Posts tagged union dues
Commentary: When fighting Trump, take union claims with a grain of salt
October 7, 2025 // Government unions faced another momentous reform seven years ago when the Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME. The court held that public sector workers have a First Amendment right to completely withdraw from union membership and dues. In essence, the court created a nationwide right-to-work law for all public sector workers, including teachers, police officers, firefighters, and all other federal, state, and local government workers. No longer would they have to join or pay a union to keep their job. Government unions hated this ruling, of course. In a desperate attempt to sway the Supreme Court, union-paid prognosticators predicted massive negative economic effects if the court ruled against unions.
Banning Forced Union Dues Found to Increase Investment by 68-82%
September 10, 2025 // “Using Census Bureau data, Drs. Maksimovic and Yang found that plants subjected to union monopoly bargaining have ‘lower and less effective incentives’ for employees. Consequently, unionized plants experience ‘higher rates of closure, reduced investment, and slower employment growth.’ “Right to Work laws significantly reduce the financial reward Big Labor reaps by securing monopoly-bargaining power over private-sector employees, because individual employees retain the freedom not to bankroll the union. Right to Work laws also inhibit the ability of union bosses to secure such privileges in an organizing campaign.
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.
A ‘Copy And Paste’ Campaign? – Opponents ‘Flood The U.S. Department Of Labor With Identical Comments Against Proposed Union Rule
September 2, 2025 // During the month-long comment period, a total of 299 comments were received and all can be viewed on line. Interestingly, over a quarter of the comments (78) were submitted by “anonymous,” which is problematic for a number of reasons including the inability to verify whether the same commenter submitted multiple comments. Actually, of those who did identify themselves, 20 commenters filed 41 comments. Most disturbing, however, is that there appears to have been a concerted effort to “juice” the number of comments against the rule change.
Aaron Withe: Labor Day should honor workers, not the unions preying on them
September 1, 2025 // These virtues, of course, depend on whether one is a victim or beneficiary of the billions of dollars in dues plundered every year from workers’ paychecks and diverted into labor barons’ pockets.
NEW YORK: Opt-outs up by 63 percent
August 25, 2025 // Compared to last July, opt-outs have surged 63 percent. Since just last month? Another 51 percent spike. This isn’t a one-off. It’s a movement. And if the pace continues, New York will crush last year’s totals. Union executives can’t ignore it. New Yorkers are waking up to where their dues are really going — political slush funds, six-figure union salaries and agendas that don’t represent them.
The Buckeye Institute Wins Settlement in Education Union Dues Case
August 25, 2025 // The Buckeye Institute won another legal victory, this time for Beth Queen, a science teacher in Poland, Ohio, and Buckeye’s client in Queen v. NEA. Immediately after The Buckeye Institute filed the case, the Ohio Education Association agreed to settle the dispute to Ms. Queen’s satisfaction. “With this settlement, the OEA properly recognized Ms. Queen’s claims and avoided costly and protracted litigation for all involved,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and an attorney representing Ms. Queen.
Podcast: Championing Worker Freedom Across The States: Alan Jernigan and Vincent Vernuccio on ALEC TV
August 23, 2025 // As debates over worker rights ripple across the country, one message continues to echo from state to state: workers deserve the freedom to choose the work arrangements that fit their lives best. But how should lawmakers turn that principle into policy?
Op-ed: How Teachers Can Dismantle the Teachers’ Unions
August 12, 2025 // Conservative and independent teachers, who make up the other 59 percent of the profession, are forced to fund their political opponents while union bosses like Weingarten, who pocketed over $600,000 in 2024, and Pringle, an at-large Democratic National Committee member raking in over half a million dollars annually, live lavishly. These union elites are an embarrassment to teachers who just want to teach reading, writing, and math.
Lower courts ignore Supreme Court precedent to force union payments
August 2, 2025 // The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to answer that question. In an amicus brief filed July 24, the two organizations ask the Court to reaffirm and enforce the constitutional standard it set in the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision: that no money may be taken from a public employee’s paycheck for a union without the employee’s clear and affirmative consent. The brief supports two public workers who are respectively suing the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees as well as the International Union of Operating Engineers. Marcus Todd and Terry Klee