Combine Departments of Labor and Education? How Trump Plan Would Hurt You

No one has ever proposed combining the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Education. But President Trump will make such an announcement shortly.

Most people don’t know what the Department of Labor (DoL) does for them. Here are some of its key functions.

Wage and Hour: This agency sues employers who fail to pay people minimum wages and overtime. Hourly employees cannot afford to hire a lawyer; and 54% of employers force people into arbitration. DoL sues in behalf of regular workers who are cheated on their pay. They don't go to arbitration. They sue in federal court.

Safety: OSHA is a part of DoL. It enforces workplace safety laws. Combining DoL and the education department would likely leave less money to enforce safety laws. Workplace injuries have been declining steadily from 2003-2016, during the Bush and Obama administrations. That trend would probably be reversed if the agencies are “streamlined.”

Child Labor: This is no longer a serious problem in the U.S. That’s because DoL takes a zero-tolerance approach against anyone who uses child labor. (Note: federal law exempts child labor in common sense settings such as family farms, camps, babysitting, newspaper delivery and similar … but not large scale commercial farming, factories, and so on).

Labor Statistics:  We take this for granted, but DoL collects an amazing amount of data that affects our lives. They track unemployment claims which in turn drives key economic policies. They track inflation, measured as CPI (Consumer Price Index). This has a major effect on the interest rates for our mortgages and credit cards. 
Are you or your parents drawing Social Security? If so, there is an automatic COLA (cost-of-living index) that annually increases payouts to prevent erosion due to inflation. DoL sets that baseline figure. The combination idea is a backdoor way to politicize the Bureau of Labor Statistics—a decidedly non-political outfit— to lower your benefits.

Pension Insurance: Some of us are in a private sector, traditional retirement plans. The DoL has a branch called Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. When companies such as Trump Casino (Atlantic City, NJ) go bankrupt (as his company did), people like Trump are off the hook for pensions—but a government insurance plan pays benefits to workers and retirees who are stiffed.

Black Lung Benefits: Who can forget the political love affair between Donald Trump and coal miners? DoL administers a special insurance fund for miners who are diagnosed with pneumoconiosis, commonly called black lung disease. Disabled miners are also entitled to medical services needed to treat their disease. The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund pays these benefits when there is no liable coal mine company or when the liable company either cannot or does not pay. When the Trust Fund pays on behalf of a liable coal company, the Department seeks reimbursement.

The thought of diluting the resources of the Department of Labor is part of a larger reverse Robin Hood strategy to take from the poor and give more to the rich. More people are becoming uninsurable due to pre-existing conditions as Trump abandons the Affordable Care Act. All the talk about the $1,000 bonuses for some employees has subsided—meanwhile, companies have record stock buy-back programs with their tax cuts.

With this proposal, the basics of the early 1900s are on the line—child labor, minimum wages, and pensions.

PHOTO CREDIT: DAILY KOS