November, 03 2020, 11:00pm EDT
On Defending Democracy and Advancing Workers' Rights at the Ballot Box and Beyond
Following is a statement by Rebecca Dixon, executive director of the National Employment Law Project:
"As we await the final results of the presidential election at this pivotal moment for our democracy, the National Employment Law Project (NELP) joins in solidarity with people all around the country who are coming together to defend our democracy and demand that every vote is counted. The will of the voters decides elections.
WASHINGTON
Following is a statement by Rebecca Dixon, executive director of the National Employment Law Project:
"As we await the final results of the presidential election at this pivotal moment for our democracy, the National Employment Law Project (NELP) joins in solidarity with people all around the country who are coming together to defend our democracy and demand that every vote is counted. The will of the voters decides elections.
"While the huge volume of absentee and early ballots still to be counted may be unique to the 2020 elections, counting absentee ballots after Election Day is not--it happens routinely and is a normal part of the process and must be completed.
"In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and despite deliberate voter suppression comprised of disinformation, attempts to eliminate drop-off locations, intimidation, and white supremacist violence --more than 100 million people voted early. Now, the people who are calling for our democracy to be protected and for every vote to be counted must be kept safe in the days to come, online and on the streets.
"No matter the result of these elections, NELP will contribute to strengthening our democracy by supporting Black, immigrant workers in building power and fighting for a just recovery and secure, stable, and safe jobs.
Results of Key Workers' Rights Proposals Around the Country
"Over the past four years, workers' rights have been under attack while corporations' power has been further consolidated--yet workers and advocates have fought back at the state and local levels. That trend continued this election season with key ballot box efforts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, and Maine.
- In Florida, voters embraced Amendment 2, which will gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2026--continuing the momentum of the Fight for $15 movement and making Florida the eighth state (and the second most populous one) to get on the path to $15. Including Florida, 36 percent of the U.S. labor force will now be covered by laws gradually raising the minimum wage to $15. This is a big win for the Fight for $15 movement and shows once again that raising wages for workers in lowest-paid jobs is an issue that all voters can get behind.
- In Maine, voters in two cities--Portland and Rockland--approved measures gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2024 (and furthermore in Portland, a $22.50 "hazard pay" minimum wage during states of emergency).
- In Colorado, voters approved Proposition 118, the Paid Medical and Family Leave Initiative, which will allow for 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave funded through a payroll tax paid by both employers and employees. Workers earning less than half of the state's average pay would get the highest percentage of their salaries, at 90 percent. Under this new law, workers are also protected from employer discipline or retaliation for requesting or using paid leave.
- In Arizona, voters passed Proposition 208, the Invest in Education Act, which will raise teacher salaries by increasing taxes on the state's highest earners.
- California voters, however, passed Proposition 22, the App-Based Drivers as Contractors and Labor Policies Initiative. NELP is proud to be in solidarity with the courageous workers and advocates in California who led the #NoOnProp22 campaign, and with the global movement to defeat these efforts to undermine workers' rights championed by Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart. We will continue to fight racist anti-worker laws pushed by corporations that sell labor on apps, and together we will win the protections that Black, immigrant, and all workers need. The passing of Prop 22 means that California app-based workers--notably the Black and Latinx workers who are overrepresented in these jobs--will not be able to claim the rights to fair pay, economic stability, and safety on the job that justly belong to them as employees. The corporations behind the "Yes on Prop 22" campaign resorted to dirty and dangerous online harassment and pressured workers nonstop to vote for their racist business model. Instead of providing basic protections to their workers, Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart spent close to $200 million to mislead voters. In spite of Prop 22's passage, NELP is committed to ensuring that all workers have economic security and protections against exploitation.
"As we await the final outcome of the presidential race, people of conscience around the country are rising up and speaking out against disinformation, white supremacist ideology, and voter suppression. We must continue to denounce intimidation and fight against premature cut-offs of the counting process and frivolous lawsuits seeking to invalidate people's votes. At this crucial time, all of us must join together to ensure that every vote is counted and the will of the people is honored and upheld in our democracy."
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In an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was diplomatic toward U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to take over the United States' northern neighbor and whom Carney excoriated in his victory speech after being elected in March.
But at one point, Carney resorted to speaking to the cameras in the room to push back against the president's repeated claim that Canada could become "the 51st state."
After Carney reiterated that Canada "is not for sale," Trump told the press assembled in the room, "Never say never."
Carney responded by saying under his breath, "Never. Never. Never," to several of the reporters.
Carney later told reporters at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. that he views Trump's persistent talk about taking control of one of the United States' top allies and trade partners as "a wish," and said he has "been careful always to distinguish between wish and reality."
"We're very clear, I've been very clear publicly consistently," said Carney. "I've been clear in private. I was very clear again in the Oval Office, have been clear throughout."
"Canada is not for sale and is never going to be for sale," he added.
In his remarks in the Oval Office, the Canadian prime minister, who represents the center-left Labour Party, seemed to appeal to Trump's self-image as a successful businessman at one point, reminding him that "as you know, from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale."
He also complimented Trump, saying he has "revitalized" international security.
But in his remarks after the meeting, Carney said he had pushed Trump to stop referring to Canada as the "51st state," and regarding a trade deal, he said the president "understands that we're having a negotiation between sovereign nations and that we will only pursue and accept a deal that is in the best interest of Canada."
The Trump administration has imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada, with some imports exempt under a trade deal signed in 2020.
Carney reported that Trump was willing to discuss lowering the tariffs and said he planned to have further discussions with the president "in the coming weeks" about a new trade agreement.
Trump appeared to soften his stance on eliminating the border between the U.S. and Canada and taking over the country in the meeting, allowing that "it takes two to tango."
Trump spoke about what he believes would be "a massive tax cut for the Canadian citizens" as well as healthcare benefits, but suggested he won't continue pushing Canada to make a deal.
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Altman warned that "with Bisignano's increased power as a confirmed commissioner, he will accelerate the destruction of our Social Security system. One ray of hope is that the DOGE henchmen running Social Security have reversed course on some of the biggest cuts in the face of massive public outrage. They know how popular Social Security is with voters of all parties."
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American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) president Lee Saunders similarly said that "the Senate just escalated threats to Social Security" by confirming a billionaire CEO who "has spent his career catering to Wall Street elites."
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"Creative expression is the lifeblood that vivifies a free and democratic culture," said the head of one nonprofit publisher. "Every story a writer tells is one Trump cannot control."
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Arts institutions around the country expressed sadness and outrage after the Trump administration notified theaters, literary arts organizations, and other groups on Friday that their National Endowment for the Arts grants were being withdrawn or canceled. The message came the same day that U.S. President Donald Trump proposed eliminating funding for the independent federal agency.
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According to NPR, which itself receives two NEA grants valued at $65,000, hundreds of groups across the country on Friday received a message from the NEA that grants offered for the 2025 fiscal year were being terminated or withdrawn. The email read, in part, "the NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation's rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the president."
"Consequently," the email continued "we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities." According to NPR, the email states the president's priorities include projects that "celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence," "make America healthy again," and "foster skilled trade jobs," among others.
Impacted organizations have submitted information about their terminated or withdrawn NEA grants to a public tracker, which as of Tuesday afternoon lists over 200 groups. According to the spreadsheet, total funding revoked as of 3:00 pm Eastern Time tallied $5.9 million.
According to reporting from The Washington Post, it was not immediately clear whether the NEA is able to rescind grants it has already awarded, something that grantees who spoke to the outlet raised. The NEA was established by Congress in 1965 is the largest funder of arts and arts education countrywide, also according to the Post.
The move to revoke funding "not only threatens the stability of countless community-based programs but also places a heavy burden on smaller arts organizations that rely on consistent support to serve, educate, and inspire," wrote Lina Lindberg, a grant strategist, on LinkedIn on Tuesday.
The nonprofit publisher Electric Literature announced on Monday that its 2025 NEA grant was terminated, but struck a defiant tone in the public statement.
"Creative expression is the lifeblood that vivifies a free and democratic culture. Trump is obsessed with a heritage and legacy of his own imagination. For him, literature is forward facing and therefore dangerous. Every story, even about the past, is a new story. Every story a writer tells is one Trump cannot control," wrote the organization's executive director, Halimah Marcus. "Electric Literature will continue to publish culturally enriching stories about the past, present, and future with honesty and heart."
Portland Playhouse posted on Instagram that the administration had withdrawn the nonprofit theater's $25,000 NEA grant on the eve of the opening night of a production the funding was meant to support.
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According to n+1's development director Dani Oliver, the magazine on Friday learned about the termination of its $12,500 2025 NEA grant "meant to help us pay our authors, our editors, and to have the magazine distributed to our readers."
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Earlier Friday, Trump proposed completely getting rid of the NEA in his budget blueprint for fiscal year 2026.
Next to where the NEA appears in the budget, the document explains that "the budget includes the elimination of, or the elimination of federal funding for, the following small agencies."
In addition to NEA, Trump's budget also proposed eliminating funding for the National Endowment for Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The New York Timesreported Friday that "the proposal to eliminate the endowments drew a quick and furious reaction from Democrats."
The Times also reported that on Monday a group of senior officials at the NEA announced their resignations.
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