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Articles by Sam Knight
Build Back B.S.
The excitement was in the air at this year’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C., in late September. About a year earlier, the Inflation Reduction Act had been signed into law by President Joe Biden, establishing new tax benefits to boost green-friendly construction. Vendors at the world’s largest green building symposium were buzzing.
Lopsided Success for Corporate Interests: The New Normal Under the Supreme Court’s Conservative Supermajority (2022-2023 Term)
Every year, the Supreme Court moves the needle further and further in favor of industry. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear its first arguments of the 2023–2024 term, a term that will present the Justices with a number of opportunities to make significant rulings benefitting corporate interests.
Billionaires Cash In On Abusive Farm Worker Scam
Billionaires who have been buying up farmland across the country are using a controversial immigration program linked to labor abuses and human trafficking to find low-wage workers for their agricultural investments. The visa program, which is allowing a growing number of employers to pay rock-bottom wages, has been at the heart of recent modern slavery cases — and one in three workers in the program say the arrangement has limited their ability to leave their jobs.
Workers Fighting Union-Busting Have A New Legal Tool
Above Photo: Grocery store workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) hold a boycott rally in front of a Food4Less Supermarket in Los Angeles, California on May 12, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images. A class-action lawsuit against a California-based grocery retailer could set a new precedent against union-busters.
Regulators Greenlit SVB’s Risky Investments
In the years before Silicon Valley Bank’s sudden failure, federal regulators gave the firm a special exemption from rules designed to prevent deposit-taking banks from engaging in risky investments and financial speculation, according to records reviewed by The Lever.
BLOG: As Wrong as It is Dangerous: The Fifth Circuit’s Decision Holding the CFPB Funding Structure Unconstitutional
Last week, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a breathtaking decision that, if allowed to stand, would impair the ability of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to carry out its important work combatting financial exploitation. According to the Fifth Circuit, the fact that the Bureau is not funded by periodic appropriations from Congress violates the Constitution.
Apple Employee Blows Whistle on Illegal Spying and Toxic Working Conditions
Silicon Valley has become infamous for its role in the surveillance ecosystem, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bosses are increasingly using an array of tech industry tools to keep constant tabs on their employees working from home, despite statistics showing that those who work remotely are more productive than their counterparts toiling away in office buildings. But one woman who worked for the tech industry’s biggest company is fighting back.
Watchdogs Urge DOJ to Investigate Legality of Facebook’s Cryptocurrency Venture
Financial industry watchdogs are asking federal officials to attempt to stop the cryptocurrency pilot program launched by Facebook, noting that the U.S. government has the power to criminally prosecute executives for operating the venture.
NLRB Is Reviewing a Rule Change That Has Helped Bosses Bust Unions for Decades
A top labor regulator is reviewing an obscure rule change that has helped bosses get away with illegal union-busting activities for decades. The decision could result in workers being more capable of exercising their right to organize a union without fear of retaliation by their managers.
Predatory Banks at Walmarts Made Over 100 Percent of Profits From Overdraft Fees
Three national banks that partner with Walmart are wholly dependent on overdraft fees extracted from low-income shoppers. First Convenience Bank, Academy Bank and Woodforest National Bank all made more than 100 percent of their profit in 2020 and 2019 from overdraft fees, according to a study published earlier this year by the Brookings Institution.
Supreme Court Case on Farmworker Protections Could End Up Harming All Regulation
The legacy of Cesar Chavez has been getting another look in recent months. In January, President Joe Biden placed a bust of the 20th-century labor leader in the Oval Office, giving journalists the opportunity to reexamine how Chavez fought for farmworkers, while commentators on social media noted that Chavez’s treatment of undocumented immigrants, at certain points during his life, complicates his image as a tireless champion of migrant laborers.
Biden’s Agriculture Nominee Could Bring US Back Into Trans-Pacific Partnership
President Joe Biden has expressed an interest in leading the United States back into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the multilateral trade agreement finalized in 2016 that has been widely criticized by labor unions and environmental groups. If Biden does pursue that policy, his nominee for Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, will likely help lead the charge.
Biden's Hawkish Foreign Policy Could Derail Moves to Fight Austerity
In his first days in office, President Joe Biden has signaled a willingness to disavow austerity policies and expand public benefits, sparking cautious optimism about whether his administration could succeed in minimizing damage done by the coronavirus pandemic. But Biden is at risk of repeating similar mistakes made by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who promised more relief to the poor than he could deliver because of his decision to escalate conflict in Vietnam.
Silicon Valley Campaign Cash Complicates Democrats’ Plan to Break Up Tech Giants
The stage is being set for Democrats to clash next year over a push to rein in Silicon Valley oligarchs. Earlier this month, House Democrats called for the break-up of major tech giants, but Democratic candidates in key Senate races are comfortably out-fundraising their Republican counterparts in campaign cash from the tech industry.
Letter to the editor: People need to protect themselves, each other by wearing masks
I have property in Tehachapi and have been a frequent visitor for more than 50 years. Yesterday while visiting, I shopped at Home Depot for supplies and was dismayed to observe the number of inconsiderate customers who failed to wear a facial covering. I'd expected more caring behavior by the townspeople of Tehachapi. It doesn't take much to take the simple step of wearing a face covering to help protect one another from COVID-19 infection.
Senate Democrats Enabled the Biggest Bank Merger Since the 2008 Crash
When Senate Democrats teamed up with Republicans last year to pass banking deregulation, they went all in, parroting conservative talking points about running to the rescue of Main Street. More than half of the Democrats who backed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S.2155) invoked “credit unions and small banks” when explaining their vote.
Waiting for Iceland's Brave Stance Against Neoliberalism, 10 Years Later
Iceland is supposed to be the one that got it right. When the global financial crisis battered the country last decade, it was reported that Icelanders reacted by successfully challenging neoliberal convention. “When everyone else bailed out the bankers and made the public pay the price, Iceland let the banks go bust and actually expanded its social safety net,” Paul Krugman wrote for The New York Times in 2011. Vox’s Matt Yglesias offered similar commentary in 2015.
Mulvaney Student Fee Whitewash Benefits Bank of America, US Bank
In December 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau produced a study that was useful for the university administrators looking after millions of college students in the United States. In an annual report to Congress, the agency published an analysis of agreements between credit and debit card issuers and institutes of higher learning—one that included warnings about boilerplate deals enabling banks to ply fees out of students.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Payday Loan Rule Likely Spared Wrath of Congressional Review Act
There was rare good news for regulatory safeguards this week: The window closed for Congress to pass legislation repealing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule on payday loans, according to advocates of the initiative. Stop the Debt Trap, a coalition of labor unions and non-profits, said Wednesday evening that the "legislative clock has expired" on efforts to annul the rule under the Congressional Review Act.
Trump Calls Kerry Outreach on Iran ''Possibly Illegal Shadow Diplomacy''
Former US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at Chatham House on November 6, 2017, in London, England. (Photo: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) President Trump floated the idea that former Secretary of State John Kerry could face criminal charges for lobbying to salvage the Iranian nuclear deal. Trump made the statement on Monday morning through Twitter, in reference to a Boston Globe article published last week.
Government Accountability Office: Scott Pruitt Illegally Built ''Privacy Booth''
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency violated the law when installing a soundproof booth in his office, according to the top federal auditor. Scott Pruitt ran afoul of a 2017 appropriations law and the Antideficiencies Act when creating the fixture, the Government Accountability Office said on Monday in a legal opinion.
Trump's Scandal-Plagued Labor Board Soon Back to Full Strength
Republicans look set this week to fill the vacancy on President Trump's embattled National Labor Relations Board. The Senate on Tuesday voted 50-47 to limit debate on John Ring, the nominee to fill the seat previously held by former NLRB chair Phil Miscimarra. Ring is currently a partner with Morgan Lewis & Bockius, a union-busting management side law firm, based in Philadelphia. Some of his recent major clients include Amazon, Marriott, Xerox, and Google, according to financial disclosures.
US Schools Disproportionately Punish Black Students, GAO Report Confirms
Heavy-handed racialized punishment starts at an early age, the Government Accountability Office confirmed on Wednesday. The federal watchdog released a report finding that Black students are over-represented among severely reprimanded elementary, middle and high school students.
Supreme Court Sides With Cops Who ''Shoot First and Think Later''
The Supreme Court has issued yet another decision shielding police officers from excessive force lawsuits. Justices issued a per curiam opinion on Monday, in Hughes v. Kisela, siding in favor of a Tuscon, Ariz. police officer who shot a woman four times after responding to a 911 call about erratic behavior. In issuing their ruing, SCOTUS reversed a Ninth Circuit decision, which said Andrew Kisela should face a civil jury trial brought by the woman he shot, Amy Hughes.
With Support of 16 Senate Democrats, Big Banks Will Be Able to Sue if They Don't Like Dodd-Frank Rules
Legislation that would relax major post-financial crisis banking regulations moved one step closer to clearing the Senate and becoming law. The upper chamber voted on Tuesday 67-32 to limit debate on the bill, setting the stage for its final passage later this week. Sixteen Democrats backed the motion to advance the legislation; twelve of them are cosponsors.
Schumer Agrees to Give up Shutdown Fights for Two Years, in Deal That Would Deprive Senate Democrats of Power
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer make their way to the Senate floor after announcing a two-year deal on the budget earlier in the day on February 7, 2018. (Photo: Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call) Senate Democrats look poised to relinquish significant leverage -- the threat of withholding government funding -- well into the next Congress.
Sessions Vows to Issue Subpoenas in Immigrant-Demonizing Inquest Against "Sanctuary Cities"
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions listens to remarks during an event November 17, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images) The Justice Department is threatening to force three states and twenty cities to turn over records related to compliance with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent letters on Wednesday to officials from California, Oregon, Illinois, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, among others.
Pentagon Allowed to Keep Congress in the Dark Over Afghan Human Rights Abuses
Military officials are legally sidestepping rules that would otherwise force them to disclose human rights abuses by US allies in Afghanistan to Congress. The so-called Leahy Law prohibits foreign assistance to known abusers of human rights, with numerous exemptions.
Government Set to Reopen for Two Weeks, Schumer Accepts McConnell Promise of Dreamer Bill By Feb. 8
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) leaves the Senate floor after the Senate passed a continuing resolution to fund the federal government, Capitol Hill, January 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Drew Angerer / Getty Images) The Senate moved overwhelmingly on early Monday afternoon toward ending a brief government shutdown.
Don't Give the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a Single Dime, Mulvaney Tells Fed
White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, President Donald Trump's pick for acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, walks back to the White House from the CFPB building after he showed up for his first day of work on November 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images) Watchdogs' worst fears about Mick Mulvaney undermining the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are proving well-founded.
Children's Health Insurance Program Set for Five-Year Extension
Congress appears poised to finally ensure that millions of kids who rely on the federal government for healthcare won't have to depend on the legislative process for the rest of President Trump's first term. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) touted a proposed five-year renewal of the Children's Health Insurance Program on Thursday morning.
Anti-Immigrant Republicans Rearing Ugly Heads as Dreamer Deadline Looms
Hardline xenophobic elements within the Trump administration and the Republican Party are beating the drums about immigration, two months before the status of Dreamers is set to expire. Thomas Homan, Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director, said Tuesday that local officials who don't fully cooperate with the agency should face criminal prosecution.
Shutdown Aversion Deal Offers Children's Health Insurance Fix for Just Three Months, Unclear if GOP Leaders Have Votes
Melanie Lockridge and her 2-year-old daughter Zariyah attend a rally hosted by University of Chicago medical students to call on Congress to reauthorize funding forthe Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) on December 14, 2017, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Scott Olson / Getty Images) A bill that would grant money to the Children's Health Insurance Program for three months is making its way through Congress, as part of a deal to avert a government shutdown.
Though GOP Says Tax Plan Doesn't Favor the Rich, Paul Ryan Ties Reforms to Welfare Cuts
House Speaker Paul Ryan walks away from the House chamber on December 20, 2017, in Washington, DC. (Photo: Mark Wilson / Getty Images) Republicans have tried to claim that their tax plan will lead to immediate benefits for all Americans, not just the wealthiest, but House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the initiative should be tied to cuts on programs tailored for the poor.
Dreaming of a Green Shutdown, Forty-Two Senate Democrats Vow to Filibuster Must-Pass Funding Bill
Senate Democrats are vowing to filibuster an impending must-pass funding bill. (Photo: *Deep* / Flickr; Edited: JR / TO) Senate Democrats are vowing to filibuster an impending must-pass funding bill, if it includes add-on proposals that would undermine environmental regulations.
Warren, Sanders Threaten Shutdown if GOP Doesn't "Respect Working People in this Country"
Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) raised the heat on Republicans' scramble this week to keep the government funded. The two Senators called on their colleagues to increase spending on the neglected, patchwork federal safety net, and threatened to withhold support for a push to avert a government shutdown. The US government runs out of money on Friday.
Ex-Union Buster Turned NLRB Member Divulges Over 100 Additional Former Clients, Including Amazon, Wells Fargo and CBS
Republican member of the National Labor Relations Board revealed the names of more than a hundred more former clients and committed to recusing himself from matters they might have before his agency. William Emanuel disclosed a more complete list of firms who employed his legal services in the past two years, after prodding from Democratic Senators. Before his appointment to the NLRB, Emanuel worked as a partner for Littler Mendelson, a law firm that specializes in union-busting consultancy.
Bipartisan Momentum Gathering Behind Dodd-Frank Rollback
Senate Democrats are on the verge of helping Congressional Republicans scale back key banking regulations signed into law after last decade's massive financial crisis. Moderate liberals on the Senate Banking Committee are working with Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) to hash out a proposal that would relax rules on speculation and oversight of some of the country's largest banks. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Sens.
Justice Department Could Launch Challenge of AT&T-Time Warner Merger Amid Renewed Interest in Trust Busting
Federal regulators are considering taking action to stop the acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T. The Justice Department and AT&T aren't close to an agreement on conditions for the merger, according to a report Thursday morning in The Wall Street Journal. Antitrust Division lawyers are subsequently weighing a lawsuit to block the deal. The telecoms giant wants to purchase Time Warner as a content source for its mobile phone customers.
Afghanistan Inspector General Ready to Criticize War "The First Day I'm Out of This Job"
Inspector General John F. Sopko testifies before Congress on April 10, 2013. (Photo: Special IG for Afghanistan Reconstruction) As the most prominent official overseeing the War in Afghanistan, John Sopko has made some enemies among hawks on Capitol Hill. At a House Oversight Committee panel on Wednesday, Sopko had a warning for them.
Trump's First DC Circuit Nominee Thinks Waterboarding Can Be Okay
Gregory Katsas, nominee to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, is sworn in during his confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, October 17, 2017. (Photo: Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) President Trump's first nominee to serve on the second most powerful federal court refused to unequivocally describe waterboarding as "torture." Gregory Katsas -- picked to fill a vacancy on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals -- told Sen.
White House Attempting to Railroad Obamacare Repeal Through Executive Order, After Congressional Embarrassment
Donald Trump signs an executive order on health care in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, October 12, 2017. (Photo: Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images) Editor's note: President Trump has now announced he will end a key set of Obamacare subsidies that helped lower-income enrollees pay for health care. President Trump is attempting to relax healthcare rules by fiat after failing repeatedly to pass an Obamacare-rollback law through Congress.
Trump Uses UN Podium to Threaten Nuclear Annihilation
Donald Trump gestures he addresses the 72nd UN General Assembly. (Photo: Andy Katz / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images) President Donald Trump raised the possibility of launching high-stakes US military operations in three corners of the world on Tuesday, at his first address to the United Nations General Assembly. The president targeted North Korea, Iran and Venezuela–which he termed as "rogue regimes," from the UN podium, in a speech reminiscent of George W.
Pentagon Ready for "Full Range" of Options, Despite South Korea Pleas to Rule Out War
A North Korean soldier (R) looks at South Korea across the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on July 12, 2017, in Panmunjom, South Korea. (Photo: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images) The highest-ranking US military officer again warned that the Trump administration stands ready to attack North Korea, despite pleas for peace from South Korea.
Republicans Consider Relaxing Constraints on Telecom Giants
Federal Communication Commission Chairman Ajit Pai (2nd right) prepares to deliver remarks and participate in a discussion at The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research May 5, 2017, in Washington, DC. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is reinterpreting a key law to consider relaxing constraints on telecoms giants.
As Part of Trump Assault on Immigrant Communities, Sessions Dangles Carrot to Cops in Four Cities
Then-Senator Jeff Sessions speaks at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC, October 11, 2017. (Photo: Gage Skidmore) Attorney General Jeff Sessions is turning up the heat on four cities with laws preventing local police from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The lead US prosecutor said on Thursday that he wouldn't consider the municipalities for a recently announced program until they agree to step up assistance to ICE agents carrying out deportations.
Democrats Push for More Wells Fargo Hearings After Latest Fake Accounts News
Democrats in the Senate Banking Committee jointly called for a hearing with Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan days after he admitted to his company signing up hundreds of housands of its loan customers for auto insurance without their consent. (Photo: Tony Webster) Amid Republican efforts to insulate banks from lawsuits, Democrats are hoping to grill Wells Fargo executives about recent developments in the bank's fake accounts scandal.
Watchdog Enumerates Problems in Afghanistan as Trump Considers Replacing US Forces With Private Contractors
A quarterly report published on Tuesday detailed tumult in Afghanistan, amid uncertainty over the Trump administration's approach to America's longest-running war. Afghan security forces suffered thousands of casualties in the first few months of this year, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). Between January and May, 2,531 were killed and another 4,238 were wounded in action.
Trump's Environmental Protection Pick Is BP's Former Lawyer -- and May Preside Over Cases Involving BP
With all eyes on Donald Trump's fixation on the Justice Department Russia probe, the administration looks set to put a fossil fuel industry loyalist at the head of the agency's environmental protection division. Jeffrey Clark, a longtime lawyer for energy companies and an environmental prosecutor under the George W. Bush administration, will be considered for the job next week by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
New Sanctions, Reluctant Compliance -- Trump Pushing Iran Deal to the Brink
Hours after certifying Iran's compliance with the multilateral nuclear deal, the Trump administration ratcheted up tensions with Tehran by imposing more restrictions on Iranian non-nuclear activities. The State Department announced Tuesday morning that the US would penalize individuals and organizations associated with the country's ballistic missile program and its elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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