Posts tagged Republican
Michigan House passes right-to-work repeal in party-line vote
March 10, 2023 // Repeal bills still need to pass the Michigan Senate and be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law News Story Michigan House passes right-to-work repeal in party-line vote Repeal bills still need to pass the Michigan Senate and be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law By James David Dickson | March 8, 2023Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Wednesday night, the Michigan House passed two bills that would repeal right-to-work protections for union members. (Screenshot: Michigan House TV) By a 56-53 vote, with one Republican absent, the Michigan House on Wednesday approved both House Bill 4004 and House Bill 4005, which would repeal the state right-to-work law. House Bill 4004 would repeal right-to-work protections for public sector workers such as teachers. That bill is expected to face constitutional challenges if signed into law, given that it violates the protections for public sector workers recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME.
Biden set for first veto on Senate bill opposing climate-friendly investing
March 2, 2023 // President Biden is expected to issue the first veto of his presidency after the Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would revoke a Labor Department rule allowing the managers of the agency’s vast retirement funds to use climate-oriented and social criteria when making investments. The Senate passed the measure after Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) crossed party lines and joined the Republicans, providing the key pieces of the 50-46 majority needed. Both senators are up for reelection next year in heavily Republican states. Four senators abstained. The House passed the bill on Tuesday. The measure takes aim at big asset managers who often use criteria that they believe are crucial for building a portfolio that can withstand changes, especially climate changes, over the coming years. These criteria are known as ESG — environmental, social and governance — and have become sensitive political and cultural touchstones, with critics calling them evidence of “woke” financial institutions.
Tennessee for Worker Freedom Companies that get subsidies couldn’t bar secret ballots in union organizing elections.
February 22, 2023 // It would be better if states didn’t pick winners and losers with taxpayer dollars. While Tennessee doesn’t have a personal income tax, it imposes a 6.5% corporate tax rate plus a gross receipts tax, which make the state less attractive to businesses relative to others in the Sun Belt. Mr. Sexton says he also wants to cut the corporate tax rate, which is good to hear. But if states are going to give businesses handouts, it makes sense to condition them on respecting worker rights. Competition among states is heating up. Kudos to Tennessee Republicans for seeking to make their state friendlier to workers as well as business.
Unionize the Senate, staffers urge
February 9, 2023 // Labor advocates are pushing the Senate to recognize staff unions, in the hopes of kickstarting progress in the chamber now that their House organizing efforts have stalled under Republican control. The Congressional Workers Union sent a letter Thursday to Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Rules and Administration Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Bernie Sanders, demanding a vote by the end of the month on a resolution authorizing Senate offices to unionize.
Opinion: Union partisanship puts conservatives in a bind
February 1, 2023 // A bill under consideration in the legislature, HB 216, would address these problems by requiring government employers to annually notify employees that union membership is optional, allowing public employees to cancel dues deductions from their paychecks at will, and creating a process to challenge unconstitutional provisions in union collective bargaining agreements. Like any other business, unions function best when they’re accountable to their clients, but accountability only exists if customers have the option to leave.
She made history as Chicago mayor. Reelection may be harder
January 24, 2023 // Elected as a reform-minded outsider who would rid the city of pay-to-play politics, Lightfoot was criticized when a campaign staffer sent out an email to public school teachers seeking students to volunteer for the campaign in exchange for class credit. Lightfoot apologized, calling it a mistake. Inspectors general are reviewing for possible policy violations. Some of Lightfoot’s biggest battles have been with the Chicago Teachers Union, which backed her opponent in Lightfoot's first run for mayor. The two sides butted heads during an 11-day teachers strike in 2019 and bickered over returning to in-school instruction during the pandemic. This year, the teachers union has endorsed Lightfoot rival Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner and former Chicago teacher and union organizer.
State of the Unions: A New Normal
January 23, 2023 // Agencies and unions alike are likely to encounter more resistance to expanded telework and other workplace flexibilities from the newly divided Congress. House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced last week that he has introduced legislation that would require agencies to revert to pre-pandemic telework policies as well as a study about how telework impacted government services and productivity. In addition to rolling back Trump-era policies targeting union activity in the federal government, the White House has recommended a number of measures to make it easier for federal employee unions to communicate with workers they represent, as well as expand into agencies whose workforces have historically remained unorganized.
Unions are “Baking In” Remote Work for Federal Employees
January 19, 2023 // But the prospect of conflict with union contracts, uncovered by TechTarget, adds a wrinkle to any plans. “Remote work policies are also getting baked into federal employee union agreements, which could make it difficult for federal agencies to order workers back to the office even if they wanted to,” the story said. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) claims to be “made up of over 281,000 workers in almost every agency of the federal and D.C. governments, spread across 936 local unions.” In December 2022, after some extended legal struggles with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the union said that the two parties had reached a settlement over immediate flexible work arrangements “while we negotiate terms for a permanent telework program.”
Union-friendly changes in the works at U.S. labor board
January 4, 2023 // The U.S. National Labor Relations Board's Democratic majority is poised to make a series of key changes to federal labor law in 2023 that will aid unions amid a surge in organizing that gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NLRB and its general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, have signaled their interest in overturning a number of Trump-era decisions that were favored by business groups.
THE MYTH OF THE BIPARTISAN UNION
January 4, 2023 // Unsurprisingly, the $109,500 PSE contributed directly to candidates in 2022 was dwarfed by the $309,280 it contributed to PACs, generally to engage in independent expenditures. Of this, $77,000 went to PACs affiliated with Democrats and $22,500 went to GOP-controlled PACs. The remaining $209,780 went to two PACs operated by the SEIU Washington State Council and which back Democrat candidates and liberal ballot measures in all but the rarest circumstances. All told, PSE contributed $418,780 to candidates and PACs in 2022. Of this, $353,280 (84%) went to Democrat candidates or affiliated/aligned PACs. Only $63,000 (15%) supported Republican candidates and PACs.