Posts tagged Kansas
ILLINOIS: SEIU HEALTHCARE MEMBERS EMPOWERED TO DROP UNION
August 16, 2023 // With locals in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas, the union purports to represent more than 91,000 members. A closer look into reports published by the U.S. Department of Labor, however, reveals that SEIU HCII represents only about 59,000 workers. At least one third of those represented by SEIU HCII don’t seem to think the union’s services are worth their money. And they’re right. While the union collects tens of millions of dollars in membership dues each year, only a fraction is spent on “representational activities,” including collective bargaining and contract enforcement. In 2022, less than 22 percent of SEIU HCII’s $47 million in spending went towards member representation. The rest was spent on politics, administration, and other misguided union leadership priorities.
Spirit AeroSystems to halt work at Wichita plant as union votes to strike
June 22, 2023 // In an emailed statement, IAM said 79% of workers voted to reject the contract and 85% voted to strike. About 55% of Spirit's U.S. workers were covered by the agreement, which will expire this month.
Kansas City, KS-based union in turmoil as execs head to court over president’s ouster
June 15, 2023 // The Kansas City, Kansas-based union filed a civil suit against three of its executives, requesting a temporary restraining order to prohibit the removal of International President Newton Jones after they issued a finding that Jones misused union funds for personal gain. Jones is refusing to step down, denying any wrongdoing and contending the officers had no authority to remove him. A hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for 10 a.m. June 20 in the federal courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas. Chief Judge Eric F. Melgren, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, will hear the case. Jones, 69, also filed internal disciplinary charges against the three international vice presidents who removed him and another who brought forth the allegations, saying the four violated the union’s constitution. The remaining international vice president has sided with Jones against the others.
Opinion: NLRB Trips Over Itself to Promote the SEIU
May 11, 2023 // Now the NLRB has launched a new tactic to “encourage” union wins—a preemptive bargaining order requiring an employer to recognize and bargain with a union. So-called Gissel bargaining orders are meant to be used only in particularly egregious cases where an employer is alleged to have engaged in misconduct so pervasive that no fair election could be held. In the case of a Starbucks store in Overland Park, Kansas, however, NLRB administrative law judge (ALJ) Arthur Amchan recently decided to impose a Gissel bargaining order to cover a re-run election that hasn’t even been scheduled yet. That is truly egregious.
Arkansas teachers freed from compulsory union membership; what about Kansas?
April 28, 2023 // K.S.A. 75-5501 currently has an unconstitutional minimum 180-day dues-withholding requirement with no provision for employees to resign and stop paying dues whenever they wish. The Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) only allows teachers to resign and stop paying dues in August. Restrictions of this nature effectively make union membership compulsory. There have been several attempts to protect public employee rights in the Legislature, but teachers’ and other public employees’ rights are still not recognized in Kansas, but legislators are not giving up.
Kansas: Two More School Districts Drop the NEA
January 27, 2023 // The Center for Independent Employees (CIE) announces that it has successfully assisted in removing the National Educational Association as the bargaining unit from two additional school districts in Kansas. The action liberates 60 public school educators and more than 700 Kansas schoolchildren from the NEA. CIE provided the legal counsel for Kansas NEA removal from the Valley Heights and South Central School Districts. Teachers in both districts held votes to become unaffiliated and remove the NEA’s influence on Jan. 17. The votes were unanimous in both cases.
Oregon teachers quit union, Kansas teachers need legislative relief
December 13, 2022 // Oregon school districts added about 2,100 teachers in the last school year, but union membership in the Oregon Education Association (OEA) dropped by almost 500. Jason Dudash, Freedom Foundation Oregon Director in Oregon, says the membership decline disclosed in internal documents obtained by his organization indicates unions have overstepped their authority in the classroom. “Teachers are realizing their unions support policies that are actively harming the students and profession they love. In Oregon and across the country, thousands of teachers are telling their union, ’We’re sick of this, and we’re done with you.’ That may seem like a crisis for the unions, but it’s great news for the rest of us.
Deputy police chiefs allege pattern of corruption in Wichita City Hall, police union
September 29, 2022 // The three police executives, deputy chiefs Jose Salcido and Chet Pinkston and retired Deputy Chief Wanda Givens, on Monday presented the department with a demand letter alleging a pattern of misconduct, collusion and cover-up involving City Manager Robert Layton, city Human Resources Director Chris Bezruki and the Fraternal Order of Police. The letter alleges that Bezruki in particular had a cozy relationship with the union, receiving gifts and expensive meals in exchange for favorable treatment of the union in contract negotiations and when union members were brought up on disciplinary complaints.
Starbucks workers in Wichita reject union bid
August 3, 2022 // Workers at the Starbucks near 21st and Amidon in Wichita have voted not unionize. The workers filed for a union vote in May, becoming the first in the city to do so. KMUW reports the workers rejected the bid in a 5-6 vote. Workers at the Wichita Starbucks near 21st and Amidon have begun the process to unionize. Esau Freeman, Barista Maia Cuellar Serafini, Huffington Post,