NILRR Right to Work Clips
www.nrtw.org, July 26, 2017
With free legal representation from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys, a group of Kentucky workers have won a motion to intervene in the recently filed Big Labor-backed lawsuit attacking Kentucky’s new Right to Work law.
PA AFL-CIO Says Liberals Are Alienating Union Members
freebeacon.com, July 26, 2017
Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale said the group did a poor job of listening to its members in the recent past, according to WSKG News. Bloomingdale embarked on a “listening tour” across the state following President Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the state, which was in part inspired by blue collar workers. Bloomingdale said that his members feel “alienated” by liberalism.
Judge hesitant to allow testimony on vandalism in Teamsters case
Boston Herald Online, July 26, 2017
A federal judge concerned about a past misstep in the “Top Chef†investigation wants more information before he’ll let the U.S. Attorney’s Office infer four Teamsters were behind acts of vandalism directed at a crew for the reality TV show as payback for not hiring local union workers.
Charter Grads Get a Leg Up in College
Wall Street Journal Online, July 26, 2017
The nation’s oldest civil-rights organization and the largest teachers union worry about charters for similar reasons. Independently run charters generally don’t employ unionized teachers, and they pull students from traditional district schools to which the NAACP is deeply committed. In short, charters disrupt the status quo—for adults.
The timing of the intertwined anticharter campaigns, however, may prove awkward because of new data just released by The 74.
LRI Online, July, 2017
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court upheld Wisconsin’s 2015 Right-To-Work law. A similar battle is playing out in Kentucky, where Governor Matt Bevin has asked a judge to dismiss a suit filed by the Kentucky State AFL-CIO and Teamsters Local 89 against Kentucky’s recently enacted law.
In Michigan, the UAW and Harsco Rail ran afoul of that state’s right to work law when they illegally reduced a welder’s wages after he opted out of the union.
Teamsters Denounce GOP Bill To Roll Back NLRB Joint Employer Ruling
prnewswire.com, July 27, 2017
The Teamsters Union today denounced the introduction of legislation by House Republicans that would roll back the 2015 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) “joint employer” ruling in the case of Browning-Ferris Industries, Inc. The decision established stronger protections for millions of American workers by holding employers that rely on temporary or contracted workers accountable.
Morning Spin: Wall Street agency: Chicago will need $1.3 billion more for pensions by 2023
Chicago Tribune Online, July 28, 2017
By 2023, the city will have to come up with up to $1.3 billion in new revenue and spending reductions to meet scheduled contributions to the city’s four pension funds and make rising debt payments, the agency estimated. On top of that, Chicago Public Schools and other local taxing bodies could need nearly $339 million more to meet those costs.
STATE LEADERS: UNIONIZING NISSAN WILL NOT HELP MISSISSIPPI
mpbonline, July 28, 2017
“One of the things that’s strengthened our economy in Mississippi, is the fact that we are a right to work state and this is working against that. That’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to attract industry to Mississippi,” said Gunn.
According to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Fund, Mississippi workers can’t be forced to join a union, even if the company is unionized and employers can’t prevent people from joining a union to keep their job. Agreements between the company and union apply to non-union employees as well.
Former Fiat Chrysler VP Union Leader’s Widow Indicted
Daily Labor Report Online, July 26, 2017
The indictment alleges Iacobelli and others acting for FCA funneled more than $1.2 million in payments from 2009 to 2014 to Morgan, Holiefield, and others. Those payments included designer clothing, jewelry, and furniture. The $262,219 mortgage on Holiefield and Morgan’s residence in Harrison Township, Mich., was also paid off with the funds, prosecutors allege.
Those payments were made using the account and credit cards of the UAW-previous hitChryslernext hit National Training Center in Detroit, the indictment said.
Labor leader James Sweeney out at tollway board
Daily Herald Online, July 25, 2017
Labor union leader James Sweeney, who accused Gov. Bruce Rauner of trying to “destroy the labor movement” in Illinois and once parked an inflatable rat on the tollway lawn, won’t be reappointed to the tollway board.
Union recertification votes scheduled for hundreds of government worksites this fall
radioIowa.com, July 27, 2017
Just before an employment contract is set to expire every two or three years, Iowa’s new collective bargaining law requires votes by government employees in those workplaces that are organized into bargaining units. Iowa’s public-sector unions now have to win support from a majority of employees in the bargaining unit, not just a majority of those voting in the certification election.
Supervisors Vote to Keep Unions Out of New Hire Materials
Loudoun Now Online, July 25, 2017
Supervisors voted along party lines to kill a proposal that would have let unions and other organizations outside county government include materials in the county’s packages for new hires.