Posts tagged Public Employees
Home health care provider urges caution over SEIU petition
June 6, 2025 // Gloria Henry, the mother of a special needs child has a message for home health care providers now that a Service Employees International Union member showed up at her house. Anyone who is visited by an SEIU representative should be wary of what they are signing, Henry told Michigan Capitol Confidential. The union is collecting signatures to organize caregivers who care for their loved ones at home. The Legislature approved a law in fall 2024 that categorized home caretakers as government employees
Youngkin administration moves to protect public employees and taxpayers from union excesses
May 27, 2025 // First, the regulations would expressly extend to public employees the right to select a union pursuant to a secret-ballot election. In so doing, the proposed rules would protect public employees from being pressured or coerced into unionization via the infamous “card check” process, by which union organizers approach employees directly about publicly signing union petition cards. In its brief comment on the proposed regulations, the Virginia Education Association (VEA) claimed that, “All collective bargaining resolutions adopted by Virginia school boards, to date, provide for free and fair secret ballot elections…” But, as the Freedom Foundation documented in its comment, this is simply incorrect:
Op-ed: Colorado workers should know their rights
May 22, 2025 // With the examples of Pueblo and Denver—and those in other states—in mind, Colorado employees would be wise to educate themselves on their rights under state and federal law regarding union membership and representation. With lawmakers determined to expand union power, it may be up to employees to ensure that union officials are also held accountable to the law.
CA Public Employees and Unions Whining about Returning to the Office 5 Years Later
April 29, 2025 // Gavin Newsom created this mess. He sent state employees home when he locked the state down March 2020 ostensibly over a flu. And he let state employees work from home for 5 years. Many have done well, and are accountable employees, But many more are not, and need supervision and accountability. President Trump’s back-to-the-office order and hiring freeze has elicited a lot of kvetching in D.C., but is designed to suss out the deadwood in the federal government – something Governor Newsom should also be doing, figuratively and literally.
Oregon: Clackamas County’s largest public employee union votes to strike
April 4, 2025 // The union represents more than 1,000 public employees. They work in a variety of departments, including public health, parole and probation and the parks district. Union leaders have yet to provide the county with a formal 10-day notice that they intend to strike, but said in an email that members have authorized them to provide the notice “at any time.”
Free the Economy podcast with Vinnie Vernuccio of the Institute for the American Worker
March 27, 2025 // Our interview for Episode 116 of the Free the Economy podcast is with Vinnie Vernuccio of the Institute for the American Worker. We talk about labor unions, independent contractors, right-to-work laws, port automation, and the future of the American workforce. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. Our co-producer and editor is Destry Edwards. Keep up with new episodes by following us on Twitter at @freethe_economy and read our episode summaries, with links to the stories we cover, at cei.org/blog.
Unions prepare to fight Ohio bill that bans university faculty from striking
March 24, 2025 // The bill that would ban most mandatory diversity training in higher education is headed back to that chamber to approve changes the House made before passing it mostly along party lines. Republicans have said Senate Bill 1 would combat what they see as liberal indoctrination at public universities. But labor unions are ready to fight it. "This is really the the most significant undercutting of collective bargaining since that was attempted with Senate Bill 5 back in 2011," said Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union which represents K-12 teachers as well as some higher education faculty. Senate Bill 5 sought to restrict collective bargaining rights for 400,000 Ohioans in public sector unions, including teachers and law enforcement. Unions came out in force against it and then mounted a campaign to repeal the law, submitting a record 1.3 million signatures to put it on the fall 2011 ballot. Nearly two-thirds of voters approved overturning it.
New report puts Act 10 savings at nearly $36B
March 19, 2025 // "Those savings don’t just exist on paper. They have a real impact in the real world," MacIver CEO Annette Olson said. "Thanks to Act 10, today Wisconsin is considered to be one of the most financially responsible states in the country with routine budget surpluses, a robust rainy-day fund, and a fully funded state pension system.” To get to its $35.6 billion savings price tag, MacIver added the $13.8 billion in employee pension contributions since 2012 under Act-10, and the $21.8 billion in total health care savings since 2012 from Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, the DPI and the State Health Insurance Program.
Freedom Foundation Sues California Public Employment Relations Board
March 18, 2025 // “The Public Employment Relations Board is trampling on free speech and workers’ rights, all to protect union interests,” said Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe. “By enforcing these unconstitutional statutes, they are silencing the Shasta County Board and preventing public employees from receiving crucial information about their rights.” “These laws do a real disservice to public employees, forcing them to rely solely on unions for information that the unions have no intention of providing,” said Freedom Foundation Litigation Counsel Ravi Prasad. “Workers deserve the truth about their options. But these statutes ensure that workers only hear unions’ perspectives on the merits of union membership, while silencing any public employer who disagrees. This is textbook viewpoint discrimination.”
Op-ed: Josh Hawley’s union-friendly bill may open the door to right-to-work
March 17, 2025 // Hawley, who opposes right-to-work laws, may be inadvertently laying the groundwork for a national version of that same policy, protecting private-sector workers across America from getting fired for not paying union fees. Hawley’s Faster Labor Contracts Act—which the Teamsters union has already endorsed—is billed as a means of stopping employers from delaying negotiations with labor unions. Under current law, businesses and unions are required to negotiate in good faith, and there’s no deadline for an agreement because workers and job creators need time to reach the best deal.