Posts tagged Missouri
Opinion: The Dangers of Union Expansion in Missouri
September 25, 2024 // Consider the fact also that the UAW has spent lavishly on travel, hotels, and executive salaries over the past several years. For example, from 2013 to 2018, the UAW spent $43 million on hotels and resorts and $4 million on restaurants and bars. Two past UAW Presidents have been convicted of felonies involving financial mismanagement. Meanwhile, current President Shawn Fain is under investigation by a federal court-appointed watchdog. Fain has been accused by two union officials of retaliating against them when they refused to take actions that would have benefited Fain’s fiancé and her sister.
Missouri lawmakers and teachers union demand a state audit of charter schools
September 14, 2024 // Fitzpatrick said previously his office’s audit of SLPS is part of a larger effort to inspect more schools in the state. The state auditor’s office is also investigating the Independence School District in Jackson County, the Kingston K-14 School District in Washington County and the Francis Howell R-III School District in St. Charles County. The auditor’s office said it is reviewing SLPS’ 2023-24 school year through July 31. Officials said that staff members are not limited to that time frame, but that they will work closely with the Board of Education throughout the process and will try not to overlap a separate third-party investigation into Scarlett’s hiring practices and other personnel matters that are currently in process.
Commentary: The Rise of “Pro-Labor” Conservatism
September 9, 2024 // Yet O’Brien’s move has attracted the attention of commentators from both sides of the political spectrum who see it as a bellwether. It is what conservative commentator Sohrab Ahmari has called a “brave gambit” and veteran labor reporter Steven Greenhouse dubbed a “huge gamble.” “A glacier of hostility has divided the GOP from organized labor for two generations,” Ahmari wrote in Compact. But the Teamsters president “took a pickaxe to that glacier” by speaking at the RNC. Ahmari attributes the rise of this strain of pro-labor, anti-union conservatism to Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), a MAGA firebrand who has come out as perhaps the lone GOP senator to oppose right to work legislation, the anti-union laws on the books in 28 states.
Workers at GM battery plant agree to unionize
September 6, 2024 // The unionization majority at Ultium Cells — a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution. It was the first time workers at an automaker other than the Big Three had unionized in the South. Earlier this year, 30% of workers at a Toyota factory in Missouri said they had signed union authorization cards. It was the fourth non-union plant to join a growing movement of autoworkers who are attempting to replicate the record contracts the UAW won from the Big Three Detroit automakers last year, including 25% wage bumps.
Federal judge says H-2A workers don’t have right to unionize
August 28, 2024 // In her ruling, Judge Lisa Wood acknowledged the Department of Labor has the authority to make rules governing H-2A workers. However, she says the Labor Department does not have the authority to “create law or protect newly created rights of agricultural workers.” That authority, she says, belongs to Congress. Citing previous legal precedents, Woods determined that issuing a nationwide injunction would give a single district court an outsized role in the federal systems. Therefore, her ruling only affects those listed as plaintiffs in the case initiated by the Southern Legal Foundation.
Autoworkers at Lear Seating Plant in Wentzville strike for safer working conditions
July 25, 2024 // The strike put 4,000 people out of work at the Wentzville GM plant on Monday because they had to stop production due to a shortage of parts. Wentzville's GM plant is also part of the UAW, but their members are with local 2250. Hugebeck said 2250 has been very supportive.
Labor groups begin to unite behind Harris’ campaign — but some holdouts remain
July 24, 2024 // Yet some notable union holdouts remain, suggesting Harris will still have some work to do to win over other working-class voters. On Monday, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the biggest federation of unions in the U.S. and a longtime supporter of President Joe Biden, announced its endorsement of Harris.
17 states allege Biden opens path to unionize foreign farmworkers
July 17, 2024 // The Department of Labor denies the allegation, saying the rule merely gives foreign farmworkers the right to protect wages and working conditions through "concerted activities" and "self-advocacy." The AGs accuse the department of hiding "behind linguistic smoke and mirrors." "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck," the motion for a preliminary injunction reads.
OPINION: UAW loses at Mercedes, but are they done with Alabama?
June 18, 2024 // The question for the UAW is where to turn next in their campaign to organize Southern auto plants. Speculation has focused on Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina, or even another crack at other factories in Alabama. But it’s not at all clear that the union has much support in any of these locations. It’s also unlikely that any of the potential target companies will sign a neutrality agreement, but rather will make sure workers have both sides of the story. So, while the UAW puts on a brave face and claims that Southern autoworkers will “Stand Up!” ꟷ it appears that what workers are standing up against is the UAW.
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.”