NILRR Right to Work News

A painting of trees in the woods with no leaves.


Big Labor Academic Candidly Admits That Compulsory Unionism Antithetical To Free Market

www.nilrr.org, November 02, 2017

Lichtenstein strongly asserts that: “[Compulsory] unions are not for the market. They’re against the market. That’s the purpose of a union.â€

Today’s Big Labor bosses are rarely so blunt about their ideological agenda, but we are unaware of any union spokesman who disagrees with Lichtenstein’s anti-free market assessment. Afterall, his assessment is indeed correct.

Supreme Court Accepts Historic Forced-Unionism Case

heartland.org, November 01, 2017

Patrick Semmens, vice president of public information for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, says public-sector labor unions are inherently political because everything they do affects government policy.

“In the public sector, there is no real distinction,†Semmens said. “Everything the union does is essentially lobbying, because everything they’re trying to do is get the way the government acts to change. They want public policy to change, like negotiating for teacher seniority rules, so that a teacher is going to keep their job based on seniority and not their merit. That’s important public policy.â€

Union Bosses, Leftist Senators Brace for Likely Supreme Court Loss

libertyheadlines.com, November 02, 2017

Hence the panic among leading Democrats, who count on the muscle of union bosses to help further their liberal political aims. If workers can choose to de-fund the union bosses, most observers believe that Democratic Party organizational models will be weakened.

On Wednesday Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unleashed a furious speech on the Senate floor, blasting the arguments of Janus and those representing the right to work without union interference.

BRIEF IN UBER UNION SUIT:

politico.com, 11/02/2017 09:00 AM EDT

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation filed an appellate brief last week in Clark v. Seattle, a case over a Seattle law that allows ride hail companies to join a union. A district court allowed the law to stand in late August, but the case was appealed to the 9th Circuit. In the brief filed Friday, the foundation argued that the National Labor Relations Act preempts the Seattle ordinance, and that the city’s law violates the drivers’ First Amendment rights. Read the brief here.

Dems Bashed for Putting Unions Ahead of Workers

insidesources.com, November 01, 2017

“Let’s be clear what this is really about,†Bethany Aronhalt, a spokeswoman for the committee, told InsideSources. “Big Labor knows the only way they’re going to get a ‘better deal’ is at the expense of worker rights.â€

Analysis: Teachers Unions Will Argue in Court That ‘Agency Fees’ Don’t Fund Political Activities. But They’re Saying Something Different to Members

the 74 million.org, October 31, 2017

The unions will argue that engagements with the government as an employer are fundamentally different from those with the government as sovereign, and that workplace “coherence†makes it necessary for non-members to subsidize the majority position. They will claim that fee-payers are not supporting unions’ political speech in any meaningful way.

Which makes the information being disseminated by the American Federation of Teachers to local activists all the more curious.

Iowa Judge Delivers Setback to Public Worker Unions

Courthouse News Online, October 31, 2017

In a blow to Iowa’s public labor unions, a state judge upheld sweeping changes limiting the rights of more than 180,000 government workers to collectively bargain for health insurance, better pay and other benefits.

FBI plants bull’s-eye on GM, Ford as UAW scandal widens

freep.com, November 02, 2017

The FBI’s probe into financial shenanigans by UAW and auto executives has extended to General Motors and Ford, which join FCA in a growing scandal that has charged four individuals so far and has more indictments in the pipeline, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Big Labor Expects to Lose this Time

nationalreview.com, November 01, 2017

Apparently, the unions anticipate a loss and are preparing for it by trying to dragoon workers into contracts that would make it very hard for them to exercise their rights. In Minnesota, the teachers’ union is hoping that members won’t read the fine print on an innocuous looking card. If they sign it, teachers will thereafter find it very hard to escape from paying dues or fees.

Right-to-Work New Mexico: Facts vs Fiction

forbes.com, November 02, 2017

Keep in mind, RTW does not in any way forbid or prevent unions from organizing, holding elections or bargaining with employers. All it does is allow for choice in union membership.

Which is, of course, exactly why labor leaders have fought RTW anywhere and everywhere. The most recent example:  Sandoval County, New Mexico, where two county commissioners, Jay Block and David Heil, have sponsored their own RTW ordinance.

The response from Big Labor was swift and predictable….first lie, then threaten lawsuits.

Illinois hearing on why state lost Foxconn deal not expected to talk state business climate+

ilnewqs.org

Another issue that Halbrook said makes Illinois less competitive is right to work.

“All neighboring states have right to work,†Halbrook said. “So we’re put in a little bit of an undesirable position because we’re just not competitive on these things.â€

Toyota-Mazda said it won’t build its new auto plant in Illinois because it is not a right-to-work state. Right to work allows employees in union settings to not join the union if they choose not to.

GOTHAMIST AND DNAINFO SHUT DOWN

politico.com, November 03, 2017

Joe Ricketts, the billionaire owner of the local news websites Gothamist and DNAInfo, decided to pull the plug Thursday, one week after reporters and editors in New York voted to unionize, Andy Newman and John Leyland report in the New York Times. A spokesperson for DNAinfo told the New York Times “the decision by the editorial team to unionize is simply another competitive obstacle making it harder for the business to be financially successful.†That leaves 115 journalists without a job, including the ones in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco who did not unionize. The reporters will receive three months’ paid leave and four weeks’ severance.

Labor Racket Weekly: October’s Worst of the Worst

Labor Pains.org, November 03, 2017

On October 10th, 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Thomas M. Miller, former Financial Secretary-Treasurer of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Division 815 (located in Joliet, Ill.), was sentenced to two years of supervised probation. Miller was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $21,070, a fine of $2,000, and a special assessment of $100. On May 19th, 2017, Miller pled guilty to one count of embezzlement in the amount of $10,686, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c).

NLRB names interim replacement for General Counsel Richard Griffin

Washington Examiner Online, November 03, 2017

The National Labor Relations Board announced Wednesday that Jennifer Abruzzo will serve as acting general counsel for the government’s top labor law enforcement agency, replacing the controversial Richard Griffin, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama.

Democratic leaders call for end to right-to-work

Washington Examiner Online, November 1, 2017

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, of California, and other top party officials joined with top labor leaders Wednesday to announce their joint “A Better Deal” agenda to boost the union movement. A key plank in the agenda is “Ban state laws that undermine worker freedoms to join together and negotiate,” which the agenda later identifies as right-to-work laws.

Right To Work a better Amazon incentive than rail

seacoastline.com, November 01, 2017

A far better approach would to convert NH to a Right to Work State. Amazon is known for resisting unionization, which has been a key to its success so far. RTW would leave the decision purely in the workers’ hands, and make it harder to establish a union that is not wanted by the workers.

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