Posts tagged binding arbitration
Op-ed: Josh Hawley’s union-friendly bill may open the door to right-to-work
March 17, 2025 // Hawley, who opposes right-to-work laws, may be inadvertently laying the groundwork for a national version of that same policy, protecting private-sector workers across America from getting fired for not paying union fees. Hawley’s Faster Labor Contracts Act—which the Teamsters union has already endorsed—is billed as a means of stopping employers from delaying negotiations with labor unions. Under current law, businesses and unions are required to negotiate in good faith, and there’s no deadline for an agreement because workers and job creators need time to reach the best deal.
Marshall mum on Senator Hawley’s Pro-Worker framework
March 11, 2025 // According to Vincent Vernuccio, president of the Institute of the American Worker, the Pro-Worker Framework has been largely lifted straight from the PRO Act. “I mean, now I guess the question is, do you refer to most of these provisions as the PRO Act, or do you refer to them as the Pro Act and the Hawley framework?” Vernuccio said in a phone interview. “Because it looks like Senator (Josh) Hawley from Missouri is copying and pasting a bunch of sections into his new framework.” Vernuccio said only one bill related to this has been introduced so far — the “Faster Labor Contracts Act S.844,” which, among other things, deals with government-imposed contracts by binding arbitration — but the Framework has several other provisions indicating that the concepts are copied and pasted directly from the PRO Act.
Hawley Sells Moreno on Government Control of Private Contracts
February 7, 2025 // PunchbowlNews has reported that Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is cosponsoring one of the bills based on Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) recently released legislative framework implementing a “new direction” for Republican labor policy, which ironically appears to consist entirely of provisions stolen from Senator Bernie Sanders’ (D-VT) Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (S 567, HR 20, 118th Congress) and Senator Markey’s bill that brings the warehouse sector under government control and creates a new subagency at the Department of Labor (Warehouse Worker Protection Act, S 5208, 118th Congress). The framework is expected to be broken down into five pieces, and Moreno is reportedly cosponsoring the legislation that would implement government control over management-union contract negotiations. The legislation, the Faster Labor Contracts Act, requires employers and unions to begin negotiating collective bargaining agreements within 10 days after a union wins a representation election and execute their agreement within months
American Airlines Union President Faces ‘Embezzlement’ and ‘Cover-Up’ Allegations Amid Mounting Dissent
January 10, 2025 // Formal charges have been filed by one of the American Airlines flight attendant base Presidents against their union President, Julie Hedrick. These “Article VII Charges” allege ‘willful violation’ of the union’s constitution including improper use of union funds for personal enrichment. This includes the allegation of having the union lease her an apartment without first certifying that she lived outside the area (the union can lease apartments for its officers to stay at in Dallas only if their primary residence is elsewhere).
Canada’s Labor Minister ends coast-to-coast port labor turmoil, forcing unions back to work
November 14, 2024 // Stephen Lamar, CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, told CNBC it is relieved operations will resume at Canada’s three busiest ports and hopes a long-term, mutually beneficial agreement comes out of the negotiations. “The lockouts of the Canadian ports were causing ships to divert and contributing to congestion and delays throughout North America. As Canada faces reduced rail capacity from mandatory winter train length safety restrictions, and the U.S. West Coast faces two-year high rail dwell times, further disruptions would greatly strain the transportation networks,” Lamar said.
Momentum for Open Bargaining Grows in the Letter Carriers
April 15, 2024 // So far 23 NALC branches and one NALC state association have passed an open bargaining resolution first put forward by NALC Branch 9 in Minneapolis. In many more branches, members are discussing the resolution and plan to bring it forward in the weeks to come. The resolution calls for NALC leaders to articulate clear demands up front, and to give regular updates about the progress of bargaining. Currently members are kept completely in the dark. It also calls for the NALC to mobilize the membership through nationally coordinated rallies, like the contract rally held by Branch 9 in Minneapolis last spring, that would bring together the membership, the broader labor movement, and the public in support.