Adi Kamdar is a student at Harvard Law School.
President Donald Trump’s first day in office is slated to be full of meetings and executive actions regarding trade and manufacturing in the United States, though details about his exact agenda remain unclear.
According to CNN, President Trump plans to sign an executive order today withdrawing from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiation process. Trump’s campaign took a very hard stance against the TPP, claiming it would hurt American workers—a view also shared by many unions across the United States. The trade deal, pushed by President Obama, became a divisive issue during the election, even after it lost the support of every major candidate.
Furthermore, NBC News reports that Trump will sign an executive order beginning the renegotiation process around the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Another campaign hot button, the President decried this agreement with Mexico and Canada for destroying manufacturing jobs. He has stated that he will soon meet with the Mexican and Canadian president and prime minister to make changes to the trade deal.
Later today, Trump will meet with various labor leaders and workers, according to Reuters. In the morning, he will meet with business leaders to discuss manufacturing in America, according to a tweet by Trump. Details are still unclear as to who from the labor community will be at the second meeting or what specifically the agenda is.
When it comes to jobs within the new administration, the New York Times editorial board notes that many seem to still be available. Since President Trump “assumed office on Friday with the most incomplete team in recent history.” Currently he has not nominated three-quarters of the top 100 positions that require Senate confirmation, and his White House team—which doesn’t require confirmation hearings—remains light on both numbers and experience. “Clearly, Mr. Trump could have spent more time on the transition and less on Twitter.”
Daily News & Commentary
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December 22
Worker-friendly legislation enacted in New York; UW Professor wins free speech case; Trucking company ordered to pay $23 million to Teamsters.
December 21
Argentine unions march against labor law reform; WNBA players vote to authorize a strike; and the NLRB prepares to clear its backlog.
December 19
Labor law professors file an amici curiae and the NLRB regains quorum.
December 18
New Jersey adopts disparate impact rules; Teamsters oppose railroad merger; court pauses more shutdown layoffs.
December 17
The TSA suspends a labor union representing 47,000 officers for a second time; the Trump administration seeks to recruit over 1,000 artificial intelligence experts to the federal workforce; and the New York Times reports on the tumultuous changes that U.S. labor relations has seen over the past year.
December 16
Second Circuit affirms dismissal of former collegiate athletes’ antitrust suit; UPS will invest $120 million in truck-unloading robots; Sharon Block argues there are reasons for optimism about labor’s future.