Posts tagged neutrality agreements
Deal Or No Deal?
April 8, 2026 // Workers at the Moda Center, with the exception of a handful of engineers, are not unionized. That, Davison said, is atypical—particularly in states like Oregon without right-to-work laws. The Teamsters have union contracts at Lumen Field and Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Oracle Park in San Francisco, and Ball Arena in Denver, while other unions, like the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, have a number of stadium contracts as well. But neither of those unions have a foothold at the Moda Center.
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.”
Labor Unions Are Chipping Away at Worker Freedoms One Bill at a Time
October 14, 2025 // The so-called Faster Labor Contracts Act is one of the first steps in this new tactical departure. The legislation would force employers to begin bargaining with a new union in just ten days. If the two parties don’t reach an agreement in 90 days, the government forces mediation. One month after that, the matter goes to binding arbitration, meaning an outside arbitrator will dictate wages, benefits, and workplace rules for years to come. That’s not worker freedom. It’s top-down federal control. Americans recognize proposals like this for what they are: a Washington power grab. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey released just two weeks ago found that 90% of voters oppose government-mandated union contracts without worker approval.
Commentary– Justin Hill: Protecting the Secret Ballot: A step forward for Mississippi’s workers and taxpayers
February 24, 2025 // this measure prohibits “neutrality agreements,” which can unfairly prevent employers from sharing information with their workers. Employees deserve the right to hear both sides of the issue rather than being presented with only the union’s perspective and talking points. Transparency is critical for workers to make informed decisions about their future. This legislation applies only to future economic incentives and union organizing efforts. It does not impact existing unions, current economic incentive agreements or subcontractors. Compliance with this law is straightforward and does not conflict with federal labor regulations. When a similar law was challenged in Arizona, the courts upheld the state’s right to protect the secret ballot process.
How Big Government and Big Labor Colluded to Get VW to Unionize
April 24, 2024 // Failure to meet government sales mandates will be met with massive fines that increase by leaps and bounds after 2026. California, the nation’s biggest auto market, will, for example, require that 35 percent of automaker sales be of battery-powered vehicles by 2026. Failure to meet that number will cost them $20,000 per vehicle for every vehicle below the threshold. The percentage jumps to 43 percent in 2027, 51 percent in 2028, 59 percent in 2029, and 68 percent in 2030 on the way to outlawing the sales of gasoline cars in 2035. Federal penalties are similarly harsh. Tesla aside (as an EV-only seller, it is not only exempt from penalties, but also receives generous subsidies), just 5 percent of sales today are electric, with 50 percent of EV buyers returning to a gas car when they go back to market.
With contracts settled, Culinary Union eyes aggressive growth in 2024
April 2, 2024 // The Culinary said the 32 percent salary increase over five years — 10 percent in the first year — was the largest in the union’s 89-year history. The average worker earned roughly $28 an hour under the previous contract — including health and pension benefits. By the end of the new five-year deal, the average worker will earn $37 an hour, including benefits. The contracts also included workload reductions for guest room attendants, the reinstatement of daily hotel room cleanings, increased safety protections for workers on the job and language covering the expanding use of technology and artificial intelligence and how workers can be retrained or receive financial benefits if their jobs are replaced. During recent fourth-quarter earnings conference calls with analysts, top executives from major Strip operators, including MGM Resorts and Caesars, acknowledged that the contracts will result in increased labor costs.
Commentary: The Georgia Model for Putting Workers’ Rights ahead of Union Demands
March 8, 2024 // The United Auto Workers’ endorsement of Joe Biden’s reelection was in large part payback for the president’s efforts to help organize southern automakers. The Biden administration has issued a slew of policies that will enable the UAW to make inroads at factories that have repeatedly rejected union representation. Most notably and recently, in its Cemex decision last August, the National Labor Relations Board made it easier for unions to ignore workplace elections while publicly intimidating workers into supporting unionization. Georgia is going in the opposite direction, putting workers’ rights ahead of union demands. It’s on the verge of enacting a law that would guarantee secret-ballot elections at automakers and parts manufacturers. The Peach State’s pending reform should spread nationwide.
Opinion: Empowering worker autonomy: Resisting union pressure
February 8, 2024 // Neutrality agreements are hardly the only trick up the UAW’s sleeve. Unions frequently pressure employers to adopt card check as the preferred method for determining employee preferences regarding union representation, as opposed to a secret ballot election. In this process, workers are compelled to publicly declare their stance on unionization by either signing or refraining from signing “authorization” cards. Undue pressure, threats, and intimidation often result. Despite the reluctance of most employers to yield to union demands for card check, certain unions, including the UAW in Washington, DC, are advocating for new legislation mandating employers to accept card check. Moreover, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently issued a decision that could potentially eliminate elections in favor of authorization cards in a broader range of circumstances.
Employee Advocate Blasts Proposed Labor Department Rule Rigging Visa Program in Favor of Union Organizers
November 26, 2023 // Foundation attorneys have a track record of providing free legal aid to farmworkers who want to free themselves from the control of union bosses. In 2016, Foundation staff attorneys won a decision upholding Pennsylvania-based Kaolin Mushroom Farms employees’ decisive vote to remove union bosses who had argued in favor of maintaining a seven-year restriction on the workers’ right to vote. Foundation attorneys have also filed amicus briefs in recent years defending California and North Carolina agricultural employees’ Right to Work in various cases. The Department of Labor’s notice of rulemaking on temporary farmworkers comes as the Biden Administration is making a full court press to expand union boss legal privileges across the country. The Biden National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is currently in rulemaking devising regulations that will make it more difficult for American private sector workers to exercise their right to remove unwanted unions, while giving union officials more tools to gain power in a workplace without even a vote.
Commentary: Union ‘neutrality agreements’ are a threat to employers’ free speech
October 27, 2023 // Federal agencies have begun to make adoption of these so-called agreements a condition for federal contractors. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services have pushed neutrality agreements on contractors. The Treasury Department has even hinted it may alter the tax code to funnel job creators into these agreements. Virginia companies receive over $72 billion in government contracts annually, the largest amount among all states. These contracts are responsible for tens of thousands of Virginia jobs. It’s not difficult to see these forced federal neutrality agreement requirements as a backdoor attempt to silence Virginia employers and organize their companies. If allowed, this would be another blow to Virginia’s rich history of workplace freedom.