May, 23 2018, 12:00am EDT
Sanders to Vote No on VA MISSION Act
WASHINGTON
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following statement ahead of a vote in the Senate on the VA Mission Act:
"There are parts of the VA MISSION Act that I strongly support. The expansion of the Caregivers program to veterans of all generations will help support family members who have made enormous sacrifices for their loved ones wounded in war. Raising the limits on the Education Debt Reduction Program, an effort that I helped lead, will make it easier for the VA to attract the doctors and other medical personnel they need.
"I am concerned, however, that despite some very good provisions in this bill, it continues a trend toward the slow, steady privatization of the VA. No one disagrees that veterans should be able to seek private care in cases where the VA cannot provide the specialized care they require, or when wait times for appointments are too long or when veterans might have to travel long distances for that care. The way to reduce wait times is to make sure that the VA is able to fill the more than 30,000 vacancies it currently has. This bill provides $5 billion for the Choice program. It provides nothing to fill the vacancies at the VA. That is wrong. My fear is that this bill will open the door to the draining, year after year, of much needed resources from the VA.
"I acknowledge the work done by some of my colleagues to improve this bill, but I believe it moves us too far in the direction of privatization. That is why I will vote against it."
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Nationwide May Day Protests Target Trump's 'Billionaire Agenda'
"This May Day we are fighting back," said organizer May Day Strong. "We are demanding a country that puts our families over their fortunes."
May 01, 2025
Hundreds of thousands of workers rallied from coast to coast Thursday to mark International Workers' Day with spirited demonstrations supporting labor rights and protesting President Donald Trump's "billionaire agenda" and attacks on the rule of law, unions, immigrants, Palestine defenders, transgender people, and others.
Rallies took place in hundreds of cities and towns across the United States in what the May Day Strong coalition, which led the day of action along with the 50501 movement and others, called "a demand for a country that invests in working families—not billionaire profits."
"Trump and his billionaire profiteers are trying to create a race to the bottom—on wages, on benefits, on dignity itself," the coalition said. "This May Day we are fighting back. We are demanding a country that puts our families over their fortunes—public schools over private profits, healthcare over hedge funds, prosperity over free market politics."
HAPPENING NOW: Hundreds of protesters march through the streets of Washington, D.C. en route to the White House for a May Day rally against Donald Trump (Video: Mariel Carbone)
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— Marco Foster (@marcofoster.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:06 AM
"Just one day after the 100th day of the Trump administration, families nationwide are already facing cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and education—while billionaires reap massive tax breaks and record profits," May Day Strong added.
In Philadelphia, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was among those who addressed a crowd of thousands, many of them union workers.
"Brothers and sisters, what we are celebrating today, May Day, is in a sense a sacred holiday, and all over our country workers are coming out and demanding justice, and all over the world, in dozens of countries, workers are standing up to oligarchy and demanding a world in which all people have a decent standard of living," said Sanders, whose Fighting Oligarchy tour with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)w is drawing massive crowds, including in "red" states.
Shafeek Anderson, a hotel worker and member of Unite Here Local 274 who attended the Philadelphia rally, toldWCAU that "we're tired of everything that's going on in everyday life. We're tired of our prices going up. We're tired of the unfair treatment."
"We're tired of the inequality in life and everything else," Anderson added. "So rallies like this will absolutely help show that we mean business and we absolutely will stand on business when we need to."
In Chicago, Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union—which recently won what it called a "transformative" new contract—said that "we believe in the power of common good bargaining and together, with SEIU 73 and other labor unions, we have been able to secure sanctuary protections for our students and their families."
"We resist bullies like Trump by creating coalition and leaning into the power of history and the power that Black people's freedom has paved for America in the first general strike during the Civil War," Davis Gates added. "My people believe in reconstruction, and we can do it together in solidarity and create a society that works for everyone."
Boise stands up for workers, for each other, for our humanity, for our democracy...Courage is contagious! May Day Strong!
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— Indivisible Boise Chapter One (@indivisibleboise.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The detainment and disappearance of students and workers without due process is an attack on every one of us in the streets today, and those of you at home. We won't be ignored. Los Angeles won't back down. #WeMakeAmericaWork #MayDay #InternationalWorkersDay
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— California Fast Food Workers Union (@cafastfoodunion.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 9:58 AM
The May Day Strong coalition is demanding:
- An end to the billionaire takeover and government corruption;
- Full funding for public schools, healthcare, and housing;
- Protection and expansion of Medicaid, Social Security, and other essential programs;
- A halt to attacks on immigrants, Black, Indigenous, trans, and other targeted communities; and
- Strong union protections, fair wages, and dignity for all workers.
"This is a war on working people—and we will not stand down," said May Day Strong. "They're defunding our schools, privatizing public services, attacking unions, and targeting immigrant families with fear and violence. Working people built this nation, and we know how to take care of each other."
HAPPENING NOW: A HUGE crowd of protesters march through the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a May Day protest against Donald Trump
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— Marco Foster (@marcofoster.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:36 AM
HAPPENING NOW: Thousands of protesters are at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix for a May Day rally against Donald Trump (Video: Colton Krolak)
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— Marco Foster (@marcofoster.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:20 AM
"We won't back down—we will never stop fighting for our families and the rights and freedoms that propel opportunity and a better life for all Americans," the coalition added. "Their time is up."
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On May Day, UAW Members Launch Strike at Weapons Giant Lockheed Martin
"Lockheed is a textbook example of corporate greed and I'm proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our members as they fight for their fair share," said one regional director with the United Auto Workers.
May 01, 2025
As an estimated tens of thousands mobilized for actions planned to honor May Day, also known as International Workers' Day, the United Auto Workers announced Thursday that over 900 UAW members who work for Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defense company, have gone on strike.
Those striking include members of UAW Local 788 in Orlando and Local 766 in Denver, according to the union, which alleges that the company has committed "multiple unfair labor practices and refused to present a fair economic proposal that meets the membership's needs."
The two locals are covered by the same bargaining agreement, according toThe Denver Post, and workers in both locations walked off the job after voting down an offer from Lockheed Martin on Saturday. The company has "refused to present a fair economic proposal that meets the membership's needs," per the union.
The outlet Orlando Weeklyreported that the union says Lockheed Martin has offered "meaningful" pay raises for union members during contract discussions, but other issues have remained unresolved. They include holiday schedules, cost of living allowance, healthcare and prescription drug coverage, among others, according to UAW.
"It would be nice for the future generations and everybody else coming in not to have to wait 18 years to provide for their family like I have," Michael Mahoney, who has worked at Lockheed Martin for 21 years and and is a military veteran, told Orlando Weekly.
"They say they support the military, they want to use the veteran status, but when it comes to really showing us—a veteran, you know—the appreciation that we deserve, it don't feel like we get appreciated at all around here," said Mahoney.
The defense giant brought in $5.3 billion in net earnings in 2024, and has secured $1.7 billion in profits in the first quarter of 2025.
Union workers rallied outside of the Lockheed Martin Waterton Campus in Denver on Thursday, according to the local outlet 9NEWS."Lockheed's workers have to wait years and even decades before seeing a comfortable standard of living, while its executives are swimming in taxpayer dollars," said UAW Region 4 director Brandon Campbell in a statement on Thursday. "Lockheed is a textbook example of corporate greed and I'm proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our members as they fight for their fair share."
According to 9NEWS, Lockheed Martin issued the following statement regarding the strike: "We value our employees and their expertise and look forward to reaching a fair labor agreement for both sides. Our employees perform important work for our customers and the nation through their work supporting programs critical to our national security."
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Trump Nominates Waltz for UN Ambassador After National Security Ouster
"Now Waltz can share sensitive U.S. military secrets on Signal chats with not just journalists—but all 193 countries of the world."
May 01, 2025
Political observers had assumed Thursday that White House officials deemed National Security Adviser Michael Waltz unqualified for a top Trump administration position after he was fired following the "Signalgate" scandal.
But in what one analyst called a "surprise twist," Waltz's dismissal actually freed him up for another high-level role: that of United Nations ambassador.
Soon after sources leaked the news that Waltz had been dismissed, President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he was nominating the national security adviser to be his ambassador.
Waltz was removed from the national security position in the wake of the scandal that's also embroiled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other administration officials.
He organized a group chat on the commercial messaging app Signal in which officials discussed plans to bomb Yemen in March and inadvertently added the journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the discussion.
It was later reported that Waltz and his staff had created at least 20 group chats using the app to discuss sensitive foreign policy issues, prompting calls for his resignation.
"Now Waltz can share sensitive U.S. military secrets on Signal chats with not just journalists—but all 193 countries of the world," said lawyer and commentator Tristan Snell after the new nomination was announced.
Journalist Jamie Dupree noted that when Waltz meets with senators for his confirmation hearings, he is likely to face "all sorts of questions about the Signalgate episode" from Democrats.
In his announcement, Trump said Waltz "has worked hard to put our nation's interests first" and expressed confidence that he will do the same as U.N. ambassador. He named Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Waltz's temporary replacement as national security adviser.
Trump previously named Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to be his U.N. ambassador but withdrew her nomination in March, citing the Republicans' narrow majority in the House.
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