Posts tagged California
Dollar store workers fight to improve jobs, even without a union
October 17, 2025 // In 2022, Williams joined an organization that seemed, to him, like his best shot: Step Up Louisiana. Like several successful campaigns before it, Step Up organizes workers to improve their jobs, but stops short of calling for a union under the National Labor Relations Board. The approach, sometimes referred to as “premajority unionism,” is a natural fit for places like the South, with histories of public hostility to unions. Today, suggest experts, it may also be workers’ best bet for building power amid the hostility of the Trump administration.
The 15 Most Unionized Places in America
October 16, 2025 // To determine the most unionized locations in the U.S., researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed data from UnionStats.com and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The researchers ranked metropolitan statistical areas according to total union members as a percentage of total employment. In addition to union membership, the researchers also included statistics on union representation, which is the share of workers whose terms of work are collectively negotiated (whether or not they are union members). Only metropolitan statistical areas with available data were included in the analysis.
Shasta County Board of Supervisors to Appeal Ruling in Free Speech Case Against California Public Employment Relations Board
October 15, 2025 // The lawsuit, filed on March 17 by the Freedom Foundation on behalf of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and a county employee, challenges California statutes that prevent public employers from informing employees about their First Amendment right to opt out of union membership. Two specific statutes within the California Government Code restrict the board’s ability to communicate freely about union membership options and infringe on employees’ constitutional right to receive truthful information. These statutes can best be characterized as California’s Gag Rule statutes because they force public employers into silence regarding a matter of public concern.
Los Angeles Times Journalists Authorize a Strike
October 14, 2025 // Eighty-five percent of members who belong to the newsroom’s union and participated in the vote opted to allow the labor group to call a strike. The union, a Local of the Media Guild of the West, represents more than 200 reporters, editors, photographers, designers and others at L.A.’s hometown paper. Around 98 percent of those participated in the vote.
Impasse over NLRB nominee may be just what unions want
October 14, 2025 // The state laws would undermine the role of the NLRB, which was created to enforce the National Labor Relations Act and help ensure “labor peace” – i.e., more amicable relations between unions and management by creating a consistent set of rules for both sides. States could potentially give unions tremendous leverage in conflicts with management by changing the rules currently set down by the NLRB. Just having conflicting rules from region to region, for example, over which workers are eligible to organize, would create major logistical problems for interstate businesses. California’s law was heavily promoted by the Teamsters, who still represent many long-haul truckers.
Newt’s World Episode 899: Employee Rights Act
October 13, 2025 // Newt talks with Vincent Vernuccio, President of the Institute for the American Worker about the Employee Rights Act of 2025, a legislative proposal aimed at enhancing and safeguarding the rights of American workers while promoting fairness and accountability in the workplace. Introduced by Senator Tim Scott and Congressman Rick Allen, the bill represents a Republican vision for the workforce, focusing on empowering workers, improving unions, and fostering innovation and growth. Vernuccio highlights the outdated nature of current labor laws,
California Dramatically Expands State Labor Board’s Powers to Cover Employees Under NLRB’s Exclusive Jurisdiction, Following New York’s Lead
October 13, 2025 // California’s legislation comes on the heels of and follows the same logic behind New York’s recently enacted “NLRB Trigger Bill” that similarly empowers the Empire State’s PERB to step into the shoes of the Board, which we covered here. The NLRB has lacked a quorum for months and as a result remains unable to process appeals from decisions by Board administrative law judges or regional directors in unfair labor practice or representation cases. However, AB 288 will likely face similar legal challenges to New York’s “NLRB Trigger Bill,” which the Board has sued over, as we covered here. Specifically, AB 288 may be preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or “Act”), which covers most private-sector employees, under longstanding Supreme Court precedent.
Union Hypocrisy Alert: SEIU-UHW Says “Do as We Say, Not as We Do”
October 13, 2025 // One union spokeswoman defended the measure by saying it would ensure that funding goes to “the core mission”of the organization rather than to overhead. That’s a standard that SEIU-UHW is nowhere close to following itself. The core mission of a labor union is representing its members. Fortunately for the public, labor unions file publicly-available documents detailing exactly how much they spend on “representational activities” every year. In 2024, SEIU-UHW spent just over a third of its revenue on “representational activities” – the union’s “core mission.”
VIDEO: California Caregiver Exposes SEIU 2015 for Coercion and Silencing Members
October 13, 2025 // In a video released today by the Freedom Foundation, Chaquan May, a California mother and in-home healthcare provider for her medically fragile daughter, exposes how SEIU 2015 has ignored, coerced, and trapped her in union membership against her will. May recounts how, despite multiple attempts to opt out over the past two years, the union continues to withhold dues and refuses to acknowledge her requests.
Testimony: Rachel Greszler: Labor Law Reform Part 1: Diagnosing the Issues, Exploring Current Proposals
October 10, 2025 // SummaryToday’s challenges—from the rise of artificial intelligence to the expansion of independent work and the growing demand for flexibility, autonomy, and new skills—necessitate modernized labor laws that are pro-worker and pro-employer, regardless of the type of workplace. Heavy-handed government interventions and attempts to bring back the 1950s’ ways of work are not the answers. American labor laws should preserve the freedom, dignity, and opportunity that make American work exceptional.