May 04, 2011 NILRR News Clips
Republican Senators Plan to Introduce Bill to Protect State Right-to-Work Laws
Daily Labor Report Online, 5/03/2011
Two Republican senators intend to introduce May 4
legislation called the Right to Work Protection Act, which aims to strengthen
existing protections in the National Labor Relations Act of state right-to-work
laws to ensure that state laws cannot be preempted by the federal law.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
told reporters May 3 that the legislation is necessary in light of recent action
taken by the National Labor Relations Board against Boeing Co.
GOP Senators Blast NLRB Boeing Complaint, Call for Acting General Counsel’s
Explanation
Daily Labor Report Online, 5/03/2011
Ten Republican senators told National Labor Relations Board
Acting General Counsel Lafe E. Solomon May 3 that they “strongly disagree†with
his decision to issue an unfair labor practice complaint alleging that Boeing
Co. illegally transferred airliner production from Washington state to South
Carolina, and they will expect a “greater explanation†of the action when they
take up Solomon’s nomination to become general counsel.
NLRB Rejects Union Suggestion for Change Of  Policy Favoring Vote on Employer
Premises
Daily Labor Report Online, 5/03/2011
The National Labor Relations Board April 29 rejected
suggestions from the Service Employees International Union and an SEIU local
that the board revisit its long-standing presumption that representation
elections should be conducted on the premises of the employer rather than at an
off-site location (Mental Health Ass’n Inc., 356 N.L.R.B. No. 151, 4/29/11).
Hotel, UNITE HERE Must Arbitrate Dispute Over Duration Clause, First Circuit
Decides
Daily Labor Report Online, 5/03/2011
A hotel in Rhode Island must arbitrate its dispute with
UNITE HERE over the meaning of their neutrality agreement’s duration clause
because the parties had agreed to a broad arbitration provision that
unambiguously encompassed the dispute, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First
Circuit ruled April 29 (UNITE HERE Local 217 v. Sage Hospitality Res., 1st Cir.,
No. 10-1667, 4/29/11).
NMB Denies Union’s Motion to Reconsider Decision on Frontier, Other Republic
Pilots
Daily Labor Report Online, 5/02/2011
The National Mediation Board April 21 denied a motion by
the Frontier Airline Pilots Association to reconsider its ruling that Frontier
Airlines and five other subsidiaries of Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (RAH) are
a single transportation system for representation purposes for more than 3,000
pilots (In re Republic Airlines/Frontier, 38 N.M.B. No. 42, 4/21/11).
SAG Takes Major Step to Create New Union By Next Year Through Merger With AFTRA
Daily Labor Report Online, 5/02/2011
The national board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild
April 30 unanimously approved creation of a task force to work with the American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists on a merger of the two unions into a
newly created union by early next year.
FEC Draft Audit Report Raises Questions About $14 Million in SEIU Spending in
2008
Daily Labor Report Online, 5/02/2011
A report by Federal Election Commission staff auditors set
to be discussed by the FEC commissioners May 5 raises questions about more than
$14.4 million worth of “independent expenditures†by the Service Employees
International Union during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Repeal of Oklahoma Law Requiring City Collective Bargaining Signed by Governor
Daily Labor Report Online 5/02/2011
AUSTIN, Texas—Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) April 29 signed
into law legislation (H.B. 1593) to repeal an earlier law that required cities
with populations over 35,000 to bargain with unions representing their
employees.
GM Workers in Ohio Sue Company, UAW, Seeking $3 Million for Misclassification
Daily Labor Report Online, 5/03/2011
The suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of Ohio under the Labor-Management Relations Act charges that the
company improperly classified the workers as temporary and that the union failed
to defend their rights as spelled out in the parties’ collective bargaining
agreement.
Boeing slams NLRB for making false accusations
Washington Examiner Online, 5/03/2011
Boeing on Tuesday sent a letter to the general counsel for
the National Labor Relations Board, blasting him for making false accusations
about the company’s decision to build a non-union factory in South Carolina,
which an NLRB complaint charges is illegal.
Collective bargaining bill for Tennessee teachers stalls
Commercial Appeal Online, 5/03/2011
 The bill to end collective bargaining by Tennessee
teachers suffered a setback Tuesday, and the top House Republican leader said it
may be difficult to pass this year.
Supporters of the bill had expected the House Finance
Committee to approve the repeal and send it to the House floor for final
approval. The Senate approved the bill Monday.
Instead, the Finance Committee voted 14-11 to send it back
to the Education Committee for detailed review of a last-minute, 17-page
amendment.
Long Road Out of Bankruptcy
Wall street Journal Online 5/04/2011
Vallejo, which filed for Chapter 9 protection in 2008,
represents the biggest municipal bankruptcy in California since Orange County
filed in 1994 and one of the largest in U.S. history.
In January, the city of 120,000 people some 30 miles
northeast of San Francisco submitted a plan to exit from bankruptcy and began
negotiating on a debt restructuring with major creditors. City leaders secured
deals with Vallejo’s largest debt holder—Union Bank of San Francisco—and bond
insurer National Public Finance Guarantee Corp.
NEA Looks to Put Dollars Behind Ballot Efforts
Education Week, 5/03/2011
 The National Education Association has thrown its
financial support behind an effort to overturn a series of new Idaho laws that
weaken teachers’ collective bargaining rights and job protections.
And the union’s giving won’t stop there.
The 3.2-million member union is likely to provide financial
backing to a similar efforts in other states, including Ohio, the NEA’s
political director, Karen White, told me this week. In Idaho, the union
contributed $75,000 to an attempt to gather enough signatures to have items
placed on the ballot to overturn three laws recently approved by lawmakers.
The War of the Flea
American Spectator Online, 5/2011
In a vicious cycle, the public sector unions take dues from
their members, who are paid in tax dollars, and then use those dues to work for
more influence and more tax dollars from the American taxpayer. With each cycle,
more and more money flows from the taxpayer to the public sector unions.
End run: Proposed contracting disclosure rule could harm political rights of
businesses
Detroit News Online, 5/02/2011
The Obama administration is mulling an end run around the
U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling allowing corporations and unions to engage in
the political process. A draft presidential executive order has been leaked in
which all firms seeking to do business with the federal government would have to
disclose their political contributions — and those of their officers — over
$5,000. This could kill those donations.
Notably, as Republican senators observed in a letter to
President Barack Obama, the proposed order does not require unions and their
officers to make similar disclosures before they engage in collective bargaining
with units of the federal government.
EDITORIAL: Big Labor’s attack on democracy
Washington Times Online, 5/03/2011
It’s hard to understand why the firm doesn’t flee the
Evergreen State entirely in favor of a more friendly right-to-work production
centers. In fact, Boeing officials are quick to note they have done nothing to
hurt the union. “We haven’t taken any jobs away from the IAM in Seattle,†Mr.
Neale explained. “What we’ve done in South Carolina is add new production
capacity.†Lafe Solomon, Mr. Obama’s pick for the general counsel job at NLRB,
doesn’t see it that way.
Special Election Repudiates Walker—Again
AFL-CIO Blog, 5/04/2011
In a special election to replace the previous assembly
member whom Walker tapped for a top job in his administration, Doyle won 54
percent to 46 percent over Walker-backed candidate John Lautz.
*** Click to download all of today’s NILRR News Clips. ***
| 20110504 NILRR Clips (Public).pdf | 52.1 KB |