Posts tagged lobbying
Labor Department toughens union transparency rules
June 9, 2026 // The purpose of the changes (and less substantial changes to the LM-2 for unions reporting receipts of $350,000 to $39,999,999) are to carry out the purposes of the LMRDA (and the consensus principle it codified): Ensure union members, prospective union recruits, and the public can appropriately track the use of member dues and compulsory fees required of workers in non-right-to-work states.
Economically Devastating Rent-Seeking in America’s Labor Markets
June 9, 2026 // Nowhere is rent-seeking more pervasive—or more costly—than in America’s labor markets. From compulsory unionism to occupational licensing, prevailing-wage laws, gig-worker reclassification rules, and strategic minimum-wage campaigns, concentrated interest groups (often unions and incumbent professionals) routinely use state power to extract “rents” from workers, employers, taxpayers, and consumers. These are not abstract economic theories. Rent-seeking is an everyday mechanism that distorts wages, limits opportunities, and transfers trillions of dollars every year, creating harmful economic inefficiencies penalizing employees, employers, taxpayers, and consumers. Compulsory Unionism: The Textbook Case of Labor-Market Rent-Seeking Compulsory unionism
How Teachers’ Unions Became Political Big Spenders
May 18, 2026 // A new report out today accuses both the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) of spending tens of millions of dollars on electing Democratic political candidates, and prioritizing politicking over the needs and interests of their union members. The report, conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), Gevura Fund, and Rutgers University, among others, found that of the NEA’s $450 million annual disbursement budget from fiscal year 2025, less than $46 million, or 10 percent, was spent on activities directly representing the union’s constituents.
UAW Files Amended Lobbying Disclosure
May 7, 2026 // On labor and worker rights, the union has lobbied on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, National Labor Relations Board appropriations, federal workers' collective bargaining rights, heat injury and illness prevention standards, and the Faster Labor Contracts Act. It has also opposed the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Union racked up massive tab on swank DC hotel stay to battle Trump — and still lost
April 30, 2026 // Social media posts show SEIU members from around the country converged in Washington, D.C., between June 23 and June 29, 2025, to confront lawmakers and stage protests against the tax and spending cuts under consideration in Congress. Department of Labor disclosures logged on June 30, 2025, reveal that the union spent $1.2 million of members’ dues at the Salamander Hotel to cover a series of expenses labeled as "support for political activities." The One Big Beautiful Bill Act served as the cornerstone of Trump's second-term economic agenda. While supporters touted tax breaks for service workers and small business owners, critics argued cuts to health and food subsidies would harm less affluent Americans. This disagreement sparked fierce opposition, including the SEIU's seven-figure protest campaign, though Trump ultimately signed the bill into law on 4th of July weekend 2025.
As Michigan’s childcare costs rise, workers debate risks of unionizing
March 31, 2026 // Instead of childcare workers unionizing against owners, the model most commonly seen in childcare unions across the country is owners unionizing against their state, as Henderson is advocating for — specifically, childcare owners who receive state reimbursement payments for care they provide low-income families and therefore can be considered state employees. The purpose is to get more robust and permanent public dollars through contract negotiation to fund things providers say they can’t currently afford because of limits on their revenue, like higher wages, insurance benefits, and overall more stability for the struggling industry. Critics of this model say childcare providers shouldn't be considered public employees just because they receive payments from the state or put in a position where they may feel they have to pay union dues. They also say the fractured layout of the industry doesn't lend itself well to unionization and could create division among already under-resourced owners and staff.
Commentary: Florida Teachers Unions Have Lost Their Way
February 26, 2026 // If a union gets exclusive authority of a bargaining unit, it should be chosen by at least 50% of the employees. That's the principle behind House Bill 995 and Senate Bill 1296, now moving through the Florida Legislature.
Will this be the year Illinois rideshare workers are able to unionize?
January 28, 2026 // Drivers currently lack the right to unionize under federal labor law because they are classified as independent contractors. The proposal would not change that classification but would give rideshare drivers the right to unionize in Illinois despite their contractor status.
Editorial: Those Lying Teacher Unions
January 20, 2026 // A recent lawsuit against the Utah Education Association is a long-overdue gut punch to the smug, self-righteous teachers union machine that's been lying to its own members for years.
National Education Association spends on politics over teachers
December 23, 2025 // The National Education Association admitted the following in its recent filing with the U.S. Department of Labor: Just 10% of its spending was on representing teachers in 2025. It spent nearly 4X more on politics and “contributions” than it did on representing teachers. Hundreds of NEA’s own officers and staff pull in six-figure salaries. NEA spent millions on hotels, airlines and other expenses for unspecified purposes.