Cuts and patriotism essays

Politico

3 days ago

With help from Lawrence Ukenye and PJI participant Diamy Wang
QUICK FIX
TIGHTEN THE PURSE: President Donald Trump wants the Department of Labor to do less. A lot less.
Budget documents released Friday propose eliminating DOL's Women's Bureau, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and Job Corps, while relocating the Bureau of Labor Statistics into the Commerce Department, as your host reported for Pro subscribers. BLS would also be put under the 'policy direction of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,' a change that has the potential to politicize its operations and unsettle Wall Street and others who rely on its reports.
DOL would reduce headcount to roughly 10,800, down more than one quarter from the nearly 14,800 staffers at the tail end of the Biden administration. About 2,700 DOL employees are already headed out after accepting Trump's exit incentives, and DOL is trying to lay off hundreds at OFCCP. (That plan is on hold pending resolution of a lawsuit brought in California by labor unions and others.)
The budget plan also proposes slashing funding at the Bureau of International Labor Affairs by close to 38 percent, while many other parts of the agency would also see less funding — including the Wage and Hour Division and Mine Safety and Health Administration — though to a much lesser degree. Both would see 10 percent reductions from their current levels.
Some advocates have argued that these parts of DOL are already stretched too thin to effectively enforce federal law. For instance, WHD has just over 600 investigators to probe wage theft and child labor abuse nationwide — the fewest in more than half-century, according to a report released last week by Rutgers University and Northwestern University.
One branch notably unaffected by the proposed cuts: Office of Labor-Management Standards, which imposes reporting requirements on labor unions, as well as employers that enlist anti-union consultants. OLMS' budget would stay at $49 million.
'The Budget focuses the Department on its highest priority functions and disinvests in programs that are wasteful, duplicative, unproven, non-essential, or ineffective,' the proposal states.
Outside of DOL, both the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are calling for less funding, though their cuts would be far smaller by comparison.
The administration proposed a 4.7 percent reduction for the NLRB. The EEOC would get a nearly $20 million haircut to its $455 million funding level. Both agencies had faced furlough threats in recent years due to budget constraints.
The NLRB plans to absorb the hit by reducing its headcount by nearly 100 people, mainly those who are taking advantage of the administration's deferred resignation program or early retirement offer. The EEOC's smaller budget is also notable because it would be tasked with enforcing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 — which protects workers with disabilities from discrimination involving federal contractors — taking over from OFCCP. EEOC already handles other aspects of that law.
Congress traditionally treats administration budget proposals merely as wish lists and draws up its own plans for the federal budget. But the Trump administration is going as far as it can — and then some, according to the Government Accountability Office— to put its vision in place unilaterally and essentially telling lawmakers to bless it retroactively, as evidenced by DOL's dismantling of OFCCP and Job Corps already underway.
— Meanwhile, over at HHS: 'Trump cuts threaten safety training for America's most dangerous jobs,' from Reuters.
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AROUND THE AGENCIES
ADVENTURES IN PUBLIC SERVICE: The Office of Personnel Management last week unveiled a pair of new policies toward the Trump administration's drastic shift in how workers are hired at the federal government.
One deals with the Senior Executive Service, non-political appointees who hold some of the highest-ranking management roles in the civil service, and the other addresses the federal hiring system more broadly and is partially tied to a law passed in 2024 aimed at promoting skills-based hiring practices.
Both are heavily infused with the Trump administration's anti-DEI ethos, and the latter of the two goes a step further to direct agencies to stop collecting or publishing demographic data of their workforces.
The merit hiring plan also empowers political leadership to play a greater role throughout the hiring process, and lays out a series of essay questions for applicants to answer to gauge their patriotism — including one about which of the president's executive orders is 'significant' to them and how they'd work to carry it out. (Applicants also have to certify that they're not outsourcing their answers to AI.)
The SES memo strips away some writing requirements to focus on resume-based initial screening. It also says that OPM is developing an 80-hour course for SES employees and aspirants lecturing them on 'President Trump's Executive Orders and other matters necessary to ensure that SES officials uphold the Constitution and the rule of law and effectively serve the American people.'
OPM is looking to roll out that training program by Sept. 1.
More agency news: 'Trump's fiscal 2026 budget would strip trans federal workers of insurance coverage,' from the Government Executive.
Even more: 'Education Department Targets Pregnant, LGBTQ Staff Protections,' from Bloomberg.
On The Hill
HOW TRUMP GOT TO HAI: Trump's decision to green-light sale of U.S. Steel came after GOP lawmakers in Pennsylvania warned administration officials that blocking the deal could lead to staggering job losses throughout the Rust Belt.
Reps. Mike Kelly and Dan Meuser were among several Pennsylvania Republicans who pressed the administration to change course after Trump routinely insisted on the campaign trail that he was opposed to the deal.
Nippon recently announced it would increase its investment in U.S. Steel's infrastructure and ensured the company would remain based in the United States, although the White House has yet to confirm the details of the agreement.
Former President Joe Biden moved to block the sale shortly before leaving office after unions, including the United Steelworkers, launched a fierce lobbying effort to keep the company domestically owned.
Our Ari Hawkins and Meredith Lee Hill have more.
More hill news: 'Josh Hawley and the Republican Effort to Love Labor,' from The New Yorker.
In the Workplace
DISPARATE IMPACT DISSIPATES: The Trump administration's decision to drop the use of data to demonstrate discriminatory effects is quickly having wide-ranging effects across agencies and in court.
The disparate impact theory was designed as a way to cover instances where discriminatory intent is not overt or direct.
'The legal theory has been consistently recognized by the Supreme Court, written into federal regulations and enshrined in employment law by Congress. But President Donald Trump declared it unconstitutional in April, issuing an executive order that kicked off an intense review of civil rights regulations, enforcement actions and settled cases,' The Washington Post reports.
The EEOC under acting Chair Andrea Lucas is among the agencies that has stopped relying on such analyses.
More workplace news: "Don't Call It a Side Hustle. These Americans Are 'Polyworking',' from The New York Times.
Even more: 'Pension fund investors demand Elon Musk work 40-hour week at Tesla,' from the Financial Times.
IN THE STATES
GIVING IT ANOTHER GO: California labor groups are attempting to take another stab at raising the state's minimum wage after a similar attempt narrowly failed last November, our Will McCarthy reports for Pro subscribers.
The Living Wage for All campaign seeks to raise Los Angeles County's minimum wage to $25 an hour with hopes of eventually going statewide with a push for a $20 per hour wage as a likely floor.
California's Prop 32, a ballot measure to raise the state's pay floor to $18 an hour, failed by slightly more than a percentage point. Advocates would need to file the initiative with the secretary of state's office later this year to begin gathering signatures in hopes of getting the question in front of voters next year.
More states news: 'Backlog, dismissals continue to grow in Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries,' from the Salem Statesman Journal.
Unions
FIRST IN SHIFT: The AFL-CIO is launching a six-figure ad buy targeting several House Republicans over their support of the GOP's reconciliation package that includes cuts to Medicaid.
The ads, which slam members' votes to 'gut Medicaid' as 'unacceptable,' will run on Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram and on local news sites. Republican lawmakers targeted by the organization's campaign include Reps. Scott Perry (Pa.), Nick Begich (Alaska), Max Miller (Ohio), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa), Derrick Van Orden (Wis.) and Tom Barrett (Mich.).
TEACHER TRAINING: The American Federation of Teachers and CareerWise, a youth apprenticeship program, launched the Education and Apprenticeship Accelerator last week across six Democratic-led states to diversify workforce development opportunities for high school students.
California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania signed on to the initiative, which aims to connect policymakers with educational organizations, unions and other industry partners to create increased apprenticeship offerings and awareness of these programs.
GAO released a report Wednesday highlighting the benefits of apprenticeships and identifying federal programs that could provide such opportunities.
More union news: 'Mulgrew wins reelection by smallest margin yet,' from our Madina Touré.
WHAT WE'RE READING
— 'How Trump's Regulatory Rollbacks Are Increasing Costs on Americans,' from The New York Times.
— 'Targeting DOGE, labor group puts up billboards warning of heat deaths at national parks,' from NBC News.
THAT'S YOUR SHIFT!