Efforts by the United Auto Workers to unionize a Tennessee Volkswagen plant failed today in spite of the fact that Volkswagen chose to cooperate closely with the UAW. Volkswagen allowed UAW organizers to campaign inside the factory—a step rarely seen in this or other industries. Mistrust Sinks Deal By a vote of 712 to 626...

Editor’s Note:  This article by “Against Crony Capitalism” co-founder Hunter Lewis emphasizes again the irony of trying to legislate private sector compensation. Because the sentiment behind these policies – wanting to elevate the economic status of lower income workers and their communities – is inherently in conflict with the outcome. When minimum wages are raised,...

Here are links to the top stories available online over the past week reporting on union activity including legislation, financial impact, reform activism, etc., from California and across the USA. For Once, California GOP Out-Hustles Unions By Steven Greenhut, February 18, 2014, Human Events Some political analysts have warned California Republicans not to read too...

“You can’t build a society on artificially inflated asset values, because that accelerates the class division. Immigrants know that even if they work in a low-paying job in a hotel in Houston the chances they can save and buy a house are infinitely better than in California. If you want to have an asset based economy...

In colonial times, men and women were equal when it came to work. Both had chores and responsibilities from dawn to dusk. Women not only did housework, they milked cows, fed the pigs and chickens and helped tend the crops. Life was hard in colonial times. It made little difference whether the family lived in...

Though National School Choice Week ended a couple of weeks ago, reactionary rhetoric and political clashes are just heating up. With National School Choice Week behind us, the battle – and it is a battle – to free our children from a monopoly by zip-code public education system is being fought on fronts all over...

Republican City Councilman Kevin Faulconer handily defeated Democrat City Councilman David Alvarez with 54.4% of the vote in a February 11, 2014 special election runoff for Mayor of San Diego. The result went against usual expectations. Contrary to the common perception that campaign spending by “big business” often overwhelms humble community-based union-backed campaigns, more money...

INTRODUCTION The pay and benefits of public employees is a discussion of increasing relevance to taxpayers. As noted in a CPPC study published earlier this month “How Much Do California’s State, City and County Workers Really Make?,” in California, personnel costs are estimated to consume 40% of total city budgets, 41% of the state budget...

After a period of relative quiet, a recent flurry of rulemaking initiatives by the the National Labor Relations Board evidences the current Administration’s intent on satisfying big labor leading up to the crucial 2014 mid-term elections. Ambush Election Rules The NLRB originally adopted this rule in 2011,  but the D.C. Circuit Court rejected the rule...