Posts tagged veto
Legal action threatened over NYC plan to hike delivery worker pay
August 9, 2025 // "This pain would be felt most acutely by the city’s independent grocers — those without the scale or cushion of national chains," the group wrote in an op-ed published earlier this week. "New York’s Independent grocers are already facing historic challenges, including inflation, soaring rents, rising retail theft, shrinking margins, and the rapid expansion of chain supermarkets and big-box retailers.
Op-Ed: Public employees deserve truth from union officials
June 24, 2025 // Pueblo’s contract isn’t even the worst offender in Colorado. The Denver Housing Authority’s contract, enacted this year, says that its 300-plus employees must be full, dues-paying members of the union, AFSCME Local 535. If enforced, the requirement could be one of the most egregious violations of public employees’ rights of free speech and association anywhere in the country. With some union officials unaware of — or unwilling to comply with — dettled law, it’s more important than ever for public employees in the state to understand their rights under union representation.
Screaming For Subsidies: Unions Throw Public Tantrum Outside Governor’s Mansion
June 18, 2025 // Yet the day’s events turned hostile when union protesters vandalized a mobile billboard truck commissioned by Yankee Institute. The vehicle displayed messages urging Gov. Lamont to veto S.B. 8.
Scott Vetoes Bill That Would Let Some Court Employees Unionize
June 10, 2025 // “The Judiciary has advised this change could have a negative impact on the effective management of courthouses and fear a workplace marked by divisiveness and angst were this bill to pass,” Scott wrote in his veto message regarding S.125. “At a time when our court system is managing a significant backlog, we should be focusing on improving efficiencies within the system.” In addition, the bill would make it harder for workers to kick out an existing union, which is done by what is known as a decertification vote. To schedule a vote today, 30 percent of a union’s members must sign a petition supporting the move. The bill would have raised that threshold to 50 percent plus one.
US labor unions fight to contain AI disruption
June 5, 2025 // The threat extends beyond manufacturing. The CEO of Anthropic, which created Claude as a competitor to ChatGPT, warned last week that generative AI could eliminate half of all low-skilled white-collar jobs, potentially driving unemployment rates up to 10-20 percent. "The potential displacement of workers and elimination of jobs is a significant concern not just for our members, but for the public in general," said Peter Finn of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, America's largest union.
CT Union Threatens Lamont Over Striking Worker Bill
June 4, 2025 // S.B. 8, which passed the Senate 24–11 on May 28 with Sen. Norm Needleman (D-Essex) abstaining, rewrites Section 31-236 of state law to allow striking workers to collect unemployment benefits after 14 days on the picket line — even if they volunteered to strike. Gov. Lamont vetoed a similar bill last year, and for good reason. This year, he’s again signaling opposition — but unions aren’t taking “no” for an answer.
Op-ed: Colorado workers should know their rights
May 22, 2025 // With the examples of Pueblo and Denver—and those in other states—in mind, Colorado employees would be wise to educate themselves on their rights under state and federal law regarding union membership and representation. With lawmakers determined to expand union power, it may be up to employees to ensure that union officials are also held accountable to the law.
CT Lawmakers Find the Line Between Governing and Union Organizing — and Cross It
May 19, 2025 // Standing alongside Sen. Matt Lesser (D-Middletown) and Rep. Nick Gauthier (D–Waterford), and Sen. MD Rahman (D-Manchester), Sen. Kushner made it crystal clear where her priorities lie — not in brokering solutions, but in prolonging standoffs. “We’ve been fighting for Senate Bill 8,” she told the crowd, referring to her legislation. She framed it to protect workers — but in reality, it’s designed to help unions hold the line longer by forcing employers to bankroll the strikes being waged against them. Describing the bill as a response to a supposedly broken federal labor system, she even falsely claiming that “we don’t even have a Federal Labor Board” — using that to justify why Connecticut needs to “do everything” to support strikers, including paying them not to work.
COLORADO: As expected, Gov. Polis vetoes bill changing unionization requirements
May 19, 2025 // Lawmakers passed the bill at the end of the legislative session after negotiations between labor leadership and the business community failed. Democrats were hoping Polis would have a change of heart. "I would think as the figurehead of the Democratic party," Rep. Jennifer Bacon, who sponsored the bill, said on the House floor last Monday. "He will do what Democrats ask him to do and what Democrats worked on. I have faith that he will do it. He will sign this bill." That didn't happen. In his veto letter, Polis said he was open to changing the law but thinks there should be a higher threshold when voting for dues deductions.
Gov. Jared Polis’ coming labor bill veto will strain Democrat’s labor ties — and set stage for ballot fight
May 15, 2025 // Polis has said that Colorado’s 81-year-old labor law has worked well and that he wants maximum employee input in negotiating union dues. He added Thursday that he wanted a deal that would bring stability to business-labor relations in the state, referring to fears that a change to the status quo would usher in a tug-of-war over competing ballot measures and legislation. Asked about Polis’ skeptical views of SB-5, Dougherty said those were concerns “that were not relayed to us when he was running for governor.”