As a tragic San Francisco fire that claimed the life of at least one firefighter Thursday has shown, public safety jobs at times can be very dangerous. But an incident from earlier in the week across the bay in Alameda has also shown, public safety agencies also can be so mired in bureaucracy that safety...
Public unions are once again in the news as they continue to press for the new Wisconsin laws enacted by Governor Walker to be voided through the judicial system (see Dane County Judge Strikes Down Collective Bargaining Law). Despite big labor’s cries of union busting, destruction of the middle class and unfair legislative maneuvering, let’s...
Divided Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds anti-union law By Jeff Mayers, June 14, 2011, Reuters A sharply divided Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a controversial measure that curbs the collective bargaining rights of public workers in the state can go into effect. In what was essentially a 4-3 decision, the high court overturned a...
California’s legislature is moving a bill forward that will throttle back the ability to place citizen initiatives on the statewide ballot. As noted in Ballot Access News on May 10th in a post entitled “California Democratic Legislators Advance Bills Injuring Ballot Access for New Parties, Initiatives,” the bill is nearing passage by both houses of...
AFL-CIO chief amplifies warning to Democrats By Kevin Bogardus, June 7, 2011, The Hill AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka amplified his call for a politically independent labor movement Tuesday and said unions too often are holding “a canceled check” after Election Day. Trumka rallied hundreds of nurses at a conference hosted by the National Nurses United....
May 26, 2011 will always be remembered as a very special day in my life. I have now had five days to reflect on the importance of the experience of a lifetime. An opportunity to testify in Washington D.C. in front of Congress concerning a topic that could reshape employee rights, business in America and the...
California Pension Reform: Bargaining Table or Ballot Box? By Ed Mendel, May 31, 2011, Calpensions California’s four largest cities all have public pension problems, but their mayors are split on the solution — two negotiating changes in the existing system, and two planning to ask voters to overhaul the system. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee...
Issue of Federal Pay and Pensions Finding Its Way on to the 2012 Presidential Campaign Trail By Ed O’Keefe, May 24, 2011, Washington Post As Congress and the White House continue negotiating the future of federal pay and pensions, the issue is also finding its way on to the 2012 presidential campaign trail. Former Minnesota...
Let’s call a spade a spade. Corporate Campaigns, the targeting of businesses by labor unions, exists for one reason and one reason only — to rescue the Gasping Dinosaurs that are today’s labor unions — thereby assuring continued power for certain politicians through labor’s massive political contributions. Despite the disingenuous claims of labor unions and...
Illinois pension fight: In one corner, unions; in the other, business By Brian Brueggemann, May 17, 2011, News-Democrat The two sides in the debate over Illinois government pensions are taking the fight to the public. In one corner is a coalition of labor unions, which is running a public-relations campaign called “We Are One Illinois.”...
Many supporters of public sector unions suggest there are no meaningful differences between public and private sector unions when it comes to collective bargaining. As I explain below, however, there are in fact several fundamental differences, many of which have been pointed out since the inception of public sector collective bargaining. Prior to the rise...
Legislator Seeks To Add Collective Bargaining To Wisconsin State Constitution May 7, 2011, Ashland Current State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) has drafted a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution that would affect the rights of workers to collectively bargain wages, benefits, hours, and work conditions. “The recent passage of a bill in Wisconsin that effectively...
On April 21, 2011 the NLRB announced it had initiated an action against Boeing through its District XX office. The action, which will be heard by an administrative law judge, insinuates that Boeing’s decision to open a new plant was an attempt at union busting. The NLRB’s case against Boeing is derived from the premise...
Republicans Blakeslee, Cannella Side With Public Employee Unions Over California’s Taxpayers By Jon Fleischman, May 3, 2011, FlashReport It was not particularly surprising to see Democrats in the State Senate yesterday vote to ratify six more State of California public employee union contracts. After all, to say that these unions are the largest special interest...