Business groups ask senators to overturn NLRB’s ‘micro-union’ decision By Kevin Bogardus, June 12, 2012, The Hill More than a half-dozen business groups are asking Senate appropriators to roll back a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that allows unions to form smaller bargaining units. In a letter sent Tuesday, trade associations including the U.S....
California’s primary election night was overshadowed by the support from Wisconsin voters for state elected officials who implemented a modest reform of collective bargaining for public employees. But here is an exclusive report on how the June 5, 2012 election also brought good results for advocates of fiscal responsibility and economic and personal freedom in California. Some...
Michigan Is Big Labor’s Next Big Target By Shikha Dalmia, June 5, 2012, Reason.com Those who thought that Big Labor’s recall drive against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was its final attempt to maintain its lavish benefits at taxpayers’ expense should think again. Win or lose in Wisconsin today, it is already opening a new front...
Before Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker became a recall target for his efforts to reform collective bargaining in his state, I was a guest on a Madison radio show discussing the influence of public-sector unions and the significance of the state’s unfunded pension liabilities. Instead of “Wisconsin Nice” – a euphemism for the polite, conflict-avoiding nature...
I’ve written about it in my book and blogs – the mainstream media is attempting to portray the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement as the Left’s version of the Tea Party. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve spoken at several Tea Party events and observed those in attendance as respectful and thoughtful, unlike...
Anti-labor forces eye Michigan By Steve Freiss, May 29, 2012, Politico A Republican governor signed a law that gives him broad union-busting powers. Liberals have collected thousands of signatures to take him on at the ballot box. And national conservatives are watching. Wisconsin might symbolize the national debate over collective bargaining rights, but just across...
Democrats and Republicans in the California Legislature once again have broadcast this troubling fact: They are far more concerned about the ever-expanding demands of a relatively small group of public-sector union members than they are about the welfare of the citizens of our state. On May 17, the Assembly voted 68-0 to support the most...
Cash strapped Detroit has lost 60 percent of its population since 1950. What’s left is a sprawling mass of vacant, worthless homes stripped of copper and anything else worthwhile. Does it make sense to have streetlight in these areas? What about paving cracked sidewalks? What about other services? Is anything salvageable? To save money, huge...
Labor union hopes of ousting Wisconsin governor fade Chicago Tribune, May 22, 2012 Democrats and unions hoping to turn Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker out of office over his efforts to tame the power of organized labor are finding it tough going with only two weeks to go before a historic recall election. Just over a...
Unable to circumvent the public will through intimidation and threats to stop Right To Work (RTW) in Indiana and Collective Bargaining overhaul in Wisconsin, the Gasping Dinosaur’s and their liberal allies are now using disingenuous rhetoric and “stealth” candidates to infiltrate the Republican Party. On the eve of the Indiana primary, it has become evident...
Occupy Wall Street protesters are reminiscent of writer R. Emmett Tyrrell’s criticism of radical feminists: They don’t know what they want, but they want it very badly. On May Day, the protesters tied up the streets of Oakland, San Francisco and elsewhere. They are mad as hell, and they are not going to take it...
The Union Pension Bomb Editorial, May 14, 2012, Wall Street Journal Imagine the panic if investors discovered that many of the nation’s biggest public companies had hidden liabilities so large as to make them worth a fraction of their value. That’s something akin to the shock created by the recent Credit Suisse report on multi-employer...
Wisconsin Democrats pick challenger in governor’s recall Brendan O’Brien, May 8, 2012, Chicago Tribune Wisconsin Democratic primary voters went to the polls on Tuesday to pick a challenger to face Republican Scott Walker in a recall election next month, a closely watched test of labor union strength and barometer of political pressures in a battleground...
The California Labor Federation has a membership of more than 1,200 unions, representing over two million workers. And the first of seven key issues they list on their legislative agenda for 2012 is supporting high speed rail. As they put it, “Building high speed rail will grow our economy and create long-term jobs. An estimated...