NILRR News Clips January 02, 2015

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What A Year Labor Unions Had In 2014

The Daily Caller Online, January 1, 2015

Here are six major labor issues that defined the year.

Harris v. Quinn. The Supreme Court ruled in Harris v. Quinn that Illinois home health care workers could not be compelled to join a union because they were hired by individual patients rather than the state.

In one ruling, the NLRB streamlined the process for resolving representation disputes. While NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce argues that the decision will “Simplifying and streamlining the process will result in improvements for all parties.â€

However, Mark Mix, the president of National Right to Work told The DCNF, “The NLRB’s new ambush union organizing election rules make union organizing campaigns even more one-sided and stifle the rights of employees who may oppose unionization in their workplace.â€

America Now Has Two More Right-To-Work Counties

The Daily Caller Online, December 31, 2014

Fulton and Simpson County both unanimously passed polices that prevent union membership as a condition of employment Tuesday night.

The ordinances offer “local employees the choice of whether or not to join a union upon employment,†the right-to-work group My Check My Choice said in a press release.

Three counties, all in Kentucky, have now passed such ordinances.

Bowman: Is the UAW serving workers?

The Detroit News Online, December 31, 2014

Because of past actions of UAW officials, and that Michigan is now a right-to-work state, those at the helm of the union have much to fear. Many workers feel no benefit from union membership or are angry that their dues are used to fund a far-left political agenda. After the contract expires, they will be free to exercise the rights, freedoms and protections that come from the right-to-work law passed in 2012.

Labor unions face challenges in 2015

Watchdog.org, January 2, 2015

Despite a “Week of Action†pickets in December, federal government labor statistics reveal a decade of decline for union membership here and nationwide.

“I don’t think it means much that unions win 63 percent of certification elections because those elections only occur if a union wants them to occur,†said Bill Messenger, an attorney for the National Right to Work Foundation. “It is interesting that unions still lose 37 percent of elections that they ask for.â€

High Taxes, Regulations Send New Yorkers Fleeing

Investors.com, December 30, 2014

The state recently raised its highest tax rate on the rich to 13.3%, while Florida has zero income tax. New York has the second-highest corporate tax; Florida’s is well below average. Florida is a right-to-work state; New York is a forced-union state. New York has banned fracking, so its energy resources mostly stay in the ground.

New York’s fall from grace has been long in the making and precipitous. As recently as 2000, New York had 3 million more residents than Florida. And in the 2000 Census, Texas was only slightly ahead of New York.

Fewer Wisconsin School District Unions Recertify

Heartland.org, December 31, 2014

Only 305 Wisconsin school districts’ unions sought recertification this November, dropping from 408 that did the year before. Additionally, state employees voted to decertify 25 school district unions.

Spin won’t stop the pension wrecking ball

Utsandiego.com, December 29, 2014

But two recent U-T stories show the real reason reformers keep trying to scale back public employee retirement benefits: their immense cost.

U-T reporter Pat Maio detailed the likely fallout(http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/dec/28/school-pension-contributions-skyrocket/?#article-copy ) at local school districts forced to triple the amount they pay toward pensions by 2021. Practically everything in district budgets besides employee compensation will take a huge hit, with less money for classrooms, teacher training and to pay off bonds for construction and technology projects.

The second illuminating piece about pensions came from U-T business columnist Dan McSwain. He noted the vast gap(http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/dec/27/retirement-pension-official-fantasy-unfunded/ ) between what the pension plans for San Diego city retirees and county retirees say are their unfunded liabilities — $3.86 billion combined — and what the sum would be were it based on the time-tested evaluation methods used by Moody’s Investors Service: $14.5 billion.

Illinois Policy Institute threatened with arrest at union-led trainings

Madison Record Online, December 23, 2014

The SEIU has been visibly upset at our presence. SEIU staffers have harassed us by shouting and confiscating our literature from caregivers’ hands and bags as they enter the meeting room. This week, their tactics intensified: The SEIU complained to the state about our presence in public buildings, and Illinois Policy was threatened with arrest.

State police at both the Rockford CMS building and the Bilandic building in downtown Chicago have threatened members of the Illinois Policy team with arrest. In Rockford, members of our team were told we were only allowed in these public buildings if we did not talk to people about leaving the union.

Union Employee Files Federal Charge Against Another Local Union for Violating Her Rights

nrtw.org, December 23, 2014

An employee of a local union has filed a federal charge against another local union for threatening her with job termination after she tried to exercise her right to refrain from union membership and full dues payments.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Karen Gomez of San Diego filed the unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

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