Greene County Democrat

Tag: Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.)

  • Newswire : Trump’s EEOC firings mark dangerous turn for Civil Rights and Workplace Protections

     
     Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, fired EEOC Commissioners


    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    As if Black America and other minorities needed a reminder that the United States is under a dictatorship, the country is barreling toward one of the darkest periods in its 248-year history.
    President Donald Trump fired two of the three Democratic commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a move that civil rights advocates warn is aimed at dismantling workplace protections for racial minorities, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals. The Associated Press reported that Trump dismissed Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels late last Monday night, an unprecedented action that strips the bipartisan agency of its independence.
    The firings, which occurred before the expiration of their five-year terms, leave the agency with just one Democratic commissioner, Kalpana Kotagal, and one Republican commissioner, Andrea Lucas, whom Trump recently appointed as acting chair. Trump now has the power to fill three vacancies, effectively reshaping the EEOC into a weapon against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Another Republican commissioner, Keith Sonderling, resigned after Trump appointed him Deputy Secretary of Labor.
    Burrows and Samuels both indicated they would challenge their removal, calling it a brazen violation of the EEOC’s independent mandate. “This undermines the efforts of this agency to protect employees from discrimination, support employers’ compliance efforts, and expand public awareness and understanding of federal employment laws,” Burrows said in a statement.
    The EEOC, created by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, investigates workplace discrimination claims and imposes penalties on employers who violate anti-discrimination laws. It also issues critical guidelines on workplace protections, ensuring that companies comply with laws preventing discrimination based on race, gender, disability, and other protected characteristics.
    Trump’s latest move appears designed to position the EEOC to target employers with DEI policies, aligning with his administration’s broader attack on civil rights protections. Lucas, the new acting chair, signaled this shift last week, vowing to prioritize “rooting out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination,” while also advancing anti-transgender policies.
    Burrows and Samuels had previously condemned Trump’s executive orders targeting DEI programs and protections for transgender workers, stating that anti-discrimination laws remain intact despite the administration’s aggressive rollback of protections. Samuels, who was appointed by Trump in 2020, called her removal illegal. “This represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the EEOC as an independent agency—not controlled by a single Cabinet secretary but designed as a multi-member body,” she said.
    In a similarly alarming move, Trump also fired National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne A. Wilcox, the first Black woman to serve on the board since its founding in 1935, along with NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo.
    Civil rights organizations and labor advocates condemned the firings as a direct attack on workers’ rights. “Today’s outrageous firings send a cruel message that not all workers can count on the EEOC,” said Gaylynn Burroughs, vice president for education and workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center. “Under the EEOC envisioned by Trump, the government will no longer have your back if you are a transgender or gay worker seeking fair treatment. And if you are a person of color or a woman, your success at work is evidence of ‘illegal DEI.’”
    Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) called Trump’s decision another sign of his disregard for the law. “These are yet more lawless actions by a president who thinks he is above the law and clearly could not care less about the rights of workers,” she said.
    Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, warned that the firings severely undermine the agency’s mission. “Ensuring that the EEOC can carry out its vital work should not be a partisan issue. In the end, President Trump’s actions fundamentally hurt workers and undermine the civil rights laws of this nation,” Scott said.

  • Newswire : Trump Administration ramps up efforts to dismantle post office

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Truck hauling away mailboxes in Oregon and U. S. Mail truck delivering mail

    President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to dismantle the United States Postal Service or revamp the agency in a way that has angered Democrats and others who said it’s a tactic to prevent mail-in voting for the upcoming election.
    The CARES Act passed in April authorized the postal service to borrow up to $10 billion from the Treasury Department for operating expenses if it’s determines that, due to the COVID-19 emergency, the post office would not fund operating expenses without borrowing money.
    “They have withheld that money. They have broken the law,” Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass told BlackPressUSA during a livestream interview last month. Other Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), also told BlackPressUSA that the president is trying to dismantle the postal service.

    Trump has steadfastly opposed funding the postal service. Despite recently voting with his wife by mail in a Florida primary election, the president said he’s against mail-in voting.
    “Trump is not stupid. He knows if there is a decent-sized turnout in this election, he loses,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) wrote on Twitter. “He and his friends believe they can suppress the vote by destroying the post office. We aren’t going to allow that to happen.”
    Several postal workers have reported the removal of sorting machines at postal facilities and the removal of sidewalk mailboxes. Postal officials reported that in the last week, the agency had removed letter collection boxes in at least four states: New York, Oregon, Montana, and Indiana.
    Postal workers in at least three states – West Virginia, Florida, and Missouri – have received notification that retail operating hours also face reduction.
    Removing mailboxes had become a practice along marathon and parade routes since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, however, the latest removals are believed intentional and strategically coordinated to impact the election.
    In response to the removal of mailboxes and a slowdown in the delivery of mail, the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) sent a letter to the Postmaster General on Aug. 7. New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D), Louisiana Secretary of State R. Kyle Ardoin (R), Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) joined in signing the letter.
    “State and local election officials are busy planning for the November general election, and many expect an increase in the use of absentee and mail ballots, along with other election-related mailings,” the state officials wrote.
    “We view the [United States Postal Service] as a vital partner in administering a safe, successful election and would like to learn more about any planned changes around USPS service due to COVID-19, preparations for increased election-related mail, USPS staffing levels and processing times, and other pertinent issues.”
    The postal service has sent letters to warn 46 states that it could not guarantee all mail-in ballots cast for the November election would arrive in time to be counted. Some states, like Maryland and Virginia, received a “heightened warning” that the postal service could not meet state-mandated deadlines.
    In response, a large group of protesters staged a “noise demonstration” on Saturday, Aug. 15, outside of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s home in Washington, D.C. The demonstration was organized by the direct-action group “Shut Down D.C.”
    The organization said they believe DeJoy is “dismantling” the U.S. Postal Service in favor of President Donald Trump’s re-election. They said his actions contribute to voter suppression.
    “DeJoy has fired or reassigned much of the existing USPS leadership and ordered the removal of mail sorting machines that are fundamental to the functioning of the postal service. Meanwhile, mail delivery is slowing down under other decisions made by DeJoy, such as eliminating overtime for postal workers,” the organization wrote in a statement.
    This week, the U.S. Inspector General opened an investigation into DeJoy’s policy changes at the post office.
    According to some lawmakers, those changes are reportedly taking a toll on military veterans who are experiencing much longer wait times to receive mail-order prescription drugs.
    Slowdowns at the post office have reportedly also resulted in seniors receiving their medications late and other important mail like social security checks.
    It has also angered those who work for the agency. Postal workers throughout the country have reported low morale, and many have cited the actions of Dejoy, who was appointed by Trump. On Friday, Aug. 14, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), a union that boasts nearly 300,000 active and retired postal workers, endorsed Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden.
    The U.S. Postmaster General announced Tuesday that he is suspending some recent operational changes until after the presidential election. “To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded,” U.S. Postal Service head Louis DeJoy said of the changes, which included removing mail processing equipment and collection boxes.
    Additionally, he promised, USPS retail hours will not change, processing facilities will not be closed and overtime for postal workers will be approved as needed.
    “The Postal Service is ready today to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives this fall,” DeJoy said. “Even with the challenges of keeping our employees and customers safe and healthy as they operate amid a pandemic, we will deliver the nation’s election mail on time and within our well-established service standards.”
    The promise expands on one DeJoy made earlier this week to stop removing mailboxes for the next 90 days.