Posts tagged Independents
Op-ed: Who Are Unions Really Fighting For?
June 20, 2025 // Let’s not forget: Weingarten’s AFT represents 1.7 million workers, including educators, healthcare professionals, and public servants across the country. Many of them are not Democrats. Many are centrists, independents, or conservatives. And yet their dues continue to support a relentless stream of partisan causes, political campaigns, and social crusades that often run completely counter to their own values. In fact, more than 90% of union political contributions go to Democrats – despite the fact that union households are politically diverse. Roughly 41% of union members voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, while 57% supported Kamala Harris. The disconnect is undeniable: nearly half of union members are effectively subsidizing political causes and candidates they do not support.
ISBA distances itself from Idaho teachers union’s anti-GOP campaign—sort of
May 15, 2025 // According to the IEA, the “central focus” of its so-called “May Matters” campaign will be “[m]obilizing IEA members to turn out voters in the May 2026 primary elections and return a pro-public education majority to the Idaho Legislature.” Part of the union’s strategy involves getting Democratic and independent teachers to make some “pragmatic political calculations” and “re-register” as Republicans “in strategic districts” so they can vote for the most liberal candidates running under false colors in the GOP primary. Such rhetorical fire-breathing and political scheming is par for the course when it comes to teachers unions. More notable, however, was the IEA’s claim that “allies” like the Idaho School Boards Association (ISBA) “will join” the union’s May Matters effort.
Right-to-work facts vs. myths
February 12, 2025 // What’s become evident over the decades is that right-to-work laws are associated with statistically significant gains in employment, particularly manufacturing employment, job opportunities, population growth and economic growth. If New Hampshire adopts a right-to-work law, we would expect to see improvements in all of those areas, along with an improvement in state business tax revenues resulting from the additional business activity. As for freedom vs. coercion, workers have First Amendment rights not to associate with or fund membership organizations that they choose not to join. If workers want to join unions, they should be free to do so.
Teamsters without endorsement as members back Trump over Harris
September 19, 2024 // Rank-and-file members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters back former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, according to a new poll, though the union says it will not back a candidate this election cycle. The Teamsters union, which represents truckers and UPS drivers, released internal polling of its membership Wednesday, finding that 58% of members support Trump compared to 31% who back Harris.
OPINION: Would Harris Be Better than Biden for Independent Contractors?
July 11, 2024 // It’s imperative for the tens of millions of Americans who earn some or all of their income as independent contractors to understand where she stands when it comes to money that is earned through self-employment. The record shows that Harris poses a real threat to independent contractors’ income, and for many of us, to our entire careers.
Commentary: The Big Fear? A Real Rematch
July 6, 2024 // Just a few hours after the court’s ruling dropped late last week, allowing both ballot measures to proceed, the Massachusetts attorney general made an announcement of her own. She agreed to a deal that will let Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts remain independent contractors, with a minimum hourly wage of $32.50 and some benefits. Interestingly, the attorney general’s announcement noted that the deal averts giving the people of Massachusetts a chance to vote on the matter:
New Poll Shows Strong Support for Michigan’s ‘Right-to-Work’ Law as 10th Anniversary Approaches
December 12, 2022 // An overwhelming majority of Michigan residents approve of the state’s right-to-work law in a new poll commissioned by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Next week will mark the 10-year anniversary of the law’s passage. Right-to-work has strong support across Republicans, Democrats, Independents, men, and women. The support held for every age group and in every region of Michigan. Union household supported the law by a nearly 2-to-1 margin (55% to 28%).
The Employee Rights Act Puts Workers Ahead of Unions
March 25, 2022 // For most Americans, labor laws — like labor unions — are an afterthought. Just 6 percent of private sector workers are union members. However, labor law makes an enormous impact on union and nonunion workplaces alike. Therefore, the ERA improves protections for workers in a variety of situations: those who might become subject to a unionization drive, those already represented by a union, and those who do not wish to unionize.
Big Labor Grinches Undermining Freelancing With PRO Act
December 21, 2021 // The bill, if passed, would abolish right-to-work laws, make employment conditional on union membership and misclassify independent workers as employees under a proposed ABC test, among many proposed provisions. Who seeks to benefit most from the PRO Act? Powerful labor union special interests.