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In the News
Workers unionize at Enoch Pratt Free Library
November 22, 2022 // Enoch Pratt Free Library is now unionized, following workers' demands for better wages, a safer working environment, consistency in hiring and promotion processes at the library, and an overall desire for respect as staff as primary motivations for organizing. Friday, the decision came down to a 218-12 vote to join Pratt Workers United. The new bargaining unit will now represent approximately 330 workers from EPFL system's 22 library branches throughout the City of Baltimore.
AFL-CIO raising dues to fund membership organizing
November 22, 2022 // The country’s largest labor union voted to hike union membership dues for the first time in 17 years – all in an effort to fund a 1-million-new-member recruitment drive. Bloomberg Law reported the union anticipates the hike in dues will raise $10 million per year for the recruitment drive from AFL-CIO’s membership of 12 million workers in 58 affiliated unions. AFL-CIO President Elizabeth Shuler called the recruitment drive an “unparalleled investment dedicated exclusively to organizing to build power for America’s workers seizing this unprecedented moment.” Yet the 1 million workers pledge, as Bloomberg Law noted, would try to grow the union population by 7% during a time of shrinking union membership.
SCOTUS Should Rein in Rogue Federal Labor Board in Ohio National Guard Case
November 21, 2022 // Americans for Fair Treatment (AFFT) today filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in Ohio Adjutant General’s Department v. Federal Labor Relations Authority. This little-known case could rein in a rogue federal labor board that has dramatically expanded the definition of a federal agency and ignored public employees’ First Amendment rights—all to benefit public-sector union officials. The case concerns the Ohio Adjutant General’s authority to determine Ohio National Guard technicians’ conditions of employment, including collective bargaining rights. In 2016, the Adjutant General announced that he would stop abiding by a two-year-expired collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the American Federation of Government Employees, the union that previously represented National Guard technicians. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) then ruled on the union’s behalf in an unfair labor practice charge, ordering the Adjutant General to reinstate the union and abide by the expired CBA.
Largest U.S. rail labor union votes against contract, raising strike possibility
November 21, 2022 // Workers at the largest U.S. rail union voted against a tentative contract deal reached in September raising the possibility of a strike in the coming weeks that could cause significant damage to the U.S. economy. Train and engine service members of the transportation division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) narrowly voted to reject the deal, while members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) voted to ratify the agreement and SMART-TD yardmasters voted to ratify their national agreement, the unions said Monday.
Teachers unions could be blocked from receiving federal funding under new legislation
November 21, 2022 // The No Federal Funding for Teachers’ Unions Act, introduced by Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, stipulates "no Federal funds may be provided to a labor organization the members of which are education professionals." It defines an education professional as someone who is employed by an elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education.
Foxx Op-Ed: For apprenticeship programs to thrive—get employers back to the table
November 21, 2022 // With more than 10 million unfilled jobs in the U.S. and more than six million unemployed individuals, it’s obvious that our current systems need a lot of work. To make matters worse, an enormous skills gap is hampering our country’s economic growth, and America’s federal workforce development systems are doing little to address the problem effectively. These systems are not meeting the needs of workers because of Democrats’ misguided approach towards apprenticeships. Workforce development programs, including apprenticeships, must have employer input. Yet at every turn, Democrats are working to limit the voices of job creators and amplify those of Big Labor.
Stephen Burke – Fighting Forced Dues in the Workplace
November 21, 2022 // “The screeners were really upset and the union forced us to pay dues or be fired. The employees didn’t understand they were signing cards in favor of the union, they just wanted the organizers out of their face.” –Stephen describing how union organizing tactics mislead employees “There’s absolutely no support for this union. They’ve forced themselves down our throats.” –Stephen speaking about how union officials slipped “card check” efforts past the screeners
In a nearly unanimous vote, WESA and WYEP workers choose to unionize
November 21, 2022 // “This is really exciting. We’ve been working on this for many months,” said Marylee Williams, a producer and editor on WESA’s The Confluence. “It just feels like a real validation for the fact that Pittsburgh is a union city. Our media are union shops. And that people that are part of this bargaining unit [...] all want to have more of a hand in the future of our organizations and the longevity of them.”
THE SYSTEMIC RACISM OF TEACHERS UNIONS
November 21, 2022 // Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could reverse the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger decision, in which SCOTUS asserted that the use of an applicant’s race as a factor in an admissions policy of a public educational institution does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The current case specifically cites the use of race in the admissions process at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The plaintiffs, Students for Fair Admissions, maintain that Harvard violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, “which bars entities that receive federal funding from discriminating based on race, because Asian American applicants are less likely to be admitted than similarly qualified white, Black, or Hispanic applicants.”
Minnesota nurses union to vote on possible second strike
November 18, 2022 // On Thursday morning, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) announced that members will vote to authorize another possible strike at more than a dozen hospitals in the Twin Cities and Twin Ports area. The union's 15,000 nurses will vote on Nov. 30 to authorize the strike at 15 hospitals. If the strike vote is approved by a two-thirds majority, union negotiation leaders will be authorized to call an unfair labor practice strike after giving a 10-day notice to hospital employees.
Laufenberg sentenced for stealing union funds
November 18, 2022 // George R. Laufenberg, a former commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, admitted in June that he had stolen pension fund and made false statements to the U.S. Department of Labor. U.S. District Court Judge Kevin McNulty also imposed a $20,000 fine on the former labor leader. Federal prosecutors said that Laufenberg took the funds under a deferred compensation agreement that he was not entitled to. He was the administrative manager of the pension fund. The Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters fired Laufenberg in 2016. In 2018, they also terminated John Ballantyne, the former secretary-treasurer of the union and a political ally of Gov. Phil Murphy. Ballantyne alleged that he was forced out after emerging as a critic of Laufenberg.
STAN GREER: A Major Court Case Could Decide Just How Much Power Union Bosses Have Over Employees. Here’s How
November 18, 2022 // The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York just heard oral arguments in Goldstein et al v. PSC, a case in which six City University of New York (CUNY) faculty members make a number of explosive charges against the hierarchy of the American Federation of Teachers-affiliated Professional Staff Congress (PSC) union.
EDITORIAL: Starbucks strike unveils the downside of unions
November 18, 2022 // Colorado’s Democratic legislature and governor aren’t likely to consider a right-to-work law. In recent years, they have expanded options for public sector unionization, a move to counter plummeting private sector membership. Voters rejected a right-to-work ballot measure in 2012. Over 10-plus years, dynamics have changed. Voters have twice chosen to lower income taxes for employees, so they may be open to protecting them from compulsory and coercive unions. When union contracts can’t keep up with market forces, they burden their members — as acknowledged on Thursday. Under these circumstances, the law should free all workers, public and private, from compulsory membership and dues. Maybe it is time to try the ballot again, in a serious effort to protect employees and their and their jobs.
Widespread strikes descend on California
November 18, 2022 // It’s strike season in California, again.
Reps Foxx and Allen Call For Greater OLMS Oversight
November 18, 2022 // It’s no secret unions aren’t always the best arbiters of members’ funds. Just look at the UAW — several high ranking officials recently went to prison for a wide-scale corruption scandal that included embezzling hundreds of thousands of members’ dues dollars. For the sake of union members across the country, let’s hope we get better insight to OLMS enforcement sooner rather than later.
Give Gig Workers A Real Break
November 18, 2022 // Polling data also back the idea that most gig workers want to be gig workers. In “Independent Work,” Ilana Blumsack and Scott Lincicome cite a finding that about 90 percent of survey respondents “were happier in independent work than in traditional jobs.” Only 11 percent wanted to find full-time traditional employment.
Op-ed: Corruption in the Labor Movement: Labor Rackets
November 17, 2022 // Corruption by labor union officials, whether in service to themselves, political allies, or organized crime syndicates, has been a fixture of American labor history since the labor movement first began to organize in the late 19th century. While the extent of criminal influence in organized labor has declined thanks to extensive federal law enforcement activity and judicial oversight, major corruption scandals continue to dog the union movement. From the recent kickback scheme at the United Auto Workers to the downfall of Philadelphia union boss and political fixer Johnny Doc Dougherty to the confession of former Teamsters boss John Coli, who was well connected to Chicago politicos, systemic corruption persists.
NYC’s New School tells students to attend class while professors strike
November 17, 2022 // Part-time professors at Manhattan’s New School went on strike on Wednesday — but the progressive university wants students to cross the picket line to keep attending classes while their instructors fight for better wages. Parents were stunned when they received an email from the university on Wednesday that said that despite the professor strike, the school “remains open and instructional activities are ongoing.” The school, which can cost upwards of $60,000 per year, said it’s encouraging students to keep up with their work through an “alternative instructional plan
Imperfect Foods Workers Vote to Officially Unionize Clackamas-Based Delivery Drivers
November 17, 2022 // Local drivers for Imperfect Foods, the grocery delivery service specializing in “rescued” produce, have voted to officially unionize. Drivers working out of the company’s Clackamas facility are joining United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 555, which also represents workers at groceries like Safeway, Albertsons, and Fred Meyer. The newly unionized employees hope to negotiate for higher wages, guaranteed raises, safety standards, and fairly distributed delivery routes, though the union does plan to solidify the goals of their upcoming contract bargaining through union member surveys.
Starbucks announces closure of Portland store that voted to unionize
November 17, 2022 // Starbucks says it reviewed whether the store was thriving, the workers felt supported and whether customer needs were met. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree tweeted that this is blatant union busting, and she's demanding the National Labor Relations Board investigate right away. Maine