Posts tagged free speech
OPINION: L.A. Teacher’s Fight With Union Appealed To Supreme Court
April 23, 2024 // Laird refused to dismiss his lawsuit, and with good reason. Because his case is about more than the return of his money. In fact, Laird is donating the entire amount he received from UTLA to a nonprofit group that helps disadvantaged students in the Los Angeles area. When judges at both the lower court level and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the union, the Freedom Foundation filed a request with the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in. Glenn Laird’s case is about a judicial acknowledgment and vindication of his First Amendment rights by a federal judge. As long as unions can cut checks using their members’ dues dollars to make lawsuits disappear, judges will never have the opportunity to rule on the actual constitutional issues, rendering the First Amendment and Janus decision meaningless. “Hopefully the Supreme Court will find my case worthy of making a ruling,” concluded Laird. “Janus set the stage, but now we need to build on that precedent so unions and lower court judges don’t continue to ignore the Supremes.”
Court case gives edge to employers over displays of union insignia
December 6, 2023 // Tesla appealed the decision to the 5th Circuit, which considered what the employer’s rule is for the restriction and whether it is lawful. The court found that unions can take issue with employer restrictions to some extent but that employers do not have carte blanche in establishing policies. “But [unions] can’t come out of the gate and say that any kind of restriction is unlawful,” the lawyer explained. “So I would say, the bottom line on the 5th Circuit’s opinion is that as long as you’re [the employer] not outright banning all union insignia of any kind, you’re probably going to be OK as long as you can articulate a reason why you’re restricting [buttons],” Cannon said. “So it’s going to really be more of a balancing test versus what the Labor Board has said, that we think all restrictions are illegal.”
Commentary: Union ‘neutrality agreements’ are a threat to employers’ free speech
October 27, 2023 // Federal agencies have begun to make adoption of these so-called agreements a condition for federal contractors. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services have pushed neutrality agreements on contractors. The Treasury Department has even hinted it may alter the tax code to funnel job creators into these agreements. Virginia companies receive over $72 billion in government contracts annually, the largest amount among all states. These contracts are responsible for tens of thousands of Virginia jobs. It’s not difficult to see these forced federal neutrality agreement requirements as a backdoor attempt to silence Virginia employers and organize their companies. If allowed, this would be another blow to Virginia’s rich history of workplace freedom.
Commentary: Workers deserve to hear all sides of a story
October 23, 2023 // Neutrality agreements are contracts that require employers to stay silent in union organization efforts. They mean that employers can’t freely offer knowledge of workplace realities, counter misleading information given by an outside organization or give workers “cons” to a union’s “pros.” Long-sought by unions, neutrality agreements allow unions to give workers the information of their choosing while gagging employers. Requiring employers to remain silent during unionization efforts can leave workers with a one-sided argument — the union’s side. Long-standing precedent in which the judicial and legislative branches of government have defended worker rights would send the Biden Administration to detention for trying to deprive workers of their right to information.
Public workers who exercise free speech will be protected under new Colorado law
July 5, 2023 // Queer workers, workers of color, women, mothers, parents — all tend to feel retaliation a lot harder in the workplace. – Jade Kelly, of Communications Workers of America 7799 It follows a change to state law last year that gave employees in large Colorado counties the right to unionize and collectively bargain. That effort initially included a larger portion of public-sector workers, but it was pared down during the legislative process. “It shows testament to workers’ power on the rise,” said Jade Kelly, president of Communications Workers of America 7799, a coalition of several unions across Colorado, about the passage of SB-111. “We were organized, testifying in committees and making sure that workers’ voices were heard at the Capitol in a concentrated, meaningful way.” Queer workers, workers of color, women, mothers, parents — all tend to feel retaliation a lot harder in the workplace. – Jade Kelly, of Communications Workers of America 7799 The bill is personal for Kelly as well. She said that she requested a gender neutral bathroom several years ago at her University of Colorado Boulder job, but she was told that accommodation would be a security threat. Kelly, who is a transgender woman, spoke with her coworkers and they started organizing, only to be told by leadership that the group could be fired for taking action.
NLRB Takes on Free Speech Yet Again
May 31, 2023 // Eventually, the anti-free speech charges brought by the NLRB will find their way to federal court, where they are likely to run into a buzzsaw. Not only is employer free speech protected by Section 8(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), but the U.S. Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision from 2008 has made that point abundantly clear. In the meantime, the agency will continue harassing businesses for engaging in perfectly legal activity. This seems like a ridiculous waste of time and money. Despite getting an extra $25 million from Congress last year, the NLRB is still pleading poverty. Perhaps if agency spent its money more productively, it wouldn’t feel the need to go back to the taxpayers for more.
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.