Posts tagged Utah
From Coast to Coast, What’s Going On with State & Local Teacher Union Affiliates
January 24, 2023 //
Right-to-Work battle looms in Michigan: Businesses fear repeal by Democrats
December 5, 2022 // Michigan business groups are wary of Democrats’ calls to repeal Right-to-Work laws when they take charge in Lansing early next year, saying the state instead should focus on economic policies that attract jobs. Business Leaders for Michigan, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and chamber leaders from the state’s two largest cities — Detroit and Grand Rapids — all urge caution. But Democrats — who are backed heavily by unions including the Michigan Education Association and United Auto Workers — say the move prioritizes workers and labor rights.

19 Republican governors oppose proposed Project Labor Agreement rule
October 31, 2022 // Nineteen Republican governors wrote a letter to President Joe Biden (D) on October 17, 2022, opposing a proposed federal rule to mandate the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for federal construction projects. The letter was signed by governors from Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. The proposed rule follows an executive order that was signed by Biden in February 2022 that aimed to require PLAs for large-scale construction projects. A group of Republican governors wrote a letter in April 2022 opposing the executive order, arguing that it granted a monopoly to unions and discouraged competition. The proposed rule would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the executive order and mandate the use of PLAs for federal construction contracts exceeding $35 million.
Utah Democratic Party, Salt Lake County Democratic Party workers unionize
August 4, 2022 // As efforts to unionize among Democratic political staffers and congressional staffers have increased nationwide, employees of the Utah Democratic Party and Salt Lake County Democratic Party have officially unionized. Ben Peck, Salt Lake County Democratic Party executive director, said he worked on unionizing political staffers for more than a year before he started his job with the county party. He immediately started the process after he was hired. Union benefits will only apply to paid staff, not volunteers or unpaid interns, Peck said. Utah Democratic Party Chairwoman Diane Lewis, Democratic Party platform,

TEENS ARE MISSING OUT ON JOBS. AND YOUR STATE COULD BE TO BLAME
April 18, 2022 // Research shows that teenagers who work for even a single year have incomes that are 14% to 16% higher in their 20s, and working for several years multiplies the benefits. Teenage work also leads to decreased drug use and increased graduation rates. And then there are the intangible benefits that accompany work. Keeping a schedule, getting along with co-workers, learning personal strengths and weaknesses – the sooner teenagers learn these skills, the better.
‘Just transition’ bill for oil industry workers exposes labor rift
February 27, 2022 // Trades leaders say that beginning to dismantle the industry now will only push workers into lower-paid jobs. Instead, Trades officials say, the state should invest in big-ticket infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail and offshore wind projects that will create comparable jobs to what workers have been doing for decades.

Union membership hits new low
January 24, 2022 // Those numbers have fallen steadily, if not uniformly, over the last two generations, even as the number of American workers has increased substantially. Today, there are about 50 million more workers in the American economy than there were in 1983, and 3 million fewer union members.