California’s Government Unions are the Most Powerful in the U.S.

By Edward Ring
11/08/2016
The Commonwealth Foundation, a think tank based in Pennsylvania, has recently released a study entitled “Transforming Labor – A Comprehensive, Nationwide Comparison and Grading of Public Sector Labor Laws.” It ranked every state in terms of the relative power of public sector unions. California, along with tiny Maryland, were the only states that got an...

TAGS: card check, collective bargaining, paycheck protection, release time, Right to Work

Right-To-Work States Enjoying Faster Job Growth

By Jason Hart
02/10/2016
Establishing a right-to-work law, by which employees in unionized workplaces can opt out of paying union fees without being fired, has become a familiar topic in state legislatures in recent years. With West Virginia legislators considering their own right-to-work law this month and similar laws under serious discussion in Kentucky, Missouri, and elsewhere, a question...

TAGS: Right to Work

In West Virginia Right-to-Work Debate, Unions Re-Use Scare Story Script

By Jason Hart
01/27/2016
A labor union campaign against making West Virginia a right-to-work state is centered on scare tactics voters in Michigan would recognize. With help from International Union of Operating Engineers Local 132, the West Virginia AFL-CIO is warning of lower wages, reduced benefits, and more dangerous working conditions if the state adopts right-to-work. IUOE Local 132’s...

TAGS: AFL-CIO, Right to Work

Bye-bye Abood?

By Larry Sand
01/19/2016
SCOTUS appears to be ready to dump mandatory public employee union dues payments. Last Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Friedrichs v California Teachers Association lawsuit. The case centers around whether or not teachers and other public employees should be forced to pay dues to a union as a condition of employment...

TAGS: Abood, American Federation of Teachers, Antonin Scalia, Association of American Educators, Christian Educators Association International, Friedrichs, George Leef, labor peace, Larry Sand, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, National Education Association, Nina Rees, Randi Weingarten, Right to Work, stare decisis, teachers union

The Enemies of Choice

By Larry Sand
12/29/2015
The teachers unions’ fight against parental and teacher choice is not going well for them. Teacher union membership is dwindling. In fact, it has dipped below 50 percent nationwide, down from a high of almost 70 percent in 1993. Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, having  become “right-to-work” (RTW) states over the past several years, have given...

TAGS: Act 10, Charter schools, Education Next, educational savings accounts, Fordham Institute, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Right to Work, tax-credit scholarships, teachers union, Tom Gantert, vouchers

Right to Work 2.0

By Derek Khanna
12/14/2015
Summary: Unions and other advocates of Big Government defend policies—license requirements, for example, and other “barriers to entry”—that make it difficult if not impossible to create new businesses and new jobs. Existing businesses are also often backers of laws and regulations that limit competition, stifling innovation and growth. But real reforms—policies that might be called...

TAGS: creative destruction, Right to Work

Could California Follow Wisconsin’s Teacher Union Jail Break?

By Larry Sand
07/28/2015
If CA becomes a right-to-work state, a seismic political shift may ensue. Last week Mike Antonucci reported that the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the National Education Association’s Badger State affiliate, is down to fewer than 50,000 members (40,000 currently employed) from a high of over 100,000 in 2009. This precipitous loss is a result of...

TAGS: Act 10, Charter schools, collective bargaining, Deroy Murdock, Friedrichs, Hillary Clinton, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Right to Work, Scott Walker, teachers union, Troy Senik, vouchers, Wisconsin Education Association Council

The Friedrichs Free Rider Fraud

By Larry Sand
07/07/2015
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the Friedrichs case has the unions in a tizzy. On June 30th, the Supreme Court decided to hear Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association et al, a case that could seriously change the way the public employee unions (PEUs) do business. If the plaintiffs are victorious, teachers, nurses, sanitation workers,...

TAGS: "free rider", AFL-CIO, AFSCME, AFT, American Federation of Teachers, CTA, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, Heritage Foundation, James Sherk, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, National Labor Relations Act, NEA, public employee unions, Right to Work, Rodda Act, seiu, teachers union

Advancing Right-to-Work, One County at a Time

By Brent Yessin
06/25/2015
Summary: In Kentucky and elsewhere, advocates for the rights of working men and women—including the right not to join a union or pay dues to a union if you don’t want to—are trying a new strategy: Laws that secure this right for a city or county, rather than an entire state. The courts have not...

TAGS: Right to Work

How Unions Use "Scab" Lists to Intimidate Workers

By Carl Horowitz
06/18/2015
Unions have long sought to demonize replacement workers, union members who cross picket lines, and others whom the unions label “scabs.” Sometimes, this takes the form of implied or explicit threats or other efforts to create fear and to intimidate. Now the Obama administration’s National Labor Relations Board is pressuring employers to give personal information...

TAGS: Right to Work