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April 2002
Proposed student loan rule change that could have cost students $1.3
billion
The Bush administration in April proposed a plan that would have forced
student loan holders who consolidate their federal student loans to pay
higher variable interest rates rather than the normally lower fixed rates
that are applied currently to loan consolidation. The change, according
to consumer groups, could have cost the average student some $2,800. But
outcry on Capitol Hill and protests from student groups forced the Bush
administration to reconsider its support of the proposal. On May 1, a
White House spokesman acknowledged that without congressional support
the plan "won't move anywhere."
Offered toothless, voluntary ergonomic guidelines
The Bush Labor Department announced a watered-down, voluntary and unenforceable
plan April 5 to replace the tough ergonomics standard the Bush administration
helped kill last year. The new plan would rely on as yet undeveloped voluntary
guidelines for selected industries, which are not even identified. On
April 19, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao admitted during a Senate hearing
that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has no plans to
enforce voluntary guidelines. Except for the announcement that nursing
home guidelines might be developed by the end of the year, Chao couldn't
name other potential targeted industries or offer a timetable as to when
other industry-specific ergonomics guidelines might be ready. Since Bush
signed the legislation repealing OSHA's ergonomics standard, more than
1.8 million workers across the country have suffered injuries, such as
carpal tunnel syndrome, caused by repetitive motion, heavy lifting and
poorly designed work.
March 2002
Proposed paying subminimum wage to "workfare" workers
Under its welfare reform proposal released in late February, the Bush
administration planned to give states permission to pay a subminimum wage
to welfare recipients in "workfare" jobs. But after news reports
March 6 revealed the subminimum wage proposal-one sentence buried in the
36-page proposal-the administration backed down and said these workers
would be covered by the minimum wage law, as they had been under the Clinton
administration. However, the administration has yet to seek the introduction
of legislation that would ensure working TANF recipients are covered by
the same workplace protection laws as any other worker.
Imposed steel tariffs that give hope to steel industry, but fall short
of need
President Bush imposed tariffs on imported steel of up to 30 percent for
three years on March 5. The decision came just days after nearly 30,000
Steelworkers and steel community supporters rallied near the White House
and called for 40 percent tariffs for four years on unfair steel imports.
USWA President Leo W. Gerard said Bush's announcement was "not as
comprehensive as we had hoped…but raises our hopes that the steel
industry can be saved." According to the USWA, the unfair imports
have fueled a crisis that has forced 31 American steel companies to file
for bankruptcy protection, while 16 have ceased operations altogether,
and nearly 47,000 steelworkers and iron ore miners have lost their jobs
February 2002
Offered a welfare reform plan that penalizes the poor, ignores immigrants
and is underfunded
President Bush's welfare reform plan requires recipients to work additional
hours to remain eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
benefits, posing a hardship to many seeking to move from dependency to
self-sufficiency even as it eliminates vocational training and educational
activities that have been counted toward fulfilling the work requirement.
The proposals for the welfare law also require states to place even more
recipients in jobs or work programs but provide no increased funding for
states to meet the higher job levels nor increased funding for the larger
number of recipients who require child care to meet the work requirements.
It also fails to restore TANF benefits to legal immigrants unfairly excluded
from eligibility in 1996. Originally, Bush's plan proposed paying subminimum
wages to recipients in job programs, but after protests, the administration
backed down. The 1996 welfare law expires this year and the Bush administration
will seek to include its proposals in the new law.
Pushes for taxpayer dollars to private schools
President Bush's proposed budget seeks to establish a $2,500 refundable
tax credit for parents to send children to private schools. The tax credit
would work nearly the same as the private school vouchers Bush long has
supported. It also would be available to all families regardless of income,
so even the richest families would be eligible. While public schools must
meet certain federal standards, the government does not hold private schools
accountable to the same standards. These tax credits, like private school
vouchers, drain taxpayer dollars that could be used to improve public
schools. It is estimated that Bush's plan would cost about $5.7 billion
over the next five years. Bush was unable to win congressional approval
of private school vouchers in the recently passed and signed bipartisan
education bill and some have called the tax credit proposal a backdoor
effort to private school vouchers. Vouchers are a controversial issue
and the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of Cleveland's
voucher program later this year.
Proposes to dismantle the federal/state unemployment system
President Bush's fiscal year 2003 budget proposes radical changes in the
nation's unemployment system that would lower taxes on corporations and
loosen federal standards on states. Bush's plan would slash by 75 percent
the taxes that corporations pay (under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act)
to finance the administration of the unemployment insurance system and
help the program maintain stability. It would shift the administration
costs to the states and provide fewer resources to the states. It also
reduces the federal oversight role, such as requirements that states cover
certain classes of workers and meet other standards. While Bush's program
lowers corporate taxes, it doesn't provide benefit increases, expanded
eligibility to part-time and low-wage workers or other improvements for
the jobless.
Proposed a budget that raids the Social Security Trust
Fund to help pay for tax cuts for the rich
President Bush's proposed fiscal year 2003 budget calls for siphoning
almost $1 trillion from the Social Security Trust Fund during the next
decade. Bush's budget breaks a promise he made a year ago to a joint session
of Congress that the Social Security Trust Fund would be set aside and
not used for tax cuts or spending. While increased defense spending and
the impact of the recession account for some of the funds, between 2004
and 2009 more than $500 billion of the Social Security Trust Fund will
be used to pay for tax cuts that primarily benefit the rich.
Seeks to slash job training and help for workers who lose their jobs
President Bush's proposed budget ignores the sharp increase in unemployment
and economic hardship by cutting worker training programs by 9 percent.
The proposed cuts in job training run counter to the emphasis in his State
of the Union message about creating jobs to "defeat this recession."
He said, "My economic security plan can be summed up in one word,
jobs." But the various job training programs targeted for cuts are
designed to help jobless workers learn new skills, prepare adults moving
from welfare to work in the job market and provide educational and training
opportunities for young people in poverty.
Proposes eliminating 83 full-time safety and health jobs at OSHA and
cutting $9 million from safety programs
In his proposed budget, President Bush cuts $9 million in funding for
health and safety initiatives. He also seeks to eliminate 83 full-time
Occupational Safety and Health Administration jobs. Funding cuts include
workplace safety and health standard setting and enforcement and safety
training for workers. Along with the OSHA cuts, the Mine Safety and Health
Administration is slated for a $4 million cut and the loss of 46 jobs.
Threatens 380,000 jobs with infrastructure funding cuts in proposed budget
President Bush proposed cuts of more than 29 percent in highway construction
and maintenance repair funds could cost as many as 140,000 jobs in a peak
construction year and 380,000 jobs over the next decade. Bush's budget
cut proposals also affects the rail and air transportation sectors and
could cost 7,000 Amtrak workers their jobs and result in privatization
of the nation's air traffic control system.
Proposes health care and prescription drug funding far short of real needs
President Bush's proposed budget assumes Medicare costs will be some $300
billion less over the next decade than the Congressional Budget Office
has estimated. The only way to achieve the $300 billion in lowered growth
would be through cuts in benefits to seniors or cuts in reimbursements
to health care providers. His proposal for a Medicare prescription drug
plan for seniors is under funded severely and would do nothing to control
the consistent climb in drug prices.
January 2002
Bypassed Congress to appoint labor solicitor opposed to worker safety
measures
Acting while Congress was in recess and bypassing the Senate confirmation
process, President Bush appointed Eugene Scalia as the U.S. Labor Department
solicitor or chief attorney. Scalia faced considerable opposition in the
Senate because of his extreme views. He has written that ergonomics is
"quackery" and fought numerous worker protection initiatives
by OSHA and other agencies. As the Labor Department's chief lawyer, Scalia
now is responsible for enforcing the laws that provide basic worker protections
in areas such as safety and health, minimum wage, equal employment opportunity
and pension security. His appointment lasts until the end of the 2002
congressional session.
Fired all members of key federal workers' dispute resolution panel
The Bush administration fired the seven members of the Federal Service
Impasses Panel Jan.7. The panel helps protect federal workers' collective
bargaining rights. Federal workers do not have the right to strike and
the FSIP is the last resort when unions and federal agencies reach an
impasse on issues such as organizing and contracts. It tries to reach
a compromise and, if that is not possible, it can impose settlement terms.
On Jan. 10, the Bush administration nominated four conservatives to the
board, including Becky Norton Dunlop, vice president of the ultraconservative
Heritage Foundation, as chairperson.
Revoked union representation for hundreds of workers in five Department
of Justice divisions
President Bush issued an executive order Jan. 7 that revoked union representation
for workers in the Justice Department's U.S. attorney's offices, the Criminal
Division, the U.S. National Central Bureau of INTERPOL, the National Drug
Intelligence Center and Office of Intelligence Policy and Review. "Accordingly,
the following bargaining units, previously represented by AFGE as their
exclusive representative under the Federal Service Labor Management Relations
Statute, cease to exist as do their corresponding bargaining units,"
the Justice Department said in a letter to AFGE. News reports said Bush
acted to prevent strikes by workers in offices engaged in intelligence,
investigative and law enforcement work. However, current federal law prevents
workers in those offices, and other federal agencies, from striking.
Refused to accept court ruling overturning anti-worker executive order
The Bush administration continued its efforts to undermine workers' right
to choose a voice at work when it announced it would appeal a U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia ruling overturning one of Bush's first
anti-worker executive orders. The Bush order required employers to post
notices telling workers about their right to avoid unionization and union
dues obligations-but did not compel contractors to inform workers about
their right to join a union. The court ruled Jan.2 that the Bush administration
had no authority to issue the measure and prohibited the administration
from enforcing it.
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