Business

After Trade Deal, Obama Seeks to Repair Rift with Labor

Published

11 years ago

July 2, 2015

President Barack Obama runs up the stairs to board Air Force One, Thursday, July 2, 2015, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to La Crosse, Wis., where he is to speak at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse about economy and to promote a proposed Labor Department rule that would make more workers eligible for overtime. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — Nudging his way into presidential politics, President Barack Obama traveled to Wisconsin on Thursday to draw contrasts with Republicans on economic policy just as the state’s governor, Scott Walker, was filing paperwork to enter the GOP presidential primary.

Walker, who is expected to announce his candidacy July 13, greeted Obama at the La Crosse airport with a handshake and a smile. He earlier posted an opinion piece criticizing Obama’s economic policies: “Bright spots in the Obama economy are few and far between,” Walker wrote.

For Obama, the visit is part repair mission after his push for trade legislation ruptured relations between the White House and organized labor.

Within hours of business leaders joining him at a White House signing ceremony for the trade bill, Obama announced a proposed Labor Department rule that would make more workers eligible for overtime. Just like that, the tables were turned — labor praised the move, and business leaders decried it.

Obama was in Wisconsin to promote the overtime plan in the home district of Rep. Ron Kind, one of the 28 House Democrats who broke party ranks to side with the president and grant him broad trade negotiating powers. Just before he left Washington, the Labor Department reported a solid addition of 223,000 jobs in June, though wage growth stalled.

“It is impossible to insulate the U.S. economy and U.S. workers from the broader forces of globalization,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday. “While the president and Congressman Kind have a difference of opinion with many leaders of organized labor about this approach, the fact is when it comes to the value of looking out for middle-class families, the leaders of organized labor and the Obama administration agree just about every time.”

It’s a message the White House hopes resonates with union members and mends a battered relationship between pro-trade Democrats and labor. Union leaders, led by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, fought aggressively against the trade legislation and vowed to pull their support for Democrats who sided with Obama.

That legislation, supported by a majority of Republicans, gave Obama “fast track” trade negotiating authority, which could clear the path for him to complete a 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal. If finalized, Congress would have the right to approve or reject the agreement, but not change or delay it. The deal could be completed in time for Congress to act before the end of the year, giving labor yet another opportunity to flex its muscle over its fear that a trade deal could cost American jobs.

“The trade fight is not over,” said Bill Samuel, the AFL-CIO’s legislative director.

Still, the White House and unions have found plenty of common cause in other areas. Obama has advocated for an increase in the federal minimum wage and for paid family and medical leave.

The overtime rule that Obama announced Monday had been long anticipated. It would make up to 5 million more people eligible for overtime by more than doubling the earnings threshold under which salaried workers are entitled to overtime.

But the administration waited until after the trade legislation passed to propose it. The timing avoided what could have been an awkward and perhaps damaging confrontation with the business community while it was promoting the president’s trade agenda.

Labor is keeping the issues separate.

“We intend to work with the administration until their last day in office,” Samuel said. “We have to do more to address wage inequality than just the overtime rule, but it’s a key start. The trade agenda pushes us in the other direction.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose president, Tom Donohue, attended Monday’s bill signing ceremony, issued a blistering critique of the overtime rule, saying it would result in workers losing benefits, flexibility and advancement opportunities.

“This change is another example of the administration being completely divorced from reality and adding more burdens to employers and expecting them to just absorb the impact,” said Randy Johnson, a chamber senior vice president.

Other business groups, whose membership may not be as affected by the overtime provision, took a more measured approach.

Bill Miller, a senior vice president at the Business Roundtable, said his group has “long advocated modernization, and we intend to be part of the rule-making to make it as nondestructive as possible.”

Still, trade is a far more defining policy issue.

Miller said it was “the major centerpiece” of the Obama administration’s business agenda.

“The cooperation, the collaboration and the execution was done in a way that we’re very hopeful is the blueprint for going forward in the last 18 months of the administration,” he said.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Related Topics:global trade Obama trade US trade

Up Next

Justice Department Reaches $18.7 Billion Agreement in Principle with BP

Don't Miss

Ace Buying Chubb, Deal to Create Insurance Giant

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Business

Trader Vic’s Returns to Its Oakland Roots

Trader Vic’s, the internationally recognized brand and birthplace of the original Mai Tai, has officially returned to its roots in Oakland. Originally founded in 1934 on San Pablo Avenue before moving to Emeryville, the hospitality giant has launched Trader Vic’s Outpost at Oakland International Airport’s Terminal 2. The new full-service location offers travelers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cocktails in a 108-seat space designed to celebrate the city’s status as a top national food destination. Visit the website to read more.

Published

5 days ago

October 19, 2026

Post News Group

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee cuts the ribbon at the official opening of Trader Vic’s Outpost and Plum Market at Oakland International Airport. She is assisted by U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon as Port of Oakland Board President Stephanie Dominguez Walton, left, and representatives from Trader Vic's, Plum Market, look on. Photo courtesy of the mayor’s office.

By Special to The Post

Oakland has always been a city of innovators, entrepreneurs, visionaries, and world-class hospitality. Trader Vic’s—the birthplace of the original Mai Tai – first opened in Oakland back in 1934 on San Pablo Avenue, long before becoming an internationally recognized global brand.

More than 50 years after it moved to Emeryville, Trader Vic’s is returning to its roots. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee touts the return as another victory for Oakland.

“My administration is deeply committed to backing businesses like Trader Vic’s and Plum Market—partners who invest in our city, uplift our local workforce, and support thousands of local jobs,” Lee said.

The latest Trader Vic’s – called Trader Vic’s Outpost – is located at the Oakland International Airport in Terminal 2 near Gate 25 and had a soft opening in August.

With 108 dining seats, 28 bar seats and a counter for standing-room customers, travelers from around the world can have a full-service restaurant and bar experience or take-out for those with planes to catch.

Open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., breakfast, lunch, dinner, cocktails will be served.

Trader Vic’s returning to its roots confirms Condé Nast’s decision to name Oakland the #1 Food City in America two years in a row, and just earlier this month, ranked Oakland #6 on their list of Best Cities in the U.S.!

“The opening at OAK is incredibly meaningful for us,” said Rhett Rosen, CEO of Trader Vic’s Hospitality Group, according to the company website. “Trader Vic’s was born in the Bay Area, and this new location gives us the chance to welcome travelers with a taste of that original spirit before they take off. It brings together everything people love about Trader Vic’s — great cocktails, flavorful food, warm hospitality and a little sense of escape — in a place that connects Oakland to the world.”

Trader Vic’s is an Oakland institution and one of the region’s most recognizable hospitality brands, said Port of Oakland Director of Aviation Craig Simon on the web site.

“Travelers are increasingly seeking dining options that are memorable, locally rooted, and uniquely representative of the communities they are visiting. Trader Vic’s delivers all of that while providing a high-quality food and beverage experience for our guests. We are proud to welcome this hometown favorite to Terminal 2,”

The original Trader Vic’s in Oakland:

In 1934, with an investment of $500, Bergeron opened his initially small restaurant at 65th Avenue and San Pablo, serving comfort foods for lunch and dinner and beers and whiskeys. As his clientele grew, so did his restaurant, expanding space and menu options. After visiting this establishment, famed San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen proclaimed that the “best restaurant in San Francisco is in Oakland.”

There were as many as 25 franchises worldwide, including the U.S. Trader Vic’s is now headquartered in Martinez.

Post News Group

Posts by Post News Group

Business

Oakland Coal Terminal Backed by Trump Would Be Bigger, Dirtier Than Promised, Says Report

A recent feasibility study commissioned by potential investors says an Oakland coal terminal backed by President Donald Trump could export 13 million tons a year — three times the amount estimated in an earlier environmental review. Surprisingly, the report also contradicts devel

Published

5 days ago

October 19, 2026

Post News Group

East Bay residents have been fighting alongside No Coal in Oakland for more than a decade. Photo courtesy of No Coal in Oakland.

By Post Staff

Surprisingly, the report also contradicts developers’ and project advocates’ repeated pledges that the coal would be stored in a covered terminal. Instead, the millions of tons of coal shipped annually from inland states to the West Gateway terminal in Oakland would be stored in “two open-air bunkers,” with about 150,000 tons of coal per stockpile, before being sent overseas, according to the recent report cited by the L.A. Times. (https://ruic.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Port-Study-RUIC-Bulk-Commodity-Ocean-Terminals-Study.pdf)

Residents and clean air advocates have long expressed concerns that coal dust would worsen pollution in West Oakland and throughout the East Bay.

The proposed site of the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (OBOT) is located at the former Army base near the Port of Oakland, which developer Phil Tagami has been trying for years to turn into a shipping terminal despite determined community opposition.

Trump announced a $75-million investment in the project in June, about a third of its estimated cost. The new terminal would be the largest coal export site on the West Coast, transporting coal to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia, according to the Trump administration.

Opponents say a new terminal would undermine years of progress cleaning up the air in West Oakland, which has a history of disproportionate pollution and high asthma rates due to its proximity to the port and other industry.

According to No Coal in Oakland organizer Ted Franklin, who has been active for 11 years in the fight to stop the coal terminal, the report indicates that investors may be looking for a cheaper way to build the terminal.

“We were shocked but not surprised” by the report, Franklin said. “Basically, it seems that the plan now is to store open piles of coal, which is a less expensive project than creating a completely enclosed facility.”

The threats that the project poses are real, but it faces a lot of economic and legal hurdles, he said.

Coal production is in permanent decline worldwide, he said, wondering who was going to “invest money in an industry that has no future.”

Further, the project has not yet attracted big investors. “There’s no bank, no financing, no financial institution backing this,” he continued.

A major legal hurdle facing the project is the passage of Assemblymember Mia Bonta’s bill, AB 40, the Community-First Coal Review Act, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 30.

The law requires developers of large-volume bulk coal facilities to complete a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before they can operate.

The law was specifically designed to block or delay the coal terminal project.

The report to potential developers was produced by consulting groups Norda Stelo and Wood Mackenzie in July and released this month. It was commissioned by the Rural Utah Infrastructure Coalition, made up of eight Utah counties that are considering investing about $43 million into the terminal to receive Utah coal.

The consultants produced their findings after visiting Oakland, examining engineering documents and holding discussions with Savage Cos., a Utah-based transport and logistics company selected to operate the facility

Research has shown that coal terminal operations can be dangerous to public health. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach moved away from open-air coal and petroleum coke storage three decades ago.

The report says that the site could process 12 million metric tons, or 13.2 million tons, of coal each year, three times more than the terminal’s approved environmental impact report from 2002 and its 2012 addendum. Neither document mentions coal specifically, but rather bulk commodities.

The coal arriving in Oakland could also be dirtier then had been previously stated, according to the report. Project officials previously said the terminal would handle only high-grade western bituminous coal from Utah, but the recent report says it will also handle Powder River Basin coal from Wyoming and Montana, known to be much dustier.

Nor does the report mention plans to cover the rail cars to prevent pollution, though project officials previously promised they would only utilize coal transported in covered rail cars.

“It appears the developers want to build something much bigger and more polluting than anything they previously revealed, either in court or to the West Oakland community,” said Colin O’Brien, deputy managing attorney at the nonprofit Earthjustice, speaking to the L.A. Times.

The report indicates that the project may be much more expensive and take longer to complete than anticipated. The Energy Department estimates the terminal will cost about $231 million, but the report places the price at between $430 million and $625 million.

The terminal will take 53 months to complete according to the report, significantly longer than Trump’s promise of exports beginning in 2028.

Ted Franklin’s column, “Utah Study Blesses Investment in Oakland Coal Terminal but Leaves Key Questions Unanswered” is available at https://nocoalinoakland.info/utah-study-blesses-investment-in-oakland/