As a lot because the Trump administration claims to look after households and needs to encourage having youngsters, you wouldn’t understand it from its actions. In its newest transfer to make life tougher for federal workers, the termination of union contracts for roughly 400,000 workers on the Division of Veterans’ Affairs leaves expectant mother and father within the lurch.
Decrease courts blocked President Donald Trump’s March government order purporting to have the ability to arbitrarily cancel union contracts protecting a whole lot of 1000’s of federal staff. However federal appeals courts lifted these injunctions earlier this month, so Trump will get to do that whereas the litigation proceeds. The VA was the primary company to terminate practically all its union contracts, however since Trump’s government order had a carveout for unions that assist him, VA police, firefighters, and safety guards didn’t have their contracts terminated.
With that contract revocation on the VA got here the revocation of all authorised maternity and paternity depart, together with taking it away from individuals days away from giving delivery. Making it extra ridiculous, that is unpaid depart. Below the union contract, workers had been entitled to a further 4 weeks of unpaid parental depart on prime of the 12 paid weeks required by regulation. Actual pro-family transfer there, forcing individuals again into the workforce early as a substitute of letting them have extra time to care for and bond with their child.
The seal is seen on the Division of Veterans Affairs constructing in Washington in 2013.
The reason about this might not be smugger. Per VA spokesperson Pete Kasperowicz, that is a lot fairer: “Now that VA has terminated collective bargaining agreements for most employees, its parental leave policy is much more equitable.”
Huh?
Sure, as a result of now all VA workers can request depart topic to the wants of the company. So, in Trumpland, a contract that provides everybody the identical profit is unfair, however a coverage that lets your employer unilaterally resolve in the event you get that profit of additional depart is completely honest. Positive.
That is one other entrance within the administration’s complete battle on youngsters and households. A lot of that focus has been on eliminating applications that present youngsters from lower-income households with such frivolities as warmth, schooling, and well being care. However the swiftness with which it was completely satisfied to grab away parental depart from federal workers exhibits they haven’t any intent of limiting these assaults.
Simply have a look at how the Division of Training has killed most investigations of civil rights complaints in faculties. Or how initially of July, the administration arbitrarily withheld $6 billion in funding for after-school and summer time applications for issues like baby care and English-language instruction. That cash additionally funded trainer growth. It was solely after Republican senators pressured the administration that the cash was launched three weeks later.
By no means one to draw back from being horrible, Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. positively has an enormous position right here in making the world worse for kids. In April, the company canceled $11.4 billion of funding used for immunization clinics and seems to be planning to take away the Meals and Drug Administration’s approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids beneath 5.
Vice President JD Vance, middle, leaves Rome’s Botanic Gardens together with his spouse, Usha, proper, and their youngsters on April 19.
Amid this frenzy of assaults on households, Trump and different creepy natalist sorts in his administration are operating round speaking about how essential it’s for (white) individuals to have extra infants, together with the genius thought of giving moms a medal for having six or extra youngsters. Vice President JD Vance is a full-fledged natalist, complaining about how we’re dominated by a childless elite and such, so that you’d assume he’d need to guarantee individuals get a bit extra break day caring for his or her new child, however you’d be flawed.
What about how if Trump received in 2024, he promised to mandate protection for in vitro fertilization, with Trump saying he’d both require the federal government to cowl it or require insurers to take action. Properly, that’s not occurring anymore, with an administration official just lately saying that the president couldn’t mandate IVF with out Congress passing laws about it. In fact, for the reason that administration has flouted Congress’ authority at each flip, it’s only a handy excuse right here.
The only pro-family effort the administration can level to is the institution of “Trump Accounts,” a onetime cost of $1,000 for each baby. Gosh, a complete $1,000? That’s positive to make an enormous distinction when the price of elevating a baby to age 18 today recurrently tops $300,000. In some way, $1,000 doesn’t actually appear to be sufficient of an incentive.
There isn’t a precise need on the a part of the administration to assist youngsters or households. It’s completely satisfied to make life tougher for everybody.
