Posts tagged Mississippi
Bally’s Colorado Casino Workers Become State’s First to Unionize
August 14, 2026 // With more than 1.3 million members, the Teamsters are one of the oldest and largest organized labor groups in the U.S. Its gaming footprint is small relative to other industries, but it is growing as it now represents “nearly 6,000 members at casinos and casino hotels” across the country. Other gaming venues where staff are Teamsters include Wynn Resorts’ Encore Boston Harbor and the Hard Rock Casino Rockford in Illinois. Bally’s and the Teamster have established ties as well. In February, 66 bankers, front desk workers, and cashiers at Bally’s Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Miss. voted to join the Teamsters.
Councilman seeks contract fix for JTRAN union workers
August 3, 2026 // JTRAN workers said they plan to return to the picket line until they reach an agreement with MV Transportation that they find satisfactory. Stokes said he plans to bring the issue before the next Jackson City Council meeting in hopes of resolving the conflict and moving forward with a new contract.
JTRAN workers, company to meet with mediator as strike continues
July 21, 2026 // JTRAN workers on strike say they are expected to meet with a mediator later this month in hopes of reaching an agreement and ending the labor dispute. Union members told 16 WAPT they are scheduled to meet with a mediator on July 31.
Editorial: Randi Weingarten’s book sleaze might mean the end of corrupt teacher-union power
July 13, 2026 // Under Reps. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Rick Allen (R-Ga.), the committee is following up on Post reporting on dubious transactions uncovered by the Freedom Foundation that amount to hundreds of thousands of AFT dollars spent to help produce the book Of course, that’s just a fraction of how union higherups profit from members’ dues: Weingarten’s pay is now $470,000 a year, not to mention ample perks. Maybe she’s worth it — to the union itself, at least: She’s been a Democratic Party powerbroker for decades, using that influence to protect the power of the AFT and its larger ally, the National Education Association.
JTRAN bus operators strike as contract talks break down
July 13, 2026 // JTRAN bus operators in Jackson, Mississippi, went on strike after contract negotiations with MV Transportation failed. The union accuses the company of unfair labor practices, while the city is working to minimize service disruptions for riders. MV Transportation has brought in out-of-state drivers to continue operating as many bus routes as possible. This is the second strike by JTRAN workers in less than two years, following a 14-day walkout in 2024.
Report: The diminishing power of teacher unions
May 29, 2026 // The result is A Crowded Table: Teacher Union Strength in 2026. Building on our original study, the authors set out to gauge teacher union strength in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.). Collectively, the 59 measures—which include 29 new measures that were not in the original report—seek to quantify union strength in five key areas: Resources and Membership; Involvement in Politics; Labor and Bargaining Policies; Policy Wins and Losses; and Perceived Influence, which draws from an original survey examining how stakeholders in each of the 50 states and D.C. perceive teacher union strength today. The states with the strongest teacher unions are Vermont, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Hawaii. The states with the weakest teacher unions are Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Mississippi. (See our interactive table on the report website for the overall rankings alongside the rankings for each of the five areas.)
Commentary: Unions make slight gains in South, mirroring national trends
April 29, 2026 // Southern states continue to lag significantly behind the rest of the country in union membership. Close to 4.9 percent of workers in the South belong to a union, and 5.9 percent of workers are employed in a workplace that enjoys union representation. That compares to 12.7 percent union density in the rest of the country, and 14 percent of non-Southern workers having union representation at their workplace. Labor’s modest gains come amidst a wide-ranging assault on worker protections under the Trump administration. Since coming into office, Trump has sought to strip collective bargaining rights for more than 1 million federal workers and eviscerated worker health and safety protections.
One of Oregon’s Most Powerful Unions Is Rebelling Against Democrats
April 23, 2026 // Although many donors contribute to individual candidates, OEA sends most of its legislative contributions to caucus leaders, who distribute the cash to candidates in tight races. That ensures maximum influence with leaders, who in turn decide which bills get hearings and who gets committee chairmanships. (A 2012 study by the Fordham Institute ranked OEA the second-most powerful teachers union in the country—only the Illinois teachers union ranked higher.) In addition to large and steady contributions, OEA also developed a reputation for punishing Democrats who failed to fall in line, as Sollman is now learning. One infamous example still echoes nearly two decades later.
MEA makes unsupported claims about school funding, student performance
April 22, 2026 // But Michigan is one of many states where higher spending has not translated into better academic outcomes. “State spending on K-12 schools has grown nearly 35% over the past decade,” said Molly Macek, education policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Yet student achievement in reading and math has declined over the same period, she said. The way districts spend taxpayer dollars is more important than total funding, Macek added.
Op-ed: When taxpayers incentivize jobs, the state should protect workers’ privacy in union votes
February 26, 2026 // Now, Rankin County Republican State Sen. Josh Harkins, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, has introduced legislation to protect the investments of state and local taxpayers in economic development projects that rely on taxpayer incentives. The bill ensures that Mississippi workers are entitled to a private ballot for any unionization vote. In a recent op-ed, Harkins explained: “Senate Bill 2202 is straightforward: for companies that choose to accept future state economic development incentives, any decision about union representation should be made through a private, secret-ballot election. The bill does not prohibit employees from organizing. It does not outlaw unions. It does not interfere with an employee’s right to choose union representation if a majority wants it. It simply sets an expectation that the decision is made in a way that protects (worker) privacy.”