Posts tagged elected officials

    Commentary: Tough Lessons of the CRA: Part III

    June 17, 2024 // They need to hear it from all of us who wish to remain independent contractors. That means truckers. Translators. Graphic artists. Financial advisers. Nurses. Tutors. Sheep shearers. Writers. They need to hear it from every kind of independent contractor that exists in more than 600 professions identified as being affected so far.

    Boarded The Teachers’ Union Takeover of NY School Districts

    November 21, 2023 // NYSUT’s involvement in state and federal elections is well-documented, but the low turnout in New York’s generally nonpartisan school board elections has given it an even bigger opportunity. The union also isn’t stopping with school boards: its electoral efforts involve elevating members to local, state and federal office, positions from which union members could eventually affect every facet of education policy. The system of campaign finance rules that regulate everything from elections for governor down to town assessors does not cover school board elections.

    Philip Howard’s Not Accountable Focuses on Reform of Public Sector Unions

    January 24, 2023 // Philip K. Howard, chairman on the nonpartisan, nonprofit reform group Common Good, examines the phenomenon of public sector unions and how they rose to power in his new book Not Accountable: Rethinking the Constitutionality of Public Employee Unions. The short answer is that public sector unions are shielded from the market forces that keep private sector unions in check—a government agency is not in danger of going out of business. Public sector unions also have an in-built advantage when it comes to bargaining. Management is typically an elected official who needs the union’s help at election time and fears having it as an enemy. Public sector unions can in effect be represented at both sides of the bargaining table, Howard notes. Unions have these advantages to insulate themselves from any criticism or challenges to their power while warping public policy to their will. It’s a sobering read. The unions pressure the government to devote more public funding to bolstering the workers, diverting funds that would otherwise go to public services or maintenance of public infrastructure.

    PUBLIC-EMPLOYEE UNIONS USE RED TAPE TO OBSCURE THEIR DECEIT

    March 29, 2022 // Read the fine print in your union membership agreement and you’ll find it’s filled with exceptions and loopholes intended to undermine the clear intent of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, which identified forced union membership or dues as a violation of the worker’s First Amendment rights.

    Act 10 Savings Tops $15 Billion Since 2011

    March 27, 2022 // Before the unions convince you that contributing 12.6% towards health insurance is an unfair and undue burden, think about this. A state employee in Wisconsin pays $2,952 a year for the regular family plan with dental. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual worker premium contribution is $6,015 a year. State employees pay roughly half of what the average taxpayer pays for health insurance and the state employee is receiving platinum coverage for that reasonable amount.