The U.S. Department of Labor this morning reported that the American economy shed 539,000 jobs in April, bringing the unemployment rate to 8.9 percent. Total job losses since the recession began in December 2007 stand at 5.7 million. At the same time, The Washington Post is now reporting that beleaguered U.S. automaker General Motors plans to ship many of the company’s planned new jobs overseas: “... Read more »
Following the release today of additional details on President Obama’s FY 2010 budget, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement: "The budget put forward today is as disappointing as the outline offered earlier this year. It still spends too much; it still taxes too much; and it still borrows too much. Only no... Read more »
With big-spending special interests now scrambling to find support for their widely rejected card check plan, a new focus has emerged on the legislation’s scheme to allow federal arbitrators to dictate how American workplaces are run. Section 3 of the legislation, dubbed “Facilitating Initial Collective Bargaining Agreements,” outlines a radical proposal masked by its rather innocent sounding name... Read more »
Over the past few weeks, many parents and employers have been concerned with the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. And rightly so. As most parents know, illnesses such as the flu can spread through a school almost as fast as an e-mail or a text message. It’s one of those facts of life that parents of school-age children have had to face for generations. But the H1N1 flu is different because it can be ... Read more »
Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the senior Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, today criticized legislation that creates a massive new federal school construction program. McKeon and other Republicans on the panel argued that taxpayers cannot afford a new, $20 billion foray into local facilities management, and that students and taxpayers would be better served by inve... Read more »
Congressional Democrats and their big-spending special interest allies are having a hard time making the case for their anti-worker card check plan. Not only has it been widely rejected by the public – non-union and union members alike – but it has been panned by political leaders and opinion makers from across the political spectrum. Now, new data from the National Labor Relations Board confirms ... Read more »
There are a variety of concerns that I and other Republicans have with this bill. I’d like to sum these up with a few phrases: It costs too much. It borrows too much. It controls too much. And it’s an area that, as federal legislators, we should not be intruding upon. First, there’s concern about the cost. Last year, this committee marked up a very similar bill which the Congressional Budget Offic... Read more »
In the ongoing debate over card check’s forced government contracts – the proposal to let government bureaucrats establish wages, benefits, job duties, and other work rules if unions and management cannot reach agreement within 120 days – a new wrinkle has emerged. It seems that special interest efforts to increase the number of union members at any cost could have a steep cost indeed for an unexp... Read more »
Our country continues to face tough economic challenges. We face complex and difficult problems as we work to restore economic growth. Investing in our workforce is important to ensure that workers are adequately prepared to meet the changing demands of our economy. With the proper investment, our workforce can be strengthened and maintain its competitive advantage. Education, including adult educ... Read more »
With all the talk recently about a compromise on the anti-worker card check plan, pundits and political observers have been turning their attention to a less well-known provision of the plan, but one that many believe could be equally damaging: the forced government contracts. Over the weekend, Michael Barone speculated on what a card check compromise might look like for workers, small business ow... Read more »
