Posts tagged union dues
Arizona voters to decide on measure curtailing taxpayer support for teachers’ unions
June 16, 2026 // HCR 2040 would prohibit union members from using school email systems and equipment to recruit members or distribute union materials, end automatic payroll deductions for union dues and bar union meetings from being held on school property while students are present. Employees would also have the right to bargain on their own behalf if they are unsatisfied with a union-negotiated contract. “Teachers’ unions have long counted on government resources to do their organizing for them,” said Aaron Withe, CEO of the Freedom Foundation. “Arizona voters will now have the chance to weigh in on whether taxpayer resources should be funding union politics in public schools.”
Shawn Fain seeks reelection as UAW convention tackles major policy issues
June 15, 2026 // Key issues include: Increasing strike pay from $500 to $625 per week. Potentially reducing union dues from 2.5 hours of pay to 2 hours. Determining how aggressively to fund future organizing campaigns. Clarifying membership and retiree eligibility rules. Protecting the union’s direct election system. The convention comes as the UAW navigates the aftermath of a corruption scandal that sent two former presidents to prison and placed the union under federal oversight. Notably, court-appointed monitor Neil Barofsky has criticized Fain and other senior leaders over transparency and internal governance concerns, with another report expected soon.
NC couple, execs stole $20M from union for ritzy trips, meals & salaries, jury finds
June 10, 2026 // Nearly $2 million more in salaries and benefits were paid to others for jobs that did not require them to work, including $1.8 million paid to Kateryna Jones, documents show. She got some of the money while she was dating Newton Jones and still living in Ukraine, they said. The Chapel Hill couple also enjoyed date night meals that totaled over $160,000 and charged shopping trips and other personal expenses to the union, prosecutors said. Over $5 million was spent on “unnecessary and lavish international travel,” including executive meetings held “for no apparent purpose in extravagant hotels” in Paris, Rome and other cities.
Commentary: Why Are Union Officials So Comfortable Stealing From Their Own Members?
June 8, 2026 // That’s why we’re highlighting legislation like Iowa Senate File 472, championed by Iowa State Senator Adrian Dickey. The legislation requires public-sector unions to obtain affirmative consent from workers before deducting union dues from their paychecks and to renew that authorization on a regular basis. Workers must actively opt in rather than being treated as automatic revenue sources. The measure strengthens transparency, reinforces worker choice, and ensures unions maintain the support of the people whose paychecks fund them. Organizations that serve their members well have nothing to fear from accountability. Accountability strengthens trust. It forces leaders to remain responsive to the people they represent. Union members deserve the same protections, transparency, and financial safeguards that shareholders expect from corporations and taxpayers expect from government.
Jury deliberations underway in KCK in Boilermakers monthlong racketeering trial
June 3, 2026 // The defendants are charged with using union funds for salaries and benefits for no-show jobs, luxury international travel, fine dining, vacation payouts and unauthorized loans. On trial are former International President Newton Jones, 72, and his wife, Kateryna, 33, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; former International Secretary-Treasurer William Creeden, 78, of Kearney, Missouri; and former International Vice President Lawrence McManamon, 78, of Rocky River, Ohio. The four defendants are among seven former union members indicted in August 2024 for conspiracy to commit offenses under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as embezzlement, health care fraud, wire fraud and other felonies.
Weingarten Blames Screens, Not Herself, For Falling Test Scores
June 3, 2026 // The same union that lobbied to keep students off school grounds is now positioning itself as a champion of children’s well-being, pointing an accusing finger at Silicon Valley while the learning-loss data keeps compounding. The financial record makes that positioning even harder to stomach. A recent analysis of National Education Association and AFT federal disclosures by the Network Contagion Research Institute and the Gevura Fund – of which Tina Snider is president – found America’s two largest teachers unions spend roughly $4 on political activities for every dollar spent on direct member representation. The NEA alone reported more than $51.7 million in political spending in its most recent filing, plus another $123 million in contributions and grants, compared to less than $46 million on the collective bargaining its members thought they were paying for.
Colorado governor vetoes union dues bill — again
May 31, 2026 // Gov. Jared Polis on May 29 again vetoed legislation that would have made it easier for labor organizations to impose dues on non-union members, a decision long expected after the legislature approved the measure without securing the buy-in of businesses. Polis rejected a similar proposal last year, and cited the same reason: that, if enacted, the bill would allow a simple majority of employees who choose to unionize to “also determine that dues could be mandatorily taken from all workers.”
Report: The diminishing power of teacher unions
May 29, 2026 // The result is A Crowded Table: Teacher Union Strength in 2026. Building on our original study, the authors set out to gauge teacher union strength in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.). Collectively, the 59 measures—which include 29 new measures that were not in the original report—seek to quantify union strength in five key areas: Resources and Membership; Involvement in Politics; Labor and Bargaining Policies; Policy Wins and Losses; and Perceived Influence, which draws from an original survey examining how stakeholders in each of the 50 states and D.C. perceive teacher union strength today. The states with the strongest teacher unions are Vermont, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Hawaii. The states with the weakest teacher unions are Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Mississippi. (See our interactive table on the report website for the overall rankings alongside the rankings for each of the five areas.)
The Faster Labor Contracts Act Is a Backdoor for Union Leadership’s Political Agenda
May 28, 2026 // Here's what the FLCA's backers won't say out loud: mandatory arbitration doesn't just remove workers from the ratification process, it removes union leadership from the obligation to bargain in good faith. Why negotiate seriously when running out the clock gets you a government arbitrator who is far more likely to deliver the political contract provisions your members would have voted down? The FLCA doesn't just create a shortcut. It creates an incentive to stall.
Exclusive: Major transportation union poured millions into Dem politics, casinos as workers got sold out, report finds
May 20, 2026 // The American Accountability Foundation report alleges SMART-TD poured money into Democratic candidates and liberal groups while spending heavily on entertainment, travel, casinos and resorts. The report also argues the spending shows union leadership is out of step with the purportedly “MAGA” blue-collar workers it represents.