There’s no good reason why it took 13 months for prosecutors in Chicago to indict police officer Jason Van Dyke for murdering 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Not at all. There’s also no reason why the Second City’s police department withheld and even deleted video evidence that the 14-year veteran fired 16 bullets within 15 seconds into...
Labor Support Could Be Important For Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders By Abigail Abrams, November 24 2015, International Business Times When the Laborers’ International Union of North America endorsed Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, it marked the Democratic presidential front-runner’s 15th major labor union endorsement. It was the third such indication of support for her in the past...
Editor’s Note: Whether you consider yourself liberal or conservative, this article from Dave Bego offers evidence of a phenomenon that ought to be of bipartisan concern in the United States, the fact that labor unions overwhelmingly support support left wing candidates and causes, even if these unions have memberships that are predominantly conservative, and even if these unions...
With the recent terror attacks against France, America’s oldest ally, most Americans are rightfully concerned for the welfare of our friends abroad as well as our own safety. With the French, we share a common heritage of a dedication to liberty. The Statue of Liberty that stands proudly in the harbor of New York is...
Silicon Valley’s labor views indicate a split in the Democratic party By Gregory Ferenstein, November 17, 2015, The Guardian In America’s new era of political realignment, the Republican party is not the only one experiencing a grassroots political coup. A new breed of capitalism-loving and urbanized liberals are demanding an entirely new role for the...
When considering the labor movement in the United States, there is a huge distinction between government unions and private sector unions. Government unions elect their own bosses, they operate within agencies that collect taxes instead of having to make a profit by enticing consumers to buy their products, and they operate the machinery of government...
Summary: From the “Subway Vigilante” and Tawana Brawley cases to the Pigs in a Blanket movement, the Rev. Al Sharpton has been a controversial public figure for more than three decades, first in New York and then nationwide. Today, he is one of the most influential people in the country, closely tied to the mayor...
Unions Push to Establish Bloc of Low-Wage Voters By Eric Morath and Melanie Trottman, November 10, 2015, Wall Street Journal The Fight for $15 movement is seeking not just to influence Americans’ paychecks, but also the country’s upcoming elections. Fast-food workers and other supporters are protesting in many cities on Tuesday, demanding a $15 an hour...
California students are not learning and teacher union leaders blame tests. Every two years selected students across the nation take the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), a test known as the nation’s report card. This year our kids didn’t do well. Actually they never do well, but this year the scores were even worse...
L.A. County supervisors approve three-year, 10% pay increase for deputies, firefighters By Abby Sewell, November 3, 2015, Los Angeles Times Los Angeles County supervisors approved a new contract for sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and several other employee groups Tuesday, giving them a 10% pay bump over three years. The contracts, adopted on a 5-0 vote without discussion...
California’s largest state/local government employee pension system, CalPERS, has posted a page on their website called “Myths vs. Facts.” Included among their many rather debatable “facts” is the following assertion, “Pension costs represent about 3.4 percent of total state spending.” This depends, of course, on what year you’re considering, and what you consider to be...
McDonald’s asks judge to toss out U.S. labor board’s “massive” subpoena By Daniel Wiessner, October 27, 2015, Reuters Oct 27 McDonald’s Corp has asked a U.S. judge to reject a subpoena from the National Labor Relations Board in its case claiming the company is a “joint employer” of franchise workers, saying the requests are unfair...
As readers know by now, Dropout Nation determined in research released last October that National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers spend roughly $700 million per year on advocacy. This report undermined the unions’ preferred narrative that they are scrappy underdogs fighting for public schools. As you would expect, especially on Twitter, NEA’s and...
Labor board seeking injunction over Alliance anti-union efforts By Craig Clough, October 20, 2015, LA School Report The California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) will be seeking an injunction in Los Angeles County Superior Court to stop what it says is illegal interference by officials at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools against a unionization effort by...