NILRR Right to Work Clipsheet March 18, 2016
Virginia, Alabama voters asked to reaffirm ‘right-to-work’ status
Washington Examiner Online, March 18, 2016
“Right-to-work is popular in Alabama and protecting worker freedom has been good for Alabama’s economy, so naturally legislators in the state want to find ways to promote Alabama’s right-to-work status,” said Greg Mourad, vice president of the National Right to Work Committee.
Compulsory Unionism Plunges States Deep Into Red
nilrr.org, March 16, 2016
Twenty-five years ago this May, as state officials across the nation were raising taxes and curtailing essential services to patch over large and widening budget gaps, a prescient cover story in Forbes magazine identified legal special privileges granted to union officials as a key factor behind manifold fiscal woes.
The Supreme Court Vacancy and Labor: Merrick Garland
onlabor.org, February 23, 2016
Between 1997 and 2016, Judge Garland wrote the majority opinion in 22 cases involving appeals of NLRB decisions. In all but four, Judge Garland upheld the entirety of the NLRB’s decision finding that an employer had committed unfair labor practices.
His language in these cases reveals a strong preference for deference: an “agency’s interpretation of its own precedent is entitled to judicial deference,â€
Right to Work Law Would Benefit Montana
Great Falls Tribune Online, March 14, 2016
Right to Work is a straight-forward policy. If a worker wants to join a union, he or she can do so. If a worker does not want to join a union, the employer and the local union cannot force union membership as a condition of employment. Right to Work protects all workers, union and non-union, from coercion.
CTU leaders plan walkout at schools on April 1
Chicago Tribune Online, March 15, 2016
On Saturday, CTU leaders met with a group of members to discuss a promised “Day of Action” amid halting contract talks with Chicago Public Schools. Sharkey called the one-day walkout an act of civil disobedience designed to marshal support for new taxes and revenue for public education.
Pegasus Foods Expanding In North Texas
cbslocal.com, March 14, 2016
Once again a California company has decided there is no better place to grow and operate a business than the Lone Star State,†said Governor Abbott. “Less government, lower taxes, smarter regulations and right-to-work laws create an economic framework that allows free enterprise to flourish and attracts employers to our large cities and small towns. Texas offers room to grow, and I look forward to welcoming even more businesses from California.â€
NLRB WON’T LET MCDONALD’S PROBE CONTRACTORS
Politico.com, March 18, 2016
The NLRB on Thursday prohibited McDonald’s from subpoenaing a communications firm and other contractors hired by SEIU as part of the union’s Fight for $15 campaign. A divided board ruled that an agency judge rightfully revoked subpoenas against the progressive communications group BerlinRosen and others, saying the proposed subpoena was not relevant to McDonald’s’ defense in the agency’s joint employer trial against the company.
Right-to-work amendment passed in Alabama Senate
WHNT19.com News, March 17, 2016
Alabama law already has the prohibition, but Republicans said adding the amendment to the state Constitution will give businesses additional assurances.
A Union Card Shouldn’t Be an Heirloom
Wall Street Journal Online, March 17, 2016
The heyday of union organization is long past—National Labor Relations Board data show a peak of 209,015 new workers voting to join a union in 1966—yet the workplaces that were organized decades ago are still covered by the same unions today. All or most of the workers who cast their votes for the union have since retired or left their jobs, replaced by people who have never had the chance to reaffirm—or reject—choices made by their parents’ or grandparents’ generations. Their union representation is inherited rather than elected, because their unions have never had to stand for recertification.