The right's plans for federal workers undeterred by Biden rule

Delivered every Monday by 10 a.m., Weekly Shift examines the latest news in employment, labor and immigration politics and policy.

Apr 08, 2024 View in browser   By Nick Niedzwiadek QUICK FIX OVER BUT NOT OUT: The Biden administration’s recently finalized effort to make it harder for a future (Republican) president to shave away civil service protections from federal employees won’t completely take the issue off the table. Conservatives keen on overhauling the government workforce are already examining last week’s Office of Personnel Management regulation for potential weaknesses and are confident that they still will be able to act if presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump is able to reclaim the White House this November. “Unless something very strange happens, if Trump wins it’ll be back on the agenda again, and if he isn’t it won’t — it's that simple,” said Donald Divine, the former OPM director under Ronald Reagan who co-authored Project 2025’s blueprint for the federal bureaucracy. Biden was able to quickly cast aside Trump’s Schedule F policy recasting federal employees to make them exempt from civil service regulations because it was issued as an executive order. Regulations can be overwritten or otherwise blocked, but they cannot be done at the stroke of a president’s pen — and Biden officials are hopeful that the onerous rulemaking process will be a bulwark. “They would have to explain how a different rule would be better than the carefully crafted balance that OPM has struck here and how their differing interpretation would be consistent with over 140 years of statutory language and congressional intent,” a senior administration official told reporters last week. “Needless to say, that is no small task.” Trump has vowed to dismantle the “deep state” he believes improperly stymied his previous administration. However, his campaign has been careful to maintain some distance from Project 2025, as well as congressional Republicans and others trying to provide an ideological game plan for a second term, leaving some ambiguity about how he would actualize his vision. GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, April 8. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. How did you honor the ninth anniversary of POLITICO’s greatest headline? Send feedback, tips and exclusives to nniedzwiadek@politico.com, lukenye@politico.com and gyarrow@politico.com. Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @NickNiedz, @Lawrence_Ukenye and @YarrowGrace.   Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more.     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. In the Workplace ON THE UP AND UP: The U.S. economy added another 300,000 jobs in March, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday, the latest in a string of positive economic news for Biden. Yet Republicans remain optimistic they can win the messaging war ahead of the elections by highlighting weaknesses and amplifying voters’ lingering fears of inflation, our Victoria Guida and Alex Isenstadt report. Biden’s team’s strategy is simpler, at least in theory: “Good news is good news,” Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su said Sunday on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.” “There's just no way to look at what's been going on since President Biden came into office, and look at the numbers month after month and not say that Biden's economic policies are working.” Pre-championship read: “Purdue's Zach Edey missing out on profits due to U.S. NIL law,” from ESPN.   Around the Agencies E&W GOP ROPES IN NANDA: Republicans on the House Education and the Workforce Committee are seeking information from Labor Department Solicitor General, Seema Nanda, about any advice it gave related to the agency’s handling of a $127 million overpayment to a Teamsters pension plan. Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Rep. Bob Good(R-Va.) said their request was due to “unacceptably incomplete” responses to date from DOL’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which oversaw the $36 billion bailout of the Central States Pension Fund. “The Committee is interested in what advice and legal interpretations you and [Su] have provided to PBGC regarding its legal authority to recapture these overpayments from both before and after DOL’s publication of its statement,” the pair wrote in a letter Thursday. Republicans remain furious at DOL both for the initial miscalculation — which resulted from the inclusion of some 3,500 dead participants — and not attempting to claw back the money with zeal. Working up a Good sweat: “The Freedom Caucus chair now wants the speaker’s help. Yes, you read that right,” from our Olivia Beavers. Unions MERCEDES MOVES TO UNIONIZE: Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama on Friday filed a petition to join the United Auto Workers, the second southern plant to announce plans to unionize following last year’s high-profile strike at the Big Three U.S. car companies. Organizers said that a “supermajority” of the more than 5,000 eligible Mercedes workers have signed union authorization cards, less than a month after Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, crossed that threshold as well. Those workers are scheduled to hold their vote later this month. Mercedes workers recently announced a string of unfair labor practice charges accusing the company of illegal union-busting tactics, which Mercedes has denied. The National Labor Relations Board said it would hold a hearing April 15 on the Mercedes petition, unless the two sides reach an agreement on the election terms. More UAW news: “You Can Still Smoke in Atlantic City Casinos. Workers Want to Ban It,” from The New York Times. IN THE STATES RE-PORTING FOR DUTY: The Port of Baltimore may be able to partially resume operations by the end of April, our Oriana Pawlyk reports. According to port officials, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to open a channel that is 280-feet wide and 35-feet deep, and a more permanent 700-foot wide, 50-foot deep channel by the end of May. President Joe Biden toured the wreckage Friday and vowed to “move heaven and Earth to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible and we’re going to do so with union labor and American steel.” More state news: “NYC delivery workers now make $19 an hour, but many say apps have made tipping harder,” from Gothamist. Immigration HAPPENING TODAY: Immigrants attempting to renew their work visas will get an additional 18-months while their paperwork is being processed, under a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services temporary rule set to take effect today. The fix, announced Thursday, helps an estimated 800,000 workers who otherwise would have lost their status to legally work and reside in the country due to various processing delays. The move expands the automatic grace period for “certain employment authorization documents” from 180 days to 540 days. USCIS’ patch comes after Democratic Senators recently urged the agency to address the issue ahead of an April 24 deadline when workers would have started to see their authorizations lapse. More immigration news: “Latino immigrant workers died on the Baltimore bridge. More will likely rebuild it,” from CNN. Even more: “Conservative group drops $15M to hit Tester on immigration record,” from our Burgess Everett.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     WHAT WE'RE READING — “The delivery rider who took on his faceless boss,” from the Financial Times. — “The Perilous Existence of a Hamptons Day Laborer,” from The New York Times. — “The British Are Coming for Your White-Collar Job,” from The Wall Street Journal. THAT’S YOUR SHIFT!   Follow us on Twitter Nick Niedzwiadek @nickniedz Lawrence Ukenye @Lawrence_Ukenye   Follow us

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