It’s Wednesday…
President Biden’s public schedule for 08/23/2023 via Forth.News:
| DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2023 The President has no public events scheduled. |
All the Tweets
From Tuesday…
The video clip is 40 seconds long.
Remarks by President Biden on the Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act; the YouTube is 31 minutes and 15 seconds long (08/16/2023).
Look, folks, I’m proud of the historic law my administration has passed, but it’s not about me, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. It’s about you — all of you in this room, particularly, but the American people. Folks like the ones standing behind me here today.
[snip]
The most important thing I want to say today is: Thank you, America. Thank you, Americans.
We’ve faced some tough times in recent years. But you, the American people, didn’t give up. You’re the ones getting up every single day going to work. You’re the ones taking the risks, opening the doors, hiring workers, fulfilling dreams.
And all we hear from our friends on the other side of the aisle is what they claim is what’s wrong with America.
Well, let me tell you — let — let me tell you: They’re telling us America is failing — failing? They’re dead wrong. They’re dead wrong. America isn’t failing; America is winning.
White House.gov. 08/16/2023.
From the shared AP News article:
The union representing 340,000 UPS workers said Tuesday that its members voted to approve the tentative contract agreement reached last month, putting a final seal on contentious labor negotiations that threatened to disrupt package deliveries for millions of businesses and households nationwide.
The Teamsters said in a statement that 86% of the votes casts were in favor of ratifying the national contract. They also said it was passed by the highest vote for a contract in the history of the Teamsters at UPS.
AP News. 08/22/2023.
Today, Teamsters voted by an overwhelming 86.3 percent to ratify the most historic collective bargaining agreement in the history of UPS. The five-year contract protects and rewards more than 340,000 UPS Teamsters nationwide, raising wages for full- and part-time workers, creating more full-time jobs, and securing important workplace protections, including air conditioning.
The agreement passed by the highest vote for a contract in the history of the Teamsters at UPS.
[Snip]
All supplemental agreements were ratified as well, except for the Local 769 LAI supplement which covers 174 members in Florida. The national master agreement will go into effect as soon as this supplement is renegotiated and ratified. The UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee will immediately meet with the company to work to resolve any outstanding issues with the supplement. Upon resolution, the adjusted supplement would be voted on by respective UPS Teamsters in-person in their area.
There are 44 supplements to the national master agreement.
[snip]
Highlights of the tentative 2023-2028 UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement include:
Teamster.org. 08/22/2023.
- Historic wage increases. Existing full- and part-time UPS Teamsters will get $2.75 more per hour in 2023. Over the length of the contract, wage increases will total $7.50 per hour.
- Existing part-timers will be raised to no less than $21 per hour immediately, and part-time seniority workers earning more under a market rate adjustment will still receive all new general wage increases.
- General wage increases for part-time workers will be double the amount obtained in the previous UPS Teamsters contract — and existing part-time workers will receive a 48 percent average total wage increase over the next five years.
- Wage increases for full-timers will keep UPS Teamsters the highest paid delivery drivers in the nation, improving their average top rate to $49 per hour.
- Current UPS Teamsters working part-time will receive longevity wage increases of up to $1.50 per hour on top of new hourly raises, compounding their earnings.
- New part-time hires at UPS will start at $21 per hour and advance to $23 per hour.
- All UPS Teamster drivers classified as 22.4s will be reclassified immediately to Regular Package Car Drivers and placed into seniority, ending the unfair two-tier wage system at UPS.
- Safety and health protections, including vehicle air conditioning and cargo ventilation. UPS will equip in-cab A/C in all larger delivery vehicles, sprinter vans, and package cars purchased after Jan. 1, 2024. Two fans, heat exhaust shields, and air induction vents in the cargo compartments will be retrofitted into all cars.
- All UPS Teamsters will receive Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday for the first time.
- No more forced overtime on Teamster drivers’ days off. Drivers will keep one of two workweek schedules and cannot be forced into overtime on scheduled off-days.
- UPS Teamster part-timers will have priority to perform all seasonal support work using their own vehicles with a locked-in eight-hour guarantee. For the first time, seasonal work will be contained to five weeks only from November-December.
- The creation of 7,500 new full-time Teamster jobs at UPS and the fulfillment of 22,500 open positions, establishing more opportunities through the life of the agreement for part-timers to transition to full-time work.
- More than 60 total changes and improvements to the National Master Agreement — more than any other time in Teamsters history — and zero concessions from the rank-and-file.
Full UPS Teamsters Vote Results can be found here.
Tuesday, President Biden announced details of the SAVE Plan that would reduce student loan monthly payments from 10% of the borrowers discretionary income to 5%. And if a borrower makes less than $30,000 a year that borrower will not have a monthly payment until their annual income rises above $30,000 a year.
The fact-sheet, President Biden’s announcement video, and the Vice President’s statement can be found in Tuesday’s Biden Bits.
From Wednesday…
American Rescue Plan (03/11/2021).
Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (11/15/2021).
Inflation Reduction Act (08/16/2022).
CHIPS and Science Act (08/09/2022).
The video clip is 1 minute and 25 seconds long.
Remarks by President Biden Paying Respects to the Lives Lost in Maui and Reaffirming His Commitment to Supporting Residents; the YouTube is 24 minutes and 54 seconds long.
To my left is the banyan tree beloved by this community for over 150 years here in the former capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, that has stood for generations as a sacred spot of exceptional significance.
[snip]
Today, it’s burned, but it’s still standing. The tree survived for a reason. I believe it’s a powerful — a very powerful symbol of what we can and will do to get through this crisis. And for this — for as long as it takes, we’re going to be with you — the whole country will be with you.
[snip]
And this banyan tree. One called it the diamond in the rough of hope. Another referred to — “Fire cannot reach its roots” is what he said. “Fire cannot reach its roots.”
[snip]
Well, hello, people of Maui. You’ve shown such absolute, incredible courage, and that’s not hyperbole. I want you to know, on behalf of the United States of America and all the nation, the American people stand with you.
[snip]
And we’re focused on what’s next. That’s rebuilding a long — long-term — rebuilding for long-term and doing it together to help get us back on our feet, to rebuild the way we want to rebuild by making sure your voices are heard, by respecting your traditions, by understanding the deep history and meaning of this sacred ground and establishing your community, not to change it — its character, but to reestablish it.
[snip]
Let me close with this. From stories of grief, we’ve seen so many stories of hope and heroism, of the aloha spirit. Every emergency responder put their lives on the line for — to save others. Everyday heroes, neighbors helping neighbors, Native Hawaiian leaders offering solace and strength.
[snip]
That’s Maui. That’s America. And to the people of Hawaii, we’re with you for as long as it takes, I promise you.
White House.gov. 08/21/2023.
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