Posts tagged Freedom of Information Act
EXCLUSIVE: US Postal Service is accused of sharing private information from 68 million households that applied for free Covid-19 tests with labor unions that could potentially be used for their political campaigns
February 10, 2023 // AFFT CEO Elisabeth Messenger said she fears that if passed to unions by USPS, the data could be used for political campaigning. 'We're talking over 70 million households by now. That's more than half the households in the United States,' she told DailyMail.com.
Do arbitrators go easy on federal employees who challenge being fired?
October 4, 2022 // So in the federal sector, if you’re represented by a union, you have an option if your agency tries to fire you. you can appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board what we think of as these standard civil service protections. But you can also file a grievance under your union contract, it’s an either or you can’t do both. But if you choose to, you can file a grievance under the union contract, and your union can bring that instead to an arbitrator. Generally, these are private contractors, they work with the private sector unions, with the private companies with nothing to do with unions, as well as with the the federal workforce, there’s a master roster, maintained by the Federal Mediation Conciliation Service, and the contracts pretty much all say, you’ll get a list of names from this master roster, people strike names to union agency until one guy’s left. That guy then is the arbitrator.
Construction trade association sues state over Whitmer’s ‘unilateral’ prevailing wage policy
July 22, 2022 // "The governor has seemingly revived this repealed procedure, but has not done so by either enforcing legislation or through the procedures of the Administrative Procedure Act," wrote ABC of Michigan, represented by the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation. "The policy has been implemented by unilateral edict from the governor's office. This is not a proper method of governance and is not binding on plaintiff." ABC of Michigan, Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline, Jimmy Greene, Gov. Rick Snyder, Department of Technology Management and Budget, Administrative Procedures Act, DTMB,
Providence firefighter made $142,000 in overtime, pushed his total pay to $230,000
July 12, 2022 // Many fire departments have a minimum staffing clause in their union contracts. The contracts often require that there must be a minimum number of firefighters on duty and any absences that bring staffing below the minimum must be replaced with overtime. Providence Fire Chief Steven Pare, base pay, Providence
Rochester school district under fire over transparency
July 11, 2022 // “The FOIA contains objective standards for what can be obtained through FOIA, and what can be withheld,” Delie said. “The implication that a private actor is influencing that legal determination is unsettling to say the least. The district has an obligation to respond to FOIA requests as provided by law, regardless of the preferences of those who may be mentioned in a record.” Delie pointed to Michigan Compiled Laws 15.232, which defines what is a public record, as well as 15.243, which provides for exemptions in some circumstances. He says the union has no right to challenge the district’s decisions on how to comply with the law, and it should not be afforded a pseudo-vote on what should be disclosed. Andrew Weaver, Superintendent [Robert] Shaner & REA President Doug Hill, Doug Pratt, Debra Fragomeni, Elena Dinverno,
Op-ed: Small Business Administration should fight for entrepreneurs, not unions
June 24, 2022 // Nonetheless, a recent Freedom Foundation analysis of SBA’s PPP loan database identified 223 loans totaling $36.1 million made to labor unions and related organizations between March 2020 and March 2021 that, as mostly 501(c)(5) nonprofit groups, were not eligible to participate in the program. The recipient list included a dozen teachers unions and advocacy groups, such as the Michigan Education Association and the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association, ironically among the fiercest champions of lockdown policies, the effects of which PPP funds were intended to alleviate. Alabama State Employees Association, Maryland Public Employees Council, Alaska AFL-CIO, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Isabel Guzman, Small Business Committee,
Firing Of 3 Town Employees For ‘Triple-Dipping’ During Pandemic Upheld
May 11, 2022 // It also is noted that each "blatantly" continued to file unemployment claims despite knowing they were not eligible, documents show. It was argued the three conspired: "There is one aspect of the conspiracy argument that is worthy of comment: the strikingly similar answers from all three Grievants at times, and the group amnesia at other times. The Arbitrators interest was piqued at the similar and non-committal testimony at times.
Flint Taxpayers Pay For Employees Doing Union Business, City Doesn’t Track How Much
March 28, 2022 // In states like Michigan that permit public sector workers to unionize and engage in collective bargaining, some government employees also become officers in those unions. Michigan permits these union officer/public employees to use a specified amount of their hours on the job to do union work, rather than the job they were hired to do. This practice is called “union release time.”
Report: Unions Collected Millions in Federal COVID Relief They Weren’t Eligible for While Cheerleading Lockdowns
March 2, 2022 // And, to top it off, a recent Freedom Foundation report documents how as many as 226 forgivable loans totaling $36.7 million were provided to labor unions and related organizations that were apparently ineligible for the funds.
Labor Unions Received $36.7M in PPP Loan Fraud
February 3, 2022 // Labor unions that were deemed ineligible for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) received $36.7 million in fraudulent loans, according to the Washington Free Beacon.