NILRR Clips November 7, 2014

A black and white image of an eagle with its wings spread.

Hey, unions: Don’t freak out about Scott Walker’s big victory

The Week, November 6, 2014

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) pulled off a stunner of a solid victory on Tuesday. And after his very public fights with Wisconsin’s public sector unions, the governor’s re-election is being billed as a major blow to Big Labor.

Still, for now, these are largely moral victories for Republicans. National Right to Work spokesman Patrick Semmens told me that Republicans have no plans to spring any major labor reforms on other states. “There is no vast right wing conspiracy,” he chuckled. And it is highly unlikely that any governor will unilaterally push right-to-work laws, let alone drastic Walker-style reforms on his or her own.

Indiana Supreme Court upholds ‘right to work’ law

IndyStar.com, November 7, 2014

Patrick Semmens, vice president of the anti-union National Right to Work Foundation, called the ruling “a great day for workers in Indiana.”

“The constitutionality of state Right to Work laws has long been a settled issue but unfortunately union bosses do not give up their special forced-dues powers easily,” he said. “Fortunately, the Indiana Supreme Court has put an end to this legal challenge and ensured that Hoosier State employees cannot be forced to join or pay tribute to a union as a condition of employment.”

NLRB Considers Union Request to Make Removing Unwanted Union More Difficult

workplacechoice.org, October 31, 2014

To no one’s surprise, the pro-union Board majority is willing to listen to the IAM counsel’s argument. And considering the bias nature of Board members, as evident in former NLRB member John Raudabaugh’s tracking of NLRB member voting patterns in FY 2015 and 2014 and Law Professor Joan Fylnn’s analysis of member voting records from 1985-2000, a ruling in favor of IAM is more than possible.

GOP Plans Congress Agenda After Midterm Election Sweep

Wall Street Journal Online, November 5, 2014

Both political parties on Wednesday began to assess the impact of a far-reaching Republican sweep in the midterm elections, with GOP leaders expected to start laying out their plans and the White House contemplating a final two years in office with a Republican-led Congress.

Republicans won Senate seats from West Virginia to Colorado and beyond to assemble a majority of at least 52 seats, while expanding their margin in the House, possibly to levels not seen in decades. The GOP was on track to potentially surpass 246 seats, which would represent the largest share of the House since 1946.

Republicans rolled up victories in most top-tier governors’ races, with Govs. Rick Scott of Florida, Rick Snyder of Michigan and Scott Walker of Wisconsin all notching wins. In Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback rode the Republican wave to victory in an election in which he looked vulnerable at times. In Pennsylvania, however, Democrat Tom Wolf defeated GOP Gov. Tom

Republicans also scored unlikely wins in gubernatorial races, including in Massachusetts and Maryland, two states with large populations of Democratic voters. Republican Bruce Rauner defeated Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn in Illinois. In Maine, the state’s Republican governor, Paul LePage, was re-elected.

Union’s bank is set to go public

Boston Globe Online, November 4, 2014

A community bank started by the local carpenters union is turning to Wall Street for help as it struggles to comply with new regulations put in place since the financial crisis.

GOP Victories Deal Blow to Organized Labor

Wall Street Journal Online, November 5, 2014

Republican wins in Senate and gubernatorial races on Tuesday dealt a blow to organized labor, which failed to help the Democratic Party fend off deep losses in the second straight midterm election.

Organized labor in Michigan: the dog that didn’t bark

publicsectorinc.org, November 5, 2014

While Governor Snyder and Michigan Republicans are pleased with their victories, the real lesson in this year’s election cycle is about the dog that didn’t bark, let alone bite. This was a terrible year for unions in Michigan. Not only did the candidates favorable to their agenda lose, unions also failed to force the election to be a referendum on labor issues.

Californian court makes landmark order against UFW, ALRB

freshfruitportal.com, November 6, 2014

The question of whether collective bargaining agreements can legally be foistered on California farmworkers was officially considered in court on Monday, setting up what promises to be a pivotal case for the future of the state’s produce sector. peaches_15949477 – panorama

Employees from the stonefruit and grape grower, known for its ‘Prima’ brand, held an historic protest outside the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) offices in August, calling for their votes to be counted from an election to decertify from the United Farm Workers (UFW) union.

Fight over public pensions to widen after Republican election gains

Reuters.com, November 5, 2014

Union-backed defenders of public pensions and their opponents expect their battle to expand to more states next year in the fight over U.S. entitlements after Tuesday’s mid-term elections.

Defenders of public pensions say they will be particularly focused on Colorado, Florida and Nevada, where they expect moves to reform pensions will gain steam after Republican gains on Tuesday.

Indiana High Court Finds Right To Work Law Constitutional

Law 360, November 6, 2014

The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the state’s Right to Work Law doesn’t violate the Indiana Constitution, rejecting claims from a chapter of the AFL-CIO that the law gives the state too much control over unions.

Labor’s declining clout helped U.S. Republicans win elections

thespec.com, November 06, 2014

As union membership dwindles — the percentage of the workforce belonging to unions is about half what it was three decades ago — organized labor continues to see its political clout diminish. Conservative Republicans who took over key Midwestern states four years ago, implementing bargaining restrictions, right-to-work declarations and reductions in public-employee pension benefits, survived challenges.

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