Posts tagged taxpayer funds
A Taft-Hartley Roundup of Recent Labor News
June 25, 2025 // For just shy of 80 years, conservative Americans and the Republican Party that provides their imperfect electoral vehicle have sought to advance a policy consensus on labor relations based on three principles: ensuring union membership and participation is voluntary, scrutinizing unions’ operations in exchange for their government-granted powers, and protecting the public from the fallout from labor disputes. As America sits by the pool at the beginning of what might prove to be a long, hot summer, what news is there about the Taft-Hartley consensus?
Inside The Now-Shuttered Federal Agency Where Employees Lived ‘Like Reigning Kings’
March 20, 2025 // The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) occupied a nine-story office tower on D.C.’s K Street for only 60 employees, many of whom actually worked from home, prior to the pandemic. Its managers had luxury suites with full bathrooms; one manager would often be “in the shower” when she was needed, while another used her bathroom as a cigarette lounge. FMCS recorded its director as being on a years-long business trip to D.C. so he could have all of his meals and living expenses covered by taxpayers, simply for showing up to the office. FMCS is a 230-employee agency that exists to serve as a voluntary mediator between unions and businesses. As an “independent agency,” its director nominally reports to the president, but the agency is so small that in effect, there is no oversight at all
Biden administration scrubs union accountability site
December 30, 2024 // “Federal union executives have taken advantage of the four years under the Biden administration, which adopted a ‘whole of government’ approach towards promoting and entrenching unions in the federal bureaucracy, to attempt to insulate themselves from a second Trump term,” Max Nelsen, a labor policy expert at the Freedom Foundation, told The Center Square. As The Center Square previously reported, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management has for years updated a website to track union’s “official time.”
Union leaders push for sports stadium funding from taxpayers
August 24, 2024 // Illinois Republican State Sen. Andrew Chesney told The Center Square this is a rare opportunity where progressives and conservatives come together. “The idea that we’re going to give these wealthy entities tax breaks is not something I support. The progressive wing of the Democrat Party actually shares in that position, which is why Gov. Pritzker is so hesitant to drive forward these proposals,” Chesney said.
Op-ed: With fewer workers choosing unions, administration turns to taxpayer dollars to boost union ranks
September 19, 2023 // First, some solicitations for grants, such as under the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Clean School Bus” program, ask whether applicants will recognize card check certifications. Card check is a process where workers are denied the chance to vote for or against a union by private ballot. Instead, union organizers are allowed to repeatedly pressure them to sign cards, in public. Both the text of the National Labor Relations Act and numerous court rulings (including by the Supreme Court) have recognized that private ballots are far superior to signature cards in determining workers’ true feelings about unionizing. Apparently, the administration thinks “free and fair” means a free and fair chance for organizers to pressure workers into saying “yes.” Second, many grant solicitations, such as those under the Department of Energy’s “Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training,” “encourage” applicants to remain neutral in organizing campaigns. What this means is that employers are being asked to waive their statutory right to discuss the potential negatives of unionizing with workers. Instead, workers will get just one side of the story — that of the union. With no other source of information, workers might just decide to say yes, especially when being pressured to sign a card. Third, some applications, such as those published by the National Telecommunications and Information Agency to build broadband, ask applicants to sign labor peace agreements. Labor peace certainly sounds desirable, but here’s what it means in practice. Let’s say a union decides it wants to represent the workers of a particular grantee. Upon notice of that intent, the grantee would have to get the union to sign a labor peace agreement, which typically includes a “no-strike” pledge among other provisions. The catch is that if the union doesn’t sign, you don’t get your grant. This gives the union tremendous leverage to demand organizing concessions, most notably things like card check and neutrality.
Delaware Legislature Wants To Subsidize Unions With Taxpayer Money
April 17, 2023 // Delaware’s state legislature has renewed a push to subsidize the state’s labor unions via tax credits. State Senator Nicole Poore (D-12) and House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst (D-15) have introduced Senate Bill 72 (SB 72) which seeks to provide union members with a $500 tax credit for their union dues. This $500 tax credit is believed to offset the annual dues incurred by union members and seeks to increase labor participation in unions. Furthermore, It should be noted that Both Senator Poore and Majority Leader Longhurst receive major campaign contributions from the same unions that gain with the passage of SB 72. Given that unions will oftentimes use the funds they receive from dues to fund the political campaigns of those legislators that seek to enact pro union legislation, the proposition of SB 72 represents a clear conflict of interest.
Foxx on Passage of Education and Labor Bills
March 17, 2022 // "With the exception of H.R. 6087, the legislation Democrats advanced today will do little to improve the lives of Americans. These bills are more about creating layers of red tape and giving more power to the federal government than protecting workers or students. If Democrats had been willing to work with Republicans, we could have come up with better solutions for the problems facing American workers and students."