Posts tagged federal law
OPINION Why don’t unions have to stand for reelection?
September 16, 2024 // The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 7.4 million workers in the private sector belonged to labor unions in 2023. Yet according to a new study from the Institute for the American Worker, which promotes market-oriented labor reform, fewer than 400,000 of those unionized employees — about 5 percent — have ever voted in an election for the union that represents them. Like me, the vast majority of employees in unionized workplaces were hired after the union had already been voted in. Most unions have never been required to confirm that they have the support of current workers by winning a recertification election. In some workplaces, a lifetime has elapsed — that isn’t hyperbole — since the union was first certified. The United Auto Workers organized General Motors’ Michigan plants in 1937 and has represented the employees who work there ever since. Never once has it had to stand for reelection. What kind of “workplace democracy” is that?
Builders and Contractors of Alabama president Jay Reed: New union secret ballot incentives law ‘critical to free enterprise’
August 23, 2024 // “This law does not prevent workers from joining unions. It gives employees the right to vote privately and be free from pressure campaigns from labor unions or anyone else. Secret ballots are a foundational principle in our nation, and workers deserve the right to make their own decisions freely,” Stadthagen said.
State of the unions: 8 facts you need to know about unions in Colorado
August 8, 2024 // Colorado is a modified “right to work” state because, under the state’s Labor Peace Act, workplaces with unions may hold a second election to become an all-union workplace. If at least 75% of eligible workers approve its Labor Peace Act election, the workplace becomes all-union, meaning every worker must join the union and pay dues. The act was passed in 1943 as a compromise between unions and business owners. In 2023 and 2024 to date, nine Labor Peace Act elections have been held — six won and three lost, according to the Colorado Fiscal Institute.
WIOA Reauthorization Draft Includes “Blacklisting” Provision, Violating Employers’ Due Process Rights
July 3, 2024 // The blacklisting provision, if implemented, would bar employers from WIOA funding based on findings that are still subject to appeal. As a result, an employer may be denied funding even though a court may rule on appeal that the employer did not violate the law. Efforts to blacklist employers from federal initiatives and funding began under the Obama administration when it issued Executive Order 13673, “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces,” in July 2014. The Executive Order called for the debarment or suspension of federal contractors from the federal procurement process for allegations of labor and employment law violations. A final rule and guidance implementing the Executive Order were issued in August 2016, but both were blocked from taking effect by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and by Congress via a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution.
MI Kroger Employee Hits UFCW Union, Kroger with Federal Charges for Illegally Requiring Dues Payments, PAC Contributions
April 17, 2024 // n employee of Kroger’s supermarket in the Prospect Hill Shopping Center in Milford, MI, has just hit United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 876 union officials and Kroger management with federal charges. The employee, Roger Cornett, charges that Kroger declared it would fire him unless he signed a union membership form, and authorized union dues deductions and contributions to the union’s Political Action Committee (PAC) from his paycheck. Cornett notably points out that UFCW lacks a legal basis to demand money from any worker.
Be Careful, Mr. Trump—Big Unions Aren’t Your Friend | Opinion
March 14, 2024 // Like virtually all his fellow union bosses, O'Brien is desperate to put an end to state Right to Work laws so that unions can force workers across the country to pay dues. That is why he's suggested to Trump that if he opposes Right to Work, an endorsement might be possible. So far, Trump hasn't taken the bait. Instead, he's simply making the case that O'Brien should endorse him because life was better for all workers under his administration. Most media reports about the Teamsters' RNC donation failed to mention that the same Teamsters PAC also sent checks to the Democratic National Committee's convention fund, the DNC Legal Fund, DNC Building Fund, and to both the Democrats' House and Senate campaign committees.
Beware the labor regs of March!
March 11, 2024 // A new rule from the federal government meant to protect workers is set to take effect today, March 11. It will instead leave most workers worse off by limiting their options for employment. Businesses will likely pull back from hiring entirely in many cases because the rules make it too risky. The rulemaking in question is the Labor Department’s (DOL) worker misclassification rule. The stated intent is to prevent situations where employers exploit workers. The rule is extremely vague on when business activities trip the line to exploitation however. DOL essentially leaves it up to federal regulators to decide. The rules won’t change things overnight. Regulators will still have to pursue cases based on them and court fights are sure to follow. But today is the day the mischief will officially start.
Different kind of union campaign targets Waffle House
February 22, 2024 // The Waffle House campaign does follow several years of growing union action, some of it successful, including high-profile national contracts with American automakers, the film industry, American Airlines and Kaiser Permanente, as well as Georgia wins among grad students at Emory, truck drivers at Georgia Tech, bus-maker Bluebird, and about a half-dozen Starbucks locations. There have been failures, too, including rejection of a union at a hip Athens brewery. At the same time, legislators in Georgia — where laws already tilt against unions — are now pushing a bill that would further crimp efforts at organizing.
Rachel Greszler: 64 million Americans risk losing work under Biden administration rule
January 30, 2024 // The group Freelancers Against AB 5 compiled a list of more than 600 professions that have been negatively affected by independent contracting restrictions, and Americans for Tax Reform documents more than 600 personal testimonials of workers who’ve been harmed. Karen Anderson, the founder of Freelancers Against AB5, testified to federal lawmakers about children’s theaters and nonprofit youth sports clubs closing their doors; sign language interpreters unable to provide ADA-mandated services to the deaf; and professionals having to move out of state to maintain their livelihoods.
The Supreme Court agrees to hear Starbucks appeal in Memphis union case
January 17, 2024 // The case has been among the most closely watched in the more than two-year-old effort to unionize Starbucks’s company-owned U.S. stores. Starbucks fired seven employees in Memphis in February 2022, citing safety. The Seattle coffee giant said they violated company policy by reopening a store after closing time and inviting nonemployees—including a television crew—to come inside and move throughout the store. But the NLRB intervened, saying the company was unlawfully interfering in workers’ right to organize and that the store had routinely allowed employees to gather there after closing time.