How a $15 minimum wage went from ‘extreme’ to enacted Katrina Vanden Heuval, April 5, 2016, Washington Post What once was considered “pie in the sky” is slowly becoming law. In New York, state legislators just agreed to raise the state minimum wage to $15 an hour, with the full effect beginning in New York...
California’s minimum wage is set to rise to $15/hour over the next six years. While this topic has been beat to death, it is seldom pointed out that the inflation-adjusted minimum wage, based on 78 years of precedent, at most should only be around $10 per hour. A recent UnionWatch post “Raise the Minimum Wage, or...
Supreme Court deadlocks over public employee union case; Calif. teachers must pay dues By Robert Barnes, March 29, 2016, Washington Post The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was unable to resolve a major challenge to organized labor, and the result was a defeat for a group of California teachers who claim their free speech...
Rolling back the power of government unions in a state like California is almost impossible. Their power has been unchallenged for so long that they now virtually control the state legislature, and their grip on local politicians extends to nearly every city, county, school district and special district. But there have been reforms in some...
Colleges Brace for Overtime Overhaul By Melanie Trottman, March 22, 2016, The Wall Street Journal Schools across the country are bracing for a surge in personnel costs as they prepare for the Obama administration’s overhaul to overtime-pay rules. The Labor Department proposal, due to be released in final form as soon as this summer, would make...
Everyone supports public safety, but conservatives are a special case. In modern times, it was conservatives, reacting against the rebellious sixties and the lawless seventies, who supported law enforcement when it was fashionable for liberals to see them as pawns of a discredited establishment. It was also during the 1960’s and ’70’s that we saw public...
In 2012, those of us who opposed Proposition 30 were told that the measure, which was the largest state tax hike in American history, was just a “temporary” fix to address the emergency of a severe budget shortfall. But just as Milton Friedman noted that “nothing is so permanent as a temporary government measure,” here...
How to Cover Right-to-Work and Union Fees By Adam DeRose, March 15, 2016, Reynolds Center Since the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, many media organizations are following the tussle between President Obama and Congress about naming a successor to the court. Scalia’s death also impacts a number of cases under review of the...
A hospital association just pumped $12.5 million into an effort to extend a tax on top earners — a tax that’s provided billions of dollars in education funding since 2012. In fact, the California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems quadrupled its investment from four years ago when Prop. 30 passed. So why do hospitals...
Cal State faculty, students expected to press trustees on pay raises, tuition at Long Beach meeting By Carla Rivera, March 8, 2016, Los Angeles Times Cal State faculty members are expected to press their case for pay raises Tuesday at a Board of Trustees meeting — perhaps their last chance to jump-start stalled negotiations before...
The Devil at Our Doorstep and blogs such as Rank and File Union Membership Post Victories, SEIU Watch and Michigan Kickoff are committed to publicizing the stories of employees across the nation that have been impacted by, or are taking steps to fight back against, Big Labor’s control tactics of forced unionism and forced dues. Much of...
The late songwriter Jim Croce listed a number of imprudent actions in his “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.” Along with staying out of Jim’s way, he included the admonition not to tug on Superman’s cape or spit into the wind. Croce might have added to his list the foolishness of taking on Proposition 13....
US Supreme Court Deals Devastating Blow In Public Union Pension Case By Connor D. Wolf, March 1, 2016, Daily Caller The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a devastating blow to New Jersey labor unions Monday by declining to hear their case against Gov. Chris Christie for cutting state pensions. The former Republican presidential candidate cut state pensions...
California Public Employment Relations Board issues complaints against university, alleging unfair labor practices By Suhuana Hussain, February 23, Daily Californian The California Public Employment Relations Board, or PERB, issued its second complaint this year against the university Feb. 12, alleging unfair labor practices. The charges — filed by the American Federation State, County and Municipal Employees...