Posts tagged Democrats
Harris County becomes first in Texas to allow employees to organize with new ‘consultation policy’
March 19, 2026 // Harris County commissioners voted 3-1 Thursday to let many county workers choose a labor organization to advocate for workplace policy changes, elevate grievances and make recommendations to Commissioners Court. The "employee consultation policy" does not permit employees to engage in collective bargaining, which state law blocks most government employees in Texas from doing. Government employees in Texas cannot strike.
NJBIZ Exclusive: NJ voters support gig workers as independent contractors
March 12, 2026 // 75% of New Jersey voters back rideshare, delivery drivers keeping independent contractor status 72% support portable benefits, allowing workers to earn health, dental, vision, retirement benefits while staying independent Support spans Democrats (76%), Independents (71%), Republicans (69%); 84% of app-based workers in favor Poll shows broad understanding of gig economy; preference for flexible, hybrid work models
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis backs a new bill targeting unions; those who support him won’t be affected
March 3, 2026 // In 2023, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 256, a measure designed to attack public sector unions by making it harder for them to collect dues, while simultaneously forcing them to show that at least 60% of their members were paying their dues. Any union that failed to meet that 60% threshold faced a decertification vote.
Commentary: Freelancers want to be free
February 26, 2026 // The latest evidence for this comes courtesy of a Politico poll on the subject. The survey found that 88 percent of app-based workers wanted to remain as independent contractors – that is, freelancers – rather than be treated as traditional employees. The workers themselves aren’t buying the argument that they’re being exploited. The general public feels largely the same, if not quite so strongly. The same poll found that 76 percent thought that app-based workers should continue to be treated as independent contractors “if their employers are required to provide them with access to portable benefits.”
Downtown business leader says union push for state worker telework disrupts revival efforts
February 19, 2026 // More than 100,000 people worked in Downtown Sacramento before the pandemic. Now, that number is only at about 60% of its pre-pandemic high, according to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. Michael Ault, executive director of the organization, is still advocating to put state workers in offices four days a week. “We would love to see the employees come back as much as we can,” Ault said. While he recognized that many workers enjoy the flexibility of remote and hybrid work, he said that the lack of public employees Downtown has noticeably hurt small businesses.
Opinion: Teachers Unions Get Desperate
February 17, 2026 // Antichoice plaintiffs “usually file lawsuits right before families sign up for the program just to be particularly cruel. They know they’ll lose nearly every case, but delaying or enjoining the programs in any way is the last-ditch effort to slow maximum uptake for families,” says Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children. Many suits are striking out. Idaho’s high court just ruled 5-0 in favor of the state choice program. Top courts in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and West Virginia have upheld choice programs. The U.S. Supreme Court has continued to issue beneficial rulings. Yet the legal threat is real, and unions, often accompanied by local school districts, continue to throw millions at litigation and disruption, forcing states to spend huge amounts to defend against them. Then the unions and the districts claim schools are underfunded.
Washington Democrats propose collective bargaining for farmworkers
January 21, 2026 // Washington Farm Bureau director of government relations Breanne Elsey told the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee on Jan. 19 that farmworkers are excluded from the federal law for good reasons. Untimely labor disputes would bankrupt farms, she said. “Striking during harvest could threaten the small window of time farmers have to produce their income for the entire year,” she said. SB 6617 would apply to housekeepers and employees of some small businesses, as well as farmworkers. Senate Bill 6045 and House Bill 2409 are confined to collective-bargaining rights for just farmworkers. Those bills are scheduled for initial hearings Jan. 20.
‘Right to work’ unlikely to change much in Va. this year, union and business leaders agree
January 20, 2026 // Speaking at a Jan. 14 forum sponsored by Advance Arlington, Slaiman said a contentious fight over Virginia’s unionization framework would get in the way of more pressing priorities in a year when Democrats have control of the governorship and both houses of the General Assembly. “We’re not going to disrupt this [legislative] session. We’ve got too much of an agenda,” said Slaiman, whose union local represents 15,000 workers. Addressing right-to-work’s future “will come later,” he said.
Commentary: Right-to-Work States Dominate U-Haul Growth Index
January 12, 2026 // Among the top ten growth states in the U-Haul index, nine have a Right-to-Work law that protects workers from being forced to pay dues to union bosses as a condition of employment. -Among the bottom ten states in the U-Haul index, NONE has a Right-to-Work law. All are forced unionism states. -Of the 25 top ranked cities in the U-Haul Growth Index, 24 are located in Right-to-Work states. The 10 best ranked states in the U-Haul Growth Index are Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Alabama and Georgia. All are Right-to-Work except Washington.
Democrats will reintroduce bill to do away with second unionization vote
January 11, 2026 // Business leaders argue that the second vote is necessary to preserve the economic liberty of workers opposed to unionization and to stop them from being forced to pay union fees when they don’t want to do so. They also say the law gives Colorado an edge over union states in attracting jobs — one of the few edges it retains as increasing housing costs and regulations now rank the state as having the fourth-highest cost of living and 13th-highest cost of doing business. Labor leaders say the second vote is an already difficult hurdle that is routinely made harder by employers who ramp up intimidation campaigns between votes to get employees to vote “no.” And without the fees generated by union security, unions don’t have the resources to properly represent workers in hard-fought negotiations, leaders say.