NILRR Right to Work in the News February 03, 2017
National right-to-work bill introduced in Congress
Washington Examiner Online, February 02, 2017
Republican lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday that would prohibit workers from being required to support a union, making right-to-work laws the national standard. If enacted, the legislation would be a major challenge for organized labor, which has long counted on union-management contracts that force non-members to pay regular union fees.
Scott Walker talks to Trump team about national expansion of Act 10 labor limits
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Online, February 02, 2017
The governor said he and Pence talked about “what we’ve done here in Wisconsin, how they may take bits and pieces of what we did with Act 10 and with civil service reform, and how they could apply that at the national level” for federal workers.
Act 10 let schools pay better teachers more, and learning increased.
Wall Street Journal Online, January 29, 2017
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s collective-bargaining reforms have saved taxpayers money, and now a study finds that by rewarding the best teachers they are also improving student learning.
altondailynews.com, IL, February 02, 2017
National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix said, following this news, Illinois’ Janus v. AFSCME case will indeed get heard by the high court.
The President’s Right to Say ‘You’re Fired’
Wall Street Journal Online, January 30, 2017
But this triumph of public unions turns out to be their weakness. By removing one of the president’s main constitutional prerogatives, it has opened the door for him to assert his rights by executive order. Public unions, we now know after a half century of experience, do not advance the public good. They have succeeded mainly in destroying the concept of merit in the merit system.
Big Labor’s Membership Pains
Wall Street Journal Online, January 29, 2017
Last year union membership declined by about 290,000 in the 25 states that had right-to-work laws (to 6.5% from 7.1%) while increasing by roughly 50,000 in the other half.
Republicans Voting Against DeVos Are Backed By Teachers Unions
The Daily Caller Online, February 02, 2017
Murkowski was endorsed by the Alaska chapter of the National Education Association (NEA) in her 2016 campaign for Senate.
Collins, who has served in the Senate since 1997, received an “A†grade from the National Educators Association (NEA)in 2008. The “A†grade is the highest possible, according to the senator’s own press release. It is based on her voting record and “her co-sponsorship of legislation critical to NEA’s identified legislative priorities.†The “A†rating was also the result of “effective behind-the-scenes advocacy.â€
Why Pay Full Pensions To Unions That Bankrupted Taxpayers Pockets And Kids’ Minds?
The Federalist Online, February 02, 2017
With every headline about underfunded state and local public pensions, voters are coming to regret the overly generous retirement deals their representatives have negotiated with government unions. Dr. Joe Nation of the Stanford Institute for Policy Research puts the cumulative debt for all public pension systems at $5.599 trillion, or $46,884 per household.
The public pension crisis cannot be resolved without a recognition that a contract binds both parties and that, in the case of educators, the voters’ failure to adequately fund pensions has been more than matched by the unions’ failure to prioritize excellence. If there is to be remedial funding of teacher pensions, which inevitably means higher taxes and fewer government services, public unions must first end their resistance to meaningful education reform.
FOXX TELLS GRIFFIN TO LOSE ‘PARTISAN AGENDA’ OR QUIT:
Politico Morning Shift, February 03, 2017
House Education and the Workforce Chairwoman Virginia Foxx admonished the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board Thursday to “abandon his partisan agenda†or leave his post immediately, POLITICO’s Ted Hesson writes.
TRUMP’S RIGHT TO WORK ADVISER:
Politico Morning Shift Online, February 03, 2017
“Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday that he spoke with Vice President Pence about how the White House can implement on a federal level parts of the Republican governor’s contentious policy that all-but eliminated collective bargaining for public sector unions in the state,†the Associated Press reports. The conversation follows the introduction this week of national right-to-work legislation in the House. More here.