The Trump Administration is Bad for South Dakota Workers
“While the Trump Administration and their Republican allies in Congress like to brag about a booming economy, the truth is that it is only booming for some – the wealthy at the very top are seeing much more of the benefits than the middle class and working families. The Republican single-minded pursuit of rigging the economy more and more to corporations and the wealthiest among us is not only putting every other American’s economic future at risk, it is causing real harm to working people right now. While Republicans are doing everything they can to reward their wealthy donors, Democrats will continue fighting for the middle class and the working families of our country, so all South Dakota families have a chance to get ahead.”
Here are some of the ways President Trump and Secretary Acosta are hurting South Dakota Workers:
TRUMP’S BUDGET WOULD HAVE CUT EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS AND JOB TRAINING GRANTS THAT SERVE VETERANS, NATIVE AMERICANS, DISADVANTAGED YOUTH, AND DISLOCATED WORKERS
Trump’s FY19 Budget Proposal Cut Funding By Nearly Half For Adult Employment And Training Activities, Which Serve Veterans, Native Americans, And Young People Who Have Dropped Out Of High School. “Shrink funding for Adult Employment and Training Activities, which serve veterans, Native Americans and young people who have dropped out of high school, by nearly half, from $810 million in 2017 to $490.3 million in 2019.” [Washington Post, 2/12/18]
Trump’s Budget Would Cut $407 Million In Spending On Jobs Corps Centers For Disadvantaged Youth. “The proposal to slash the DOL’s budget by $1.1 billion, to $10.9 billion, next year includes a $407 million reduction in spending on Job Corps centers for disadvantaged youth and $400 million in savings from eliminating the Senior Community Service Employment Program.” [Bloomberg BNA,2/12/18]
Trump’s Budget Would Freeze Funding For Workforce Innovation And Opportunity Act (WIOA) Grants For Adult, Youth, And Dislocated Worker Training At FY 17 Levels. “The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) provides funding to states and communities for job training for adults, dislocated workers (generally those who have recently lost jobs due to layoffs or those who receive or have exhausted unemployment insurance benefits), and young people (with an emphasis on youth who are neither in school nor working). The Administration is proposing to freeze these grants at the 2017 level of $2.7 billion, which means the grants would be worth less in 2019 than in 2017 due to inflation … Under the Administration’s budget (taking the addendum into account), funding for WIOA job training grants in 2019 would be 22 percent less than its 2010 level, after adjusting for inflation.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,3/13/18]
- FY 17: South Dakota Received A $5.2 Million Federal Allocation For WIOA Grants. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,6/13/17]
TRUMP’S BUDGET WOULD HAVE CUT FUNDING THAT STATES USE FOR EMPLOYMENT SERVICES AND JOB TRAINING
Trump’s Budget Cuts Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Funding, Which States Use For Employment Services And Job Training. “The budget also cuts the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant and eliminates altogether the related TANF Contingency Fund — a cut of $2.3 billion, or 13 percent, compared to current law. States use TANF funds for short-term income assistance and other crucial supports for struggling families with children, including employment services and job training.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/13/18]
TRUMP DELAYED A RULE INTENDED TO PROTECT RETIREMENT SAVERS BY REQUIRING BROKERS TO ACT IN THEIR CLIENTS’ BEST INTEREST
The Trump Administration Officially Delayed The Fiduciary Rule Until The Middle Of 2019. “The Department of Labor released a final rule Monday that would delay implementation of the enforcement mechanisms of its fiduciary duty regulation until the middle of 2019.” [InvestmentNews, 11/27/17]
Economic Policy Institute: Trump’s Delay Of The Fiduciary Rule Will Cost Retirement Savers An Estimated $10.9 Billion. “In a comment submitted to the Department of Labor, EPI Policy Director Heidi Shierholz estimates that the Trump administration’s proposed 18-month delay of key provisions of the fiduciary rule—which requires financial advisers to act in the best interest of their clients—will cost retirement savers $10.9 billion over 30 years. Shierholz strongly opposed any further delay the rule, and urges DOL to allow the rule to go fully into effect as scheduled.” [Economic Policy Institute, 9/13/17]
TRUMP’S LABOR DEPARTMENT RESCINDED A RULE MEANT TO FIGHT WORKER MISCLASSIFICATION AND PROTECT WORKERS FROM BEING CHEATED OUT OF THEIR WAGES
DOL Announced It Was Rescinding The Obama Administration’s Standard For Determining When Companies Are “Joint Employers” Of Contract And Franchise Workers. “The U.S. Labor Department on Wednesday said it was rescinding the Obama administration’s standard for determining when companies are ‘joint employers’ of contract and franchise workers, in the agency’s first major shift in labor policy under President Donald Trump. The department in a statement said it had withdrawn a 2016 interpretation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that expanded the circumstances under which a business could be held liable for wage-law violations by staffing agencies, contractors, and franchisees.” [Reuters, 6/7/17]
TRUMP’S LABOR DEPARTMENT RESCINDED A RULE PREVENTING EMPLOYERS FROM POOLING, AND POTENTIALLY STEALING, WORKERS’ TIPS
The Trump Administration Rescinded An Obama-Era Rule That Banned Pooling Workers’ Tips. “The Trump administration is rolling back an Obama-era rule that bans employers from pooling workers’ tips. The Labor Department announced plans Monday to issue a proposed rule to change the Fair Labor Standards Act regulation and allow employers to pool the tips of workers who make full minimum wage and share them with non-tipped workers.” [The Hill, 12/4/17]
The Economic Policy Institute Estimated Restaurant Owners Could Keep Between $564 Million And $14.2 Billion In Tips Earned By Workers. “EPI economists Heidi Shierholz, David Cooper, Julia Wolfe, and Ben Zipperer estimate that if this proposed rule were finalized restaurant owners could pocket between $564 million and $14.2 billion—with $6.1 billion being their best estimate—in tips earned by tipped workers each year.” [Economic Policy Institute, 12/12/17]
TRUMP’S BUDGET WOULD HAVE ELIMINATED $11 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR OSHA PROGRAMS, INCLUDING ONE THAT PROVIDES TRAINING AND EDUCATION ON WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH HAZARDS
Trump’s Budget Would Eliminate Funding For Occupational Safety And Health Training Program Grants. “Here’s a list of 64 proposed eliminations from the budget’s Major Savings and Reforms document, described as ‘an aggressive set of actions to redefine the proper role’ of the federal government … Grants for occupational safety and health training programs: $11 million” [USA Today, 2/14/18]
TRUMP SIGNED A BILL ROLLING BACK WORKER SAFETY REGULATIONS AIMED AT REDUCING THE NUMBER OF WORKPLACE INJURIES AND DEATHS
Trump Signed A Bill That Rolled Back OSHA Worker Safety Regulations That Aimed To Track And Reduce Workplace Injuries And Deaths. “The Senate passed legislation Wednesday to roll back the second of two Obama-era worker safety regulations that aimed to track and reduce workplace injuries and deaths. Both bills, which call for the elimination of two Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules, now await President Trump’s signature. Administration officials said he plans to approve both measures.” [Washington Post, 3/22/17]