Delivered every Monday by 10 a.m., Weekly Shift examines the latest news in employment, labor and immigration politics and policy.
| | | | |  | | By Lawrence Ukenye | With help from Eleanor Mueller
|  The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers tentatively agreed to a new contract on Saturday. | Stephen Brashear/Getty Images | | | DO THEY HAVE A DEAL?: Boeing reached a tentative agreement with workers at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers on Saturday, a move that could end to a strike that has lasted over a month and worsened the planemaker’s financial woes. The deal would increase workers’ pay by roughly 35 percent over four years, and IAM has told its workers to consider the proposed contract without recommending that they accept or reject it, The Seattle Times reported. “This proposal will be carefully reviewed and voted upon by the frontline workers of Boeing whose dedication to their communities and families have made this company successful in the past,” IAM District 751 President Jon Holden and IAM District W24 President Brandon Bryant said in a statement. The deal also includes an increase in the company’s contributions to workers’ 401(k) retirement plans. However, what’s not included is a restoration of the union’s defined-benefit pension plan, a key provision workers had requested. IAM members will vote on the deal on Wednesday. A ratified deal would mark a key win for acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, who has crisscrossed the country in recent weeks working to diffuse high-profile strikes that were political landmines for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — and posed a threat to the U.S. economy ahead of the holiday season. Tapped by Biden amid her work in resolving a strike at West Coast ports , Su has allowed the administration to continue touting its support for organized labor without being forced to take controversial measures to shield the economy, like using the Taft-Hartley Act to call dockworkers back to work like some businesses had hoped. The Labor Department did not respond to Shift’s request for comment. GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, Oct. 21. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. Send feedback, tips and exclusives to nniedzwiadek@politico.com and lukenye@politico.com. Follow us on X at @NickNiedz and @Lawrence_Ukenye. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| | FIRST IN SHIFT: Care advocates will bus from Los Angeles to Las Vegas this weekend to knock doors for the Harris-Walz campaign, our Eleanor Mueller writes in. Context: Harris and her running mate Tim Walz have both highlighted paid leave, child care and other care policies as part of their bid for office. Details: Organizers of this weekend's event include Paid Leave for All PAC founder Dawn Huckelbridge, National Domestic Workers Alliance President Ai-jen Poo, Moms First founder Reshma Saujani, National Women's Law Center President Fatima Goss Graves and Moms Rising co-founder Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. Special guests include Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and actress Yvette Nicole Brown. TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME: In another attempt to discredit Harris — who Donald Trump has claimed without evidence is lying about having worked at a McDonald’s — the former president spent some time Sunday serving customers at the fast-food chain in Pennsylvania, our Greta Reich reported. He briefly worked the fryer and the drive-through window. “I’m going for a job right now at McDonald’s. I’ve really wanted to do this all my life because she didn’t do it,” he said to a reporter on MSNBC. The Harris campaign responded by calling the former president “desperate.”
| | | | WHO WILL LEAD DOL?: Su’s status as a non-confirmed agency head means that Republicans are likely to vote down her nomination to lead the Labor Department if Harris wins. Trump could also take the DOL in a pro-business direction should he return to the White House. Here are the potential nominees we’re eyeing depending on if Harris or Trump wins. If Harris wins: Harris could tap Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) — who declined to run for her seat in 2020 — due to her experience as a former leader at the Service Employee International Union. — Maryland Department of Labor Secretary Portia Wu is another contender. She built her national profile by standing up a paid leave system for workers impacted by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Wu also worked in the Obama-era DOL in the Employment and Training Administration. If Trump wins: Trump could call on Patrick Pizzella, a pro-business figure who previously served as DOL’s deputy Labor Secretary. — He could also pick Virginia Labor Secretary Bryan Slater, who worked in Trump’s Transportation Department and also as a labor liaison in the Bush administration. More transition news: "Trump considers bucking presidential transition system," from our Hailey Fuchs and Meredith McGraw. More agency news: “Feds’ engagement hits all-time high, survey finds,” from POLITICO’s E&E News.
| | FIRST IN SHIFT II: Some of the nation’s most high-profile public sector unions are launching a coordinated effort to turn out voters for Harris in swing states. Leaders at SEIU, AFSCME, AFT and NEA will appear at rallies in Atlanta and Philadelphia on Oct. 27 and Nov. 2 respectively. The unions will also embark on a door-knocking campaign during the final weeks before the election. “Union members are mobilizing with a new level of energy, because we know what’s at stake,” AFSCME President Lee Saunders said in a statement to Shift. “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have a vision for working people that will move us forward, lower rising costs and protect our freedoms. BROWN FLEXES UNION TIES: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is banking on the backing of organized labor to fend off Republican challenger Bernie Moreno, much like he did during his 2018 victory. HuffPost reports that Brown received support from United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and other labor groups in the Buckeye State as he hopes to draw a contrast with his opponent, an ex-luxury car dealer who failed to pay one of his workers overtime, according to a 2017 wage theft lawsuit. The Ohio senator and Moreno are statistically tied, according to the latest polls.
| | WHO WILL LEAD ED AND WORKFORCE?: Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) wants to bolster apprenticeship programs and reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act if he’s chosen to succeed outgoing House Education and Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.). “WIOA as we passed it wasn't bad,” he told Nick and Bianca Quilantan. “There may be a few tweaks that we put into it. But my contention about even the cost of it, the benefit that you can have that comes from that, I think we have to look at GAO and others saying it's going to pay for itself down the road.” Read the rest of our Q&A with Walberg here. LAWMAKERS CALL OUT AMAZON: The Congressional Labor Caucus and more than 100 House lawmakers are calling on Amazon to halt its efforts to prevent workers from forming a union. "We are deeply troubled by ongoing reports that Amazon may be unlawfully coercing, intimidating, and retaliating against workers involved in union organizing activity," the lawmakers wrote in a letter. Context: Workers at the e-commerce giant have alleged that Amazon has discouraged unionization, going as far as disciplining and punishing workers involved in organizing campaigns. Amazon did not respond to Shift’s request for comment.
| | | MORE NAIL BITING: Homebuilders are the latest of a growing cadre of businesses expressing fear about Trump’s mass deportation plans, NBC News reports. “It would be detrimental to the construction industry and our labor supply and exacerbate our housing affordability problems,” Jim Tobin, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, said. NAHB said it is stressing the importance of foreign labor in easing the nation’s housing affordability crisis to both parties. The construction industry has a shortage of roughly 370,000 workers, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. More on mass deportation: “ Business groups fret over Trump’s mass deportation plans,” from our Lawrence Ukenye and Grace Yarrow.
| | — " How Trump's Impact On Labor Rights Could Be 'Potentially Catastrophic'," from HuffPost. — "Inmates sue SCDC, alleging underpayment for prison labor and deductions for room and board," from Post and Courier. — “Why Boeing’s 35% Wage Hike Is A Game-Changer For U.S. Labor Markets ,” from Forbes. THAT’S YOUR SHIFT! | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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