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… The Metropolitan Opera in New York City is one of the most renowned operas in the world, and it has thrived thanks to union labor. Fifteen of the Met’s sixteen union contracts expire tonight at midnight.  The Met’s general manager, Peter Gelb, is threatening to lock out his employees on Friday if they don’t agree to cut their wages and benefits by up to sixteen percent. Workers at … skilled workers have been critical to the Met’s fame and success. The eyes of the world are on Peter Gelb and the Met right now. Let’s hope he reverses course and starts working cooperatively with the employees of the Met to get the job done. …

… declaration of a national emergency: The scapegoating and political brinkmanship of the past few months is not the way to govern. From missed paychecks to economic uncertainty, more than 1 million hardworking federal employees and contractors have carried the burden of … avoided another shutdown, but political tactics of this administration persist and Congress still must provide back pay to federal contractors. The fact is, this is not an actual “emergency” and building a border wall is not the solution to our …

… order on tightening “Buy American” provisions: The concept of Buy American is simple: Our tax dollars should be used to create jobs and advance production here at home. For far too long, America’s workers have suffered as many corporations … seek out loopholes to qualify for Buy American status with foreign-made products. The Trump administration used the right words but never put in place policies to affect meaningful change. This executive order will close loopholes that allow … which Trump’s policies failed to do over the past four years. As we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, we will work with the Biden administration to pursue policies that will build a stronger, fairer economy with a robust manufacturing …

… The Biden administration has made great strides to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) emergency temporary standard for … with OSHA’s vaccination or testing and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ vaccination rules, is a step in the right direction. However, with most of the country still experiencing high rates of COVID-19 transmission and as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised, we need a layered approach to stop the COVID-19 spread, particularly in indoor settings like workplaces.   Vaccines must be coupled with workplace …