Posts tagged top story
Crisis team: Los Angeles schools face risk of insolvency
October 22, 2026 // Izumi, senior director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute, characterized the board’s decision on the raise as "governance malpractice." "This fiscal train wreck - you could see it coming from a mile off," Izumi told The Center Square. "One of the big reasons why L.A. is in such bad shape right now is because they agreed to a massive union contract with the teachers that they simply couldn't afford. The board did not look at its funding sources and its potential spending cuts that it would have to do in order to afford the teacher union contract that it was about to sign." Prior to those collective bargaining agreements, the Los Angeles County Office of Education had warned district leaders of escalating county supervision actions if deficit spending continued unchecked.
Feud between progressive unions that put Mayor Johnson in office yields Giannoulias key endorsement
October 21, 2026 // The Service Employees International Union Locals 1 and 73 threw their formidable support behind Alexi Giannoulias, the presumed frontrunner with a campaign war chest of $19.2 million. SEIU affiliates together donated over $4.5 million to Johnson’s 2023 mayoral campaign. The union also provided scores of campaign workers and materials.
Member Apathy and College Students Give Fain a Second Term as UAW President
October 21, 2026 // While the results from the election are currently waiting for certification, Fain appears to have been reelected with about 68 percent of the vote in an election with an abysmally-low turnout rate of nine percent. Notably, Fain performed strongest in regions that have a lower number of union members working in actual auto plants. Fain’s strongest areas were UAW Region 9A, which generally represents university students and lawyers in the northeast, and UAW Region 6, which generally represents students at the University of California. Fain took 76.65 percent of the vote in Region 9A and 75.23 percent of the vote in Region 6.
Huge N.J. refinery locks out 400 union workers amid contract talks, negotiators say
October 20, 2026 // Negotiators for Houston-based Phillips 66, which owns Bayway, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union Local 877, which represents 400 workers at the refinery, had reached a tentative agreement on a new contact. However, a narrow majority of rank-and-file union members declined to ratify the deal in a vote on Friday, prompting the company to block union workers from entering its gate on Park Avenue in Linden on Monday at 4 p.m. Phillips issued a statement Tuesday saying it was “disappointed” by the situation, but that the refinery would continue operating without disruption using, “properly trained and qualified personnel to meet all customer requirements.”
Henry Ford Genesys nurses approve contract after 411-day strike
October 19, 2026 // The hospital said it has already begun implementing elements of a revamped staffing model, including giving frontline nurses greater say in decisions involving patient care, nursing practices, safety and their work environment. The contract ratification comes just days after the nurses submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board, seeking an election on removing Teamsters Local 332 as their bargaining representative.
Former Michigan House speaker sues over home caregiver ‘dues skim’
October 14, 2026 // The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed the lawsuit in the Michigan Court of Claims on Wednesday, Oct. 7, on behalf of former House Speaker Jase Bolger, a Republican who also previously served as a member of the Michigan Civil Service Commission. Bolger, president & CEO of the West Michigan Policy Forum, is bringing the suit in his personal capacity.