NILRR News Clips April 10, 2015

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Former labor union official pleads guilty in federal database case

Buffalo News Online, April 09, 2015

Jeffrey A. Peterson, 51, of Freedom, a former business agent of Local 17 of the Operating Engineers International, AFL-CIO, pleaded guilty Thursday before Senior U.S. District Court Judge William M. Skretny to a federal charge of exceeding his authorized access to the New York State Motor Vehicles Department’s database.

SEIU invests heavily in a nothing to lose strategy

Washington Times Online, April 08, 2015

The SEIU isn’t interested in the negative impacts of its “Fight for 15†campaign because it has one goal in mind: add new members. New members mean new revenue for the union. And despite its purported altruism, nearly everything the SEIU does can be boiled down to organizing new workers to collect more dollars.

Lawsuit Places Governor In The Back Pocket Of Organized Labor

Daily Caller Online, April 08, 2015

The lawsuit from The Fairness Center, a non-profit law firm, alleges that Gov. Wolf, a Democrat, has purposely made it easier for unions to organize homecare workers in the state through his executive order. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has close connections to the governor, looks likely to benefit the most.

Unionizing battle for Pennsylvania home-care workers heating up

Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette Online, April 8, 2015

A national battle over ongoing home-care worker organizing efforts has been rekindled in Pennsylvania now that a coalition of care providers and recipients has sued the Wolf administration, claiming an executive order issued by the Democratic governor is a stealth unionization attempt. 

Is Your State on the Path to Prosperity or the Poorhouse?

The Daily Signal Online, April 08,2015

States with right-to-work laws that prevent workers from being coerced to pay union dues attract more businesses and workers, which in turn grow their economies. Compared to forced-union states, right-to-work states experienced twice the rate of employment growth from 2003–2013, one-quarter higher income growth, and one-third greater output growth. What’s more, right-to-work states experienced a 3 percent increase in net migration, while forced-union states suffered a 1 percent loss in net migration.

Right to work in Ohio? Niche panel will consider

Cincinnati.com, April 07, 2015

A niche legislative panel will consider adding right to work to the Ohio constitution, although the proposal – submitted by an Ohio citizen and obtained by The Enquirer – appears unlikely to pass.

Scranton pursuing new plan to pay $20M judgment owed to unions

The Times-Tribune Online, April 08, 2015

Scranton is pursuing a new plan to pay most of a $23 million-and-growing judgment overdue to the police and firefighter unions all at once, instead of through installments, said city Business Administrator David Bulzoni.

The new plan calls for using around $3 million in workers’ compensation funds for a collateral debt-service reserve for some $22.4 million in bonds. The bonds would be issued to pay the 2011 landmark state Supreme Court arbitration ruling awarding the unions years of back pay.

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