Posts tagged Montana
Over 9.2 million workers will get a raise on January 1 from 21 states raising their minimum wages
December 18, 2024 // Twenty-one states will increase their minimum wages on January 1, raising pay for more than 9.2 million workers by a total of $5.7 billion. In addition, 48 cities and counties will raise their minimum wages above their state wage floors, mostly in California, Colorado, and Washington.
Montana taxpayers foot the bill for woke politics at teachers union conference
November 27, 2024 // More disturbing than the content of the MFPE conference programming is the fact that Montana taxpayers had to foot the bill for educators to attend the union’s indoctrination. For decades, Montana law has required school districts to “close the schools… for the annual instructional and professional development meetings of teachers’ organizations.” Not only may teachers attend such meetings “without loss of salary,” but teachers who do not attend “may not be paid.” A similar state law permits school districts to schedule up to three district-paid “pupil-instruction-related days” for “teacher activities devoted to improving the quality of instruction,” such as “attending state meetings of teacher organizations.”
Butte-Silver Bow County union workers still angry over contract negotiations, threaten strike
November 5, 2024 // In the meantime, the clerks union that consists of 65 members is adding its voice of malcontent. "Our position currently right now is that we are the lowest paid Butte-Silver Bow employees. Our employees are 12-13 on up, and what we’re looking for is making sure that these have a livable wage and making sure that they have health insurance and those types of things," says Jennifer Kerns, a county administration assistant and vice president of the Local 372. Kerns says so far, union members have voted down the current contract twice and will take their third and final vote next week. In her time with the union, she says she has never seen the clerks vote down a contract.
Government Unions are Down — But Not Out
September 10, 2024 // For nearly a decade, the Commonwealth Foundation has tracked state-by-state changes in labor laws. Every two years, the Commonwealth Foundation releases its research on the ever-changing legal landscape for public sector unions, assessing each state’s efforts to promote public employees’ rights or cave to unions’ entrenched influence. This fourth edition examines government unions’ attempts, following Janus, to hold onto and expand special legal privileges under state laws. The research also highlights the states reining in government unions’ power and influence by empowering workers.
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.
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.
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.”
Op-Ed: Ensure long-lasting protection for workers with a Right-To-Work constitutional amendment
May 24, 2024 // Right-to-work laws are not a tool used to break up unions, but to protect workers from unions that are taking membership dues from members who disagree with union political practices and efforts. The law also protects non-members from being fired simply because they do not join a union. Instead of fighting against right-to-work laws, unions should strengthen their efforts to recruit new members by listening and following the direction of dues-paying members. A recent Harvard Study found that people living in RTW areas have higher employment, higher labor force participation, lower disability receipts, and higher population growth because of the attractive economy. All these factors are associated with lower childhood poverty rates in RTW locations.
Right-to-work was key to pandemic recovery
September 11, 2023 // Workers themselves have more flexibility to switch jobs, move within companies, and start businesses, all of which have economic as well as personal benefits. Job creators find it easier to expand and hire more people, and other companies are more likely to move from out-of-state, creating more jobs. These benefits have been clear for decades. Right-to-work states see more jobs created, faster-growing wages, and higher personal income growth than states that force workers to pay unions they don’t support. The pandemic clarified the need for this policy like never before, as government lockdowns, economic mandates, and supply-chain issues caused countless businesses to cut jobs or even shut down for good. Workers and job creators needed all the help they could get, and right-to-work was a huge source of relief. In fact, it still is, with some of the pandemic’s negative effects still lingering.
Workers in Yellowstone vote to unionize
July 28, 2023 // The Yellowstone organizing committee said in a statement that the effort was driven by “low pay, unmanageable workloads, high rent, a stifling hierarchy” and other issues that has the workforce in the first national park “struggling.” “The resulting high turnover negatively affects the park and the public’s experience of it,” union organizers said. Out of 81 votes cast, 66 were in favor of unionizing and 16 were against, according to organizer Mark Wolf, a former park worker for six seasons, according to the Billings Gazette. Some participants had trouble voting because of their isolated location and limited connectivity, he added. Supervisors were excluded from the vote.