Posts tagged public sector unions
With allegations of hypocrisy, State House staffer union ups pressure on Senate President Spilka
July 1, 2022 // “The Senate has a once-in-a-generation moment to create a sustainable workplace legacy for State House staffers,” Wilson added. “We are asking the Senate President: Join us this [legislative] session,with the best interest of the Senate and the commonwealth in mind. Bargain with us. Move forward in partnership with us.” Mike Monahan, Tara Wilson, Mark Martinez, Beacon BLOC, anti-racist cultural shift, Ravi Simon,

Union Station: Public-sector labor policy litigation four years post-Janus
June 27, 2022 // We are currently tracking 144 pieces of legislation dealing with public-sector employee union policy. On the map below, a darker shade of green indicates a greater number of relevant bills. Click here for a complete list of all the bills we’re tracking.
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

Lawsuit claiming public-sector employees must be informed of Janus rights dismissed
April 12, 2022 // Judge John F. Kness of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed an Illinois teacher’s lawsuit claiming that, under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, public-sector unions are obligated to inform prospective members of their right not to join or pay fees to a union.
More than 1,000 Pennsylvania workers quit AFSCME union in 2021
March 28, 2022 //
Act 10 Savings Tops $15 Billion Since 2011
March 27, 2022 // Before the unions convince you that contributing 12.6% towards health insurance is an unfair and undue burden, think about this. A state employee in Wisconsin pays $2,952 a year for the regular family plan with dental. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual worker premium contribution is $6,015 a year. State employees pay roughly half of what the average taxpayer pays for health insurance and the state employee is receiving platinum coverage for that reasonable amount.
Ohio Public Employee Unions Losing Their Stranglehold on State Workers
March 11, 2022 // Between late 2019 and early 2022, the Ohio Civil Service Association, which represents state employees, experienced a sharp membership decline — around 3,000 members and almost $2 million in lost union dues. That’s $600 remaining in the paychecks of Ohio public employees. Money that can be put to good use purchasing gas, food and other family necessities.
Iowa ordered to pay $2 million to union for uncollected union dues, unpaid overtime
February 15, 2022 // The union voted to ratify the contract Feb. 14, 2017 — three days before Branstad signed the bill into law. In addition to banning the state from collecting dues for public sector unions, the law also took away unions' rights to bargain over many conditions of employment other than base wages.
Skylar Zander: It’s time Florida empowers workers over unions
February 2, 2022 // In the Florida Legislature right now, SB 1458 by Sen. Dennis Baxley and HB 1197 by Rep. Scott Plakon would require union membership authorization forms to include a specific statutory notice that the public employee does not have to become a union member and can revoke their membership simply by requesting it — no questions asked. Importantly, it would require a public employee to willingly submit a signed form before union dues can be deducted from their paycheck.