Posts tagged Oklahoma
Oklahoma state Rep. Forrest Bennett to resign as he takes AFL-CIO position
November 18, 2025 // Oklahoma State Representative Forrest Bennett announced he plans to resign from the Oklahoma legislature after being elected president of the Oklahoma State AFL-CIO on Friday.
Declining union membership could be making working-class Americans less happy and more susceptible to drug overdoses
November 6, 2025 // We are continuing to research the connections between union membership and public health. The next question we are working on is whether a decline in union membership can have a multigenerational impact, going beyond the workers employed today and affecting the lives of their children and grandchildren.
DOL Awards $86M for Skilled Trades Training
October 29, 2025 // Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, these grants will provide outcome-based reimbursements to employers for providing training in high-demand and emerging industries that align with President Trump’s Executive Order 14278, Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future, and Executive Order 14629, Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance. These priorities are also in line with the goals published in America’s Talent Strategy and America’s AI Action Plan. “President Trump has directed the Labor Department to Make America Skilled Again by providing states with the resources they need to expand on-the-job training opportunities,” said Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
Oklahoma state superintendent who ordered schools to teach the Bible resigns to lead anti-teachers union group
September 29, 2025 // "We have seen the teachers unions use money and power to corrupt our schools, to undermine our schools," Walters said on the show "Fox News @ Night" on Wednesday. "We are one of the biggest grassroots organizations in the country. We will build an army of teachers to defeat the teachers union once and for all." Teacher Freedom Alliance confirmed Walters’ new role as CEO, saying in a post to X that he “fearlessly fights the woke liberal union mob.”
Drivers Reject Steelworkers Union
July 8, 2025 // The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) acknowledged Sunoco Logistics’ withdrawal of recognition from the USW on May 12. As the result of Fifer and his coworkers’ effort, more than 420 drivers from around 30 Sunoco Logistics facilities across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico are free of the union’s control. Said Fifer: “I’m glad that my coworkers and I were able to band together to force this Steelworkers union out. The union was not a positive force in our workplace, and we are better off without it. I am lucky to live in the Right to Work state of Texas where I could at least choose to stop sending my money to this union while it was still in power, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for all of my fellow drivers.”
Sen. Hawley Introduces Bill to Raise Minimum Wage to $15
June 10, 2025 // Some business advocacy groups still oppose minimum rate hikes, including Hawley's proposed bill. "This proposal would more than double the minimum wage and slash over 800,000 jobs," Rebekah Paxton, research director at the Employment Policies Institute, said in a statement to The Hill. "An overwhelming majority of economists agree that drastic minimum wage hikes cut employment, limit opportunities for workers and shutter businesses."
Hundreds of Sunoco Logistics Drivers Across TX, OK, LA, and NM Free Themselves From Steelworkers Union
May 21, 2025 // Crude oil drivers for Sunoco Logistics Partners (also known as Energy Transfer) have successfully forced unpopular United Steelworkers (USW) union bosses out of their work unit. The victory for workers comes after Jay Fifer, a driver for the oil transportation company, gathered signatures from the majority of his coworkers on a petition demanding that Sunoco Logistics officials end their recognition of the USW union as the majority “representative” of the drivers. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) acknowledged Sunoco Logistics’ withdrawal of recognition from the USW union on May 12. As the result of Fifer and his coworkers’ effort, over 420 drivers from around 30 Sunoco Logistics facilities across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico are free of the union’s control.
Commentary: Teachers’ unions should not get special access to teachers
April 21, 2025 // He kept looking back at the teachers' union lobbyist to answer questions for him. I knew more about his bill than he did. I realized at that moment he did not write the bill at all. The teachers’ union did, and he simply took responsibility for it. Eventually, the committee chairman eliminated the middleman and allowed the union lobbyist to sit at the table next to me instead of the legislator.
Energy Transfer Drivers Across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana Demand Vote to Remove Steelworkers Union From Power
April 21, 2025 // Drivers for Energy Transfer, an oil and gas transportation company with nearly 30 facilities across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, are petitioning a federal labor board for a vote to end United Steelworkers (USW) union officials’ bargaining control over their work unit. Driver Jay Fifer, who is based at Energy Transfer’s workplace in Hearne, TX (near College Station, TX), submitted the petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this week with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. If Fifer and his coworkers’ requested vote is successful, over 420 Energy Transfer drivers will be free of USW union officials’ control.
Federal employees confused, angered by Trump’s offer to quit
February 3, 2025 // “I’ve got my whole entire life invested in the federal government,” said the staffer, who also spent time in the military. “I’m not going to throw everything away.” Across the United States, multiple federal workers who spoke with CNN said they weren’t willing to sacrifice benefits beyond their salaries – including health and retirement benefits and student loan forgiveness – not to mention careers. They requested their names not be used for fear of retaliation.