Posts tagged free speech
ABC MICHIGAN V. ABRUZZO
March 17, 2023 // Soon after taking her new job, Abruzzo issued a memo announcing that the NLRB will now consider it illegal for employers to talk to employees about unions at mandatory meetings
Op-Ed: John Grande: Hartford Federation of Teachers shirked its duty to represent me
February 23, 2023 // This skewed process is one reason why unions exist. I should know—I was a member of the Hartford Federation of Teachers (HFT) for 29 years, a building representative for five years, and helped negotiate two teacher contracts. I always stood up for my colleagues when administrators treated them unfairly. Though I resigned from the union in 2018, teachers still call me when they need advice. I knew that I could effectively defend myself in front of an unbiased third party during arbitration. But only the union can start the arbitration process. That’s when the surprise came: HFT’s vice president emailed me saying that because I was no longer a dues-paying member, the union would not initiate arbitration. Over 30 years of teaching service. Thousands of dollars in dues payments. A union appreciation plaque for being part of a team that negotiated Hartford teachers’ last good contract. None of this swayed union officials whose representation I, by law, must accept.
Union-friendly changes in the works at U.S. labor board
January 4, 2023 // The U.S. National Labor Relations Board's Democratic majority is poised to make a series of key changes to federal labor law in 2023 that will aid unions amid a surge in organizing that gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NLRB and its general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, have signaled their interest in overturning a number of Trump-era decisions that were favored by business groups.
The National Labor Relations Board is trying to silence employer speech
December 5, 2022 // The NLRB recently filed a complaint against Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, claiming a statement he made on CNBC constituted an unfair labor practice. When asked about the ongoing campaign to unionize Amazon, Jassy said: “It’s employees’ choice whether or not they want to join a union. We happen to think they’re better off not doing so, for a couple of reasons at least. You know, first, at a place like Amazon that empowers employees, if they see something they can do better for customers or for themselves, they can go meet in a room, decide how [to] change it — and change it. That type of empowerment doesn’t happen when you have unions. It’s much more bureaucratic, it’s much slower. I also think people are better off having direct connections with their managers.”
Chris Smalls Taunts Musk, Says ‘Disgruntled’ Employee Wants Help Unionizing
November 30, 2022 // Labor organizer Chris Smalls taunted Elon Musk Monday evening, saying a "disgruntled" Tesla employee reached out to him, seeking help with unionizing. Smalls tweeted an image showing an email he received from an unidentified individual with the subject line: "Organizing activity at Tesla." He captioned the picture with a barb aimed at Musk, the Tesla CEO who has made headlines in recent weeks over his purchase of social media giant Twitter.
Op-ed: The NLRB is gutting free speech to protect unions
November 4, 2022 // The reason behind Biden’s vow remains clear as day — unions are one of the largest drivers of cash to Democratic campaign coffers, spending $1.8 billion in the 2020 cycle alone. To deliver on this campaign promise, Biden has weaponized the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to clamp down on workplace speech and drive up union membership. Congress needs to get hold of the runaway NLRB before it is too late.
CT’s ‘captive audience’ law challenged in federal lawsuit
November 2, 2022 // Connecticut’s ban on “captive audience” meetings, which unions say are used to thwart organizing, is unconstitutional and a preemption of federal labor law, a coalition led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce claimed in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford. The lawsuit, joined by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association and trade groups representing retailers and others, says the ban violates free-speech and equal-protection rights under the Constitution by “chilling and prohibiting employer speech” with their workers. The defendants in the lawsuit are Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo of the state Department of Labor, the department itself, and Attorney General William Tong. Chris DiPentima,
Freedom of Speech? Not if the National Labor Relations Board Gets Its Way
October 31, 2022 // Amazon unionization efforts recently failed in Albany, NY in October. Workers said no by an almost 2 to 1 margin. In total, less than a quarter of all employees voted for representation by the Amazon Labor Union. Shortly after, the union withdrew its petition to try to organize a California warehouse. It also lost a second vote in Staten Island in May. Amazon workers are clearly saying no to unionization. The NLRB and unions are responding by threatening a bedrock constitutional right of all Americans.
Voters agree: There’s nothing wrong with employer meetings on unionization
October 13, 2022 // Employers are legally prohibited from interrogating, threatening, or making promises during union organizing efforts, which is when many of these EMUs occur. By contrast, unions have little to no restrictions on their speech, including what they can promise to potential members, making the need for EMUs even more important.
Union Refuses To Aid Teacher Who Faced Termination for Criticism of Woke Training
August 15, 2022 // A Connecticut gym teacher says his school threatened to fire him after he criticized its mandatory diversity training on "exploring privilege." But when he filed a grievance against the school, the local teachers' union dismissed the complaint without explanation. John Grande filed the grievance against Hartford Public Schools for what he called targeted discipline—including threats of termination and further "Sensitivity Awareness" training—but the American Federation of Teachers Local 1018, which has jurisdiction over this arbitration process for teachers, rejected his plea, his attorney told the Washington Free Beacon. Grande, who has been a gym teacher for 30 years, said the union retaliated against him for refusing to join the labor group. The training included an activity for teachers to split into groups and discuss their privilege in eight categories: class, ability, race, gender/sex, sexuality, nationality/citizenship, religion, and "other." Hartford Board of Education,