Alexa Kissinger is a student at Harvard Law School.
House Republicans unveiled their plan to overhaul the U.S. tax code. The $1.5 trillion plan contemplates a significant tax cut for corporations, which will receive around $1 trillion or two-thirds of the total net cuts. The long-awaited plan decreases the number of tax brackets from seven to four, eliminates the alternative minimum tax, and leaves retirement savings accounts unchanged. The bill also proposes repealing the estate tax by 2024, cuts back on education and charitable deductions, and eliminates the state and local tax deduction in key states like New York and New Jersey. The Senate is expected to release its own tax bill as early as next week.
President Trump nominated Jerome Powell to serve as chair the Federal Reserve. According to The New York Times, Powell, who has been a member of the Fed’s board of governors since 2012, has “consistently voted with [current chair] Yellen to slowly raise interest rates and sell off assets that the Fed bought up in the wake of the severe recession of 2008 and 2009.” The article also points out that President Trump’s nomination is a break from precedent — the previous three Fed chairs were reappointed, each by a president of the opposite political party.
Yesterday, billionaire Joe Ricketts shuttered local news sites DNAinfo and Gothamist, just a week after staffers voted to unionize. According to the New York Daily News, Ricketts, an outspoken opponent of unions, had signaled he might close the business if the union vote succeeded. The 115 employees were notified about the loss of their jobs via email. Ricketts said he was closing the site due to its lack of profitability.
GM and Ford confirmed they are cooperating with an expanded Justice Department probe into alleged misspending at UAW union training centers. The Detroit News reported that prosecutors issued subpoenas for information about the training centers and that DOJ is also looking at charities operated by union officials. The investigation has already led to charges against four Fiat-Chrysler employees, including a former company vice president charged with making $1.2 million in improper payments to a former union vice president and his wife. Both GM and Ford have said they intend to fully cooperate with the probe.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
November 21
The “Big Three” record labels make a deal with an AI music streaming startup; 30 stores join the now week-old Starbucks Workers United strike; and the Mine Safety and Health Administration draws scrutiny over a recent worker death.
November 20
Law professors file brief in Slaughter; New York appeals court hears arguments about blog post firing; Senate committee delays consideration of NLRB nominee.
November 19
A federal judge blocks the Trump administration’s efforts to cancel the collective bargaining rights of workers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media; Representative Jared Golden secures 218 signatures for a bill that would repeal a Trump administration executive order stripping federal workers of their collective bargaining rights; and Dallas residents sue the City of Dallas in hopes of declaring hundreds of ordinances that ban bias against LGBTQ+ individuals void.
November 18
A federal judge pressed DOJ lawyers to define “illegal” DEI programs; Peco Foods prevails in ERISA challenge over 401(k) forfeitures; D.C. court restores collective bargaining rights for Voice of America workers; Rep. Jared Golden secures House vote on restoring federal workers' union rights.
November 17
Justices receive petition to resolve FLSA circuit split, vaccine religious discrimination plaintiffs lose ground, and NJ sues Amazon over misclassification.
November 16
Boeing workers in St. Louis end a 102-day strike, unionized Starbucks baristas launch a new strike, and Illinois seeks to expand protections for immigrant workers