Republican officials are preparing for future battles over unionization endeavors at automobile plants following a momentous vote in Tennessee last week.
Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp, took action on Monday by signing a law that prohibits companies receiving significant tax incentives from the state to construct large-scale projects, such as automobile factories, from voluntarily acknowledging unions without conducting a secret ballot. Alabama lawmakers also joined in later that week, approving a similar measure in their state. These bills were inspired by a Tennessee law that was enacted last year and have gained support from the conservative organization, the American Legislative Exchange Council.
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Advocates of these measures argue that they would provide workers with the opportunity to determine their union membership through a confidential voting process.
According to the Georgia Recorder, Republican state Rep. Soo Hong stated last month that they are working to give hardworking Georgians the power to decide whether they want to be represented by a labor union when the state invests resources to promote job creation.
Union leaders and Democrats argue that these laws are in violation of the National Labor Relations Act, which governs the procedures for recognizing labor unions. According to the Act, companies have the option to voluntarily recognize unions if they provide evidence, such as signed cards, demonstrating that a majority of their workers support unionization. However, they can also choose to hold an election with secret ballots as an alternative.
The Georgia AFL-CIO issued a statement stating that the bill’s intention to prevent Georgia businesses from voluntarily recognizing a union in their workplace is against federal law. They emphasized that when workers are advocating for basic rights and have the support of their employer, it is unjust for the state government to ban the recognition of these rights, as it not only negatively impacts the workers but also infringes upon the individual freedoms of business owners.
Southern states have been successful in the race to transition the automotive industry from gas-powered vehicles to electric ones. They have implemented tax incentives to entice the establishment of EV and battery manufacturing plants. These states have also actively pursued foreign manufacturers who require U.S. production facilities to be eligible for federal tax credits. The increased focus on EV projects builds upon the Southern states’ long-standing commitment to attracting manufacturing jobs, particularly in sectors such as aerospace and automotive manufacturing, which have seen significant organized labor involvement.
The Southern region has a long history of opposition to labor unions. In fact, every state in the South is classified as a “right to work” state, which means that employees are not obligated to join a union or contribute fees for union representation, even if their workplace is unionized. As a result, the Southern states have relatively low rates of union workers compared to other parts of the country.
Labor unions in the South have faced challenges in gaining recognition to represent workers in contract negotiations. This makes the recent vote by workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) incredibly noteworthy. An overwhelming majority of the workers, almost three-quarters, showed their support for the unionization effort.
The UAW’s recent triumph follows closely on the heels of securing substantial wage increases for employees at Ford, GM, and Stellantis through coordinated strikes against these Detroit automakers. UAW President Shawn Fain has expressed his ambition to expand the union’s influence to Southern factories, beginning with a vote at Mercedes plants in Alabama from May 13 to 17. Potential upcoming votes include those at a Hyundai factory in Alabama and a Toyota facility in Missouri.
Kemp and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, along with four other Republican governors, issued a statement last week expressing their concerns about the potential economic consequences of unionizing factories in the South. They specifically pointed out the UAW for spreading misinformation and using scare tactics.
The governors expressed concern about the potential impact of unionization on job security, citing recent announcements of layoffs by UAW automakers.
“We highly value our workforce in America, and we don’t need to rely on a third party to determine who can perform basic tasks like lifting a box or operating a switch. It may not be pleasant to hear, but it’s the unfortunate reality. Every time a foreign automaker plant has been unionized, we have witnessed the same outcome: none of those plants remain operational. This is evident in the aftermath of the Detroit Three strike, with automakers reconsidering their investments and making job cuts. We definitely don’t want to put businesses in our states in such a precarious position,” they emphasized.
Governors Tate Reeves, Henry McMaster, Bill Lee, and Greg Abbott, all Republicans, also signed the letter.
Several governors have individually criticized organized labor in recent months, and now they have come together to issue a joint statement.
In his state of the state speech, McMaster made it clear that he would not allow the state’s economy to suffer or be negatively impacted by labor unions’ efforts to recruit new members and secure new jobs. He emphasized his determination to fight against any potential challenges, stating that he would go to great lengths to ensure victory.
President Joe Biden, who joined striking UAW members on the picket line and received the union’s endorsement in this year’s election, criticized the Republican governors for their opposition to unionization efforts.
In a statement, the president expressed his response to a letter written by six Republican governors, stating that they were falsely claiming that a successful vote would put jobs at risk in their states.
President Biden reassured Republican governors who attempted to undermine the vote, emphasizing that American workers should not fear exercising their voice and legal right to form a union. He pointed out that the increasing influence of unions has coincided with remarkable growth in small businesses and job opportunities. Additionally, the nation has experienced the longest period of low unemployment in over half a century.
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Trends, Common Challenges, Cool Ideas, FYIs and Notable Events
Texas-Style Immigration Bill Sent to Oklahoma Governor
Oklahoma’s state Senate has passed an anti-immigration bill that closely resembles a recently enacted law in Texas. This bill grants police officers the authority to detain individuals suspected of being non-citizens. The proposed legislation introduces a new offense called “impermissible occupation,” which carries penalties such as fines and potential jail time for undocumented immigrants. Moreover, it requires them to leave the state within 72 hours of conviction or release from custody. Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat emphasized the need for this legislation to safeguard the well-being of Oklahoma citizens. He stated, “Our communities have been plagued with illegal activities, including an increase in fentanyl, human trafficking, and crime. This is a direct consequence of the federal government’s failure to secure our borders.”
Meanwhile, in Alabama, a House committee has approved a measure that would allow local law enforcement agencies to collaborate with federal entities in apprehending undocumented immigrants. Critics of this proposal draw parallels to a previous anti-immigrant law enacted in 2011, which granted law enforcement officers the authority to determine the immigration status of individuals they encountered during stops, detentions, or arrests. However, the enforcement of that law was ultimately blocked by a court ruling in 2013. The Alabama Sheriff’s Association has also expressed concerns about the potential impact of the current proposal on their operations. Jimmy Lambert, the executive director of the association, highlighted their limited resources, stating, “We lack the necessary resources to enforce immigration. While sheriffs may support this measure, there is already an agency, the attorney general’s office, responsible for handling such matters.”
Louisiana’s governor, Jeff Landry, is facing opposition in his plan to draft a new state constitution. The aim of this proposal is to simplify the process of changing policies currently included in the charter. However, lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns about the rushed nature of the project. Landry, along with state Rep. Beau Beaullieu, who is leading the effort, is pushing for legislative approval within a month. If approved, a special convention would be held on May 20, during which delegates would remove unspecified items from the constitution and transfer them to statute. Ultimately, the voters would have the final say on whether to adopt the new constitution on November 5, coinciding with the presidential election and congressional primaries in Louisiana.
Prairie Band Potawatomi tribe achieves historic recognition as the first federally recognized tribe in Illinois. After nearly 200 years since Native Americans were forced out of the state, this milestone marks a significant step towards the tribe’s larger goal of reclaiming approximately 1,280 acres of their ancestral land through legislative efforts in both the General Assembly and Congress. To secure their sovereignty, the tribe had to invest $10 million over the past two decades to repurchase the initial 130 acres of the Shab-eh-nay Reservation, which was unlawfully sold by the federal government in the 1850s. Last week, Prairie Band Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick, who is the fourth-great grandson of Chief Shab-eh-nay, signed the necessary paperwork, enabling the Department of the Interior to place these 130 acres into a trust, granting the tribe complete authority over the land.
Brightline West, a private railroad, celebrated the groundbreaking of its 218-mile high-speed rail line that will connect Las Vegas to Southern California. The event was attended by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and other officials from Nevada and California. They voiced their optimism about the project’s potential to transform rail travel with its fully electric, zero-emission trains capable of reaching speeds of 200 miles per hour.
While the Brightline West project is privately operated, it has received public support in the form of subsidies. The Biden administration allocated $3 billion from the 2021 infrastructure law to the project and granted an additional $3.5 billion in low-interest private activity bonds. The remaining funding for the $12 billion project will be provided through private sources.
The construction of the high-speed rail line is expected to take approximately four years, with plans to have the system operational before the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party’s grip on power in Minnesota may be in jeopardy due to a recent break-in. Sen. Nicole Mitchell was arrested for unlawfully entering her stepmother’s residence in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. This incident has weakened the Senate’s narrow one-vote majority, as motions and bills are now being decided by a slim margin of 34-33. Given that Mitchell is currently out of jail and still serving as a member of the Senate, her vote will be closely scrutinized for the remainder of the session. The presence or absence of her vote will undoubtedly shape the outcome of various legislative decisions. Several possibilities loom on the horizon, as reported by MinnPost, ranging from Mitchell resigning from her position to her continued involvement serving as a distraction throughout the session. In a preview of future debates, Senate Republicans wasted no time and filed an ethics complaint against Mitchell, pushing for the ethics committee to take immediate action, which could potentially lead to her expulsion. However, the motion failed by a tied vote of 33-33, resulting in the cancellation of floor action on bills.
Arizona charges Giuliani and other Trump allies in election interference case. Arizona is now the fourth swing state to bring an elections interference case against the Trump campaign’s activities in 2020. The recent indictment targets Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and several others who advised Donald Trump during the election. The charges include conspiracy, fraud, and forgery, all related to alleged attempts by the defendants to overturn Arizona’s election results. The indictment states that they pressured officials responsible for certifying the results, such as the governor, the legislature, and the Maricopa Board of Supervisors, to change the outcome. In total, 35 individuals who acted as fake electors in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Michigan are facing criminal charges for signing false certificates in 2020, falsely claiming that Trump had won their state’s electoral votes. Furthermore, this week, the Michigan attorney general’s office named Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator in their investigation into interference in the 2020 election.
Campus Protests: More than two dozen pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested on the UT-Austin campus during a tense standoff with the police. The University of Texas at Austin witnessed a chaotic scene as a student walkout in support of Palestinians took place. Governor Greg Abbott deployed over 100 troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety to disperse the protesters, resulting in the arrest of at least 34 individuals, including two members of the media. Responding to the situation on social media, Abbott called for the expulsion of the demonstrating students, stating, “Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.” The situation was not limited to UT-Austin. Columbia University’s president requested the intervention of the New York City Police Department when pro-Palestine protests took place on their campus, with demonstrators refusing to leave. New York City Mayor Eric Adams addressed the issue, stating, “We will not be a city of lawlessness, and those professional agitators seeking to seize the ongoing conflict in the Middle East to sow chaos and division in our city will not succeed.” The protests extended to Indiana, where a rally organized by Jewish Voice for Peace of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis led to the blocking of traffic outside Governor Eric Holcomb’s residence in Indianapolis, resulting in 14 arrests. Similar demonstrations have been observed at various other prestigious universities, including New York University, Yale University, MIT, the University of Michigan, and Stanford University.
Pollution: EPA Implements Strict Regulations on Coal-Burning Power Plants
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced a new regulation that imposes significant restrictions on coal plants in the United States. These regulations aim to reduce 90% of the greenhouse pollution generated by coal plants by 2039, a year earlier than initially proposed by the agency. In addition, the EPA has implemented three additional regulations targeting coal-burning power plants, including stricter limits on emissions of mercury from plants that burn lignite coal, the lowest grade of coal.
Furthermore, the new rules also aim to minimize the seepage of toxic ash from coal plants into water supplies and limit the discharge of wastewater from these facilities. Climate activists have welcomed the compressed timeline for reducing greenhouse pollution. However, coal executives have strongly criticized the regulations, arguing that they will be impossible to meet. According to a report by The New York Times, these regulations could potentially deal a fatal blow to the U.S. coal industry, which still has its fair share of supporters.
In response to the regulations, congressional Republicans have announced their plans to overturn the rules. Additionally, Patrick Morrisey, the Republican Attorney General of West Virginia, who led the legal charge against the Obama administration’s greenhouse gas rule for power plants, has vowed to challenge this new version. Morrisey believes that the rule is designed to force more coal-fired power plants into retirement, which aligns with the Biden administration’s goals. He confidently stated, “We are confident this new rule is not going to be upheld.”
The EPA’s stringent regulations on coal-burning power plants signify a significant step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the pollution caused by these facilities. However, the battle between climate activists and supporters of the coal industry is far from over, as legal challenges and political opposition continue to shape the future of energy production in the United States.
Arizona House Votes to Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban
The Arizona House of Representatives has made a significant decision by voting to repeal the near-total abortion ban that has been in place since 1864. This move comes after the Arizona Supreme Court recently upheld the Civil War-era law, which imposed a mandatory prison sentence for doctors who performed abortions, except in cases where it was necessary to save the life of the woman.
During the floor speeches, Republican lawmakers who supported the 1864 ban expressed their disappointment with the repeal and criticized their colleagues for going against the core values of the party. However, Republican Representative Tim Dunn defended his vote to strike down the law by stating that it was the only available option to counter a pro-abortion initiative that was scheduled for the November ballot.
Representative Dunn also highlighted the advantages of the 15-week limit for abortions, which was approved in 2022. He emphasized that this new limit provides more flexibility for women who may face dangerous pregnancy complications.
The repeal of the 1864 abortion ban marks a significant development in Arizona’s stance on reproductive rights. This decision reflects the ongoing debate surrounding abortion laws and underscores the importance of considering the well-being and choices of women in such matters.
ABORTION, part 2: GOP Ethics Complaints Target 2 Arizona House Democrats for ‘Attempted Insurrection’ after Abortion Repeal Debate
After a heated debate on April 10 regarding Arizona’s 1864 abortion law, two House Democrats, Rep. Oscar de los Santos and Rep. Analise Ortiz from Phoenix, have been the subject of ethics complaints filed by Republicans. The GOP characterized their behavior as “an attempted insurrection” following the House’s decision to abruptly go into a recess instead of considering a motion to repeal the long-standing law.
According to the complaint, De Los Santos, the assistant minority leader, and Ortiz led their fellow Democrats in chanting “shame, shame” in response to the House’s actions. The complaint accuses De Los Santos of disorderly behavior, violating House decorum rules, and engaging in impermissible debate. In response, the two lawmakers defended their actions, stating that they were representing their constituents and expressing their strong opposition to what they deemed as the “callous, heartless, and most importantly dangerous actions” of GOP leadership for not allowing a vote on the repeal of the abortion law.
House Ethics Chairman Joseph Chaplik has confirmed that the committee members are currently reviewing the complaints. He added that we should “stay tuned” for updates regarding the possibility of a formal hearing on the matter.
Water Crisis: Flint residents urge Biden to take responsibility for federal failures in water crisis
Flint, Michigan, marks the 10th anniversary of the lead poisoning of its drinking water, and its residents are calling on President Joe Biden to recognize the federal government’s role in the disaster. They are also urging him to approve funds to settle a 7-year-old lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While the state of Michigan agreed to pay $600 million for its involvement and the city of Flint settled for $20 million in the same lawsuit, the EPA has yet to accept liability for its actions. Despite clear evidence that EPA officials were aware of the inadequate treatment of water from the Flint River months before residents were informed, the agency has not taken responsibility.
San Francisco’s rental assistance program, implemented during the pandemic, proved to be a lifeline for 10,000 households facing eviction. The program, which received funding from progressive measures like Prop. C and Prop. I, saved around 20,000 individuals from the threat of homelessness. By taxing big corporations and high-end real estate deals, these measures generated revenue to address and prevent homelessness. The recipients of rental assistance were mostly Black or Latinx individuals, with 87% earning less than 30% of the area median income. This support was crucial in safeguarding these vulnerable communities from the risk of homelessness.
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Z Williams, co-director of the Denver nonprofit Bread and Roses Legal Center, which provides legal services for LGBTQ communities, spoke about a recent complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado. The complaint was filed by two residents who purposely misgendered transgender individuals during their testimony against a bill that would allow people to change their names to match their gender identity in certain situations. These residents are now suing the legislators who interrupted their testimony and requested that they stop misgendering and deadnaming transgender people. The plaintiffs argue that their First Amendment rights were violated when their testimony was halted and that the legislators discriminated against them by enforcing decorum rules based on their opposition to the bill and transgender rights. They claim that being forced to acknowledge someone as transgender is a form of compelled speech. A hearing for this case has not yet been scheduled.
