Posts tagged Kansas
17 state AGs sue Biden admin for allowing foreign farmworkers to unionize
June 14, 2024 // A group of 17 state attorneys general, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration this week over a rule that allows temporary farm workers in the country on H-2A visas the power to unionize. Federal law bans American farm workers from collective bargaining. “Once again, Joe Biden is putting America last,” Kobach said in a statement. “He’s giving political benefits to foreign workers while American workers struggle in Biden’s horrible economy. I stand with American workers.”
Leavenworth prison union says staffing shortages are the real cause of ongoing ‘lockdown’
April 15, 2024 // Russ Gildner, union president for the American Federation of Government Employees Local 919, said the prison is understaffed by about 30 positions. He said by going into emergency operations, prison leaders can bypass the union’s contract and order staff, like counselors and other positions, to serve as prison guards. “Staff that work in education and recreation,” Gildner said, “are being reassigned and are performing work as officers.” Gildner said that means that the prison is not currently offering programs like educational classes during the lockdown. That contradicts previous statements from prison officials that said inmates still have access to those programs amid the investigation.
F-150 Production Halted, Ford Temporarily Lays Off 9,700 Workers
February 5, 2024 // According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, Ford stopped production of the 2024 truck between January 25 and January 31, 2024 at its Dearborn Truck Plant. Production of America’s best-selling truck was also stopped at the Kansas City Assembly Plant from January 25 until February 1. The Free Press reports: “Production has resumed after being paused temporarily because of a supplier parts concern,” [Ford spokeswoman Jessica Enoch] said. “We are vigilant about ensuring that the vehicles our customers receive are built with the quality they expect and we are taking appropriate actions to deliver on that commitment.” Enoch said Lightning production was also stopped Jan. 25 through Jan. 31 because ICE production was stopped at Dearborn Truck; the Dearborn Truck paint shop services both the internal combustion and electric trucks. During the shutdown, United Auto Workers union employees working at both facilities were laid off temporarily. In Kansas, 4,500 workers were affected while the figure in Dearborn was around 5,200. However, workers are now back on site and regular shifts have returned at both facilities. Related video
Op-Ed: Public workers deserve full First Amendment protection from compelled union speech
January 8, 2024 // SCOTUS’s ruling in Janus logically leads to a conclusion that public workers’ income cannot subsidize a private matter on issues of substantial public concern without voluntarily waiving their First Amendment right. To voluntarily waive a fundamental right demands individual rights have been thoroughly communicated and understood. The First Amendment protects both the freedom to speak as well as the freedom to refrain from speaking. The state of Alaska urges the Supreme Court to reaffirm Janus which equally supports employees who wish to support union causes and those who “strongly object to the positions the union takes” as the court stated in 2018. Mountain States Policy Center firmly agrees with those asking SCOTUS to fully clarify the First Amendment rights of workers to not be forced to provide financial support to union causes or membership without direct consent first. We’ll soon know if the U.S. Supreme Court agrees.
Across the Midwest, unions are breaking through in a way they haven’t in decades
December 20, 2023 // Union members and labor experts agree that a collective sense of job insecurity and frustration over wages and working conditions are driving activity in the region.
U.S. Supreme Court will consider taking up Alaska union dues case no sooner than December
November 8, 2023 // Politically conservative organizations, including the Buckeye Institute, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, and the Goldwater Institute, have submitted documents in support of the state’s case. Those organizations, plus the state of Kansas (which also submitted documents in support of Alaska) are hoping that the Supreme Court will reinterpret its 2018 case and effectively put new restrictions on public employee unions. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that unions could not automatically collect so-called “fair share” fees from workers who benefited from union contracts but declined to formally join a union.
American Federation of Teachers Affiliate Endorses Violence Against Israel
October 25, 2023 // As a labor union concerned with the dignity of life for workers everywhere, GTAC’s leadership unequivocally supports a free Palestine and demands an end to the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. We condemn the ongoing settler colonial project, known as the nation-state of Israel, which does not represent all Jewish people and is not synonymous with biblical Israel.
Lawrence Community Shelter staff members are unionizing, they announce
October 11, 2023 // Hannah Allison-Natale, president of CWA Local 6400, said they are building a powerful union of public sector and nonprofit workers who support and care for the poor and vulnerable in our society. The union also represents hourly staff at Lawrence Public Schools, workers at Kansas Action for Children and more.
GM secures new $6 billion credit line as UAW strike costs reach $200 million
October 5, 2023 // General Motors secured a new $6 billion line of credit as the automaker braces for additional strikes by the United Auto Workers union. The targeted strikes have already cost the automaker $200 million during the third quarter, GM said Wednesday. The new line of credit is “prudent” to bolstering GM’s balance sheet amid expectations that the union may expand and prolong strikes against the company, GM CFO Paul Jacobson said.
Ford makes new offer in US labor dispute, GM furloughs more workers
October 4, 2023 // The UAW declined comment Tuesday on Ford's new offer. The UAW said on Monday it presented a new contract offer to General Motors (GM.N). GM said despite the offer "significant gaps remain." The UAW also held a new round of bargaining with Chrysler-parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI) Monday. Earlier Tuesday, GM said it furloughed 163 UAW workers at GM’s Toledo Propulsion Systems plant that makes transmissions for both the automaker's Missouri and Lansing Delta Township assembly plants that are on strike.