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Jake Rosenfeld

@jakerosenfeld.bsky.social
1.3K followers 343 following 80 posts

Professor of Sociology at Washington University-St. Louis

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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
What way forward for a frustrated labor movement? Look to the public sector. My take in @democracyjournal.org:
democracyjournal.org
Here-and-Now Unionism
The public sector is the forgotten flank of the labor movement—and its largest opportunity for growth.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
The @aaup.org breaks with tradition and starts endorsing candidates. Will it matter? At the state and national level, probably not. (Is it the smart thing to do? Also probably not).
insidehighered.com
AAUP Embraces Political Role With Candidate Endorsements
The group says the move is a first in its over-100-year existence, and part of countering government threats. Critics say AAUP has lost its neutrality.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
“Internal competition and disagreement aren’t necessarily unhealthy. But this is not that. It is personal, it’s ugly. And...it does add to the sense of stalled momentum.” UAW infighting threatens recent gains. news.bgov.com/daily-labor-...
news.bgov.com
DOJ Probe Stands to Undercut UAW Election, Organizing Goals
A grand jury investigation into allegations against United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain complicates his reelection bid and risks damaging the union’s reputation as it fights to shed remnants of a...
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
“I think he authentically despises highly educated professional-class people who attended Ivy League universities, despite being a highly educated professional-class person who attended an Ivy League university.” My take on Vance's class politics.
huffpost.com
JD Vance Just Called A Bunch Of People's Jobs 'Fake.' Union Organizers Would Like A Word.
"Apparently, [his] job allows for time to do book tours and podcasts," one union organizer said.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Didn't go as planned. teamster.org/2025/03/team...
teamster.org
Teamsters Secure Bipartisan Confirmation of Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor Secretary
(WASHINGTON) – Following the bipartisan confirmation vote of former Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as U.S. Secretary of Labor, Teamsters General P
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
This awful @washingtonpost.com editorial is a reminder to call your congresspersons and tell them to support the bipartisan Faster Labor Contracts Act today!
washingtonpost.com
Opinion | A bipartisan bill that would hurt employers and unions
The Faster Labor Contracts Act would let arbitrators force bad agreements on workers and businesses.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Best case scenario for a labor movement reeling from attacks in 2025. Despite it all – NLRB lacking quorum, stripping away of bargaining rights for nearly a million federal workers – the overall unionization rate ticked up. Back in the double digits! www.bls.gov/news.release...
bls.gov
Union Membership (Annual) News Release - 2025 A01 Results
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
In an otherwise bleak day for labor with the stripping of job protections for tens of thousands of federal workers, actual good news out of the South: the @uaw.org negotiated a first contract for the first successfully organized foreign-owned auto plant. www.timesfreepress.com/news/2026/fe...
timesfreepress.com
UAW, Volkswagen reach tentative agreement on contract for Chattanooga workers | Chattanooga Times Free Press
After a monthslong stalemate, Volkswagen and the United Auto Workers union have reached a tentative agreement on a final contract.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Just 2% of air traffic controllers will receive this bonus, no doubt engendering trust and goodwill when the next shutdown comes along! www.wsj.com/business/why...
wsj.com
Why $10,000 Bonuses for Air-Safety Workers Are Backfiring
Incentive payments for shutdown performance are drawing pushback from unions and workers. Trump administration officials say the bonuses reward dedication.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Flying soon? Prepare for delays. As I tell @cnn.com air traffic controllers were an "understaffed and overworked group of employees" before the shutdown. Now add a lack of a paycheck with no end to the shutdown in sight.
cnn.com
Air traffic control staffing problems spiked over the weekend, raising concerns about growing disruption | CNN
Air traffic controller staffing shortages worsened over the weekend as the nation’s government shutdown hit its fourth week, leading to delays and anxiety, and experts say it won’t get better until ai...
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
I wish the ‘where did colleges go wrong?’ genre reflected more on the ‘Walmart offering $30/hour’ aspect of the dynamic. The college-for-all push rested on the belief that noncollege jobs paid terribly. That changed, and it’s no wonder the marginal college student recalculated.
nytimes.com
Colleges Face a Reckoning: Is a Degree Really Necessary?
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Boeing benefits from the comparative lack of attention to this strike - one reason the company has bargained harder than in last year's West Coast dispute.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
Why did the Teamsters endorse Ramaswamy? See this comment from the OH Plumbers & Pipefitters' head (also a Vivek endorser) for an explanation: "We kind of try to read the tea leaves, and we believe that Vivek is going to be the next governor."
dispatch.com
Some Ohio unions split endorsements between Ramaswamy, Brown in governor, Senate races
Some Ohio unions are splitting their endorsements, backing both Republican Ramaswamy and Democrat Sherrod Brown.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Ramaswamy, who has called for the elimination of teachers' unions and ending the right of federal workers to organize, wins Teamsters' endorsement *before* the Dems even have a nominee.
semafor.com
Ramaswamy nabs Teamsters endorsement
The state Teamsters conference is the latest state union to endorse him.
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Reposted by Jake Rosenfeld
The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · 21/08/2025
The GOP reached out to union workers in 2024 and won many of their votes. But Trump's labor policies have largely continued the party's historically anti-union stance #LaborDay buff.ly/Oreb5Vc
theconversation.com
Trump administration has proven no friend to organized labor, from attacking federal unions to paralyzing the National Labor Relations Board
Donald Trump isn’t the first GOP president to have courted segments of the labor movement, dividing a key Democratic constituency, only to take actions that make unions weaker.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
In advance of Labor Day, I scored the GOP's new pro-worker agenda. Upside: lots of room for improvement! Downside: *lots* of room for improvement. theconversation.com/trump-admini...
theconversation.com
Trump administration has proven no friend to organized labor, from attacking federal unions to paralyzing the National Labor Relations Board
Donald Trump isn’t the first GOP president to have courted segments of the labor movement, dividing a key Democratic constituency, only to take actions that make unions weaker.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
The demolition of what little remained of labor law continues. news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
news.bloomberglaw.com
SpaceX Keeps Labor Board Case Frozen With Fifth Circuit Victory
SpaceX and two other companies can keep their court orders freezing unfair labor practice cases as they litigate their constitutional challenges to the National Labor Relations Board, a federal appeal...
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Curious what O'Brien believes the outreach has achieved so far, aside from a Labor Secretary who has forsworn all of her past pro-labor positions. www.politico.com/news/2025/08...
politico.com
Teamsters pour money into GOP, shifting away from Dems
After years of loyally backing Democrats, Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien is diversifying the union's PAC to support Republicans, too.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Uncharacteristic about both last year's and this year's Boeing strike is the workers are out ahead of the union, voting down proposals the union urged them to accept. More of my thoughts @Marketplace www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
marketplace.org
Boeing defense workers strike for third day
The walkout comes during the aerospace giant’s “turnaround year.”
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Wait - Columbia will be collecting applicants' 'color' now? How? "Columbia shall provide...admissions data...showing both rejected and admitted students broken down by race, color, grade point average, and performance on standardized tests, in a form permitting appropriate statistical analyses."
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Early results suggest Chavez-DeRemer's prior pro-labor stances weren't exactly deeply held. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
washingtonpost.com
Trump to cut protections for home health aides, migrant farmworkers
The Labor Department unveiled an “aggressive deregulatory” effort this week.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
This, from the Sunday Times, is hard to believe. Admittedly I'm old and know nothing of the influencer trend, but ~12m full-time creator/influencers would mean this is now the largest occupation - by about 8 million workers.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Fantastic and timely book!
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
At this point, the Teamsters' victory in the labor secretary battle seems utterly inconsequential. news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
news.bloomberglaw.com
Labor Department to Lose 20% of Staff to Resignation Offers (1)
Nearly one in five workers at the US Department of Labor opted to leave their jobs later this year as part of the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, according to two DOL employees br...
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
"Organized labor has taken a leading role in challenging the Trump administration’s downsizing agenda in court." www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/b...
nytimes.com
Unions Form Pro Bono Legal Network for Federal Workers Targeted by Trump
Organized labor has taken a leading role in challenging the Trump administration’s downsizing agenda in court. A new service will offer more individualized representation.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
"None of this is normal." www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...
npr.org
A whistleblower's disclosure details how DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data
A whistleblower tells Congress and NPR that DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data and hid its tracks. "None of that ... information should ever leave the agency," said a former NLRB official.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
The conflation of "manufacturing jobs" w/ "good jobs" will be news to many recently hired (non-union, large #s working for staffing firms) manufacturing workers. See Myth #5: www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five...
washingtonpost.com
Perspective | Five myths about compensation
Actually, very few workers are paid based on their job performance.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
There is nothing inherent about these jobs that make them (to quote Lutnick today) “the coolest jobs, the highest-paying jobs" - it's worker power that makes all the difference.
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Reposted by Jake Rosenfeld
Mr. Nick Beaudrot @nbeaudrot.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
In particular, some Obama-era economists (some of whom also worked in the Biden WH) have noted that when manufacturing jobs get re-shored, the wage premium doesn't come back, they pay like service sector jobs. We could try sectoral bargaining or tight labor markets + focus on food/gas prices?
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Fitting. www.newsmax.com/finance/stre...
newsmax.com
Newsmax CEO to Ring Opening Bell Thursday at NYSE
Newsmax Inc. CEO Christopher Ruddy will be ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday to celebrate the company's stunning debut earlier this week, which captured the attention of the financial world.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
DOGE comes for CNN's headline writers.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
In case anyone doubted the importance of public sector unions: "Unions have been a major obstacle in Mr. Trump’s effort to slash the size of the federal work force and reshape the government to put it more directly under his control." www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Moves to End Federal Union Protections Across Government
An executive order signed by the president would cancel collective bargaining for hundreds of thousands of workers, the largest federal employees union said. The union was preparing legal action.
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Reposted by Jake Rosenfeld
Kim Kelly @kimkelly.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
The Trump admin just illegally stripped collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of federal workers in 18 different departments across multiple agencies. The regime stated that “Certain Federal unions have declared war on President Trump’s agenda.” www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
whitehouse.gov
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Exempts Agencies with National Security Missions from Federal Collective Bargaining Requirements
PROTECTING OUR NATIONAL SECURITY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order using authority granted by the Civil Service Reform Act of
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
"If the new law is passed, teenagers would be able to work overnight jobs on school days." Should do wonders for FL's test scores. www.cnn.com/2025/03/25/b...
cnn.com
Florida debates lifting some child labor laws to fill jobs vacated by undocumented immigrants | CNN Business
Florida has been working for years to crack down on employers that hire undocumented immigrants. But that presented a problem for businesses in the state that are desperate for workers to fill low-wag...
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Surely the pro-worker senior Senator from MO will weigh in on this anti-worker overreach by his statehouse GOP colleagues? www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
stltoday.com
Republicans seek to repeal Missouri’s minimum wage increase
Five months after Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a boost in the minimum wage and a paid leave plan, Republican lawmakers moved Tuesday to repeal the law.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Amidst all the chaos of the past months, one fascinating under-the-radar story is the continuing transformation of Josh Hawley. “I’m not going to vote for Medicaid benefit cuts,” “We need to get wages up...and we can’t do that without organized labor.” www.stltoday.com/news/local/c...
stltoday.com
Holleman: Hawley keeps courting ‘working-class’ voters in effort to reorient the GOP
Still a conservative standard-bearer and irritant to liberals, Missouri’s senior U.S. senator is carving out position as legislator concerned with workers’ rights, blue-collar benefits.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
It was a real pleasure discussing the present, past, and possible future of the labor movement on the Inequality Podcast - and to hear @dschneider.bsky.social talking schedule unpredictability. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/18Nf...
open.spotify.com
The Age of Unpredictable and Precarious Work, featuring Jake Rosenfeld and Daniel Schneider
The Inequality Podcast · Episode
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
To the extent a pro-worker contingent is growing within the GOP, it sure hasn’t penetrated the executive branch. apnews.com/article/coll...
apnews.com
Homeland Security ends TSA collective bargaining agreement, in effort to dismantle union protections
A union representing Transportation Security Administration workers calls the Department of Homeland Security's decision to end the collective bargaining agreement with them an “unprovoked attack.”
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Reposted by Jake Rosenfeld
Dave Jamieson @jamieson.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Breaking news: A federal judge just ordered the reinstatement of Democratic NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox, whom Trump fired to eliminate the board’s quorum. Trump’s firing was ‘unlawful’ and therefore ‘null and void’
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Two union-backed bills are being introduced in Congress this week - the PRO Act, and the bipartisan Faster Labor Contracts Act, whose chief Senate sponsor is [head spins] Josh Hawley. Early test of the size of the emerging pro-labor GOP faction. www.axios.com/2025/03/04/j...
axios.com
Scoop: GOP Sen. Josh Hawley leads union-backed bipartisan labor bill
The bill has support from the Teamsters union.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Good. www.politico.com/live-updates...
politico.com
First Senate Dem announces she will support Trump’s Labor secretary nominee
Sen. Maggie Hassan’s decision means Lori Chavez-DeRemer will almost certainly advance to the floor, and boosts her chances at confirmation.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
I get the impulse - and the fury behind it - but Dems shouldn’t oppose this nominee. There are political and policy upsides to backing her. www.politico.com/newsletters/...
politico.com
The Trump Cabinet nominee caught in the DOGE crossfire
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Shaking up the Dems' consultant class was good advice two decades ago (via @amysullivan.bsky.social) and is good advice today: washingtonmonthly.com/2005/01/12/f...
washingtonmonthly.com
Fire the Consultants | Washington Monthly
Why do Democrats promote campaign advisors who lose races?
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
And it shows: "Martin is the first U.S. attorney for D.C. in at least 50 years not to have served as a judge or federal prosecutor." (More here: www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...) bsky.app/profile/jess...
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
An expanding labor force means unions must recruit many members just to maintain the prior unionization rate. All else equal, 2.2 million new jobs means unions must organize 220k workers to maintain last year's 10% density. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
washingtonpost.com
Union membership fell in 2024, hitting new low
The share of American workers in unions dropped to 9.9 percent last year.
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Reposted by Jake Rosenfeld
Eric Dirnbach @ericdirnbach.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
UNION MEMBERSHIP continues to fall, now below 10% for the first time in over a century. This despite a huge increase in workers winning union elections last year, but not yet enough to impact this long decline (that summary here: ericdirnbach.medium.com/u-s-union-el...). www.bls.gov/news.release...
bls.gov
Union Membership (Annual) News Release - 2024 A01 Results
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Wilcox’s term wasn't up until 2028; her firing appears blatantly illegal. With no quorum, the NLRB cannot operate. news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
news.bloomberglaw.com
Trump Stymies Labor Board by Firing Democrat Gwynne Wilcox (1)
President Donald Trump fired National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox in an unprecedented personnel move that prevents the board from deciding cases and appears to violate federal law.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Absolutely dispiriting. With an opportunity to lock in their majority on the NLRB until 2026, Dems needlessly delayed the vote then forgot to get word to Harris in time to break the deadlock. www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
nybooks.com
What Labor Could Lose | Dan Kaufman
When Joe Biden described himself this month as “the most pro-labor President in American history,” he was being overly self-congratulatory. Union density
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Reposted by Jake Rosenfeld
Steven Durlauf @durlauf.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Delighted that the Winter @ucstonecenter.bsky.social Inequality Workshop will open with @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social. His fascinating 2021 book You're Paid What You're Worth is particularly valuable to fellow economists given the complex sociological perspectives on wage determination he develops.
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Jake Rosenfeld @jakerosenfeld.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
A looming port strike will provide an early test of how much power the pro-labor contingent has within the new administration. So far, Trump is siding with the union: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/14/b...
nytimes.com
Trump Backs a Longshoremen’s Union That Supported Him
President-elect Donald J. Trump is supporting the International Longshoremen’s Association, which could strike soon if it doesn’t reach a deal on automation with employers.
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