California labor unions react to Supreme Court dues debate By Jon Ortiz, January 12, 2016, The Sacramento Bee State and local public union officials plowed through a 100-page U.S. Supreme Court transcript on Monday, trying to divine how the nine justices are leaning in a case with the potential to tie a knot in the...
High Stakes in Union-Fee Case Before Supreme Court By Mark Walsh, January 5, 2016, Education Week The face of the movement seeking to upend the public-employee labor sector has had a back-and-forth relationship with her own local teachers’ union. Rebecca Friedrichs, the lead plaintiff among a small group of California teachers whose case goes before the...
SEIU puts $3M into ballot fight with California hospitals By Kathy Robertson, December 22, 2015, Sacramento Business Journal In another sign that a 2014 truce is in danger, a powerful union for health care workers has launched a $3 million fund that could fund a new ballot battle with hospitals. Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers...
Lincolnshire creates right-to-work zone that unions oppose By Russell Lissau, December 15, 2015, Daily Herald Lincolnshire has become the first town in the Chicago area to establish itself as a right-to-work zone, a move critics have assailed as anti-union. It’s also a move experts say is sure to face a legal challenge. To create the zone, the...
“There are some lunatics out there and for $200 we encourage them.” – Senator Mark Leno, speaking in favor of AB 1100, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times, August 17, 2015 Filing an initiative in California is about to get harder, thanks to a law taking effect on January 1st, 2016, that will increase...
Summary: Unions and other advocates of Big Government defend policies—license requirements, for example, and other “barriers to entry”—that make it difficult if not impossible to create new businesses and new jobs. Existing businesses are also often backers of laws and regulations that limit competition, stifling innovation and growth. But real reforms—policies that might be called...
Coca-Cola, union agree to federal mediation as strike continues By Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, December 8, 2015, Chicago Tribune The union representing striking Coca-Cola workers accepted the company’s offer for federal mediation, even as it shot back at a letter the beverage giant mailed to employees defending the company’s behavior during contract negotiations. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Refreshments said it...
City Council to consider labor contracts for city employees By Felicia Alvarez, December 01, 2015, Davis Enterprise The Davis City Council has a full agenda Tuesday evening, with labor contracts for city employees, an update on the Measure O open-space tax and a $4 million pavement budget coming up for consideration. Following months of labor negotiations,...
“It’s generating real returns for our members, which is exactly what it’s supposed to do,” said Joe DeAnda, a CalPERS spokesman. “It’s real value that we don’t feel there’s another way to achieve.” – “Are private equity investments worth the risk?,” Los Angeles Times, November 14, 2015 The alliance between government unions and America’s overbuilt...
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...