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Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), then a presidential primary candidate, delivered a campaign speech at the Iowa State Fair on August 10, 2019. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
A visibly frustrated Rep. Tim Ryan took to the House floor on Tuesday and blasted congressional Republicans for focusing on children's books instead of improving the rights of working Americans amid concurrent public health and economic crises.
Ahead of an expected vote on the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the Ohio Democrat delivered a speech that caught the attention of the Fight for $15 movement and AFL-CIO--the nation's largest federation of unions--as well as the advocacy group Patriotic Millionaires.
Highlighting the dramatic gap between worker pay and chief executive compensation in the United States, Ryan made a case for the PRO Act and called out the GOP for not working with Democrats on the bill.
"Heaven forbid we pass something that's gonna help the damn workers in the United States of America," he shouted on the floor. "Heaven forbid we tilt the balance that has been going in the wrong direction for 50 years."
\u201cWe talk about the minimum wage, you complain. \n\nWe talk about giving [workers] the right to organize, you complain. \n\nBut if we were passing a tax cut you would all be getting in line to vote \u2018yes\u2019 for it. \n\n@RepTimRyan \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb \nhttps://t.co/TfMBxgazvp\u201d— Patriotic Millionaires (@Patriotic Millionaires) 1615327661
"We talk about pensions, you complain," Ryan said of Republicans in Congress. "We talk about the minimum wage increase, you complain. We talk about giving them the right to organize, you complain. But if we were passing a tax cut here, you'd be all getting in line to vote 'yes' for it."
"Now stop talking about Dr. Seuss, and start working with us on behalf of the American workers," he added, referencing attempts by some prominent Republicans to politicize a recent decision by the company that manages the late author's estate to stop publishing six books containing "hurtful and wrong" imagery.
In an apparent response to the congressman's impassioned speech, Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali suggested that "more Democrats need to channel Tim Ryan's righteous rage. It's about time and the people demand it. Use it as fuel to get stuff done against an obstructionist GOP."
\u201cMore Democrats need to channel Tim Ryan's righteous rage. It's about time and the people demand it. Use it as fuel to get stuff done against an obstructionist GOP.\n\nMaybe...use it...to...weaken or end the filibuster?\u201d— Wajahat Ali (@Wajahat Ali) 1615326179
The PRO Act passed the Democrat-controlled House in February 2020 but went nowhere with the GOP-majority Senate and a White House held by then-President Donald Trump. House Committee on Education and Labor Chair Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and other Democratic leaders reintroduced the landmark legislation last month.
"The decades-long assault on workers' rights--led by special interests in state legislatures, courts, and employers across the country--has suppressed union membership and eroded America's middle class," Scott said at the time. "The Protecting the Right to Organize Act is a major step toward ensuring that workers can exercise their basic right to form a union and collectively bargain for higher pay, safer working conditions, and decent benefits--including paid leave, quality healthcare, and a secure retirement."
"The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the urgent need for Congress to protect and strengthen workers' rights," he added. "Over the past year, workers across the country have been forced to work in unsafe conditions for insufficient pay, because they lacked the ability to stand together and negotiate with their employer. The PRO Act is an opportunity to honor the contributions of the many frontline workers during the pandemic and American workers nationwide who continue to uphold our economy."
Backed by unions, labor rights advocates, and environmental groups, the bill is--in the words of Scott--widely considered "the most significant upgrade to U.S. labor rights in more than eight decades."
While President Joe Biden campaigned on the promise that he would be "the most pro-union president you've ever seen," the bill will still need to pass a Senate now narrowly controlled by Democrats.
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A visibly frustrated Rep. Tim Ryan took to the House floor on Tuesday and blasted congressional Republicans for focusing on children's books instead of improving the rights of working Americans amid concurrent public health and economic crises.
Ahead of an expected vote on the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the Ohio Democrat delivered a speech that caught the attention of the Fight for $15 movement and AFL-CIO--the nation's largest federation of unions--as well as the advocacy group Patriotic Millionaires.
Highlighting the dramatic gap between worker pay and chief executive compensation in the United States, Ryan made a case for the PRO Act and called out the GOP for not working with Democrats on the bill.
"Heaven forbid we pass something that's gonna help the damn workers in the United States of America," he shouted on the floor. "Heaven forbid we tilt the balance that has been going in the wrong direction for 50 years."
\u201cWe talk about the minimum wage, you complain. \n\nWe talk about giving [workers] the right to organize, you complain. \n\nBut if we were passing a tax cut you would all be getting in line to vote \u2018yes\u2019 for it. \n\n@RepTimRyan \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb \nhttps://t.co/TfMBxgazvp\u201d— Patriotic Millionaires (@Patriotic Millionaires) 1615327661
"We talk about pensions, you complain," Ryan said of Republicans in Congress. "We talk about the minimum wage increase, you complain. We talk about giving them the right to organize, you complain. But if we were passing a tax cut here, you'd be all getting in line to vote 'yes' for it."
"Now stop talking about Dr. Seuss, and start working with us on behalf of the American workers," he added, referencing attempts by some prominent Republicans to politicize a recent decision by the company that manages the late author's estate to stop publishing six books containing "hurtful and wrong" imagery.
In an apparent response to the congressman's impassioned speech, Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali suggested that "more Democrats need to channel Tim Ryan's righteous rage. It's about time and the people demand it. Use it as fuel to get stuff done against an obstructionist GOP."
\u201cMore Democrats need to channel Tim Ryan's righteous rage. It's about time and the people demand it. Use it as fuel to get stuff done against an obstructionist GOP.\n\nMaybe...use it...to...weaken or end the filibuster?\u201d— Wajahat Ali (@Wajahat Ali) 1615326179
The PRO Act passed the Democrat-controlled House in February 2020 but went nowhere with the GOP-majority Senate and a White House held by then-President Donald Trump. House Committee on Education and Labor Chair Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and other Democratic leaders reintroduced the landmark legislation last month.
"The decades-long assault on workers' rights--led by special interests in state legislatures, courts, and employers across the country--has suppressed union membership and eroded America's middle class," Scott said at the time. "The Protecting the Right to Organize Act is a major step toward ensuring that workers can exercise their basic right to form a union and collectively bargain for higher pay, safer working conditions, and decent benefits--including paid leave, quality healthcare, and a secure retirement."
"The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the urgent need for Congress to protect and strengthen workers' rights," he added. "Over the past year, workers across the country have been forced to work in unsafe conditions for insufficient pay, because they lacked the ability to stand together and negotiate with their employer. The PRO Act is an opportunity to honor the contributions of the many frontline workers during the pandemic and American workers nationwide who continue to uphold our economy."
Backed by unions, labor rights advocates, and environmental groups, the bill is--in the words of Scott--widely considered "the most significant upgrade to U.S. labor rights in more than eight decades."
While President Joe Biden campaigned on the promise that he would be "the most pro-union president you've ever seen," the bill will still need to pass a Senate now narrowly controlled by Democrats.
A visibly frustrated Rep. Tim Ryan took to the House floor on Tuesday and blasted congressional Republicans for focusing on children's books instead of improving the rights of working Americans amid concurrent public health and economic crises.
Ahead of an expected vote on the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the Ohio Democrat delivered a speech that caught the attention of the Fight for $15 movement and AFL-CIO--the nation's largest federation of unions--as well as the advocacy group Patriotic Millionaires.
Highlighting the dramatic gap between worker pay and chief executive compensation in the United States, Ryan made a case for the PRO Act and called out the GOP for not working with Democrats on the bill.
"Heaven forbid we pass something that's gonna help the damn workers in the United States of America," he shouted on the floor. "Heaven forbid we tilt the balance that has been going in the wrong direction for 50 years."
\u201cWe talk about the minimum wage, you complain. \n\nWe talk about giving [workers] the right to organize, you complain. \n\nBut if we were passing a tax cut you would all be getting in line to vote \u2018yes\u2019 for it. \n\n@RepTimRyan \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb \nhttps://t.co/TfMBxgazvp\u201d— Patriotic Millionaires (@Patriotic Millionaires) 1615327661
"We talk about pensions, you complain," Ryan said of Republicans in Congress. "We talk about the minimum wage increase, you complain. We talk about giving them the right to organize, you complain. But if we were passing a tax cut here, you'd be all getting in line to vote 'yes' for it."
"Now stop talking about Dr. Seuss, and start working with us on behalf of the American workers," he added, referencing attempts by some prominent Republicans to politicize a recent decision by the company that manages the late author's estate to stop publishing six books containing "hurtful and wrong" imagery.
In an apparent response to the congressman's impassioned speech, Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali suggested that "more Democrats need to channel Tim Ryan's righteous rage. It's about time and the people demand it. Use it as fuel to get stuff done against an obstructionist GOP."
\u201cMore Democrats need to channel Tim Ryan's righteous rage. It's about time and the people demand it. Use it as fuel to get stuff done against an obstructionist GOP.\n\nMaybe...use it...to...weaken or end the filibuster?\u201d— Wajahat Ali (@Wajahat Ali) 1615326179
The PRO Act passed the Democrat-controlled House in February 2020 but went nowhere with the GOP-majority Senate and a White House held by then-President Donald Trump. House Committee on Education and Labor Chair Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and other Democratic leaders reintroduced the landmark legislation last month.
"The decades-long assault on workers' rights--led by special interests in state legislatures, courts, and employers across the country--has suppressed union membership and eroded America's middle class," Scott said at the time. "The Protecting the Right to Organize Act is a major step toward ensuring that workers can exercise their basic right to form a union and collectively bargain for higher pay, safer working conditions, and decent benefits--including paid leave, quality healthcare, and a secure retirement."
"The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the urgent need for Congress to protect and strengthen workers' rights," he added. "Over the past year, workers across the country have been forced to work in unsafe conditions for insufficient pay, because they lacked the ability to stand together and negotiate with their employer. The PRO Act is an opportunity to honor the contributions of the many frontline workers during the pandemic and American workers nationwide who continue to uphold our economy."
Backed by unions, labor rights advocates, and environmental groups, the bill is--in the words of Scott--widely considered "the most significant upgrade to U.S. labor rights in more than eight decades."
While President Joe Biden campaigned on the promise that he would be "the most pro-union president you've ever seen," the bill will still need to pass a Senate now narrowly controlled by Democrats.
Awda Hathaleen was described as "a teacher and an activist who struggled courageously for his people."
A Palestinian peace activist has been fatally shot by a notorious Israeli settler who was once the subject of sanctions that were lifted this year by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In June, Awda Hathaleen—an English teacher, activist, and former soccer player from the occupied West Bank—was detained alongside his cousin Eid at the airport in San Francisco, where they were about to embark on an interfaith speaking tour organized by the California-based Kehilla Community Synagogue.
Ben Linder, co-chair of the Silicon Valley chapter of J Street and the organizer of Eid and Awda's first scheduled speaking engagement told Middle East Eye that he'd known the two cousins for 10 years, describing them as "true nonviolent peace activists" who "came here on an interfaith peace-promoting mission."
Without explanation from U.S. authorities, they were deported and returned to their village of Umm al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills.
On Monday afternoon, the activist group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) reported on social media that Awda Hathaleen had been killed after Israeli settlers attacked his village and that a relative of his was also severely injured:
Activists working with Awda report that Israeli settlers invaded Umm al-Kheir with a bulldozer to destroy what little remains of the Palestinian village. As Awda and his family tried to defend their homes and land, a settler opened fire—both aiming directly and shooting indiscriminately. Awda was shot in the chest and later died from his injuries after being taken by an Israeli ambulance. His death was the result of brutal settler violence.
Later, when Awda's relative Ahmad al-Hathaleen tried to block the bulldozer, the settler driving it ran him over. Ahmad is now being treated in a nearby hospital.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz later confirmed these events, adding:
An eyewitness reported that the entry of Israeli settlers into Palestinian private lands, riding an excavator, caused a commotion, and the vehicle subsequently struck a resident named Ahmad Hathaleen. "People lost their minds, and the children threw stones," he said.
A friend and fellow activist, Mohammad Hureini, posted the video of the attack online. The settler who fired the gun has been identified by Haaretz as Yinon Levi, who has previously been hit—along with other settlers—with sanctions by former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration and other governments over his past harassment of Palestinians in the West Bank.
As the Biden State Department wrote at the time:
Levi consistently leads a group of settlers who attack Palestinians, set fire to their fields, destroy their property, and threaten them with further harm if they do not leave their homes.
The sanctions were later lifted by U.S. President Donald Trump. However, they'd already been rendered virtually ineffective after the intervention of far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has expressed a desire to ethnically cleanse Gaza and the West Bank of Palestinians to make way for Jewish settlements.
Brooklyn-based journalist Jasper Nathaniel, who has covered other cases of settler violence for Zeteo described Levi as "a known terrorist who's been protected by the Israeli government for years," adding that, "One of the only good things Biden did for Palestine was sanction him."
Violence by Israeli settlers in the illegally-occupied West Bank has risen sharply since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and the subsequent 21-month military campaign by Israel in Gaza.
Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by settlers during that time. More than 6,400 have been forcibly displaced following the demolition of their homes by Israel, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The killing of Awda Hathaleen—who had a wife and three young children—has been met with outpourings of grief and anger from his fellow peace activists in the United States, Israel, and Palestine.
Issa Amro, the Hebron-based co-founder of the grassroots group Youth Against Settlements, described Awda as a "beloved hero."
"Awda stood with dignity and courage against oppression," Amro said. "His loss is a deep wound to our hearts and our struggle for justice."
Israeli journalist and filmmaker Yuval Abraham, who last year directed the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land about the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, described Awda Hathaleen as "a remarkable activist," and thanked him for helping his team shoot the film in Masafer Yatta.
"To know Awda Hathaleen is to love him," said the post from JVP announcing his death. "Awda has always been a pillar amongst his family, his village and the wider international community of activists who had the pleasure to meet Awda."
Israeli-American peace activist Mattan Berner-Kadish wrote: "May his memory be a revolution. I will remember him smiling, laughing, dreaming of a better future for his children. We must make it so."
A provision in the Republican budget law signed earlier this month "kneecaps the entire organization" and harms patients' ability to access care, said a judge.
Patients who use Medicaid to access health services at Planned Parenthood clinics will not be forced to find care elsewhere following a ruling Monday by a federal judge in Massachusetts.
Judge Indira Talwani in the state's federal District Court extended a temporary restraining order she had placed on the Trump administration earlier this month, barring it from imposing a one-year ban on states sending Medicaid payments to nonprofits that provide abortion care.
The ban, a provision in the domestic policy and budget bill President Donald Trump signed into law this month, applied only to groups that received more than $800,000 in Medicaid funding in 2023—suggesting Planned Parenthood, a longtime foe of right-wing policymakers, is the "target of the law," said Talwani.
Federal law already prohibits public funds from being used to pay for abortion care, and Talwani found that the Republican Party and the Trump administration aimed to force clinics to "disaffiliate with Planned Parenthood Federation and stop providing abortion to continue participating in Medicaid programs."
"Imposing that choice kneecaps the entire organization," said Talwani.
Ripping Medicaid funds away from clinics would also harm patients, said the judge. About 11% of female Medicaid beneficiaries used services at Planned Parenthood clinics in 2021, according to the KFF, and the provision in the budget law made patients "likely to suffer adverse health consequences where care is disrupted or unavailable."
"In particular, restricting members' ability to provide healthcare services threatens an increase in unintended pregnancies and attendant complications because of reduced access to effective contraceptives, and an increase in undiagnosed and untreated STIs," Talwani said.
Talwani had granted relief for certain Planned Parenthood member organizations last week with her temporary restraining order, but the injunction applies to all clinics. The Trump administration filed an appeal of the restraining order last week; Talwani's injunction will remain in effect barring action from the appeals court.
Dominique Lee, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, said she was "encouraged" by Monday's ruling.
"At a time when reproductive healthcare access is under constant attack, this decision is a powerful reminder that patients, not politics, should guide healthcare," said Lee. "In Massachusetts and beyond, we will keep fighting to ensure everyone can turn to the provider they trust, no matter their insurance or ZIP code."
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) called the ruling "a big win."
"As this case continues, patients across the country can still go to their trusted Planned Parenthood provider for care using Medicaid," said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "We will keep fighting this cruel law so that everyone can get birth control, STI testing and treatment, cancer screenings, and other critical healthcare, no matter their insurance."
"We're supportive of what the president is trying to do. But the reality of it is our industry has to have the Hispanic immigrant-based workers in it," said the CEO of an Alabama construction firm.
After months of national protests over U.S. President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda, even some of his supporters—including an Alabama man who runs day-to-day operations at construction sites—have come to the conclusion that workplace raids aimed at rounding up undocumented immigrants are the wrong way to go.
In an interview with Reuters published Monday, construction site superintendent Robby Robertson expressed frustration at the way the Trump administration's hard-line immigration policies have impacted his business.
He said that trouble at his site began in late May shortly after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on a construction site in Tallahassee, Florida, which he said scared off nearly his entire workforce for several days afterward. Even though nearly two months have passed since then, he said a little more than half of his workforce has come back.
This is negatively impacting his current project, which he said was projected to be finished already but which has been slow to complete now that his initial 22-person roofing team has dwindled down to just a dozen workers. As if that weren't enough, Reuters wrote that Robertson's company "is facing potentially $84,000 in extra costs for the delays under a 'liquidated damages' clause of $4,000 for every day the project runs beyond" its deadline.
"I'm a Trump supporter," Robertson told Reuters. "But I just don't think the raids are the answer."
Robertson added that the raids aren't just intimidating undocumented immigrant workers but also Latino workers who are in the country legally but who don't want to get swept up in raids "because of their skin color."
"They are scared they look the part," Robertson explained.
Tim Harrison, the CEO of the construction firm that is building the project being overseen by Robertson, told Reuters that finding native-born American workers to do the kind of work he needs is extremely difficult, especially since Alabama already has a low unemployment rate that makes trying to attract workers to a physically demanding industry difficult.
"The contractor world is full of Republicans," explained Harrison in an interview with Reuters. "I'm not anti-ICE. We're supportive of what the president is trying to do. But the reality of it is our industry has to have the Hispanic immigrant-based workers in it."
A report issued earlier this month by the progressive Economic Policy Institute (EPI) projected that the construction industry could take a severe hit from Trump's mass deportation plan given how many undocumented immigrants work in that industry.
"Employment in the construction sector will drop sharply: U.S.-born construction employment will fall by 861,000, and immigrant employment will fall by 1.4 million," wrote EPI senior economist Ben Zipperer, who added that the Trump administration's plans risked "squandering the full employment... inherited from the Biden administration and also causing immense pain to the millions of U.S.-born and immigrant workers who may lose their jobs."