Posts tagged Tennessee
Union workers protest at Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center
August 19, 2025 // Terminating contracts for VA unions – which have repeatedly opposed significant, bipartisan VA reforms and rewarded bad employees for misconduct – is a huge win for Veterans. Because of this decision, VA staff will spend more time with Veterans, VA facilities can focus on treating Veterans instead of catering to union bosses, and VA can manage its staff according to Veterans’ needs, not union demands. As a result of this move, nearly 1,900 union representatives, who had been collecting government salaries to do union work, have returned to full-time VA work on behalf of Veterans.
Portable Benefits Are (Finally) Having a Moment
July 31, 2025 // I’ve been fortunate to contribute to this conversation from the beginning — by publishing research and policy guides that examine outdated assumptions about work and benefits. I’ve shared these findings with Sen. Cassidy’s and Rep. Kiley’s team, as well as with every congressional or state lawmaker who showed interest — and have testified more than a dozen times before Congress and in state legislative hearings.
Lessons from Other Trades in ‘Leaving the Union:’ What Sheet Metal and HVAC Can Learn
July 28, 2025 // The stories of Brian Head and Brandon Davis are extreme, but the underlying issues are common across the trades: high financial stakes, legal complexity, and the threat of union penalties make leaving the union a daunting proposition. For sheet metal and HVAC contractors – or any skilled tradesperson – understanding the process, the potential pitfalls, and the importance of documentation is essential before making any move. And as Semmens pointed out, workers have options for legal support if they feel their rights are being violated – but the process remains anything but simple.
Michigan’s auto jobs drive South from 8 Mile to I-65
July 23, 2025 // The biggest winner was North Carolina, which added 1 million+ jobs in other industries over the period. But the Tarheel State lost 12% of its auto jobs in that time. Even auto winner Alabama added five times more jobs in other sectors than it did in auto jobs. The number of overall jobs in North Carolina from 2000 to 2023 increased by more than 27%, while the number of jobs in Tennessee grew by 23.7%. The overall national average of jobs growth during those years was 18.3%.
Ex-UAW President Ray Curry calls on Reuther Administration Caucus, criticizes current leaders
July 22, 2025 // Curry deferred questions regarding UAW leaders and the state of the union to his comments in the letter. It said "outsiders" who supported Fain's campaign are in leadership positions without having worked in a UAW facility or paid dues. "Their leadership style is based on fear, intimidation and retaliation," Curry wrote.
Gig Drivers Unionize Without Employee Status Under State Plans
July 17, 2025 // Unlike in California, Lyft and Uber remained publicly neutral on the Massachusetts ballot measure and Uber recently vowed to do the same in Illinois. For the companies, the bargaining schemes have the benefit of keeping drivers classified as independent contractors. “As we’ve said for years, we’re willing to work with state legislators on benefit and protection legislation that prioritizes preserving drivers’ independence and flexibility,” said Uber spokesperson Josh Gold.
Federal and State Leaders Take Aim at Empowering America’s Flexible Workforce
July 16, 2025 // However, while federal leaders build support for national reforms to help workers all across America, states are not sitting idle. They know that not only do self-employed workers support greater access to portable benefits, but their residents in general think this warrants policy reforms as well. Instead, many are forging ahead with legal pathways for flexible, portable benefits, maximizing what they can do at the state level in ways that will be further enhanced by federal reforms when they occur. Many states introduced legislation this year to legalize voluntary benefits, but several pioneering states now have laws enacted.
Power-Hungry and Petty: How Shawn Fain Runs the UAW
June 25, 2025 // Fain had the union’s compliance director read the fabricated report of Mock’s alleged wrongdoing into the record at an executive board meeting in February 2024. Mock was never interviewed in the creation of the report, and did not know it existed until it was delivered in the meeting. Mock is a black woman. Fain coordinated with two other black women on the executive board, regional directors Laura Dickerson and LaShawn English, to strip Mock of much of her authority in the organization. Dickerson made the motion and English seconded it. The exact wording of the motion was scripted by Fain’s aides, text messages uncovered by the monitor revealed, and Dickerson said she had agreed to make the motion before the report was even finalized.
Exclusive-UAW investment blunder cost the union an estimated $80 million, documents show
June 24, 2025 // The board voted to liquidate about $340 million in stock investments in August 2023 to pay strike costs, according to a union document reviewed by Reuters. The wording of the vote stipulated that the money be reinvested according to union policy after the strike ended and the labor contracts were ratified, though it didn't specify how quickly. But almost none of its portfolio was invested in stocks during the year after the strike began in September 2023, according to the records reviewed by Reuters. The news agency was unable to establish why the stock investment wasn't made. The issue of why the union did not reinvest the funds for more than a year is now being investigated by the federal monitor which was appointed as part of a 2020 settlement between the UAW and the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve a union corruption scandal, according to a statement from a majority of UAW board members.
ALEC Releases Landmark State Labor Policy Rankings: States That Work
June 12, 2025 // ALEC’s new report also profiles states like Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee that have taken bold steps to protect private sector workers’ right to cast secret ballots in union elections. Meanwhile, states like Nebraska, Florida, and Louisiana also receive recognition for passing Universal Recognition laws that ensure licensed workers can continue their professions without red tape after relocating.