Posts tagged unions
A Mamdani-inspired democratic socialist swayed FL unions against a Dem incumbent
July 1, 2026 // Florida’s largest federation of labor unions, the Florida AFL-CIO, has endorsed all of the state’s sitting Democratic members of Congress who are up for reelection - except for Jared Moskowitz. The move comes after democratic socialist and labor union organizer Oliver Larkin worked to sway delegates at the federation’s annual mid-June endorsement convention against Moskowitz, who has represented parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties since 2023.
Opinion: The Socialists Are Coming for Your Grandparents
June 29, 2026 // Turns out, the answer lies in betraying the faith the elderly have in historically trusted institutions, such as government labor unions. Leaders like Becky Pringle can start with a light touch of anti-establishment rhetoric about protecting education, and then a few years later can bluntly call for fighting the Trump administration. The picture of her praising Mamdani on BlueSky is the next warning sign. In a few years, we shouldn’t be surprised to see the NEA glorify socialism by name.
The Name Game: How Connecticut Teachers Union (AFT) Keeps Dues Spending in the Dark
June 29, 2026 // That reality helps explain why Congress passed the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA), Public Law 86-257. Enacted by a bipartisan Congress in the wake of well-publicized union corruption scandals, the law was designed to protect rank-and-file workers by requiring financial transparency and accountability from labor organizations. Its centerpiece was the Form LM-2, a detailed annual financial report that larger unions must file with the U.S. Department of Labor, disclosing assets, liabilities, salaries, receipts, expenditures, loans, political spending, and significant disbursements. Filing false information carries criminal penalties under federal law. The promise was straightforward: union members should always be able to see how their dues are spent.
Republicans And Union Allies Could Force Abortion On Christian Employers, Critics Warn
June 28, 2026 // The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by outspoken social conservative Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) who says that the bill will help workers assert their rights against woke corporations. But according to the Christian Employers Alliance, the bill could have significant ramifications for religious workers and employees.
Commentary: The House Sides With Unions Over Workers
June 26, 2026 // Last year, I participated in a Senate hearing in which a union shop steward was asked about government-appointed arbitrators unilaterally imposing contracts. He said that would be “removing the democracy from the workplace.” He said such democracy “is the whole point of the union” because it gives workers a say. The shop steward’s own union was in the process of voting down several contract proposals, further emphasizing the importance of letting workers vote.
Commentary: Threats, Violence, and Union Money
June 24, 2026 // In one exchange cited in the indictment, two defendants allegedly discussed putting the children of university officials “on my hit list” and spoke openly about wanting to “kill,” “torment,” and “terrorize” their targets. Federal prosecutors this month unsealed a sweeping indictment against eight individuals connected to the University of Michigan, alleging a coordinated campaign of intimidation against university officials over the school’s ties to Israel. The details go well beyond protest.
Op-ed: New federal rule exposes rift between unions and their members
June 23, 2026 // If the rule takes effect as scheduled, union members can look forward to more detailed information about their unions’ sources of revenue and the management of union investments and assets. They will be able to differentiate between union expenditures for political purposes and lobbying. Similarly, they will be able to see how their union allocates resources to representing them in contract negotiation and administration versus unionizing new workplaces or industries.
Commentary: NY unions put a target on my back — for helping their members escape
June 22, 2026 // A few days ago, at the tail end of its legislative session, Albany lawmakers passed a bill giving Attorney General Letitia James sweeping new powers to investigate and fine any organization — even those based in other states — for communications she determines to “falsely impersonate” a union. The fine is $1,000 per incident: $1,000 for every mailer or email my group, the Freedom Foundation, sends to tens of thousands of workers annually. The bill claims it’s meant to stop the impersonation of union representatives, but its real purpose is to stop groups like mine from telling public employees what their unions don’t want them to know: That they have a constitutional right to decline union membership and dues without losing their jobs.
LTE: Unions Place Culture Wars Front and Center
June 22, 2026 // Instead of focusing solely on issues like wages and benefits, union representatives demanded that the company allow different pronoun pins. They also demanded that the company cover abortion and gender-affirming care in its health plans, which the company already did. I expected the union to focus on more important issues. In 2025 the union demanded the store become an Immigration and Customs Enforcement sanctuary. If the Faster Labor Contracts Act, which the U.S. House recently passed, was the law of land, government arbitrators could look at other union contracts or union demands like those I saw and force them on workers at other companies.
Opinion: Hochul’s biggest failure in her budget deal with NY lawmakers
June 18, 2026 // Hochul and state lawmakers gave retroactive pension increases to the state’s public-employee unions, which will increase state and local costs more than $500 million annually. They offered extra aid to ease fiscal distress in New York City, Buffalo, Albany, Yonkers’ public schools and elsewhere, so they too could avoid economizing (or, as Mayor Zohran Mamdani would bemoan nearly any spending reduction, suffering “austerity”).