Daily News & Commentary — July 17, 2017
Today marks the beginning of President Trump’s “Made in America week,” a Trump administration effort to promote products made in the United States. This afternoon, the White House will feature a “Made in America” showcase of products from all 50 states. On Wednesday, President Trump will give a speech on the importance of domestic manufacturing, and on Saturday, the President will visit Virginia to celebrate the commissioning of a new aircraft carrier. Despite the occasion, and the importance of reshoring to President Trump’s platform in general, President Trump and advisor Ivanka Trump have been criticized for hypocritically using overseas labor in the manufacture of many of their respective products.
Workers at NPR reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract yesterday. The agreement covers more than 400 reporters, producers, and writers. The union representing the workers, SAG-AFTRA, had been making appeals to the public for support after two contract extensions failed to produce an acceptable deal, including gathering 14,000 signatures for an online petition in support of NPR workers. SAG-AFTRA successfully ruled out a separate pay track for new employees, and according to a reporter who works for NPR, will be receiving a salary “really close” to the union’s original requests.
Former NLRB Chairman William B. Gould IV, who was Chairman under Bill Clinton’s administration, authored an article in the San Francisco Chronicle arguing against the nomination of Marvin Kaplan to the NLRB. Gould alleged that Kaplan is “unqualified and hostile to the law that he would interpret and administer.” Marvin Kaplan is current chief counsel of the Occupation Safety and Health Review Commission.
