Posts tagged Workers for Opportunity
Florida Republicans introduce bills prohibiting paycheck deductions for public-sector union dues
March 14, 2023 // Vincent Vernuccio, a representative for the Mackinac Center’s Workers for Opportunity initiative, said, “[SB 256] is about transparency, accountability, good bookkeeping, and democracy. … This bill is about the rights of public employees: making sure they’re informed and they can exercise them.” Freedom Foundation representative Rusty Brown said, “There’s nothing in this bill that curtails organizing or collective bargaining for wages, benefits, or working conditions, which is what a union should be doing. And when you have a union whose membership is half [the people they represent] … then that could be indicative of a problem. … [This bill] gives the employees represented by the union the opportunity to vote … if they would like to continue allowing that union to represent them.”

The National Labor Relations Board is trying to silence employer speech
December 5, 2022 // The NLRB recently filed a complaint against Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, claiming a statement he made on CNBC constituted an unfair labor practice. When asked about the ongoing campaign to unionize Amazon, Jassy said: “It’s employees’ choice whether or not they want to join a union. We happen to think they’re better off not doing so, for a couple of reasons at least. You know, first, at a place like Amazon that empowers employees, if they see something they can do better for customers or for themselves, they can go meet in a room, decide how [to] change it — and change it. That type of empowerment doesn’t happen when you have unions. It’s much more bureaucratic, it’s much slower. I also think people are better off having direct connections with their managers.”

Opinion: States should protect caregivers’ Medicaid funds from union skims
June 27, 2022 // Yet, while a number of states including Michigan have taken action to prohibit the dues skim, a May rule by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reversed a Trump administration effort to stop the skim nationally. A separate 9th Circuit decision last week also continues to allow unions to trap home care providers into paying them. Robert and Patricia Haynes, cerebral palsy, Gov. Rick Snyder, Harris v. Quinn, Cindy Ochoa, most pro-union president ever,

The NLRB doesn’t want Amazon workers to know the truth about unions
May 23, 2022 // Freedom of speech, even harassment, is protected by the NLRB, it seems, if it's under the guise of a protest. But if an employer hosts a meeting for all staff to hear about the implications of unionization, that's not OK.

Employee Rights Act puts workers at the center of labor law
March 31, 2022 // And employees themselves can rest assured the Employee Rights Act will safeguard their freedoms, privacy and workplace rights. It will foster a workplace where, if their performance justifies a spot bonus or a merit raise, their employer has the freedom to do the right thing: reward and incentivize hard work.

Free-Market Thought Leaders Urge DeSantis to Take Up Worker Freedom Reforms in Special Session
March 30, 2022 // Free-market thought leaders want Governor Ron DeSantis to take up worker freedom issues in a special session of the Florida Legislature, according to an open letter sent to the governor today. The legislation would ensure public employees are made aware of their rights when deciding whether to join a union and are given the opportunity to vote on union representation.
Unions oppose employee rights with false claims re: Janus
March 21, 2022 // Vincent Vernuccio, testifying in support of SB 511, said, “ensures that public employees are informed about their First Amendment right to choose whether to pay union fees and further allows them to exercise this right at any time. This right is guaranteed to them under the U.S. Constitution and recognized by the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME.” Vernuccio is an attorney and labor policy senior fellow with Workers for Opportunity, a national project of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Rhode Island Schools Must Remove Unconstitutional Anti-Janus Contract Language
March 18, 2022 // Mackinac Center Legal Foundation demands districts stop forcing employees to pay union dues
N.C.’s Right to Work law turns 75, experts weigh in on workers’ rights
March 16, 2022 // The Right to Work law, approved in 1947, outlawed requiring union membership as a condition of hiring or of continued employment. It bans the idea of a “closed shop,” in which union membership is a necessary part of getting and keeping a job. The law also bans a “union shop.” In that scenario, an employer can hire nonunion workers, as long as those workers join the union within a certain period. The law also prohibits the mandatory collection of union dues by employers through payroll deductions.

Labor 101, F. Vincent Vernuccio will walk you through everything you need to know about labor.
March 12, 2022 // LABOR 101: In this tutorial video produced by Mackinac Center and Workers for Opportunity, F. Vincent Vernuccio gives a brief overview of labor policy, how to protect workers, and ideas to advance worker freedom.