People walk past a Heritage Foundation welcome sign for the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on July 12, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Heritage Foundation is the group responsible for the controversial “Project 2025.” (Photo by Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images)
There’s a lot being said and written about Project 2025, a so-called blueprint for the next Republican President.
I’m taking a little different slant — as I have actually found some good suggestions “under the hood” in the Labor Department chapter. And note that one of the accomplishments of the 45th Presidency was expanding unemployment benefits to independent contractors. With more service jobs, telework, information creators, shortages, etc., it just makes some sense to reevaluate the linchpins after almost a hundred years.
Don’t get me wrong: There are far too many way-offs and already-in-place concepts throughout this section. Yet, there just may be somethings for either major party or industry to take forward. For further context, one might consider that much of the status quo criticism comes from the small business’ franchisor community and not the Koch Brothers. And some of our inspectors do sometimes view interactions with entrepreneurs like the plague.
Overall, the premise of 2025’s new and improved Labor department would be to guide workplace conduct without radical human resources’ ideological social engineering (at least, according to the chapters). This false narrative that shows a lot of ignorance about how day to day employer-employee transactions actually work. (And it’s quite short on payment mechanisms). Nonetheless, here’s some more promising take-aways:
Eliminate conventional EEO data collection and get such tabulations to better reflect family/marital/social realities.
Create a new class of entity called “Employee Involvement Organizations” to consider non-compensation issues (predictable scheduling, safety, productivity and the like). Also give them and labor unions a role in appointing a workplace representative to corporate boards.
Incentivize on-site childcare.
Find a way for those who are self-employed to have access to cheaper pooled benefits like health insurance.
Continue to increase non-traditional apprenticeships.
Provide more robust training/technical assistance for labor regulations (not to label it ideological “marketing” as has happened in the past).
Take another look at Sunday work schedules that have affected family routines.
Do something about gender pay gaps.
Double pension contribution thresholds for families with stay-at-home spouses.
Block state efforts that prohibit employers from helping employees secure abortion services.
Allow structured waivers to experiment with initiatives that improve service, access and efficiency at the workplace; subject them to review-and-comment like public rules hearings that follow new and updated legislation.
Provide mechanisms for ascertaining whether a union is a good steward of collected funds, trusts, etc.
Fully fund a reconsideration of Davis-Bacon and similar floors/ceilings
Sadly, neither party has such matters in their platform. Nor does NO Labels, the independents’ champion. But a now former governor, did sign legislation to reduce degree-based practices in Maryland’s Civil Service. It’s my opinion that a bachelor’s-prepared person can better explain some things in their field, instruct others on the whys of practice and have more long-term career opportunity. If the object is to get all of our unemployeds and underemployeds in to a new position this year, that might be a notion of success.
Noting the new staffing for any one of the above, this is not a “federalist” solution by a long-shot. Nor does it speak to forty years of flat median household incomes, despite two-paycheck families, side-hustles, or supported employment of persons with disabilities — that could be the answer to many of those “help wanted” signs.
To be sure, workplace improvements are not the stuff of culture wars. The market, along with the concept of supply and demand still guide a lot. Unemployment Insurance is the farthest thing from unaccountable. But the vitriol vortex we find ourselves in will never move our increasingly critical workforce forward. Perhaps it would be a nice time to institute a four-day workweek?
Cherry is a retired human resources executive and lives in Helena.