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In the News
Federal Employee Union Membership is Up 20%
March 29, 2023 // The task force asked federal agencies to foster collaborative relationships with their union partners, involve labor organizations in predecisional policy discussions, and remove barriers from unions trying to increase their membership or organize new bargaining units. The group recommended that the Office of Personnel Management instruct agencies to provide information on whether job openings are represented by unions and encourage agencies to provide unions more opportunities to communicate with new hires. In a blog post last week, the vice president’s office announced that just a year after agencies began implementing the task force’s recommendations, the initiative is already paying dividends: over the last year, nearly 80,000 federal employees have joined a union, increasing the total number of dues paying union members at federal agencies by 20%. And in the private sector, petitions for union representation increased 53% from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2022, while overall union membership grew by 273,000 last year.
Public Funds Shouldn’t Bankroll Union Coercion
March 29, 2023 // These tactics can be overwhelming. One employee testified, “It wasn’t enough that employees were being harassed at work, but now they are receiving phone calls at home. The union’s organizers refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer. The only way, it seems, to stop the badgering and pressure is to sign the card.” In another instance, an employee was told to sign the card or risk the union coming to “get her children” and “slash her car tires.” Even more galling, taxpayer dollars can be used to perpetuate these tactics. Card check occurs in some Tennessee workplaces that receive taxpayer-funded state economic incentives. Last year, Tennesseans voted overwhelmingly to support a right-to-work constitutional amendment, ensuring that workers can’t be fired for not joining or paying a union.
The Problem(s) With Public Sector Unions
March 29, 2023 // Regardless of this contract outcome and which sides can claim victory, serious questions arise regarding the advisability of having public sector unions such as the SEIU, UTLA, et. al. in existence at all and their ability to collectively bargain and launch strikes against essentially the taxpayers of any given public jurisdiction. In the case of the recent LAUSD strike, 420,000 students and their families were held hostage by public sector unions in a school district already beset by financial and other woes. According to LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho, what the union sought would have put the school district on the brink of insolvency. Also, the strike itself precluded many disadvantaged students from receiving necessary daily meals that their families count on. Most importantly, a school district still reeling from the effects of a Covid-induced school lockdown just could not afford three more days of non-instruction. Arguably, the LAUSD is already a floundering if not failing district with ever-increasing taxpayer spending in spite of withering enrollment and diminishing student performance. It is to be noted that the demographics of the American union have changed dramatically over the years. While at one time the predominance of union membership was mostly among private sector blue collar workers, the ratios have flip-flopped where now the greatest numbers are not only in the public sector but are also associated with white collar employees. It should be further noted that public sector unions were once illegal in the United States.
Chipotle will pay a $240,000 penalty — roughly 1% of its daily revenue— for shutting down a store that tried to unionize
March 28, 2023 // The employees filed a petition to form a union last June — the first time Chipotle employees had taken that step. The following month, Chipotle said it would close the location, citing problems recruiting enough employees to run the location, CNBC reported. According to the Kennebec Journal, the National Labor Relations Board later found that the closure violated labor laws. The payment will be split among the former location's employees, who will receive between $5,800 and $21,000 each based on their seniority, pay rate, and other factors, per the Journal.
ARKANSAS BILL WOULD END GOVERNMENT COLLECTION OF UNION DUES FROM TEACHERS’ PAYCHECKS
March 28, 2023 // Just weeks after passing the largest education reform in state history, Arkansas lawmakers are now considering a bill that would better protect both taxpayers and teachers in the Natural state by preventing government employers from deducting union dues or political contributions from public school employees’ paychecks. “Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has taken major steps to make good on her promise to be the education governor that others should aspire to,” said Rusty Brown, southern director for the Freedom Foundation. “The governor has already signed into law the largest teacher salary increase in state history, moving Arkansas from having some of the lowest teacher salaries in the country to among the five highest in the nation. I defy any teachers’ union to show where they’ve done the same.”
Column: The PRO Act will disempower Virginia workers
March 28, 2023 // Under the guise of transparency, the PRO Act would mandate employers to partake in “notice-posting” and codify the National Labor Relations Board’s 2014 Election Rule that gives them access to workers names, addresses, job locations, phone numbers and email addresses in a searchable electronic format. Unions having unfettered access to information like this would be a major privacy violation and lead to worker intimidation for refusal to comply. It’s unacceptable for labor unions to meddle in affairs like this.
‘Right to work’ in spotlight after Michigan tosses law aside
March 28, 2023 // Liberal opponents of right-to-work laws say they suppress workers by undermining unions. Many progressives cite Martin Luther King, who said, “Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights.” A solid body of research shows that states with right-to-work laws are correlated with less pay, worse benefits and more on-the-job injuries. The laws also create what critics often call the “free rider” program, in which certain workers get the advantages of union-negotiated contracts without having to contribute to the union itself. Supporters of Michigan’s right-to-work repeal say it may be difficult to replicate their success elsewhere in the country. Most states with these laws on the books are led by Republicans who support them. Any hopes of a nationwide change are slim given the current makeup of Congress.
How Utah Is Protecting Workers Without the Baggage of Unions | Opinion
March 28, 2023 // Utah's Portable Benefit Plan is a national breakthrough for independent contractors, establishing a legal pathway for entities to offer fully voluntary benefits plans that self-employed workers can open on their own. Unlike employer-sponsored health plans for traditional employees that are tied to jobs, Utah's self-employed workers instead will soon have access to a variety of new benefits plans that are entirely their own and entirely portable for their evolving careers. The possibilities of products that may be established are broad, including the potential for health insurance, unemployment insurance, and disability insurance related products. There is even a pre-existing financial tool known as a "Utah medical care savings account" that self-employed Utahns may conveniently use to pay for their portable health insurance benefits and medical expenses. Many opponents of independent contracting argue that such workers are exploited and deserve the health care and other benefits that many traditional employees receive.
California: Court ruling opens door to gig driver unionization bill, union says
March 28, 2023 // Last Monday, a California appeals court ruled that Proposition 22 — a 2020 ballot measure that allowed Uber, Lyft, and other platforms to classify their workers as independent contractors rather than employees — was largely constitutional, reversing much of a lower court ruling. But the court found that one part of the proposition wasn’t valid. It’s a part that defined legislation on certain subjects, including unionization for app-based drivers, as amendments to the proposition. And amendments, the proposition declares, need to pass by a seven-eights majority vote of the Legislature. That super, super, super-duper majority is a steep climb.
Narrow win adds to challenges for new UAW President Shawn Fain
March 28, 2023 // Curry’s team argued that “tens of thousands of ballots” were returned to the union as undeliverable and questioned whether the monitor’s office made “all reasonable efforts” to ensure those members could vote. They also called into question the validity of Daniel Vicente’s victory as director of Region 9, which represents workers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Curry argued that Vicente was not able to run because he had not paid the dues necessary to be a UAW member in good standing until after the original November vote. Curry also said campaign rules were not consistently enforced and that campaign donations to his opponent came from employers with whom the union has a bargaining relationship, which would be against the rules. The monitor dismissed Curry’s calls for a new election, although it’s unclear if he’ll take additional steps to challenge the results. In the meantime, Fain will have to build out his staff within a UAW bureaucracy he criticized as a candidate. According to a transition memo first reported by the Detroit Free Press, he plans big shakeups within the union’s staff.
White House Urged to Intervene in West Coast Port Labor Talks
March 28, 2023 // A group of more than two hundred importers, exporters, logistics providers, and retailers urged the White House to intervene in West Coast port labor talks that have been underway since last May. In a letter March 24 to President Joe Biden, groups including the National Retail Federation, the American Trucking Associations, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, urged the administration to help speed the agreement on a new labor contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, after the contract governing dockworkers from California to Washington State expired on July 1. “While we appreciate that the parties agreed not to engage in a strike or a lockout, we are aware of several instances of activities that have impacted terminal operations. We need the administration to ensure these activities do not continue or escalate,” the March 24 letter said.
Graduate Unions: Why Student Workers at University of California, Temple, More Are Striking
March 27, 2023 // HELU was founded in 2021 in an effort to fill those shoes. At a digital summit that July, members of 75 unions and labor organizations convened to draft a “vision platform” laying out everything from their legislative commitments (like Sen. Bernie Sanders’s College for All Act) to their support of student debt cancelation. The endgame is a unified academic labor movement capable of securing public investment and reorienting higher ed to “prioritize people and the common good over profit and prestige.” To date, 130 unions and affiliated groups representing over half a million workers have endorsed the platform. The first step in realizing this vision, says Jaime, who attended the 2021 summit, is to build union density. “Transforming academia is not going to happen in one single contract campaign. We have to organize workers in every single university in order to achieve real change,” he says.
Physicians are moving to unionize: Where and when
March 27, 2023 // If housestaff unionize, more than 2,500 residents and fellows at MGB hospitals would join the Committee of Interns and Residents, according to The Boston Globe. This includes trainees at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Mass Eye and Ear, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Salem Hospital, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Boston. Additionally, resident physicians and fellows at Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania Health System seek to form a union. The Feb. 21 filing seeks an election to vote on representation by the Committee of Interns and Residents. The union would represent about 1,500 interns, residents, chief residents and fellows. And a combined 1,600 physicians from Loma Linda (Calif.) University Health and the University at Buffalo (N.Y.) filed petitions in February with the National Labor Relations Board to join the Union of American Physicians and Dentists.
Special Legal Notice to Private-Sector Workers in Michigan
March 27, 2023 // Michigan’s legislative majority and current Governor are unfortunately repealing Michigan’s Right to Work law which granted most private-sector workers a right to not join or pay monies to unions they oppose. This special notice is intended to inform Michigan workers who are employed by private companies, other than in the airline and railroad industries, of their rights after the repeal of the Right to Work law takes effect ninety days after the current legislative session ends.* In short, after the repeal statute takes effect, it will be legal under Michigan law for private-sector employers and unions to enter into agreements that compel workers to pay fees to unions as a condition of employment. However, under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) workers subject to these forced fee arrangements cannot lawfully be compelled to be actual union members or pay full union dues to keep their jobs
The president of the United Auto Workers union has been ousted in an election
March 27, 2023 // A court-appointed monitor declared challenger Shawn Fain the winner over incumbent Ray Curry. Fain's slate of candidates won control of the big union, as workers rejected most incumbents in the wake of a bribery and embezzlement scandal It was the 372,000-member union's first direct election of its 14-member International Executive Board, which came in the wake of the wide-ranging scandal that landed two former presidents in prison. The vote count had been going on since March 1, and the outcome was uncertain going into Saturday because of challenges against several hundred ballots.
Mayoral candidate still on union payroll
March 27, 2023 // Brandon Johnson, a mayoral candidate in the upcoming Chicago run-off election, continues to sidestep allegations of conflict-of-interest while he remains on the payroll of the city’s powerful teachers’ union, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). Johnson currently works as the Cook County Commissioner and is paid a salary of $93,500. But, one report said that Johnson earns an additional $103,000 from CTU as a union organizer focusing on legislative affairs.
Notebaert Nature Museum workers urge support for union
March 27, 2023 // Unions typically need to show via signed cards support from a substantial majority of workers before scheduling an election with the National Labor Relations Board. An employer can voluntarily recognize a union, but most want an election that will give them time to make anti-union arguments to the workers. While known for representing government workers, AFSCME also counts more than 10,000 members at museums nationwide.
Northern California workers at cannabis delivery service Grassdoor unionize
March 27, 2023 // “These workers are critical to the success of the cannabis supply chain, and they deserve to have prosperous, sustainable careers that reflect the value they bring to their employers,” Peter Finn, Western Region International vice president and Teamsters Food Processing Division director, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with them on securing better wages, benefits, and working conditions.” Grassdoor driver Alexander Torres joined the union to secure paid vacation and paid time off, according to the release.
Workers at RISD go on ‘unfair labor practice’ strike
March 24, 2023 // Marland said the agreement included RISD providing each worker with a retroactive payments back to last July. General Teamsters Local 251 had until March 1 to accept RISD’s offer. The school said the union sent a counter-proposal on March 18 that “included unreasonable demands related to benefits and excessive demands for compensation.”
House attempt to override Biden comes up short Labor Department regulation regarding ESG investments will stand
March 24, 2023 // "Thanks to Democrats, workers can be placed into ESG investment vehicles by default, and if a fiduciary finds that two investments are equal, the fiduciary is allowed to use collateral ESG factors to break the tie, without justifying or documenting that decision,” Education and the Workforce Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican, said during the floor debate on the veto message.