Posts tagged Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
Op-ed: Stanford’s Graduate Student Union Tries to Stifle Dissent
September 4, 2025 // At the University of Chicago, graduate students in a similar position have taken their union to federal court, arguing that forced support of the union violates their constitutional rights. In Graduate Students for Academic Freedom v. Graduate Students United, the plaintiffs—including Jewish students—say they are being compelled to fund a union that promotes the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, a stance they view as antisemitic. The graduate unions at both Stanford and Chicago are registered as local chapters of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, a national union that funds progressive activism.
Rhode Island’s New Workplace Laws: Menopause Protections, “Captive Audience” Meeting Ban, Minimum Wage Hikes, and More
August 5, 2025 // Under the new law, employers in the state with at least four or more employees: must, upon request, make reasonable accommodations for a current or prospective employee’s condition related to menopause or a related medical condition (including, but not limited to, vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats), unless the accommodation would pose an undue hardship on the employer; are prohibited from denying employment opportunities based on a woman’s need for such accommodations;
Opinion: Why Trump’s anti-Semitism crackdown should worry UC union
February 23, 2025 // Following President Trump’s executive order to combat anti-Semitism came reports that his administration has opened investigations at five U.S. universities — including at UC Berkeley. There is, unfortunately, plenty to uncover from violent student groups to passive university administrators. But investigators would be wise to also examine the role unions have played. My own lawsuit against the United Auto Workers (UAW), which represents 48,000 employees across the UC system, should be enough to raise alarm bells. At UC Berkeley, where I am a postdoc, campus administrators were poised to break up a post-October 7, anti-Israel encampment, when the union came to its rescue. The encampment prominently displayed the inverted red triangle—the Hamas symbol used in violent propaganda videos to target Israelis—and banners reading “Glory to the martyrs” and “Student Intifada.” That didn’t deter UAW officials, who legitimized the protest by establishing a “union village” within it.
Lawsuit: UC Berkeley Union Targeted Israeli Jews for discrimination, harassment
January 28, 2025 // Passing anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) resolutions Creating an apparent “hitlist” of Jews and those with Jewish and Israeli ties on UC Berkeley’s Board of Regents Ignoring union rules and procedures to advance an anti-Israel agenda Segregating Jewish union members by withholding information and opportunities given to other union members
A California Teacher Was Denied a Union Board Seat Because of His Race. He Fought Back — and Won
November 4, 2024 // In October, the long-time history teacher ran for a Racial Equity At Large board position newly created by the union to replace the one that barred white candidates. This time the position has no overt racial stipulations. He received about 21 percent of the vote while his opponent received a little more than 78 percent. “I can quit the union in frustration, but that’s what everyone else has done,” he said. “Most people who would agree with me have left the union and that means most voters who would agree with me are gone.”
An Elk Grove teacher thought a union seat that barred whites was wrong. He won in court | Opinion
October 8, 2024 // When filling out the position’s nomination form, I discovered a mandatory checkbox stating, “The BIPOC At-Large Representative position is open to ... self-identified (members) of one or more of the following racial/ethnic categories.” A list of 11 racial identities followed. As a white person, it did not include me. Since I could not truthfully check the box, I was barred from running for the board seat — simply because of the color of my skin.
New proposed federal law would bar unions from promoting antisemitism
October 7, 2024 // Title VII of the Civil Rights Act allows employees not to pay dues or fees to a union based on their religious beliefs or practices. But Cassidy said many workers were unaware they have the right to pull their union dues from activities that have nothing to do with union bargaining for salaries and benefits. As part of the Senate committee’s probe into antisemitism, the senator also found that unions make it difficult to opt out of these unrelated costs — including bogging down workers with lawsuits that end up costing more than the actual dues. “Union members pay unions to represent before management. This legislation keeps unions focused on that,” said Cassidy.
Education and the Workforce Committee Releases Shocking Report on Union Antisemitic Activity
September 20, 2024 // Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) released a report detailing how unions put politics over members while pursuing antisemitic activism. The report includes a thorough accounting of rampant antisemitic activity within the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA), a United Auto Workers local union, following ALAA’s passage of an anti-Israel resolution in December of 2023. Following the resolution’s adoption, it was revealed that the statutory rights of union members were violated through retaliatory actions related to the resolution.
Court of Appeals Hearing Arguments in Case Brought by Southwest Flight Attendant Who Was Illegally Fired for Criticizing Union Officials
June 5, 2024 // Carter resigned from union membership in 2013 but was still forced to pay fees to TWU Local 556 as a condition of her employment. The Railway Labor Act (RLA), the federal law that governs labor relations in the air and rail industries, permits the firing of employees for refusal to pay dues and preempts the protections that state Right to Work laws provide. However, the RLA does protect employees’ rights to refrain from union membership, to speak out against the union and its leadership, and to advocate for changing the union’s current leadership. In January 2017, Carter, a pro-life Christian, learned that then-TWU Local 556 President Audrey Stone and other Local 556 officials used union dues to attend a political rally in Washington, D.C., which was sponsored by activist groups she deeply opposed, including Planned Parenthood.
Teacher Alleges Discrimination, Segregation in Ca. Union
May 31, 2024 // “Race-based discrimination is both immoral and illegal, yet my union has decided to segregate its ranks by imposing a racial litmus test as a requirement to run for this board seat. Union officials apparently believe that the best solution to America’s shameful history of discrimination is more discrimination. I believe that their actions are an illegal and a divisive distraction from our educational mission.” — Isaac Newman