Business

After Trade Deal, Obama Seeks to Repair Rift with Labor

Published

9 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.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”

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Business

Black Business Summit Focuses on Equity, Access and Data

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship. Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA), answers questions from concerned entrepreneurs frustrated with a lack of follow-up from the state. January 24, 2024 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, Lost Angeles, Calif. Photo by Solomon O. Smith

By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship.

Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) was a guest at the event. He told attendees about his department’s efforts to increase access for Black business owners.

“One thing I’m taking away from this for sure is we’re going to have to do a better job of connecting through your chambers of all these opportunities of billions of dollars that are coming down the pike. I’m honestly disappointed that people don’t know, so we’ll do better,” said Omishakin.

Lueathel Seawood, the president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of San Joaquin County, expressed frustration with obtaining federal contracts for small businesses, and completing the process. She observed that once a small business was certified as DBE, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, there was little help getting to the next step.

Omishakin admitted there is more work to be done to help them complete the process and include them in upcoming projects. However, the high-speed rail system expansion by the California High-Speed Rail Authority has set a goal of 30% participation from small businesses — only 10 percent is set aside for DBE.

The importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in economics was reinforced during the “State of the California Economy” talk led by author and economist Julianne Malveaux, and Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute (MDAAPEI) at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Assaults on DEI disproportionately affect women of color and Black women, according to Malveaux. When asked what role the loss of DEI might serve in economics, she suggested a more sinister purpose.

“The genesis of all this is anti-blackness. So, your question about how this fits into the economy is economic exclusion, that essentially has been promoted as public policy,” said Malveaux.

The most anticipated speaker at the event was Janice Bryant Howroyd known affectionately to her peers as “JBH.” She is one of the first Black women to run and own a multi-billion-dollar company. Her company ActOne Group, is one of the largest, and most recognized, hiring, staffing and human resources firms in the world. She is the author of “Acting Up” and has a profile on Forbes.

Chairman of the board of directors of the California African American Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Alan Simon, a lawyer and the first Black Appointments Secretary in the Office of the Governor of California, moderated. They discussed the state of Black entrepreneurship in the country and Howroyd gave advice to other business owners.

“We look to inspire and educate,” said Howroyd. “Inspiration is great but when I’ve got people’s attention, I want to teach them something.”