Posts tagged PSEA
Op-ed: Hunter Tower: In Pennsylvania, Janus is more relevant than ever
June 21, 2022 // Government employee unions responded to Janus by adopting a variety of still-being-litigated defensive strategies, including: only processing opt-out requests during a two-week annual window; challenging each request in court, forcing individual workers to battle the union’s well-financed legal team; subjecting union defectors to workplace harassment; and, when all else fails, forging the worker’s signature on membership documents. HB-2042, Charles Lane
PSEA pressures members to oppose workplace rights bills
June 8, 2022 // Keep public employees’ personal information private (social Security numbers, home addresses, home telephone numbers, personal mobile telephone numbers and personal e-mail addresses); Let employees see full contracts before they’re voted on; Require employers to tell public employees they have the right to choose whether or not to join or pay a union; and Stop public employers from using public funds to collect political donations for the unions. PA House, union attack bills, House Bills 844, HB 845, HB 2042, HB 2048
Teachers Win Eight-Year Battle with PSEA: Judge Says Pa. ‘Fair Share’ Law Unconstitutional
May 27, 2022 // Explaining the ruling’s significance, Nathan McGrath, president and general counsel for the Fairness Center, commented: “The judge unequivocally stated that Pennsylvania’s ‘fair share’ fee law is unconstitutional under Janus. To my knowledge, this is the first time a state court has issued such a ruling.”
Public Employees Rally Around Labor Reform in Pennsylvania
March 15, 2022 // The Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee eventually passed four of the bills that were discussed by the committee that day. The bills would: Keep public employees’ personal information private; let employees see full contracts before they’re voted on; require employers to tell public employees they have the right to choose whether or not to join or pay a union; and stop public employers from using public funds to collect political donations for the unions.
Pennsylvania: Four Bills Would Empower Workers & Protect Taxpayer Resources
January 25, 2022 // “Pennsylvania should not have unconstitutional laws on its books. Nor should we use taxpayer-funded payroll systems to collect campaign cash. Correcting these problems will empower public employees and help ensure fairness in government. It’s encouraging to see House lawmakers moving to protect employees’ private data and shine the light of transparency on deals that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.”
MOONEY: Free Speech Suit against Teacher’s Union Could Boost Labor Reform
January 25, 2022 // “Pennsylvania should not have unconstitutional laws on its books. Nor should we use taxpayer-funded payroll systems to collect campaign cash. Correcting these problems will empower public employees and help ensure fairness in government. It’s encouraging to see House lawmakers moving to protect employees’ private data and shine the light of transparency on deals that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.”
Paycheck protection needed to prevent government payroll from funding partisan political activism
January 19, 2022 // But a proposed “paycheck protection” bill would end this practice by prohibiting school districts, and other public employers, from automatically deducting contributions to political action committees out of employee wages.
PSEA: Where do your dues go?
January 10, 2022 // According to PSEA’s latest Department of Labor report on spending during the 2020-2021 school year, the PSEA put over $900,000 of dues money into an account that it calls the “Fund for Student Success.” While money from the account cannot be given directly to political candidates, the fund has no obvious connection to students or their success. In 2018, all of the funds in the account were given to PA Action Alliance, a political committee that donates to progressive Democratic campaign super PACs.