Posts tagged federal law
US teachers union sues education agency for shutting student loan repayment plans
March 20, 2025 // AFT “brings this lawsuit to compel the Department to abide by Congress’s command and provide borrowers with the ability to re-pay their loans through the affordable, income-driven repayment plans to which they are entitled,” says the complaint. The education department has cited a court ruling over an income driven repayment plan introduced under Joe Biden, the Saving on a Valuable Education (Save) plan, in their decision to stop all IDR applications and processing.
Bill to remove Colorado requirement for second vote to unionize passes House committee
March 17, 2025 // Mabrey emphasized the fact that five former U.S. secretaries of Labor wrote to Colorado Governor Jared Polis in support of the bill in early February, saying the requirement for a second vote creates “an unnecessary barrier” to unionization. Polis has suggested that he will not support the legislation unless a compromise arises. At a press conference Thursday, Polis told reporters the bill is about “the right of workers to have a say on whether they’re forced to pay union dues,” and that a second election provides that. He said he will support a solution that presents “a way of organizing that’s more stable,” though he would not state directly whether he would sign the bill as is.
Las Vegas Convention Center Worker Slams Culinary Union and Sodexo with Federal Charges for Illegally Seizing Dues From Wages
March 12, 2025 // Employee maintains that both union and employer ignored requests to refrain from union membership and dues payments
Fourth Fred Meyer Grocery Employee Hits UFCW Union with Federal Charges
February 6, 2025 // Portland-area Fred Meyer grocery store employee Robert Wendelschafer has filed federal charges against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 555. The charges state that union officials broke federal law by ignoring his request to resign union membership during a union strike and are unlawfully retaliating against the employee by demanding nearly $1000 from him because he exercised his right to rebuff union boss strike orders and go to work. Robert Wendelschafer has joined co-workers Sandra Harbison, Coyesca Vasquez, and Reegin Schaffer in filing charges against the UFCW with National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 19 with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
CA requires public school unionization lessons, bans mandatory anti-union work meetings
January 2, 2025 // Two new laws — AB 800, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023, and now SB 399, signed into law by Newsom this year, are set to help maintain or even increase union membership in the state. AB 800, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023, requires California high school juniors and seniors to be taught about their workplace rights, the achievements of organized labor, and students’ right to join a union. Education site Chalkboard News used public records requests to discover what exactly this new law is having teachers cover.
Thousands of Federal Employees Land Work-From-Home Deal Ahead of Trump
December 5, 2024 // Unions have been pushing the outgoing Biden administration to extend existing collective bargaining agreements with federal workers in advance of Trump's inauguration next month, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Some union leaders are urging the current White House team to issue an executive order calling for such moves.
Portland–Area Fred Meyer Employee Wins Dispute with UFCW Union Local 555 Over Illegal Union Threats
November 29, 2024 // As detailed in the charges, on August 30, 2024 the employees exercised their right to resign union membership and return to work. However, on September 24, 2024, and October 14 2024, respectively, UFCW union officials notified Vasquez and Schaffer that the union had started internal proceedings against them and that their presence would soon be required at a union “trial,” which is the first step towards imposing fines. If an employee is not a voluntary union member, he or she cannot be legally subjected to internal union discipline like the kind UFCW union officials attempted to impose. In such internal discipline tribunals, union bosses frequently levy punitive fines against workers amounting to thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.
Illinois needs responsible Tier 2 pension reform
November 22, 2024 // Illinois is at risk of getting in costly trouble with the federal government over its Tier 2 public employee retirement benefits. Here’s a solution that doesn’t make the state’s monstrous public pension debt even worse. Illinois’ public pension problems are facing a new threat impacting the newer hires covered under the more modest “Tier 2” retirement benefits: the state can either add $280 million a year into their plans or face the feds demanding over $856 million a year.
Portland–Area Fred Meyer Employees Slam UFCW Union with Federal Charges for Illegal Threats Linked to Strike
November 7, 2024 // UFCW union bosses begin dropping fines against workers, but union faces investigation on federal charges
Philly-Area Dometic Workers Win Case Against UAW for Illegal Threats During Union-Boss Ordered Strike
October 17, 2024 // UAW officials unlawfully threatened to fire workers that didn’t go on strike, must now attend mandatory training on workers’ rights The favorable settlement for the Dometic workers forces UAW union officials to provide remedies not only for the illegal threats, but also for blocking workers from exercising their right to resign their memberships in the union and unlawfully demanding full union dues. The employees, Eric Angell, Robert Haldeman, Mario Coccie, Nancy Powelson, Joseph Buchak, Md Rasidul Islam, and James Nold received free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.