LIUNA's Battle: The Devastating Impact of the Reconciliation Bill

LIUNA is deeply disappointed by the Reconciliation Bill that was signed into law by the President on Friday and passed by congress late last week. Despite weeks of LIUNA’s advocacy efforts to educate members on both sides of the aisle about the destructive effects this will have on members, elected officials chose not to include provisions to protect thousands of union jobs. The bill will instead take away good-paying jobs, dealing a devastating blow to American workers and energy independence — all to hand out tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.

The bill eliminates real, shovel-ready job opportunities for LIUNA members — opportunities that were promised, planned, and already moving forward across the country. These weren’t hypothetical jobs or distant projects. They were real work for real people in every region of the United States, with a projected timeline of seven years and thousands of careers at stake.

This vote is a betrayal of American workers. While politicians celebrate narrow provisions on minor overtime adjustments, they’ve gutted entire energy projects and the livelihoods that came with them. No tweak to overtime taxation can justify killing thousands of jobs.

Rather than supporting an all-of-the-above energy strategy that creates opportunities, the House chose to pit industries against each other and cut off a growing sector that was building a path toward American energy dominance.

Let’s be clear, this wasn’t about fiscal responsibility or energy policy — it was about choosing the mega-wealthy over working people. LIUNA will not forget which leaders stood with them and which ones turned their backs. This bill will have a devastating impact on communities and workers across the country by adding to the national deficit and burdening American workers for generations. All elected officials that supported this legislation should be ashamed of themselves for turning their backs on the people who build America.

The bill’s provisions are a disaster for the energy sector and American workers. The elimination of support for energy projects that were already underway will have far-reaching consequences. These projects were not just abstract policy ideas; they were real job opportunities for real people across the country. The loss of these projects means the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs that were promised, planned, and already underway. This is a direct attack on the livelihoods of American workers and the energy independence of the nation.

The impact of this bill will be felt for generations. The loss of these jobs will not only affect the workers and their families but also the communities that rely on these projects for economic stability. The energy sector, which was on the path to American energy dominance, has been dealt a severe blow. The bill’s provisions will make it harder for patients to get and stay covered, fail to address Medicare pay, and eliminate loan options vital to medical students. This is a betrayal of the American people and a clear indication that the interests of the ultra-wealthy are being prioritized over the needs of the working class.

The Senate parliamentarian previously ruled that most of the proposals aimed at cutting federal employees’ retirement benefits and civil service protections violated a rule to ensure reconciliation bills are budgetary in nature. The Senate voted late Saturday to open debate on Republicans’ budget reconciliation package, which aims to cut federal spending in order to partially pay for extended tax cuts for the wealthy and increased immigration enforcement, though the measure’s burden on federal employees is now lighter. That’s because, according to bill text released by the Senate Budget Committee Saturday, the legislation no longer targets federal workers’ retirement benefits, civil service protections or their labor unions. When the House passed its version of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” in May, it included a barrage of policies that made federal employees contribute more of their paychecks toward their Federal Employees Retirement System pension, while reducing the ultimate value of those benefits. Those plans included eliminating the FERS supplement for many federal workers who retire before Social Security kicks in at 62 and requiring all new federal workers to elect between serving as at-will employees with no civil service protections or paying an additional 5 percentage points—9.4%—of their basic pay toward FERS. A proposal to base federal employees’ FERS annuity payments on the average highest five years of their salary, rather than the current High-3 formula, was removed just before the measure’s passage. On the Senate side, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Republicans, led by Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., removed the provision that would have eliminated the FERS supplement, but expanded the provision increasing future federal employees’ retirement contributions. According to the panel’s draft, new employees would pay 9.4% toward FERS if they served on an at-will basis, and nearly 15% if they wished to accrue civil service protections. In both the House bill and Senate committee draft was a provision to require federal workers to pay a $350 filing fee in order to appeal an adverse personnel action to the Merit Systems Protection Board. The initial Senate version also included language that would have given President Trump broad latitude to reorganize federal agencies as he saw fit, along with $100 million in additional funding for the Office of Management and Budget to support that effort. Another proposal would have charged a 10% processing fee for elective payroll deductions, which would have targeted charities that participate in the Combined Federal Campaign as well as federal employee unions. And it would have required agencies to charge labor groups for their use of agency property and officials’ use of official time. But the Senate parliamentarian last week ruled that most of these proposals violated the Byrd rule, which aims to limit reconciliation legislation—and its simple majority threshold for passage—to topics that are budgetary in nature. Though Politico reported that Senate Republicans explored amending the bill to include a provision that would have required federal workers to pay a $350 filing fee in order to appeal an adverse personnel action to the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that this provision also violated the Byrd rule. The Senate parliamentarian’s ruling is a victory for federal employees and their unions, as it ensures that the reconciliation bill will not include provisions that would cut federal employees’ retirement benefits and civil service protections. However, the bill still includes provisions that will have a significant impact on federal employees, including increased retirement contributions and a $350 filing fee for appealing adverse personnel actions. The bill’s provisions are a disaster for the energy sector and American workers. The elimination of support for energy projects that were already underway will have far-reaching consequences. These projects were not just abstract policy ideas; they were real job opportunities for real people across the country. The loss of these projects means the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs that were promised, planned, and already underway. This is a direct attack on the livelihoods of American workers and the energy independence of the nation. The impact of this bill will be felt for generations. The loss of these jobs will not only affect the workers and their families but also the communities that rely on these projects for economic stability. The energy sector, which was on the path to American energy dominance, has been dealt a severe blow. The bill’s provisions will make it harder for patients to get and stay covered, fail to address Medicare pay, and eliminate loan options vital to medical students. This is a betrayal of the American people and a clear indication that the interests of the ultra-wealthy are being prioritized over the needs of the working class.