov 13, 2024
With Republicans set to control the White House and both chambers of Congress starting in January, Democratic governors on Wednesday launched an initiative aimed at protecting democracy and countering "emerging threats" from the far-right MAGA movement, pledging that state-level institutions will be safeguarded from President-elect Donald Trump and his allies.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis are leading the initiative, called Governors Safeguarding Democracy (GSD). Democrats currently govern 23 states while Republicans are the governors of 27; Pritzker and Polis did not say on Wednesday which other governors have signed on as members of the coalition.
Pritzker toldthe Chicago Sun-Times that the coalition is "built off a model that all of us governors have already successfully pioneered through the Reproductive Freedom Alliance. And together, what we're doing is pushing back against increasing threats of autocracy and fortifying the institutions of democracy that our country and our states depend on."
The nonpartisan Reproductive Freedom Alliance was established in 2023 to counter anti-abortion rights legislation in Republican-controlled states. Alliance states have stockpiled medication abortion pills, passed "shield" laws to protect patients and providers from out-of-state efforts to criminalize abortion care, and coordinated efforts to make reproductive healthcare more affordable.
Following the election, said Polis, "protecting democracy has never been more relevant or important, and doing so demands strong leadership at the state level. Governors Safeguarding Democracy shows our shared dedication to defending the democratic principles upon which our country is built."
GSD plans to:
- Leverage governors' collective strength, experience, and institutional knowledge to design and implement affirmative strategies to protect the rule of law and deliver for people in the states;
- Reinforce key state institutions to protect executive agencies, elections, state courts, and other core democratic bodies; and
- Develop playbooks to enable governors and their teams to anticipate and swiftly respond to emerging threats.
Pritzker told the Sun-Times that the coalition would likely focus on strengthening state-level environmental protections. On Monday, Trump announced his nomination of former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Zeldin's record includes voting against clean air and water legislation, the creation of a federal climate resilience office, and to withdraw the U.S. from global climate negotiations.
He also said a plan proposed by Stephen Miller, who Trump has named as his deputy chief of policy adviser, to use red state National Guard members to complete mass deportations in blue states was "unacceptable."
"That's not something that's within Title 32 anybody would anticipate would be allowed, and we would not, certainly not cooperate with that," Pritzker told the Sun-Times, referring to the portion of the U.S. code that defines the National Guard's responsibilities. "Beyond that I can't speak to how they would intend to get that accomplished."
Pritzker pledged that the coalition "will serve as a powerful force in state-level efforts to ensure that our democracy lives up to our ideals and thrives for generations to come."
GSD was announced days after the Illinois governor issued a stark warning to the incoming Trump administration regarding plans for mass deportations and other attacks on marginalized communities: "You come for my people, you come through me."
Since the election, several Democratic governors have pledged to protect their constituents from Trump's policies, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom vowing to "Trump-proof" the state.
Newsom, said he aimed to shore up the state's disaster funds, advocate for waivers that would allow California to phase out fossil fuel-burning vehicles, and pushing for federal approval of several healthcare programs before Trump takes office.
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New GOP Senate Leader Is a Former Lobbyist Who Has Taken Aim at Social Security
Sen. John Thune "has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security," warned one defender of the nation's most effective anti-poverty program.
Nov 13, 2024
Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected Sen. John Thune of South Dakota—a former corporate lobbyist and close ally of Sen. Mitch McConnell—as the leader of their conference for the upcoming term, when the GOP will have a 53-seat majority.
Republican lawmakers chose Thune over Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who was favored by allies of President-elect Donald Trump.
"Senators have received angry phone calls from constituents demanding to know how their representatives plan to vote, following MAGA world's embrace of Scott," The Washington Postreported. The leadership election was conducted via secret ballot.
In a statement Wednesday, Thune said he is "extremely honored to have earned the support" of the Senate GOP conference and stressed that "this Republican team is united behind President Trump's agenda."
"Our work starts today," Thune added.
"It's a new day in the United States Senate."
After being elected Senate Republican Leader, Sen. John Thune says, “We are excited to reclaim the majority and to get to work with our colleagues in the House to enact President Trump’s agenda.” https://t.co/sMMVVx2PxT pic.twitter.com/GylMysaA3V
— ABC News (@ABC) November 13, 2024
Before winning election to the Senate in 2004, Thune worked as a lobbyist for several sectors including the railroad industry. The Leverreported last year that as part of his lobbying work for the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern (DM&E) Railroad, Thune "helped the company procure a $230 million loan from the Federal Railroad Administration."
"In 2015, Thune reprised his advocacy for the rail industry, leading an effort to repeal an Obama administration regulation requiring improved, electronic braking systems on some hazmat trains," the outlet added. "The following year, he received the first-ever 'Railroad Achievement Award' presented by the Association of American Railroads, the industry's main lobbying group."
Thune is also "one of the biggest recipients of oil and gas money in Congress," the youth-led Sunrise Movementnoted Wednesday following his election as leader of the incoming GOP Senate.
Over the course of his Senate career, Thune has received more than $1.16 million in campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry, according to the campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets.
Thune's top contributor between 2019 and 2024 was the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the right-wing pro-Israel lobbying group.
"Thune has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security."
Thune will take the reins of the Senate GOP conference as the party readies another round of tax cuts for the rich and large corporations—one of Trump's top priorities. Thune is a leading advocate of repealing the estate tax, a move that would benefit a small number of wealthy Americans.
Congress is also barreling toward another potentially damaging fight over the debt ceiling, which is set to be reinstated on January 2, 2025.
Thune has previously expressed support for leveraging the debt limit—and the threat of a catastrophic default—to secure steep cuts to federal spending and possible changes to Social Security such as raising the retirement age, which would slash benefits across the board.
Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy group, voiced alarm over Thune's debt ceiling stance following his election as Senate Republican leader on Wednesday.
"Thune has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security," Nancy Altman, the group's president, said in a statement.
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