Posts tagged Public Employees
THOUSANDS OF FLORIDIANS DECERTIFY THEIR GOVERNMENT UNIONS
February 11, 2024 // “This is a major victory for workers across Florida, who now have more dollars in their pockets and have the option of better representation.” “As the Orlando Weekly put it,” concluded Withe, “this is just the first purge of government employee unions – and the Freedom Foundation is going to do everything in our power to make this a reality, helping tens of thousands of public employees exercise their right to freedom from union bosses who don’t even know their names.”
Report: Illinois has 5th highest amount of post-employment benefit liabilities
February 7, 2024 // Nationwide, current unfunded state OPEB liabilities are more than $1.14 trillion, or roughly $3,500 for every American man, woman and child. Only four states have a higher amount than Illinois, including Texas, New York, California and New Jersey. Two states, Nebraska and South Dakota, have zero liabilities after implementing defined contribution health care benefits. “OPEB liabilities in many cases are much different than pension liabilities because they are not protected by state constitutions or by contract law,” said Williams. OPEB plans have worse overall funding ratios than state pension plans. With an average funding ratio of merely 13.46%, many have no pre-funded assets whatsoever, allowing liabilities to grow rapidly year over year.
Connecticut Union Membership at Three-Year High
February 2, 2024 // Nonetheless, there remains a possibility that they adhere to the initial strategy of adopting California’s emission regulations, which dictate that no new gas-powered vehicles can be purchased by the year 2035, with targeted annual mandates of electric vehicles (EV) sales beginning with 2027 model-year cars. Yankee Institute will be closely monitoring the progress of this potential bill and will keep you updated as the saga unfolds.
UTAH: Is it ‘union busting’? Bill moves to House floor, over worker objections
January 29, 2024 // The bill, which Teuscher called a “compromise,” would require labor unions that represent public-sector employees to recertify every five years, and would prohibit public employers from deducting union dues from paychecks unless union members “affirmatively” opt in every year. The bill, if enacted, would also prohibit unions or their members from using “public money or property from union organizing or union activity.”
CALIFORNIA: 2023 WAS A YEAR OF TRANSFORMATION
January 22, 2024 //
Will San Francisco Unions Go on Strike? Labor Fight Could Upend Mayor’s Race
January 16, 2024 // State Attorney General Rob Bonta, a likely candidate for California governor in 2026, mingled with guests who included top union reps for city firefighters, janitors and carpenters, along with District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and San Francisco Supervisors Shamann Walton and Ahsha Safaí. Former Mayor Willie Brown delivered remarks in his official role as San Francisco’s roastmaster general, and Daniel Lurie, a wealthy nonprofit founder who is running for mayor, also showed up to glad-hand. But one person was conspicuously absent: Mayor London Breed. While she was invited, the mayor’s appearance could have made for some awkward conversations—contracts for nearly three dozen public employee unions, not including police and firefighters, will expire this summer. Multiple labor leaders at the party said a nasty fight is brewing in San Francisco. The city is staring down a projected $800 million deficit over the next two years, meaning vacant jobs will be eliminated, contracts could be cut and services will likely diminish. Adding to the degree of difficulty in negotiations, a court ruling in 2023 has potentially opened the door for city workers to strike for the first time in more than four decades.
Op-Ed: Public workers deserve full First Amendment protection from compelled union speech
January 8, 2024 // SCOTUS’s ruling in Janus logically leads to a conclusion that public workers’ income cannot subsidize a private matter on issues of substantial public concern without voluntarily waiving their First Amendment right. To voluntarily waive a fundamental right demands individual rights have been thoroughly communicated and understood. The First Amendment protects both the freedom to speak as well as the freedom to refrain from speaking. The state of Alaska urges the Supreme Court to reaffirm Janus which equally supports employees who wish to support union causes and those who “strongly object to the positions the union takes” as the court stated in 2018. Mountain States Policy Center firmly agrees with those asking SCOTUS to fully clarify the First Amendment rights of workers to not be forced to provide financial support to union causes or membership without direct consent first. We’ll soon know if the U.S. Supreme Court agrees.
Some Workers Try to Free Themselves from Unionization, Biden Officials Try to Dragoon More In
January 5, 2024 // If the union loses the election, it often files an “unfair labor practice” charge against the company, seeking to invalidate the election. It used to be that after such a charge (assuming that an NLRB administrative law judge found it credible, which was usually the case), the remedy would be to order a new election. But now, the NLRB is making the remedy an order that the union has “won” and that the company must bargain with it. (Compulsory bargaining is another concept that’s contrary to the freedom that common law protected.) That was the ruling in I.N.S.A, Inc. This is “administrative law” at its worst. Under the Constitution, Congress, not unelected bureaucrats, is supposed to make the laws. But Biden’s pro-union appointments to the NLRB are determined to make the law under the guise of “interpreting” the NLRA. This ruling will lead to more compulsory unionism.
Commentary: Public Employees Leaving Their Unions in Record Numbers
December 18, 2023 // Regardless of when the Supreme Court decides to weigh in on the corrupt unions and complicit left-leaning judges thumbing their noses at the 2018 ruling, people are choosing to exercise the rights recognized in Janus.
Mackinac Center Asks Supreme Court to Clarify Janus Decision
December 15, 2023 // The Supreme Court decided in Janus that public sector workers cannot be forced to support a union’s political speech as a condition of keeping their jobs. This decision protected millions of workers’ First Amendment rights. But the Mackinac Center recognized that the Janus ruling could do even more. Shortly after the court ruled, the Mackinac Center launched Workers for Opportunity, an initiative to advance the worker freedoms outlined in the case. In the years since, WFO has educated workers and lawmakers across the nation on what Janus requires. For one thing, public sector workers should only be considered to have waived their First Amendment right not to join a union if they do so with knowing, informed and regular consent.