California Lawmakers ready to make another sweet deal for Unions Editorial, August 14, 2012, Fresno Bee Sen. Darrell Steinberg, the president pro tem of the California Senate, says he’s still studying Assembly Bill 2451, Speaker John A. Perez’s multimillion-dollar benefit giveaway to powerful police and firefighter unions. Steinberg is late to the issue. The bill,...
Unions are struggling to be heard By Chris Brennan & Catherine Lucey, August 7, 2012, Philadelphia Daily News It’s being called “Workers Stand for America” — 30,000 union members packed in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Saturday morning to say that any loss of power by organized labor is a danger to...
The role of unions in the United States has historically been to pool the collective power of workers to negotiate an end to exploitative work conditions and elevate rates of compensation. During the late 19th and early 20th century, unions fought courageously and successfully to raise the standard of living for workers and to push...
Over the past two years, during radio programs and on television, through my online blog, and through the publication of two books, I have repeatedly attempted to expose the fact that the Big Labor bosses are desperate and are utilizing much more than political donations to assure election of politicians who will assist in saving...
Michigan ballot measure would enshrine unions’ right to collective bargaining in the state constitution By James B. Kelleher, July 30, 2012, Reuters After suffering a string of political setbacks in the U.S. industrial heartland, organized labor hopes Michigan voters will help turn the tide in a November election by supporting a state constitutional amendment for...
Project labor agreements: Mass. taxpayers lose again Editorial, July 24, 2012, Boston Globe Although it lacks any compelling reasons for doing so, the Patrick administration is continuing to impose project labor agreements on some major state projects. Those agreements restrict work to contractors who agree to use union labor and abide by union work rules,...
Senate Republicans Block Campaign Donor Disclosure Bill By Jonathan D. Salant, July 17, 2012, Bloomberg The U.S. Senate didn’t advance legislation that would require nonprofit groups to reveal who donates the millions of dollars they spend on campaign ads. Yesterday’s vote on the Democratic proposal was 51-44, with 60 required to advance it. The measure,...
Political Spending by Unions Far Exceeds Direct Donations By Tom McGinty and Brody Mullins Organized labor spends about four times as much on politics and lobbying as generally thought, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis, a finding that shines a light on an aspect of labor’s political activity that has often been overlooked. Organized...
At long last unions are on the run and losing battles in multiple places at once. Let’s take a look at some dates and headlines. June 7, 2012 LA Times: 2 big cities OK cuts to worker pension costs Landslide victories on ballot measures to cut pension costs in two major California cities emboldened reform...
It has become obvious that the SEIU has a major interest in the healthcare legislation. Although the SEIU is a major player in the public union market, it is also one of the largest unions in the private sector. Furthermore, the largest share of its private sector members are healthcare employees: nurses, hospital staff, janitors, and home...
For people who truly are interested in a just and fair society, there’s one easy test for sorting through some seemingly complex issues: Turn the tables. For instance, while considering a controversial law affecting a particular group, it’s best to t getting back with an ex> hink about how fair it would seem if that...
USA’s top teachers union losing members By Greg Toppo, July 3, 2012, USA TODAY The USA’s largest teachers union is losing members and revenue, potentially threatening its political clout. The National Education Association (NEA) has lost more than 100,000 members since 2010. By 2014, union projections show, it could lose a cumulative total of about...
California Supreme Court Declares that the State’s 121 Charter Cities Have a Constitutional Right to Circumvent the Union-Controlled State Legislature and Establish Their Own Policies Concerning Government-Mandated Construction Wage Rates for Taxpayer-Funded Construction Yesterday morning (July 2, 2012), the California Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in State Building and Construction Trades Council v. City of Vista...
For people who truly are interested in a just and fair society, there’s one easy way to sort through some seemingly complex issues: turn the tables. If, for instance, one is debating a controversial law affecting a particular group, it’s best to think about how fair it would seem if that law were applied in...