Posts tagged Kansas
Portable Benefits Win in Six More States
June 24, 2026 // A company willing to contribute toward benefits risks having the independent contractor reclassified as a traditional W2 employee, which brings new tax obligations, wage rules, and liability. Faced with that risk, most companies contribute nothing. Independent contractors are left to pay for benefits on their own, and many go without, with no safety net if they get sick, lose work, or grow old without savings. Portable benefits laws cut that knot. They establish that a voluntary contribution to a worker’s benefit account does not make the worker an employee. The account under this framework belongs to the worker, rather than the company, and follows them from one contract to the next. Contributions can fund health coverage, retirement savings, paid leave, disability protection, and emergency income, the protections a traditional job provides.
NC couple, execs stole $20M from union for ritzy trips, meals & salaries, jury finds
June 10, 2026 // Nearly $2 million more in salaries and benefits were paid to others for jobs that did not require them to work, including $1.8 million paid to Kateryna Jones, documents show. She got some of the money while she was dating Newton Jones and still living in Ukraine, they said. The Chapel Hill couple also enjoyed date night meals that totaled over $160,000 and charged shopping trips and other personal expenses to the union, prosecutors said. Over $5 million was spent on “unnecessary and lavish international travel,” including executive meetings held “for no apparent purpose in extravagant hotels” in Paris, Rome and other cities.
Opinion: Marshall-backed bill threatens employer-employee relations
June 9, 2026 // Small business owners are not anti-worker. My employees are my neighbors. I want them fairly compensated and genuinely heard. A contract handed down by government arbitrators who have never stepped inside the doors of a given workplace — and who face zero consequences if their ruling forces it out of business — is not a voice for workers. Sen. Marshall has spent his career fighting for Kansas values against Washington overreach. I hope he will take a closer look at this bill and reconsider his support.
Why Independent Workers — and the Companies That Hire Them — Need Portable Benefits
June 5, 2026 // Instead, one theme comes through clearly: Workers want benefits without giving up their current, flexible careers. Surveys say the same thing. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that only 8.3 percent of independent workers prefer a traditional employment arrangement, while more than 80 percent prefer their current work arrangement. At the same time, 4 out of 5 want access to benefits. That’s why it’s so encouraging to see portable benefits gain momentum and bipartisan buy-in: Kansas and Utah are among the eight states that have enacted reforms, Hawaii and Connecticut are among those considering it, and legislation has appeared in Congress as well. Reforms are advancing in states that prioritize the business environment and in others that focus on worker protection, because they expand access to benefits while remaining voluntary and market-oriented.
Jury deliberations underway in KCK in Boilermakers monthlong racketeering trial
June 3, 2026 // The defendants are charged with using union funds for salaries and benefits for no-show jobs, luxury international travel, fine dining, vacation payouts and unauthorized loans. On trial are former International President Newton Jones, 72, and his wife, Kateryna, 33, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; former International Secretary-Treasurer William Creeden, 78, of Kearney, Missouri; and former International Vice President Lawrence McManamon, 78, of Rocky River, Ohio. The four defendants are among seven former union members indicted in August 2024 for conspiracy to commit offenses under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as embezzlement, health care fraud, wire fraud and other felonies.
KU pharmacy techs narrowly lose union election, claim some votes weren’t counted
May 26, 2026 // “Disliking the results of an election objectively administered by an impartial state agency should not lead to baseless claims by the IAM Union intended to misinform employees and the public,” the health system’s written statement said in part. The larger bargaining unit, which includes the health system’s 39th Street main campus, voted 19-20 against unionizing. The unit had 105 eligible voters. Two ballots were voided. The second bargaining unit, including a specialty pharmacy in the Southlake Business Park in Lenexa, voted 9-10 against unionizing. That unit had 43 eligible voters.
Three-quarters of USDA researchers tapped to relocate tell union they’re not going
May 11, 2026 // USDA relocated hundreds of ERS and NIFA positions to Kansas City in 2019, but about 85% of impacted employees quit their jobs or retired, rather than relocate. The American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, which represents USDA researchers, expects to see similar results this year. An internal survey conducted by the union found that 76% of its members have indicated they are not planning to relocate. AFGE Local 3403 said in a statement that these relocations, which are expected to go into effect by the end of the summer, will trigger a “brain drain” within the department.
Boilermakers trial: Union leaders used $20M as ‘personal piggy banks,’ gov’t says
May 8, 2026 // “No foreign destination was beyond their reach,” she said. “Newton Jones hired family member after family member. His brother, sister, son, daughter and his wife, Kateryna Jones.” He also enriched himself by firing the CEO of a union-affiliated bank and putting himself in charge, Alhambra said, earning hundreds of thousands a year in that position. “All of it was illegal,” Alhambra told jurors. “And where did that money come from? It came straight from the pockets of Boilermakers members.”
Racketeering trial starts for former KC-based union leaders accused of $20M theft
May 4, 2026 // “What makes this trial so significant is that it is not only about the individuals who were indicted,” he said. “It is also about the system and the culture that allowed this to ever happen. “Newton Jones and what federal prosecutors have described as the ‘Jones Enterprise’ would not have been able to allegedly racketeer, embezzle, or misuse union resources if the people sworn to uphold their constitutional duties had taken that oath seriously.” The Boilermakers deserve better, Sulivan said. “This trial should be a turning point, not just for accountability for the past, but for rebuilding and restructuring our organization for the future,” he said.
Hundreds of union workers, supporters join picket line in strike at KC-area ammo plant
April 21, 2026 // Striking workers are walking in four-hour shifts and have been on the line round-the-clock since the strike began. Among the issues workers face, union leaders say, is low pay. Entry level wages range from $20.60 an hour to $21.75.