Posts tagged political donations
Commentary: Public employers should not collect dues for unions
June 3, 2024 // A bill passed last year in Arkansas is one that Washington state lawmakers should add to and propose, pass and send to the governor of our state. The Arkansas law prohibits school districts from deducting dues from employees' paychecks. Educators can pay a union on their own, of course. The new law also requires union member applications to contain a notice letting public workers — again, paid by taxpayers — know of their “rights to join or refrain from joining a labor organization.”
Businesses blast new Biden rule allowing union reps to inspect job sites
May 23, 2024 // The National Federation of Independent Businesses, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, are helping lead the charge against the new “walkaround” rule, which takes effect May 31 of this year. “Small businesses want to create a safe work environment for their employees, and they understand the necessity of reasonable mandates and inspections to this end,” Beth Milito, executive director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, said in a statement. “But the final rule issued by OSHA goes beyond ‘reasonable’. This rule will allow unlimited third-party individuals to initiate and then join an inspection of a private workplace under the guise of representing the employees. Not only does this violate a small business owner’s private property rights, it will not advance worker safety. It only makes small businesses susceptible to harassment from competitors, union representatives, and other parties intending to cause harm.”
GOVERNMENT UNIONS: AMERICA’S LARGEST, MOST TOXIC, PUBLICLY FUNDED LOBBY
February 20, 2023 // Collectively, labor unions throughout the country spent more than $778 million on political activities and gifts to political organizations in 2021 alone, and it wasn’t even an election year. Current reporting requirements make it impossible to determine precisely which of those dollars originated in the private sector rather than the public, but we know that roughly half of all the union members in America work in government, with the other half employed in private industry.
Chicago union pushes progressive politics
December 19, 2022 // Chicago Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) recently announced that it will financially back mayoral candidate Jesus “Chuy” Garcia – instead of incumbent mayor Lori Lightfoot – with a $1 million commitment. This pledge will triple Garcia’s campaign fund up to about $1.6 million. IUOE Local 150 is the tenth-largest union associated with AFL-CIO. IUOE Local 150 spokesman Ed Maher told local media that the union’s political backing is due to the out-of-control “lawlessness” in the Windy City.