Whispers of the Wealthy Few
While the National Archives has made clear that it won’t be able to produce all documents relating to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh until the end of October, Senate Republican leaders announced Friday that they will begin confirmation hearings on Sept. 4. As a result, the confirmation process will proceed without full access to some 900,000 pages of documents detailing Kavanaugh’s career and judicial record.
As AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka (UMWA) recently told reporters: “Working people deserve a nominee who will extend the guarantees of the Constitution and the promises of our country to everyone who lives and works here. We don’t need another justice who only listens to the whispers of the wealthy few.”
Yet Kavanaugh has a long record of ruling against working families:
- American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. Gates: Handed down an opinion that his colleagues argued would allow the secretary of defense to “abolish collective bargaining altogether.”
- Agri Processor Co. Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board: In a dissent, wrote that a company should not be ordered to bargain with a union, arguing that undocumented workers were ineligible to vote in a union election (in direct conflict with long-standing Supreme Court precedent).
- SeaWorld of Florida LLC v. Perez: Dissented from a majority opinion upholding a safety citation against SeaWorld following the death of a trainer.
- Venetian Casino Resort LLC v. NLRB: Overturned an NLRB decision, finding that a hotel engaged in unfair labor practices when it requested police officers issue criminal citations to union demonstrators who were legally protesting.
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