Posts tagged collective bargaining
Teachers Pay Dues. Union Leadership Funds Activism.
July 20, 2026 // The Department of Labor proposed a remedy in 2019. Under the proposed rule, public-sector intermediate union bodies subordinate to national organizations would file detailed annual financial reports like those required of private-sector unions. That change would give teachers, parents, and taxpayers greater visibility into how dues are spent, where political spending occurs and how much money flows through organizations that frequently rely on taxpayer-funded facilities, payroll deduction systems, release time and administrative support. Some states have acted. Florida prohibits payroll deduction of union dues for teachers. Connecticut requires unions to provide members a copy of their financial reports, a requirement enforced inconsistently for years, until public scrutinyand litigation by the Fairness Center pushed the state Department of Labor to begin enforcing it.
NLRB dismisses Healthy Living’s bid to overturn union election
July 20, 2026 // The National Labor Relations Board has stepped in after labor leaders accused Healthy Living of meddling in union elections, dismissing the grocery chain’s appeal and clearing the way for collective bargaining.
Newport News unanimously passes collective bargaining framework for city employees
July 18, 2026 // In Virginia, collective bargaining for public employees was prohibited until a 2021 law allowed cities to legalize it individually. So far, Portsmouth is the only other city in Hampton Roads to adopt collective bargaining.
Union workers at Cleveland Public Library vote to authorize strike if a deal cannot be reached
July 15, 2026 // Union Cleveland Public Library workers, represented by SEIU District 1199, voted to authorize a strike as contract talks continue after eight months of bargaining.
Special Feature: How Public Employee Unions Built California’s Most Powerful Political Machine
July 13, 2026 // In California, public employee unions are often among the most influential organizations helping determine who becomes governor, mayor, county supervisor or school board trustee. They endorse candidates. They contribute millions of dollars to campaigns and independent expenditures. They provide campaign volunteers, voter outreach, mail programs, and political infrastructure that many candidates could not easily replace. By the time contract negotiations begin, the relationship between labor and management has often existed for months or years. That does not mean elected officials simply surrender to union demands. Many negotiate in good faith and work hard to protect taxpayers while fairly compensating public employees. But in government, the officials responsible for approving compensation packages are frequently supported by the same organizations representing the employees who will benefit from those agreements.
Miami-Dade teachers union says it survives despite missing participation threshold
July 10, 2026 // Miami-Dade’s teachers union says it will survive another year, even after falling just shy of a 50% recertification voter participation threshold among eligible employees set by a recent law. A spokesperson for United Teachers of Dade said Tuesday they were informed by officials with the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) that the threshold did not apply to this election because the process began before July 1, when the law took effect. The union shared a signed form from PERC stating that the union had “prevailed” in the election. Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article316414172.html#storylink=cpy
Opinion: Big Labor, DEI and the GOP
July 6, 2026 // These Republicans are promoting much more than the FLCA’s mandated arbitration after 120 days of collective bargaining. The bill gives the whip hand to unions in negotiating labor contracts, and along with that comes the left-wing cultural agenda that unions like the Teamsters and the SEIU have adopted. Take DEI—diversity, equity and inclusion—which unions have made part of their social-justice mission and collective-bargaining agreements. The General Teamsters Local Union No. 174 made DEI a feature of its negotiation with the Port of Seattle. The Writers Guild of America, East, included DEI targets for the hiring process and a formal diversity committee in its bargaining with Vox Media.
Five-year contract limit? MLB’s drastic labor offer bashed by players
June 29, 2026 // The proposals come within the context of a $245.3 million salary cap MLB laid out in a previous proposal, and the cap remains the most explosive point of contention between management and labor. MLB first sought a salary cap in CBA negotiations in 1994, a year that ended with the cancellation of the World Series as the work stoppage dragged into the following year. The current CBA expires Dec. 1, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has strongly suggested the league will lock out the players, as it did in December 2021 during the last major round of bargaining.
GM lawsuit could fuel debate over calls for worker seats on corporate boards
June 23, 2026 // General Motors filed its lawsuit against Chrysler in 2019, after the U.S. Department of Justice successfully prosecuted executives, employees, and union officials at Chrysler for financial and collective bargaining corruption. At the center of the suit is Iacobelli’s role as a labor relations executive responsible for union negotiations and labor-management programs. The lawsuit claims that the union used Iacobelli’s position at GM to obtain confidential information and create bargaining contracts at Chrysler that gave it a competitive advantage over GM.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley rips AI “cheerleaders,” backs Teamsters union agenda
June 18, 2026 // Hawley told the Teamsters that "mega corporations" have "lost their moral compass" and that he supports the labor movement because unionized workers deserve fair wages and "decent working conditions," according to a copy of his speech obtained by Axios. Hawley: Argued that the Faster Labor Contracts Act is needed to "speed up first contracts for new unions" and said his Christian faith backs up his belief in unions. Endorsed the Teamsters' position that Congress should pass legislation barring self-driving trucks from replacing commercial drivers. Ripped Amazon as "the biggest monopolist in the country," saying it's treating workers as "indentured servants." Slammed "AI cheerleaders" as corporate goons who "want to replace every job they can with an algorithm" and said "we need to give workers rights over AI in the workplace."