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Legislation from DeLauro and Clark Would Strengthen Protections for Tipped Workers

As we reported in January, President Donald Trump's Department of Labor is proposing a rule change that would mean restaurant servers and bartenders could lose a large portion of their earnings. The rule would overturn one put in place by the Barack Obama administration, which prevents workers in tipped industries from having their tips taken by their employers. Under the new rule, business owners could pay their waitstaff and bartenders as little as $7.25 per hour and keep all tips above that amount without having to tell customers what happened.

An independent analysis estimates this rule would steal $5.8 billion from the pockets of workers each year. A whopping $4.6 billion of that would come out of the pockets of working women. This is bigger than simply the well-deserved tips of restaurant workers. This is another example of extreme legislators, greedy CEOs and corporate lobbyists uniting in opposition to working people. They want to further rig the economic playing field against workers, people of color and women. 

Last week, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (...

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Enforcing Trade Rules Is Not a ‘Trade War’

The Stand

The recent tariffs on steel and aluminum have been characterized as trade war. This is weird because countries often enforce trade rules with targeted tariffs and sanctions, and markets adjust. What’s the real issue?

In the orthodoxy of free trade, tariffs are heresy. Any tariff suggests that the neoliberal free trade approach has failed and government intervention is required. Also, if we protect steel, then the “protectionist barbarians” all rush in and want import restrictions, too.

This begs the question, “Why have rules for globalization at all, if we won’t enforce them?”

The context for the recent steel and aluminum tariffs should start with a central message from the 2016 presidential campaign. Millions of workers and communities around the country feel left behind by our approach to globalization. We can do something about that…or not.

President Donald Trump speaks in terms of win-lose or “everyone is out to get us.” But he is doing something. The advice from free-trade establishment experts seems to be:

We can’t do anything;
...

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