Posts tagged Josh Shapiro
SEPTA and unions reach contract agreement, avoiding a strike in the Philadelphia region
November 21, 2024 // SEPTA and the unions representing suburban and city transit workers have come to a tentative 1-year agreement, avoiding a transit strike in the Philadelphia region. Action News has learned Wednesday that the agreement includes a 5% wage increase, as well as a pension increase. However, there were no concessions to healthcare. They also made "significant improvements" in safety, including a pilot program on eight buses for bulletproof enclosures around drivers.
Unions pursue law changes to boost membership
September 8, 2024 // “The overarching theme is that the unions have really responded to the membership losses since JANUS to drive up union membership,” Osborne said. In the JANUS decision, courts held that unions could no longer collect “fair share” dues from non-members who benefit from collective bargaining agreements. Follow-up litigation has challenged the cumbersome process many former members had to overcome to leave the union and recoup dues improperly withheld. In the report, states known as union “strongholds” scored lower than others that have enacted collective bargaining reforms.
Josh Shapiro rescued me from Soviet antisemitism, can continue fighting for Jews – opinion
August 15, 2024 // How can a union that broadcasts its hatred for Jews also negotiate in my best interests? The idea is absurd to me, and I’m far from alone. Public employees throughout New York and across the country are, likewise, unable to represent themselves or choose a different representative no matter what their union says or does in their name. But in America, the First Amendment protects our rights of free speech and association. So, I joined with five of my colleagues, four of whom are also Jews, to file a lawsuit to gain complete freedom from a union we see as antisemitic. Now, the US Supreme Court will soon decide whether to hear our case.
Democratic Governors Association, chaired by Tim Walz, involved in alleged union laundering scheme
August 7, 2024 // One of the three complaints, filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and the Dauphin County District attorney accuses the Walz-chaired DGA of failing to report receipt of significant contributions from PSEA’s political fund in violation of Pennsylvania’s Election Code. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office has confirmed that the complaint has been forwarded to its Criminal Division for “further review.” If confirmed, the alleged violations may result in civil fines or criminal prosecution of PSEA and/or DGA officials.
Opinion: UAW’s President Shares Union’s VP Wish List, and It Conflicts With Likely Kamala Pick Shapiro
August 5, 2024 // After a notable moment of dead air, Fain explained that the UAW has "really broken down these candidates, looked at them." Who is the top favorite? Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who, the union organizer pointed out, has walked the picket line with UAW, like lame duck Pres. Biden. He also gushed about the Bluegrass state progressive governor's ability to win reelection in a "traditionally" red state: He's been with us through every bit of our walk, and he's won in a state that [former Senate Majority Leader, GOP Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell is from. It's been a red state traditionally. He's won twice there.
Teacher’s Union Accused Of Laundering $1.5 Million To Bankroll Josh Shapiro’s Campaign
July 25, 2024 // The Freedom Foundation filed three complaints that allege the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) illegally laundered and sent $1.5 million to fund Shapiro’s campaign, according to a press release by Freedom Foundation. The complaints were filed with various parties in Pennsylvania, including the FBI and IRS, as Shapiro has emerged as a contender to become Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. “PSEA’s scheme to secretly launder nearly $1.5 million in members’ dues through the Democratic Governors Association to support Josh Shapiro’s 2022 candidacy appears to have violated both an array of Pennsylvania laws and the Internal Revenue Code,” Freedom Foundation Director of Research and Government Affairs Maxford Nelsen said in the press release.
PA Union’s Vendetta Against School Choice Isn’t Afraid of Jay-Z
June 25, 2024 // Jay-Z’s pro-voucher push has included information sessions and a widespread advertising campaign to mobilize Pennsylvanians in support of educational choice. According to representatives from Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, the rapper became committed to the voucher issue not only through his longtime initiative to fund college scholarships, but also thanks to his familiarity with Pennsylvania. Not even Jay-Z, however, is immune to AFT’s onslaught. On June 7, AFT Pennsylvania tweeted a clear-cut message in response to the musician’s campaign: “This ain’t it.” Union president Arthur Steinberg reemphasized AFT’s intransigence three days later: “The crisis in public education funding in America could have been solved a long time ago if billionaires like … Jay-Z simply paid their fair share in taxes instead of robbing needed money from public schools to fund failed voucher schemes which hurt poor kids.”
Opinion: Gov. Shapiro’s labor agreements will harm workers and taxpayers
April 19, 2024 // Gov. Josh Shapiro often brags about his competitive spirit. However, his recent directive to “evaluate and implement” Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) into public construction projects is anything but competitive. When Gov. Shapiro announced this decision, it’s no wonder why he did so in front of several prominent Pennsylvania union bosses in a union training center. PLAs are a gift-wrapped handout to labor unions, who openly applauded the governor’s decision to funnel more construction bids to unionized shops—all at the expense of taxpayers and a huge majority of Pennsylvania’s businesses and workers.
Political Spending by Public-Sector Unions Is Deep Blue
December 19, 2023 // Nearly $160 million of that amount came from member contributions to their PACs. The rest of the political money came from union dues. It’s not possible to get an equally clear picture where that money went. David Osborne, senior fellow of labor policy at the Commonwealth Foundation and a co-author of the report, is troubled by the lack of transparency. But he says there are signs that, as with the PAC contributions, union dues are disproportionately supporting progressive causes. He’s concerned that union leaders are thus making choices about political spending that don’t reflect the priorities of all union members. Osborne recognizes that as many as 60 or 70 percent of public-sector union members might be Democrats. But only 4 percent of union PAC dollars went to Republican causes. “That imbalance seems to me to be something more than paying their dues to the government,” he says. “Instead, there seems to be an agenda that members have very little control over.”
Government Unions Love Democrats
December 6, 2023 // The four largest government unions are the National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Afscme). In the 2021-2022 election cycle, they spent more than $708 million combined on politics.