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OP-ED: Court’s in Session: Will Labor Please Rise!

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The task in front of us that we can’t fail at: Stopping the anti-union, anti-labor judiciary being put in place by an administration that consistently puts Corporate America first and working people last. And that administration and this Congress throws our middle-class existence, and all working people, into more and more peril with each new federal judge appointed.

Published

6 years ago

April 30, 2020

Oakland Post

By Ray Curry, UAW Secretary-Treasurer

This November, we’re going to have to do some hard work to make sure that going off to work every day means a decent living for our families.

That is, if your job pays your bills, provides you and your family with healthcare, paid sick leave, and paid time off; if it guarantees a voice for your rights and job safety that will be heard — if it works for you — you are going to have to go at it harder than ever to keep it that way. And if you’re one of the millions of hard-working Americans who aren’t making a living wage, have little or no healthcare or job protections, the stakes are even higher.

And tragically, we’re seeing in this unprecedented global health crisis what happens to working people who don’t have unions to stand up for them.

But we have an opportunity to stand together and make our voices heard. Our work in this election begins with knowing what you are voting for, what’s at stake, and then voting accordingly up and down the ballot.

The power behind the power

The task in front of us that we can’t fail at: Stopping the anti-union, anti-labor judiciary being put in place by an administration that consistently puts Corporate America first and working people last. And that administration and this Congress throws our middle-class existence, and all working people, into more and more peril with each new federal judge appointed.

Here is a thumbnail of what’s been going on. The last three years have been disastrous for working families, and by extension, our civil and human rights. More than 191 federal judges appointed (a record), and two Supreme Court Justices, all anti-union, anti- collective bargaining, slotted in to undermine labor whenever and wherever they get the chance. Most damaging are the appointments to the courts of appeal, the final say in most federal cases. In less than three years, 50 have been named to the bench.

These appointees across the judiciary have drawn three times more “no” votes in the Senate during their confirmation hearings than all confirmed judges in the 20th century combined.

But to no avail. A number of the judges were named before they had received a rating from the American Bar Association, only about 40% previously served as a judge. Three were deemed unqualified. Despite these disturbing facts, they were confirmed. These appointments, qualified or unqualified, unfit or untested alike, had one thing in common: a conservative agenda that backs a pro-corporate, anti-labor platform.

And all these judges align perfectly with the current National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the government agency that enforces labor law as it relates to collective bargaining and unfair labor practice charges. This NLRB has been stacked with judges who have extremely anti-labor, anti-union records and consequently the agency has systematically rolled back workers’ rights to form unions or, in some instances, take part in their protected right to collectively bargain with their employers, hurting workers, their communities, and the economy itself.

Just plain hostile to workers

And they align just as perfectly with the administration’s nomination of Eugene Scalia for Secretary of Labor. Scalia, son of the late conservative Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, was confirmed by the Senate last September. It is certainly fair to say that our new Secretary of Labor is utterly hostile to unions and labor.

The younger Scalia has spent a career in corporate law fighting for the interests of companies over workers, with clients ranging from Walmart to the major Wall Street banks seeking to avoid and evade post-crisis regulations. He has often been described this way by so many members of labor: “Eugene Scalia has spent his entire career making life more difficult and dangerous for working people. We opposed him in 2002 for Solicitor of Labor based on his anti-worker record, and his disdain for working people has worsened, not improved. His extreme views are in direct conflict with what America deserves from a secretary of labor.”

All of this at a time in our history when unions are viewed very favorably according to recent PEW Research findings, Business Insider national polling and a Gallup poll which said union support is at a five-decade high. Still, these anti-labor judges and justices have gone about their unpopular business with zeal.

In early 2018, the conservative stacked Supreme Court ruled in the Janus decision that public sector union fees violate non-member’s First Amendment rights, a decision made to weaken public sector bargaining rights. That same year, in the Reese vs. CNH case, a Supreme Court decision allowed an employer to unilaterally drop healthcare for retirees, a contract provision guaranteed them! The list goes on and on.

And while the Supreme Court gets the attention, it’s the lower courts that decide the bulk of the cases. For example, the now more conservative federal appeals court brought new life to executive orders that could make firing employees and weakening their union representation easier for federal agencies.

So, let’s get to work, workers. Take a look at the type of leaders we have that would say one thing to get elected and then do the exact opposite; who would put corporate dollars and stock gains ahead of the people who make it all possible.

Please do your homework. If you go off to work for a living every day, make sure you know who will vote on your side — and who won’t.

Together we can reverse a whole lot of anti-labor institutions and can start building back a justice system for all, one that safeguards and represents the backbone of this country, not just the wallets of the few.

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#NNPA BlackPress

Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

Oakland Post

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#NNPA BlackPress

Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

Oakland Post

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#NNPA BlackPress

PRESS ROOM: NBA Hall of Fame Nominee Terry Cummings Joins 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to Launch Victory & Values Initiative

NNPA NEWSWIRE — NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

admin

Cummings becomes an honorary member, joining other role model sports stars

NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings has officially become an honorary member of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County, marking a powerful new chapter for the 100 Black Men and youth development across the region.

Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th. The moment signified more than membership — it marked the launch of the organization’s transformative new platform, the Victory & Values Initiative.

The Victory & Values Initiative is a groundbreaking youth development program designed to empower elementary and middle school students through a dynamic blend of sports, mentorship, and STEM exposure. The initiative focuses on building health, discipline, character, leadership, and access to opportunity — creating pathways for long-term academic and personal success.

“This is about more than sports,” said Cummings during the ceremony. “It’s about using the platform of athletics to teach life lessons, create access, and build the next generation of leaders.”

The induction ceremony also featured notable guests including NASCAR’s newest Star Driver, Lavar Scott and NASCAR Director of Athletic Performance, Phil Horton, who joined Cummings for a powerful Victory & Values Town Hall discussion. The Town Hall was moderated by renowned Sports Emcee John Hollins and focused on leadership, resilience, discipline, and the importance of mentorship in shaping young lives.

A “Day at NASCAR” for 75+ Youth

Cummings wasted no time getting to work. On his first full day as an honorary member, he joined his new brothers of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to host a “Day at NASCAR,” escorting more than 75 youth to a once-in-a-lifetime experience at EchoPark Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).

The youth participants received behind-the-scenes access including: an exclusive tour of Pit Row, access to the Garage Area and exploration of the interactive Fan Zone.

The experience culminated with a surprise meet-and-greet and Q&A session with NASCAR Superstar Bubba Wallace, who shared insights on perseverance, preparation, and breaking barriers in professional sports.

The day served as a living example of the ‘Victory & Values’ Initiative in action — exposing youth to new industries, expanding their vision for the future, and connecting them directly with high- level mentors and role models.

Building Leaders Through Access and Mentorship

The 100 Black Men of DeKalb County – a chapter of the largest, national mentoring organization in the county – continues to expand its footprint with programs focused on academic excellence, economic empowerment, leadership development, and health & wellness.

The launch of ‘Victory & Values’ represents a strategic expansion of the organization’s impact

intentionally integrating athletics and STEM to engage youth at an early age while reinforcing core principles such as integrity, accountability, teamwork, and perseverance.

“Our mission has always been to mentor the next generation,” said Vaughn Irons, President-Elect of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County. “With Terry Cummings joining the brotherhood, along with partners in NASCAR and professional sports, we are creating unprecedented access and exposure for our youth. Victory & Values is about turning inspiration into structured opportunity.”

By connecting elementary and middle school students to professional athletes, executives, STEM professionals, and community leaders, the initiative aims to:

Increase youth exposure to careers in sports business, engineering, and performance science
Strengthen mentorship pipelines
Promote physical wellness and mental resilience
Build character-driven leadership at an early age

Open Invitation to Youth and Families

All youth are invited to participate in the Victory & Values Initiative, along with the other countless, impactful programs offered by the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County.

Parents and guardians seeking mentorship, leadership development, academic enrichment, and transformative exposure opportunities for their children are encouraged to connect with the organization.

As NBA Legend Terry Cummings’ induction demonstrates, Victory & Values is more than a program — it is a movement designed to build champions in life, not just in sports.

For more information about the Victory & Values Initiative or to enroll a student, contact: 100 Black Men of DeKalb County at Phone at 404.241.1338, info@100bmod.org or Tee Foxx at 404.791.6525,