NILRR Right to Work News Clips, November 30, 2016

 

Statement to the Workers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Online, November 28, 2016

According to reports, workers at O’Hare International Airport have been ordered by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) union bosses to strike beginning November 29.

Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement to these workers:

“All too often union officials initiate strikes to further their own power even if striking is not in the best interest of rank-and-file workers, or of the public at large. Affected workers need to know that federal labor law is clear: any worker has the right to remain on the job during a strike if the business remains open. Further, all workers have the right to resign from union membership before crossing a picket line and thus avoid fines and other internal union discipline for going to work.”

The full story of worker choice is freedom, better unions, Mix says

Wisconsin Watchdog Online, November 28, 2016

There are some significant players missing from the usual union lament narratives in the wake of Wisconsin’s collective bargaining reforms, according to Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Committee.

The AFL-CIO’s Response to Trump’s Presidency

AFL-CIOnow.org, November 29, 2016

Yet within hours of the election results being announced, Trump’s colleagues in the Republican Party were planning exactly that—to adopt “right to work” laws weakening unions in Missouri, Kentucky and New Hampshire and to appoint a Supreme Court justice who will cut the financial legs out from under unions that represent firefighters, nurses, teachers and sanitation workers.

To prevent this from happening, the AFL-CIO is committed to the following:

Right-to-work ruling a good sign

Bowling Green Daily News Online, November 27, 2016

Government officials in Warren County and 11 other counties took courageous votes in late 2014 and 2015 in order to pass right-to-work ordinances.

GOP sweeps into capital with big plans

News-PressNow.com, Missouri November 27, 2016

Lawmakers are likely to take up tort reform, right-to-work legislation limiting union power and other issues that were not able to withstand the veto of a Democratic governor.

California’s largest public employee union sets strike date

Daily News Online, November 23, 2-16

California’s largest public employee union says it has given notice to strike Dec. 5 in response to stalled contract talks with the state.

Did Teachers Unions Learn Anything From Hillary’s Loss?

Education Intelligence Agency Online, November 23, 2016

Do Unions Speak for Their Members?

These calls to pull together and recommit will have limited appeal among the rank-and-file, some of whom voted for Trump and others who supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries. The latter are indignant not just about a Trump presidency, but about the way their own union leaders manipulated the endorsement process to benefit Clinton.

Pro-labor columnists let the unions have it with both barrels.

Trump Selects Charter School Advocate Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary

NBC News Online, November 23, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump picked Betsy DeVos to be his education secretary Wednesday, putting an outspoken advocate of charter schools and school vouchers in America’s top education post.

Nuclear option fades in the GOP Senate

Washington Examiner Online, November 29, 2016

Key Senate Republicans say they won’t support a change to Senate rules that would allow President-elect Trump to quickly get his Supreme Court nominee confirmed, a sign that Trump may find it harder than he was hoping to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Mapping The $100,000+ California Public Employee Pensions At CalPERS Costing Taxpayers $3.0B

Forbes.com, November 26, 2016

The California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) is the USA’s largest pension fund with $301 billion in assets.

North Carolina Booming — By The Numbers

manufacturing.net, November 23, 2016

A lot of people don’t realize that North Carolina is one of the biggest manufacturing states in the country,” Chung says. “It’s part of the DNA of the state.”

Right to work laws have also kept unionization rates and labor costs lower than in other states.

Big Labor Flexes Its Political Muscle

Investors.com, November 28, 2016

On Tuesday, labor unions will hold a “national day of disruption,” planning protests at 20 airports and fast-food restaurants in 340 U.S. cities. The union-backed Fight for $15 — the chief organizer of the protests — hopes to convey Big Labor’s “unrelenting opposition” to President-elect Trump’s “extremist agenda to move the country to the right.”

Hoffa Retains Teamsters Union Presidency — Fewer Concessions Ahead?

National Law Review Online, November 30, 2016

Hoffa received almost 6,000 more votes – a surprisingly small margin, according to Bloomberg BNA’s Daily Labor Report – than his opponent, Fred Zuckerman, the head of Teamsters Local 89 in Louisville, Kentucky, who ran on the Teamsters United slate. Teamsters United criticized Hoffa for granting pension and other concessions during collective bargaining. Teamsters members in the United States cast more ballots in favor of Zuckerman, but Canadian Teamsters members favored Hoffa in large enough numbers to secure the apparent victory for him.

Ill Workers Embark on 7th Circuit Bid to End Forced Dues

law 360 Online, November 22, 2016

The National Right to Work Foundation, which is representing the workers, said in a statement Monday that the case could potentially reach the high court and, “answer the questions that the deadlocked Friedrichs case did not.”

Why the Convention Center peace talks failed

philly.com, November 29, 2016

For years, convention bookings had declined, with meeting planners and exhibitors blaming the cost and hassle of dealing with six unions and especially the carpenters, who were seen as inflexible.

After meeting with Trump, Barletta considering secretary of labor post

The Times Tribune Online, Hazleton, PA, November 30, 2016

Mr. Barletta, Hazleton’s mayor from 2000 to 2011, said he has a good relationship with unions going back to his days as mayor dealing with city public safety and other unions and working on union-related issues in Congress.

A compilation of union ratings of his congressional voting record by the good-government group Project Vote Smart tells a different story. With most major unions, Mr. Barletta scores well below 50 percent. He routinely scores 100 percent or almost that high with most pro-business groups. Many labor union members voted for Mr. Trump.

Oh, good. The labor unions are holding a “national day of disruption”

Hot Air Online, November 29, 2016

If you’re planning on going to the airport today or even stopping at McDonald’s for a McRib you should probably add a bit of buffer time into your schedule. The “Fight for 15” crowd, in concert with other union activists, are staging another Day of Disruption. In other words, it’s not a protest to get a message out, but rather an orchestrated attempt to shut down the flow of commerce and basic infrastructure. (Fox News)

TRUMP REACHES DEAL WITH CARRIER:

Politico Morning Shift Online, November 30, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump surprised skeptics Tuesday night by fulfilling a campaign pledge to save “close to 1000” jobs at a Carrier Air Conditioning plant in Indianapolis, according to a company tweet. Trump himself tweeted late Tuesday that he and Pence will travel to Indiana Thursday to announce the deal

CHAO FROM LABOR TO TRANSPORTATION

Politico Morning Shift, November 30, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to be his Transportation Secretary, his transition team announced on Tuesday. Chao served as Labor secretary for eight years under President George W. Bush, which made her the longest-tenured Bush Cabinet member.