Posts tagged collective bargaining rights
4 reasons why labor unions love Tim Walz
August 8, 2024 // The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers noted that Walz, a former teacher, understands the struggles of working people. The AFL-CIO hailed the governor as a principled fighter and labor champion. The Service Employees International Union pointed to what it called "the Minnesota Miracle," a sweeping package of pro-worker laws passed by the state's Democratic legislature last year and signed into law by Walz.
17 states allege Biden opens path to unionize foreign farmworkers
July 17, 2024 // The Department of Labor denies the allegation, saying the rule merely gives foreign farmworkers the right to protect wages and working conditions through "concerted activities" and "self-advocacy." The AGs accuse the department of hiding "behind linguistic smoke and mirrors." "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck," the motion for a preliminary injunction reads.
Ranking Member Cassidy Blasts DOL Retaliating Against Florida, Illegally Withholding Federal Dollars on Behalf of Labor Unions
June 7, 2024 // U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, blasted the Department of Labor (DOL) for illegally withholding $800 million in federal funding from the State of Florida as retaliation against the state’s recent efforts to protect workers from union coercion and abuse. This illegal action has serious implications for other states that are considering similar legislation.
Biden accused of playing politics with Florida funding in pro-union push
June 7, 2024 // "The Florida statute merely ensures that the state’s public employees can freely choose whether to join or remain in a union. In fact, the right to join a labor union and bargain collectively is enshrined in the Florida Constitution," Cassidy echoed in his letter. In addition to asking for the department's legal analysis, the senator further requested the criteria the DOL uses to determine what "fair and equitable" means in this circumstance, communications regarding the decision to withhold funding, and its reasoning as to why a temporary waiver can't be issued.
Proposal giving most Denver employees collective bargaining rights moves forward
June 7, 2024 // Public safety officers, career service employees of the Denver Health and Hospital Authority, employees with managerial duties and hiring capacities, and certain political appointees would be excluded from collective bargaining under the proposal. What's next: If voters approve the measure, it would go into effect on May 1, 2025. Denver would join cities like Detroit, Seattle and Portland with similar rights for its municipal staff if successful
Union truckers circle Capitol to protest labor legislation
February 23, 2024 // SF 2374 “is nothing more than a technical cleanup to legislation passed in 2017,” Dickey said in his statement. “Last year, 41% of Iowa public sector workers that had union representation did not have a voice due to a loophole in the legislation passed in 2017. If the public sector employer and the union are following the law, nothing will change for them.” The legislation has cleared the Iowa Senate’s Workforce Committee, which Dickey chairs. It is eligible for debate by the full Iowa Senate. It must also be approved by the Iowa House and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds before it would become law. Rep. Dave Deyoe, a Republican from Nevada who chairs the House’s Labor and Workforce Committee, said lawmakers have been aware of the lack of recertification elections by bargaining units for years, and that it has been a concern for Republicans who passed the 2017 law. Deyoe said it will be up to Republican House leaders whether to take up the bill if it is passed out of the Senate.
Op-ed: BIDEN’S NEW DEAL: GOVERNMENT STACKED FOR UNIONS
July 24, 2023 // With Democrats facing tough midterm elections, expect more union giveaways while still controlling Congress. Love it or hate it, the federal government is pushing its thumb firmly on the Union side of the scale.
Teachers need to think twice before they let unions into their paychecks
March 13, 2023 // According to Americans for Fair Treatment, the VEA reported $12.6 million in revenue in 2019 (based on IRS filings), with 82 percent of this coming from membership dues. As of 2019, the union’s largest liability was federal income tax. While the organization is tax-exempt, it is holding $4.2 million in case of “uncertain” federal income tax obligations. The second largest liability is the pension for union employees. Currently, the union’s pension obligation sits at $2.3 million, down from more than $4.7 million in 2017. Union employee salaries and benefits were the largest expense category but according to the latest filing, VEA had only 66 employees. Executive Director Brenda Pike was the highest-paid employee at $194,136 in base compensation, plus nearly $32,000 in retirement and nontaxable benefits. At the national level, NEA has 510 employees who earned an average salary of $134,000. Let that sink in. The union wants to take part of a teacher’s salary, up to $1,000 a year, knowing full well that teachers do not earn enough (in fact, using this as a recruitment talking point), so that they can first and foremost, pay their own union employees much, much more than most teachers will ever earn.