Posts tagged opt-out
Connecticut Bus Driver Slams Teamsters Union with Federal Charges for Violating Beck Rights
March 30, 2023 // Connecticut school bus driver Mary Boland has filed federal charges against Teamsters Local 671 union after union officials violated her rights, as established under the Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court Beck decision, by illegally charging her union dues in excess of what she must pay in order to keep her job. These charges were filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Boland is being represented for free by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.
The Michigan Education Association Improperly Took COVID-19 Relief Funds
March 6, 2023 // “The Michigan Education Association applied for money intended for struggling businesses during the height of the pandemic,” said Joseph G. Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “The union and MESSA obtained some of the largest PPP loans in the country. They took these funds, for which they were clearly ineligible, while shuttered restaurants, stores, other businesses and their workers struggled to stay afloat.” Private businesses and some nonprofits were eligible for the loans, but 501(c)(5) and 501(c)(9) organizations, like the MEA and MESSA, were clearly prohibited from receiving PPP funds. The Mackinac Center was eligible as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, but did not apply for assistance. In April 2020, the MEA and MESSA both applied for PPP funding. The MEA received $6.4 million while MESSA received a $6.1 million loan. Officials of both organizations certified that they had read the eligibility requirements of the program and asserted they were eligible for the loans. Money from the program ran out within weeks. While the union and MESSA eventually returned the improper funds in December 2020, taking them in the first place denied eligible businesses from receiving them.
Opinion: Public employee unions corrupt our system of government
February 14, 2023 // For an editorial in the Orange County Register at the time, I called Chapter 224 head Ronda Walen, who wrote the above statement on the union website. I asked if it was fair for the union to elect “our own bosses.” “Yes, I think it is,” she replied. “In a democracy, we have the right to do that.” Actually, using the voters’ own tax money to push candidates and positions on them is a violation of democracy, which is rule by the people — all of them. Not just a few union bosses living off taxes forcibly taken from everybody else, and funding pro
Rhode Island Teacher Unconstitutionally Forced to Choose Between Job and Union
January 10, 2023 // Despite glowing teacher evaluations, John Lancellotta, a public school teacher in Rhode Island, lost his job after exercising his First Amendment right to opt out of his union. By forcing John to choose between supporting the union and keeping his job, the school placed an unconstitutional condition on his employment.
Opinion: Michigan Democrats want to steal my rights so they can reward their union buddies
December 16, 2022 // They say right-to-work leads to "free loaders" who get the benefits of union membership without paying the dues. But under this law, unions actually have to show value to workers to convince them to stick around. Without right-to-work, unions are the real free loaders, taking workers’ dues without having to earn them. There’s also a lot more to the story. I don’t want to pay dues to a union that’s been under a federal corruption investigation for nearly a decade, leading to multiple convictions for embezzlement. And I don’t want to lose the same workplace freedom that government workers have under the Constitution. Public-sector workers are free to leave their union and keep their job. Private-sector workers deserve the same respect. Anything less is both insulting and unjust.
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES OPT OUT IN RECORD NUMBERS
December 15, 2022 // Momentum from the Freedom Foundation’s record-breaking October propelled California to its largest one-month opt-out total ever in November. A jaw-dropping 1,398 public employees submitted request forms during the month to the Freedom Foundation’s California team. As more and more workers at every level of government come to understand the right-to-work protections affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSME (2018), anew wave of independent-minded thinking has arisen.
Tennessee’s Amendment 1 would add right-to-work to state’s constitution, unions oppose it
September 26, 2022 // "Through unions, employees can be forced to join something that they disagree with," said Justin Owen, the president of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, a conservative think tank. "That violates their freedom of association and should ultimately be left up to the individual. Tennessee has a complicated constitutional amendment process. For Amendment 1 to pass, it must receive more yes votes than no votes. In addition, the number of yes votes must also be greater than 50% of all the votes cast in the governor's election.
Carlsbad teachers union president accused of campaign violations
September 20, 2022 //
Opinion: Paying unions: Recurring opt-in requirements protect public workers
August 31, 2022 // Much of the political spending is used to encourage and support ideologically aligned politicians in opposing badly needed reforms to public education such as addressing tenure policies, offering performance-based merit pay and alternatives to traditional public education like charter schools and tax-credit programs. A big chunk of those “dues and agency fees” also are used to advance controversial curriculum like critical race theory, divisive bathroom practices and abortion policies that go against the wishes of parents and communities.
FREEDOM FOUNDATION KICKS OFF MAJOR TV AD CAMPAIGN TARGETING GOVERNMENT WORKERS
August 29, 2022 // “This is just the beginning of our media outreach campaign to public employees,” said Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe. “Since expanding to all 50 states last summer, we’ve contacted millions of government employees, including teachers, via email, mail and door-to-door canvassing. Now, we’re taking our message to the airwaves. “ Withe said he anticipates huge numbers of government union members will contact the Freedom Foundation thanks to the commercials.