Posts tagged Evansville
Evansville Electrician Files Federal Charges Against IBEW Local 16 for Union Bosses’ $1.29 Million Retaliatory ‘Fine’
July 1, 2025 // Putting such restrictions on workers’ right to resign their union memberships has no basis in law. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and U.S. Supreme Court decisions like Pattern Makers v. NLRB spell out that workers have a right to end union membership and union officials cannot require such membership as a condition of getting or keeping a job (though states that lack Right to Work laws like Indiana’s let union officials force workers to pay dues or be fired). Union officials also may not impose union discipline, like fines, on workers who aren’t members. In the interim between the two letters, IBEW Local 16 pursued union discipline against Head for “purchas[ing] a non-union electrical contractor and…decid[ing] not to sign a Letter of Assent” that would have likely handed the business over to union control without any kind of worker vote. Notably, the union’s discipline took place after Head’s March 27 union resignation – meaning Head was legally beyond the union’s powers to impose any sort of internal punishment.
KENTUCKY: Journalists at Courier & Press unionizing
January 10, 2024 // Journalists at the Evansville Courier & Press have announced the formation of a union, citing slashed resources and jobs. According to an email from the Evansville News Guild, the Courier & Press newsroom has been reduced to a fraction of its former size, and journalists “work the hours of three people to cover beats that once had dedicated reporters.” The News Guild also says they have been told there are no new hires coming, and there will be no pay raises.
Yellow closure affecting 800 Hoosier union truckers
August 21, 2023 // The nearly 100-year-old company was known for its “less-than-truckload” business model, meaning it delivered freight for multiple customers on the same truck. The company was significantly popular, growing to be one of “the Big Three” carriers in the country until trucking was deregulated in 1984. That meant nonunionized carriers could come to market, building competition for the big three.