The AFL-CIO urges the support of Xavier Becerra’s nomination to be Secretary of the @HHSGov.
Throughout his distinguished career of public service, Becerra successfully protected the health security of working people as an influential member of Congress and as the attorney general of California.
During his 24-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives, Becerra used his position on the Ways and Means Committee to defend against legislation that would inflict substantial cuts to the Medicare program.
Becerra helped design and pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and pushed to ensure that all working families have access to health care coverage so we can reduce the chronic health disparities faced by communities of color.
As the California Attorney General, Becerra led a coalition of 20 states in defending the ACA and protecting the health care of more than 20 million Americans–culminating in last year’s arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Becerra worked with a bipartisan group of states’ attorneys general to hold opioid manufacturers accountable for their role in facilitating the misuse of those drugs, securing $1.6 billion for treatment services.
Becerra took on a major health care system that consolidated hospitals and used the monopoly to increase prices for consumers, winning a major settlement for Californians.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Becerra called upon the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to adopt an emergency temporary standard to protect frontline workers.
Time and again, under Becerra’s management, the state Department of Justice took action to protect the health and health care of Californians and working people across the nation.
This represents just a small set of examples of Xavier Becerra’s capacity to lead a large, complex agency and his commitment to pursue policies that preserve the health of working people.
Becerra is eminently qualified to serve as @HHSGov Secretary, and we urge his confirmation.
📃AFL-CIO General Board Recommends Police Reform, Calls for Defense Secretary, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff and President of Minneapolis Police Union to Resign.
Today, the General Board of the AFL-CIO adopted a comprehensive set of recommendations to take concrete action to address America’s long history of racism and police violence against black people.
These recommendations include calling for the immediate resignations of the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for their roles in the misuse of federal military power to put down peaceful demonstrations (full statement below);
In response to the #COVID19 pandemic, the labor movement is mobilizing to protect front line workers who are combating the disease every day and millions more workers who may be exposed to the virus. #1u
We urge the Senate to pass the #FamiliesFirst Coronavirus Response Act #HR6201 as soon as possible. While this package is not a complete response to the crisis, it is an urgent measure that will get necessary assistance to working people facing serious health and financial risks.
#HR6201 will encourage working people to seek testing for infection by making the tests free for most people covered by employment-based insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid.
In response to the spread of the #COVID19 virus, the labor movement is mobilizing to protect our members who are on the front lines combatting the disease and the millions of Americans who may be exposed at work.
We urge Congress to do its part by passing emergency legislation at the scale and the urgency that this threat requires.
First, Congress should include the #COVID19 Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2019 (#HR6139), which would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard
A Statement of the AFL-CIO Retirement Security Working Group on the Grassley-Alexander Multiemployer Pension Plan Proposal: (1/12) #1u
After a lifetime of hard work, working people deserve to retire with dignity. The labor movement is proud of our negotiated multiemployer pension plans, which have provided retirement income security for millions of working people for decades. (2/12)
Now, as a result of reckless Wall Street behavior, industry deregulation and employers’ creative use of corporate bankruptcy, important parts of that multiemployer pension system are at risk. (3/12)
You may have heard that the Pledge to America's Workers has been a huge success.
However, it hasn't been, working people know that to be far from the truth. #1u
Here's why it's failed:
The Trump Administration has opposed Any Increase in the Federal Minimum Wage, denying a desperately needed raise to nearly 40 million workers. #FailedPledge
The administration has derailed the Department of Labor’s Overtime Rule, blocking millions of workers from receiving a full paycheck. #FailedPledge
In 2018, CEOs of S&P 500 companies received, on average, $14.5 million in total compensation. #PayWatch#1u
$7,858 - The amount the average U.S. rank-and-file worker’s pay has increased over the past 10 years, a pay increase of less than $800 per year annually. Read the report: paywatch.org#Paywatch
$5.2M - The amount the average S&P 500 CEO’s pay has increased over the past 10 years, a CEO pay increase of more than half a million dollars annually. Read the report: paywatch.org#Paywatch