Posts tagged teachers
Chicago Teachers Union can strike after March 7
March 8, 2025 // The Chicago Teachers Union entered a 30-day “cooling off” period following its rejection of a neutral fact-finder’s contract recommendations. The 30 days are up. The union can go on strike after March 7.
UTAH, Opinion: Republicans Need to Learn Government Unions Can’t Be Trusted
March 3, 2025 // On Feb. 14, Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law I sponsored banning public-sector collective bargaining. This makes Utah the best state in the nation for protecting taxpayers and ensuring that government employees can negotiate their own employment terms. But this victory came only after fruitless attempts to work with government unions—efforts that exposed their pattern of saying one thing while doing another. In early 2024, I introduced a bill that would have required public-sector unions to hold regular recertification elections. As I argued at the time, unions representing teachers, firefighters and police should have to prove continuously that they represent a majority of workers. Taxpayers, too, have a stake: If a union doesn’t speak for most employees, why should the rest of the state be on the hook for its demands?
UTAH: Unions consider strikes, referendums on bill banning public employee collective bargaining
February 25, 2025 // "This is a statewide issue," he told FOX 13 News in an interview on Monday. "And if the Salt Lake Education Association is the only organization that walks out? It’s not going to be effective." Meanwhile, other labor unions are exploring a referendum on House Bill 267, which bans collective bargaining among public employee unions.
Analysis: 93% of Idaho teachers union political spending benefited Democrats in 2024
February 19, 2025 // In short, the IEA may endorse GOP candidates that it finds ideologically compatible if those candidates are going to win anyway but, in competitive races where its support might make a difference, the IEA consistently backs Democrats while simultaneously throwing moral support behind the Democrat candidate in any race involving a Republican it doesn’t think it can work with.
Wisconsin Supreme Court won’t hear case seeking to overturn 2011 anti-union law for now
February 18, 2025 // Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost in December ruled that the law violates equal protection guarantees in the Wisconsin Constitution by dividing public employees into “general” and “public safety” employees. Under the ruling, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored to what was in place before 2011. The judge put the ruling on hold pending the appeal.
Utah Legislature bans collective bargaining for teachers unions and other public sector jobs
February 11, 2025 // “If there’s not going to be consensus, then let’s just run it on its face,” said Sen. Kirk Cullimore, the bill’s Senate sponsor. Labor experts say the proposal, which is headed to the governor’s desk, would establish one of the most restrictive labor laws in the country as Republicans seek to curb the political influence of teachers unions.
Teachers in California’s Blochman District oust CTA
January 31, 2025 // Because the process involves a legal proceeding before a state agency and may involve opposition from the incumbent union, it can be a little tricky for non-lawyers to navigate. In Blochman, for instance, CTA initially attempted to get the teachers’ petition dismissed. But with help from Freedom Foundation attorneys, the Blochman teachers politely stood their ground, defeated the CTA’s frivolous objection and democracy eventually won the day.
Unions organize against bill cracking down on public employee collective bargaining
January 24, 2025 // Rep. Teuscher said he is planning a proposed amendment enshrining Utah's "Right to Work" law in the state constitution. If that were to pass, it would be placed on the ballot for voters to decide. "Your employment, whether they hire you or fire you, cannot be based on whether you are or are not a member of a union. That’s been in state law for over 50 years. My constitutional amendment would bring that into the state constitution," he said.
Make employers pay striking workers? Too silly
January 21, 2025 // Sponsored by Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, and cosponsored by 12 other Democrats so far, SB 5041 is similar to last year’s House Bill 1893 and Senate Bill 5777. Those pieces of legislation had the support of nearly all Democrats but failed to pass in the Legislature’s final hours. As long as the strike is legal, union workers could receive unemployment benefits while actively on strike. (Public employee strikes are not legal, so teachers, who strike frequently, should not be able to receive unemployment insurance benefits along with the taxpayer-provided pay they already receive, even in years that they strike. I hope to see legislative talks clarify that this is so.) Sen. Steven Conway, D-Tacoma, a strong proponent of employer-financed strike benefits, told NPR-station KNKX the bill would allow workers to access the benefits starting on the second Sunday after they begin withholding their labor and would be eligible for four weeks of benefits.
Fearing AI will take their jobs, California workers plan a long battle against tech
January 19, 2025 // More than 200 trade union members and technologists gathered in Sacramento this week at a first-of-its-kind conference to discuss how AI and other tech threatens workers and to strategize for upcoming fights and possible strikes. The Making Tech Work for Workers event was convened by University of California labor centers, unions, and worker advocates and attracted people representing dock workers, home care workers, teachers, nurses, actors, state office workers, and many other occupations.