Food Safety and Union Interests to Benefit from Proposed Obama Budget

President Barack Obama's proposed federal budget targets increased funding for food safety inspections and greater discretionary funding for the Department of Labor. If enacted by Congress, the budget will boost Labor Department funds by 3% and add $300M to the Food and Drug Administration.

The addition to the budget of the FDA will enable broader and more thorough food safety inspections in response to a recent spate of food safety crises spawned by salmonella outbreaks in jalepeno peppers, peanuts and pistachios. The increased funding for the Department of Labor is intended to beef up enforcement of workplace safety and wage rules and to ensure that businesses comply with equal-employment rules for federal contractors. The Obama budget also calls for a reduction of Labor Department spending on a labor-management standards program which investigates union-embezzlement charges.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) released the following statement shortly after the budget proposal was announced:

"The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) applauds the budget proposed by President Barack Obama’s administration for the Department of Labor. This budget – with its focus on enforcement of labor laws, safer workplaces, and helping unemployed Americans – prioritizes the needs of working families across the country. Importantly, the Obama administration has charted a path away from destructive pro-big business policies of the Bush era and towards a future where the needs of working Americans come first.
With this budget, the Department of Labor has returned to its mission of protecting America's workers rather than serving the needs of corporate lobbyists, and high-dollar donors.
This budget provides for hundreds of new investigators to ensure that Americans are paid for their hard work, increased Occupational Safety and Health Administration funding so that they come home safe every day, and new funding for programs that help the unemployed find new work. We at the UFCW know that this budget is an important step to jump start our economy, and make work pay for every American.”