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Tag: strike

FBI, DOJ strike agreement in lawsuit over January 6 ‘agent list’

The Justice Department and FBI agents reached an agreement Friday in federal court after the FBI filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from releasing information about its agents involved in the Jan. 6 investigation.

According to the text of the deal, the Trump administration cannot release information about the agents who investigated the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot without giving plaintiffs at least two days’ notice so that the matter can be considered again in federal court.

It does not, however, place such a time limit on the dissemination of agents’ identities to other government agencies or the White House.

The agreement by both parties comes after active FBI agents and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association, a voluntary agents’ group, sued the Justice Department earlier this week seeking to block the release of any identifying information about FBI agents involved in the January 6 investigations.

The two parties tussled for hours in court on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, who questioned both parties at length on the nature of DOJ’s questionnaire, the potential for disclosures or retaliation, and how the Justice Department intends to use information divulged in the questionnaires.

FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION

Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to be FBI director, appears at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2025. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“I do have questions about the survey,” Cobb said Thursday.

She also questioned the Justice Department’s attorney at length about what the questionnaire was being used for.

Cobb previously granted the two parties a brief administrative stay on Thursday evening, telling lawyers for both parties, saying that if the information was released she believed it “would put FBI agents in immediate danger.”

The agreement comes just days after FBI leadership said it had provided the Justice Department with a list of agents who worked on Jan. 6 investigations and criminal cases, in keeping with an earlier deadline set by U.S. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.

Lawyers for the agents argued that any effort to review or discriminate against agents involved in the investigation would be “unlawful and retaliatory,” and a violation of civil service protections under federal law.

They also cited “profound concern” that the list of thousands of FBI agents involved would be leaked to the public, threatening their safety.

FBI AGENTS SUTE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN.6 INVESTIGATIONS

The FBI’s interactions with the Council for American-Islamic Relations was restricted due to allegations from the DOJ. (Getty Images)

“Plaintiffs assert that the purpose for this list is to identify agents to be terminated or to suffer other adverse employment action,” lawyers for the FBI agents said, adding that they “reasonably fear that all or parts of this list might be published by allies of President Trump, thus placing themselves and their families in immediate danger of retribution by the now pardoned and at-large Jan. 6 convicted felons.”

Meanwhile, lawyers for the Justice Department stressed that their intent in issuing the questionnaire was to conduct an “internal review” of activities in the Jan. 6 probe, not to punish individuals for carrying out orders.

Bove also sought to emphasize this message in an all-staff email to FBI personnel earlier this week. In the email, Bove stressed that the questionnaire was not intended to be a first step to mass layoffs, and stressed it was simply intended for review.

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This is a breaking news story. Check back soon for updates.

Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.

February 7, 2025
Costco, Teamsters, reach ‘tentative agreement’ likely averting strike as company’s DEI controversy rages on

The Big Money Show explores companies turning against DEI policies while Costco bucks the trend.

The looming threat of 18,000 Costco store employees heading to the picket lines appears less likely, with the Teamsters labor union announcing Saturday that it has reached a tentative agreement for a new contract with the grocery chain.

The negotiations come amid Costco standing firm on its Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) policies as most companies turn their backs on the controversial initiative.

“The tentative agreement will be presented to the membership for a vote,” the union, which represents 18,000 Costco workers, wrote in a post on X without providing any details about the agreement with its negotiating committee.

Shoppers outside a Costco store in Bayonne, New Jersey, US, on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. Costco Wholesale Corp. is scheduled to release earnings figures on December 14. Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

O’LEARY RIPS COSTCO FOR BUCKING DEI TREND: ‘BAD FOR BUSINESS’

Reuters, citing a memo sent to employees this week, reports that Costco is set to increase pay for most of its hourly U.S. store workers to more than $30.

According to the memo, the company will increase hourly pay for its top-of-the-scale employees over the next three years. Pay will rise by $1 to $30.20 in the first year and an extra $1 each in the subsequent two years. The bottom-of-the-scale employees will also get an increase of 50 cents to $20.

Teamsters members at Costco voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike on Jan. 20 if a new three-year contract agreement could not be reached by midnight last night when the current contract expired.

The strike would affect 50 Costco stores across New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington. Costco has 617 stores nationwide.

The workers are looking for better wages, benefits, and work rules amid the company making a record $7.4 billion profit in its most recent fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 1.

The grocery wholesaler, who has long held a pro-worker image, has been locked in a protracted battle with the Teamsters union, which represents 18,000 of Costco’s 219,000 U.S. worker base.

The Teamsters are accusing the grocery club of not sharing its record 2024 profits – which doubled since 2019 – with its workers and have claimed Costco has engaged in “illegal and reckless behavior,” including kicking union reps out of stores, preventing employees from wearing Teamster buttons and changing the locks on union bulletin boards.

Talks broke down in January when Costco refused to reach a card check agreement. Card checks would make it easier for workers to join unions by eliminating secret ballots. About 85% of Costco’s unionized employees voted to authorize a strike.

Storch Advisors CEO and former Toys”R”Us and Target executive Gerald Storch reacts to a strong November retail report and explains how industry winners are value-based players.

STATE AGS WARN RETAIL GIANT COSTCO FOR DOUBLING DOWN ON ‘DISCRIMINATORY’ DEI

Teamsters President Sean O’Brien recently threw down the gauntlet to Costco executives.

“Costco has two choices: respect the workers who made them a success or face a national strike,” O’Brien said in a statement.

“Costco Teamsters deserve an industry-leading contract that reflects the company’s massive profits. If Costco thinks they can exploit our members while raking in billions, we’ll shut them down.

The talks come as Costco doubles down on its DEI policies.

While big companies like Target, McDonald’s and Walmart backed off from their DEI policies, Costco shareholders voted last week to reject an anti-DEI proposal brought by activist shareholder group National Center for Public Policy Research. The measure would have required the wholesale grocery chain to issue a report on the risks associated with their DEI policies.

O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary declared Costco “nuts” during Wednesday’s “The Big Money Show” for not ditching DEI arguing it is bad for business. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images / Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

At its annual meeting recently, more than 98% of shares voted against the proposal.

During his first week in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the termination of discriminatory practices in the federal government and encouraging termination in the private sector. Following the order, attorneys general from 19 states urged Costco to turn away from its DEI policies.

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O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary declared Costco “nuts” during Wednesday’s “The Big Money Show” for not ditching DEI arguing it is bad for business.

“They’re nuts if they think I want them fighting the federal government on policy,” O’Leary said. “I don’t care who took that poll when there’s no way you’d get that result today. You don’t fight the attorney general in multiple states, you got to be out of your mind.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

February 1, 2025
Costco teamster workers set to strike this week as company embroiled in DEI controversy

Storch Advisors CEO and former Toys”R”Us and Target executive Gerald Storch reacts to a strong November retail report and explains how industry winners are ‘value-based’ players.

As Costco finds itself embroiled in a public battle over its controversial DEI policies, a much larger fight is looming with 18,000 store employees set to head to the picket lines if the grocery chain can’t agree to a new contract by Friday.

“If Costco actually respects its employees, it will give our 18,000 members the wages, benefits and work rules that they have been demanding for months,” a Teamsters spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The grocery wholesaler, who has long held a pro-worker image, has been locked in a protracted battle with the Teamsters Union, which represents 18,000 of Costco’s 219,000 U.S. worker base. The Teamsters are accusing the grocery club of not sharing its record $7.4 billion profits with its workers. The Teamsters have accused Costco of engaging in “illegal and reckless behavior” including kicking union reps out of stores, preventing employees from wearing Teamster buttons and changing the locks on union bulletin boards.

STATE AGS WARN RETAIL GIANT COSTCO FOR DOUBLING DOWN ON ‘DISCRIMINATORY’ DEI

Around 18,000 Costco workers may go on strike Friday. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Talks finally broke down in January when Costco refused to reach a card check agreement. Card check is a process that would make it easier for workers to join unions by eliminating secret ballots. Eighty-five percent of Costco’s unionized employees voted to authorize a strike. The strike would affect 50 stores across the US in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington.

As the Costco board voted overwhelmingly to reject an anti-DEI measure brought by activist investors at their shareholders meeting last Friday, workers rallied just outside their Washington offices – signaling the real fight was yet to come.

“Costco has two choices: respect the workers who made them a success or face a national strike. Costco Teamsters deserve an industry-leading contract that reflects the company’s massive profits. If Costco thinks they can exploit our members while raking in billions, we’ll shut them down,” Teamsters President Sean O’brien said in a statement.

WHY AN ACTIVIST INVESTOR SAYS THE BATTLE AGAINST COSTCO DEI REGIME ISN’T OVER

Costco is the first company known to have gone from $0 to $3 billion in sales in fewer than six years. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“What I can tell you is our contract with this company expires at midnight on Friday, and the reason Costco has made so much money over the past few years is its workers,” the Teamsters spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Costco didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The potential strike comes as 19 states’ attorneys general called on Costco to drop their DEI policies, writing that the grocery chain must “end all unlawful discrimination imposed by the company through diversity, equity, and inclusion,” in a letter sent to Costco CEO Ron Vachris.

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When asked if the Teamsters thought that the wholesaler was picking a public fight about DEI to deflect attention away from its labor dispute, their spokesperson told Fox News Digital “I can’t really speculate as to why Costco makes certain decisions.”

January 28, 2025