Posts tagged unions
Op-ed: Kathy Hochul and Bruce Blakeman must BOTH stand up to the union thugs threatening an LIRR strike
April 28, 2026 // To avoid a strike, the agency generously offered pay hikes of 4.5% in the fourth year, but the unions would have to agree to fix some perverse work rules to produce savings. Under one rule, for example, an engineer who operates a diesel train and an electric train on the same day must be paid for two days.
Op Ed: Workers deserve a vote
April 28, 2026 // Collective bargaining in this industry works because both sides have to live with what they negotiate. An arbitrator on a federal deadline doesn’t have to live with anything. They write the contract and move on. But the district and the workers are stuck with it for two years. That’s the bill’s core flaw: it assumes labor negotiations only ever go slowly because of bad faith, but really, they often just take time to get right. Rushing that process and handing the outcome to an outside panel doesn’t produce better contracts.
Local orchestra members one step closer to unionizing
April 25, 2026 // The group decided to unionize under the American Federation of Musicians in the spring of 2024. However, their status has not been formally recognized by TCVO’s board of directors.
One of Oregon’s Most Powerful Unions Is Rebelling Against Democrats
April 23, 2026 // Although many donors contribute to individual candidates, OEA sends most of its legislative contributions to caucus leaders, who distribute the cash to candidates in tight races. That ensures maximum influence with leaders, who in turn decide which bills get hearings and who gets committee chairmanships. (A 2012 study by the Fordham Institute ranked OEA the second-most powerful teachers union in the country—only the Illinois teachers union ranked higher.) In addition to large and steady contributions, OEA also developed a reputation for punishing Democrats who failed to fall in line, as Sollman is now learning. One infamous example still echoes nearly two decades later.
Brown’s graduate union wants to make history. Labor experts say the journey may be strenuous.
April 23, 2026 // The union has not yet brought the case to the state labor board. But in an interview with The Herald, Michael Ziegler GS, the president of GLO’s parent group RIFT-AFT Local 6516, said the union was prepared to do so if they feel it is needed. Fellows must be considered employees by law in order to unionize, Herbert explained. “The fundamental question is whether or not the employer pays specifically for work being performed and has control over that work.”
OPINION: Union Politics Is Poisoning Washington’s Business Climate
April 23, 2026 // Between 2021 and 2026, Washington fell from #16 to #45 in the Tax Foundation’s State Tax Competitiveness Index, a dramatic drop that signals a rapidly deteriorating business climate. Meanwhile, the cost of living has surged. The Washington Roundtable now ranks the state among the five most expensive in the country. This did not happen by accident. It is the direct outcome of a policy agenda backed by union money and enacted by elected officials who benefit from it: higher minimum wages, expansive paid-leave mandates, new healthcare requirements, and an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
Opinion– Editorial Board: Why the Republican-union alliance never works
April 22, 2026 // "The new acting secretary, Keith Sonderling, is a more conventional Republican choice for the job. Respected by conservatives, he would sail through the Senate confirmation process if nominated. He has already been competently running the department as deputy secretary, as it has advanced deregulation and protected independent contractor status for 11.9 million workers"
Unions, workers push back against looming job cuts in San Francisco
April 21, 2026 // Union members insisted the layoffs and other cuts aren't necessary. They said Lurie could dip into the city's reserves instead. They also encouraged voters to pass Proposition D this November. If passed, it would raise taxes on the city's highest corporate executive earners, meaning more revenue and less need for cuts. While 127 layoff notices have already been issued by the Lurie administration, there could be more on the way. Lurie's budget team directed departments to send the proposals for 500 layoffs.
Opinion GOP’s fatal attraction to unions is the start of a bad romance
April 21, 2026 // Instead of offering flowers and chocolates, they aim to impress labor by slicing up the PRO Act and feeding it piecemeal to the rest of the GOP. The Faster Labor Contracts Act, sponsored by Hawley and Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), is the first portion. It would allow federal mediators to essentially write union contracts for newly organized workplaces, if businesses and unions can’t agree on terms within four months of a union’s workplace-election win.
Opinion: This is how NJ’s policies hurt our construction workforce
April 20, 2026 // The latest data from the Union Membership and Coverage Database tells a striking story: just 10.7% of New Jersey’s private construction workforce is unionized. That’s a dramatic decline from 15.6% in 2024, 12.2% in 2023, 20.7% in 2022, 26.9% in 2021 and 21.5% in 2020. In fact, in just a few years, union representation in private construction has been cut by more than half. That means nearly nine out of 10 construction workers in New Jersey are now non-union. And nearly 98% of minority-owned construction firms are non-union. Yet state policymakers continue to expand policies that favor union-only labor on public projects — creating a growing disconnect between who actually builds in New Jersey and who is allowed to compete for taxpayer-funded work.