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...
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. Political targeting of Walker supporters proves it can happen here By Rick Manning, February 11, 2014, 2014 It can’t happen here. Government targeting and intimidation...
Government employee union leaders are grinning from ear to ear. Governor Brown wants to hire an additional 1,600 employees and jettison some state contracts with private sector workers. It’s been said that all government work should be subjected to the “Yellow Pages test.” If a service provider can be found in the phone book —...
A trial began last week in Los Angeles challenging the state laws granting teacher tenure after 18 months, “last-in, first-out” layoff laws, and the elaborate dismissal procedures which make it virtually impossible for teachers to be laid off. Together, these teacher protections result in far too many grossly ineffective teachers who cannot be fired. The...
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. VW Plant’s Union Vote Could Be a Southern Labor Breakthrough By Justin Bachman February 04, 2014, Businessweek Workers at a Volkswagen AG (VOW:GR) auto plant...
In light of the strong public policy supporting transparency in government, an individual’s expectation of privacy in a salary earned in public employment is significantly less than the privacy expectation regarding income earned in the private sector. – Excerpt from California Supreme Court Ruling, 8-27-2007, IFPTE v. Superior Court Today the California Public Policy Center...
One lingering success of the Right in California is the public’s continued association of taxpayers’ organizations with fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, and limited government. Statewide groups such as the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and regional groups such as the San Diego County Taxpayers Association maintain credibility as leaders in resisting foolhardy tax increases and wasteful...
I have tried to steer clear of inflaming names like “parasite” when speaking about public unions. In this case, no other word comes close to describing the setup. Making Millions Off the Disabled One brave mother, Pam Harris, has resisted forced unionization of herself (as a sole home-caretaker, in her own home, for her disabled...
The basic premise behind public employee financed campaigns is that the election is now while the bills may be deferred for years, particularly if they take the form of pension promises. Eventually, however, the bills do come due. This is why Governor Mitch Daniels (R-Indiana) said he decided on his first day of office in...
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. Northwestern football players seek to join labor union By Teddy Greenstein and Chris Hine, January 28, 2014, Chicago Tribune Kain Colter called Tuesday a “historic...
Across the United States there is an escalating political conflict over the role of labor unions in society. But it is inaccurate to characterize this conflict as one between Republicans and Democrats. There are members of both major political parties, as well as independents of widely diverse ideologies, who are concerned about civil liberties, the...
America’s founders left us one of the most thoughtful documents ever written. The U.S. Constitution is the basis of our republic, not democracy, and what has allowed the United States to become the most prosperous nation ever. The freedoms and rights written down on that document are what makes America so prosperous. Within the 14th...
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. Labor Wants Its Say at Davos By Katrin Bennholdjan, January 21, 2014, New York Times Philip Jennings, a union leader from working-class Wales, has been...
City officials in Scranton Pennsylvania have ignored pleas from residents pleading for bankruptcy. Instead, the city raised property taxes and trash fees nearly 60% and tripled rental registration fees. The city’s school district, which faced a $4-million deficit, raised taxes 2.4%. The City Council, which in 2012 passed a 5% amusement tax on live entertainment,...