For AI experts, Biden admin explores updating Schedule A

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Dec 04, 2023 View in browser   By Nick Niedzwiadek With help from Olivia Olander QUICK FIX COMING ATTRACTION: The Labor Department is set to start examining how to make the U.S. more competitive in artificial intelligence by revisiting a long-static immigration policy that could ease the path toward bringing in more foreign experts. The department is coming up on a 45-day deadline under the sweeping AI executive order President Joe Biden’s signed Oct. 30 to issue a request for information seeking input from businesses and other outside groups on revising Schedule A, a small list of occupations for which employers pursuing work visas for foreign workers can sidestep some initial procedural hurdles designed to protect domestic job seekers. The order directed DOL to explore whether to add “AI and other STEM-related occupations” to the group of highly valuable jobs, along with other tweaks to make it easier for AI experts to come work in the U.S. DOL says it last updated the so-called Schedule A list in 2004, and it only includes certain types of nurses and physical therapists, as well as “immigrants of exceptional ability in the sciences or arts,” such as high-level performers. “It’s a really welcome step because Schedule A reform is badly, badly needed in STEM,” said Divyansh Kaushik, associate director for emerging technologies and national security at the Federation of American Scientists. However, with any changes subject to a lengthy rulemaking process that will carry well into 2024 and beyond, it could be short-circuited if the White House changes hands. Former president and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has vowed to reinstate hardline immigration restrictions if elected again and committed Saturday at a campaign rally in Iowa to "cancel" Biden's AI executive order. A DOL spokesperson declined to provide additional details about the RFI's scope before it’s made public. Nick has more for Pro subscribers here. GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, Dec. 4. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. It’s been 265 days since the Senate received Julie Su’s nomination for Labor secretary. Send feedback, tips and exclusives to nniedzwiadek@politico.com and oolander@politico.com. Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @NickNiedz and @oliviaolanderr.   GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     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. Unions AUTO WORKERS CALL FOR CEASE-FIRE: The United Auto Workers on Friday became the highest-profile union in the country to call for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas, Olivia reports. The announcement buoys scattered calls within organized labor to stop the fighting and sets the powerful union apart from President Joe Biden, whom the UAW still has not endorsed. “I am proud that the UAW International Union is calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. From opposing fascism in WWII to mobilizing against apartheid South Africa and the CONTRA war, the @UAW has consistently stood for justice across the globe,” union President Shawn Fain said Friday in a post on the social media platform X. WHAT MAKES RIGHT-TO-WORK SWEAT: The right-to-work movement’s biggest headache going into 2024? Biden’s administration, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix told Olivia after he appeared as a witness on the Hill last week. “This is not where the action is anymore,” Mix said in the House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing room. “Surviving … the final year of the administration, from an executive branch standpoint, is really a priority,” he said. Mix cited both activity from the National Labor Relations Board and Labor Department, as well as the administration’s favorable treatment of unions in doling out government subsidies, which he described as putting a thumb on the scale. In the states, too, “we’re on defense,” he said — a position that can be read as both a result of a campaign that successfully implemented right-to-work laws in more than half of states, and of Michigan’s union victory in repealing their law earlier this year. NRTW plans to try again in Michigan, Mix said. In the Workplace EMPIRE STATE OF MIND: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is brainstorming a compromise toward outlawing non-compete clauses for most workers without making the state more hostile to businesses, our Nick Reisman reports. Democrats in Albany passed legislation this session that would curtail the practice, but it is one of dozens of bills that Hochul has yet to sign or veto as the calendar runs out. Business groups and worker advocates have been locked in an intense lobbying campaign the past few weeks, putting the governor’s office in the middle of it all. Hochul on Thursday posited shielding workers earning $250,000 or less from these restrictions, while allowing them to be an option for well-compensated employees like executives who make more than that threshold. Still she suggested that the issue would be best addressed on a national level. More workplace news: “Wells Fargo accused of not paying overtime at shortstaffed US branches,” from Reuters. On the Hill MORE GOP PRESSURE ON AG CHANGES: More than a dozen Republican senators sent a letter to acting Labor Secretary Julie Su decrying the agency’s proposed rules expanding rights for temporary agricultural workers as an attempt to strengthen unions’ power in the industry. “The proposed rule advances unionization on U.S. farms by making H-2A workers vulnerable to pressure,” the letter states. “DOL already dictates wage rates and regulates working conditions for H-2A workers. This proposed rule is unnecessary and will harm American consumers, American agriculture, and H-2A workers themselves.” The missive closely tracks with one sent by House Republicans in mid-November that echoes concerns expressed by the agriculture industry about the proposal. The Department of Homeland Security is also facing heat for related changes to the H-2A visa program, though as our Morning Agriculture colleagues have reported, the response has been less universally negative. More regulatory news: “Rule Mandating Union Pacts on Large Federal Contracts Clears OMB,” from Bloomberg Law. IN THE STATES WI PUBLIC UNIONS FIGHT BAN: More than a half dozen unions in Wisconsin filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s near-total prohibition on collective bargaining for public employees, The Associated Press reports. The 2011 law was championed by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who used it as a springboard to his unsuccessful 2016 presidential run, and organized labor has repeatedly tried to overturn the legislation in the years since. “The latest lawsuit is the first since the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to liberal control in August. But it was filed in a county circuit court — unlike other major cases that have gone directly to the Supreme Court since its ideological shift — and will likely take more than a year to make its way up for a final ruling,” the AP reports. IMMIGRATION GANGLAND STORIES: A key Republican senator said Sunday that border security and asylum policy changes will have to be included to land a year-end deal to send billions in aid to key U.S. allies. “We're going to do this all together,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said on ABC’s “This Week.” “We have agreed to do all these things together. We can get this done by the end of the year.” Lankford is one of the “Gang of Six” lawmakers hashing out the thorny amalgamation that Senate Democrats appear willing to make concessions on in order to deliver on the Biden administration’s funding requests. However the issue remains fraught, with progressives urging partymates to not give into GOP demands. “They are holding aid for Israel and Ukraine hostage to changes to the asylum system that would destroy the asylum system,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And I think we need to put our foot down and say, no.” Others like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) are pushing for expanded work authorizations to be included in these talks, adding additional complexity on an issue that perpetually eludes congressional dealmaking.   JOIN WOMEN RULE ON 12/12: For centuries, women were left out of the rooms that shaped policy, built companies and led countries. Now, society needs the creativity and entrepreneurship of women more than ever. How can we make sure that women are given the space and opportunity to shape the world’s future for the better? Join POLITICO's Women Rule on Dec. 12 for Leading with Purpose: How Women Are Reinventing the World to explore this and more. REGISTER HERE.     WHAT WE'RE READING — “What If Americans Are Happy At Work?,” from The Atlantic. — “Inside the Biden White House's aggressive back-to-office push,” from Axios. — “Senate takes first steps to refill federal workforce watchdog roles,” from the Government Executive. — “Drunk and Asleep on the Job: Air Traffic Controllers Pushed to the Brink,” from The New York Times. — “Why Biden Touts Jobs When Americans Care About Prices,” from The Wall Street Journal. — “The word 'Bidenomics' is nowhere to be found in the president’s recent speeches,” from NBC News. THAT’S YOUR SHIFT!   Follow us on Twitter Nick Niedzwiadek @nickniedz Olivia Olander @oliviaolanderr   Follow us

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