Executive and Legislative Updates in the US Labor Market

Thursday, September 16, 2021

This is a weekly post that sheds light on work topics that have been the focus of the U.S. legislature and executive over the past week.

In this issue we cover:

• Updates to the voting package

• COVID-19 updates

• Teachers’ unions press the administration

• TSA employees are demanding more negotiating rights

• Resumption of the high-level economic dialogue between the US and Mexico

Both houses of the US Congress were on hiatus this week while some House congressional committees were in Washington for a period of committee work. Senators return to Washington next week; The legislators of the house will convene again in the week of September 20th. Meanwhile, the federal pandemic unemployment programs expired on Monday, September 6, which coincides with the state’s Labor Day holiday.

On Wednesday September 8, US President Joe Biden spoke about the importance of unions, stressing that many of the workers classified as “material” during the pandemic were union members. He argued against the country’s trickle-down economic direction, stating:

[W]Workers’ power is critical to rebuilding our economy better than before – it’s just so fundamental – to counter corporate power, to grow the economy from the bottom up and from the middle. “

Updates to the voting package

Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) reportedly spoke to the White House recently and privately shared his concerns about the $ 3.5 trillion Democratic Reconciliation Package that the House of Representatives congressional committees began drafting this week. He indicated he was supporting a fraction of the Democrats’ budget proposal. In particular, the Senator expressed concern about the following democratic initiatives: spending $ 400 billion on home care workers; Expand Extended Child Tax Credit, offering up to an additional $ 300 per child per month, through 2024; free adult education center; universal preschool; and childcare allowance. Senator Manchin is also required to pay for all new expenses with new revenue, which consequently could limit the scope of the budget proposal. On Wednesday, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, rejected Senator Manchin’s calls for a smaller budget proposal, insisting that it stay at $ 3.5 trillion.

In the meantime, several House committees have been working this week to approve their respective parts of the budget reconciliation package for submission to the House Budget Committee by September 15, including work-friendly provisions – such as those of the Right to Organize or the Right to Organize Act PRO Law – expected not to survive the strict budget reconciliation rules that govern the voting process. The text of the measure, unveiled on Wednesday, would also ban workers from being classified as independent contractors instead of workers and prevent employers from permanently replacing workers on strike or from locking workers out in certain situations. The committee is expected to complete its serve today.

In addition, along a party vote on Thursday, the House Ways & Means Committee Democrats approved the creation of a new program that includes up to 12 weeks of paid family and sick leave as part of its part of the reconciliation package. In particular, in contrast to President Biden’s proposal for paid family leave, there is no 10-year phase-in for the program. Experts estimate this will double the cost of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate of $ 225 billion for the proposed FAMILY Act. Republicans called the new program “socialist” and have grappled with the cost of $ 500 billion. The program would be run through the Treasury Department rather than the Social Security Administration.

COVID-19 updates

On Thursday, President Biden outlined his administration’s “six-pronged” strategy to reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans by using government powers and other measures to increase the number of Americans who are subject to vaccination regulations. The White House stated on its website: “[T]These requirements will dominate in the workplace. ”The president, in his remarks to the nation, claimed,“ This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated ”. He shared his plan to give most workers in the country paid time off to get vaccinated.

President Biden encouraged vaccine mandates for workplaces and schools, and issued new executive ordinances requiring most executive staff and federal contractors and subcontractors to be vaccinated. He said the U.S. Department of Labor is developing mandatory rules that will require private sector employers to ensure their workers are vaccinated or undergo a coronavirus test. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is drafting the regulation for Temporary Emergency Safety (ETS), which is expected to oblige all employers with more than 100 employees to check whether their workforce is fully vaccinated or that unvaccinated employees have a negative test result “on” submit at least weekly. “

The White House estimates that the OSHA ETS scheme will affect approximately 100 million American workers, or two-thirds of American workers. OSHA has the power to enact ETS rules that will take effect immediately if the Agency determines that workers are “in serious danger” due to exposures that are “toxic or physically harmful or exposed to new hazards”. The ETS rules remain in force for six months and can be challenged in court. It remains unclear how soon OSHA will announce the ETS rule. A government official told reporters Thursday that companies who fail to comply could face fines of up to $ 14,000 per violation.

President Biden also urged U.S. governors to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for all teachers and school staff. After the president’s speech, the Los Angeles Unified School District – the second largest school district in the country – ordered vaccines for students 12 years and older later in the day. Meanwhile, reports earlier this week, amid the delta coronavirus surge, showed that 49 U.S. states – with the exception of Nebraska – have identified mu-variant infections that appear to be vaccine-resistant.

Shortly after President Biden’s remarks, Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, member of the House Education & Labor Committee, said of the President’s vaccine mandates:

Biden has no business making a pesky vaccine ordinance that further harms overworked and struggling business owners. This is an Ave Maria attempt by a president who fails to “destroy the virus” and who is now burdening job creators with hasty and unprecedented regulation. This mandate will impose even more fines on employers for failing to keep up with expensive and ever-changing government policies, which is another knife in the back of our bleeding economy. Inflation has risen, jobs remain unfilled, and our president is giving the money to struggling and overworked business owners. Biden “is not crushing the virus” – it is destroying our economy and our constitutional rights. “

Several other Republican lawmakers turned to Twitter to question the legality of the president’s vaccine mandates. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) encouraged “America’s job creators – big and small – to challenge this insane ‘order’,” suggesting that legal challenges to the OSHA ETS regime are imminent. Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Texas) said, “Forcing the high street to pay Vax or a fine will not only destroy a life-support economy – it’s absolutely un-American.” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) questioned the government and asked, “Are you guys trying to start a full revolt?” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) urged ETS Rule companies to “rebel openly “. Meanwhile, several Republican governors were quick to say they would try to question the new requirements, including Governors Brian Kemp of Georgia, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Doug Ducey of Arizona.

Although President Biden warned the state and local governments on Thursday not to obstruct vaccine mandates, at least one Republican-controlled state is leading legislative efforts to ban employer vaccine mandates. So far, two states have banned employer vaccination mandates – Montana and North Dakota. Prior to President Biden’s remarks, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (Republican) announced on 7-19 vaccine and, if so, what exceptions should apply to such a mandate. The Texas legislature meets on September 20th.

Teachers’ unions push the administration

The National Education Association (NEA), the country’s second largest teachers union, reportedly worked with the White House to encourage the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to introduce stricter masking guidelines for public schools in late July, regardless Vaccination Status or The New York Post reported in May that the American Federation of Teachers had influenced the CDC’s February guidelines for reopening schools.

TSA employees are demanding more negotiating rights

The union, which represents thousands of Transportation Security Agency (TSA) employees, is pushing for expanded bargaining rights amid the surge in the Delta variant and growing concerns about other emerging COVID-19 strains. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) reiterated its call for the TSA to be included in Title 5, which would provide thousands of TSA agents with compensation consistent with the majority of the federal workforce, full bargaining rights, and whistleblower rules.

In late July, MP Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi) presented HR 903 – the rights for the TSA Workforce Act – which would require the TSA to move under Title 5. The House Homeland Security Committee brought the measure forward in July, where it is awaiting Chamber action.

Resumption of the high-level economic dialogue between the US and Mexico

Deputy Undersecretary of State for International Affairs Thea Lee traveled to Mexico from September 1-3 to discuss the implementation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) with various stakeholders. On Thursday, the US and Mexico resumed the High-Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) that had originally started during the Obama administration and stalled during the subsequent administration. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Trade Secretary Gina Raimondo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar attended the forum with their counterparts from Mexico. The dialogue focused on four central pillars: (1) Rebuilding together; (2) promoting sustainable economic and social development in southern Mexico and Central America; (3) securing the tools for future prosperity; and (4) investing in our people.

© Copyright 2021 Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLPNational Law Review, Volume XI, Number 259