NILRR Right to Work News August 24, 2018
www.nrtw.org, August 24, 2018
The UNITE HERE Local 8 union was installed at the hotel through an oft-abused “card check†drive, which bypasses an NLRB-supervised secret ballot election. Gladys Bryant, a housekeeper at the hotel, led a group of other employees to petition the NLRB to hold a decertification vote and remove the union, which was never voted in.
In addition to her petition for a secret ballot decertification vote, Foundation staff attorneys also filed NLRB unfair labor practice charges for Bryant against the union and hotel management for coercive tactics used in the union card check process. Those charges are still being investigated by the NLRB.
Another lawsuit demands California unions return fair share fees to government workers
sacbee.com, August 22, 2018
This time, the National Right to Work Foundation is suing Services Employees International Union Local 522 on behalf of William Hough, a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority worker who did not want to participate in the labor organization but still had so-called “fair share†fees deducted from his paycheck and handed to the union.
“The High Court made clear that fees cannot be collected without a clear waiver of First Amendment rights, something the SEIU never gave Mr. Hough and his colleagues, which is why the complaint seeks refunds of millions of dollars of fees seized in recent years,†Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens said in a news release.
Are Schumer and Trump Teaming Up To Give an Obama NLRB Nominee Another Term?
hitandrunblog.com, August 23, 2018
While the NLRB has a 3-2 Republican majority right now, business groups and free market organizations are raising red flags about Trump’s apparent plan to keep Pearce on the NLRB. In a letter sent Thursday to the White House, groups including the Competitive Enterprise Institite, the Club For Growth, and FreedomWorks say “all stakeholders governed by the NLRB—workers, employers, and unions—deserve better than an NLRB member who ignores facts and issues decisions that are legally unsupportable.”
The Wall Street Journal has editorialized against giving Pearce another term, calling him “Big Labor’s Obama holdover” and warning that Trump is making a bad deal by linking Pearce’s re-nomination to the confirmation of several Labor Department appointments.
Uncertain Future For Chicago Teachers Union
wbez.org, August 22, 2018
The union, a private organization, does not share its budget. But the most recent tax filings from 2016 show the union was running a $1 million deficit and the foundation about a $2 million deficit.
About 300 staff have already indicated they will not continue paying dues of about $1,000 a year. That could grow in coming years.
Wisconsin Teachers’ Union Leads Nation Again in Membership Losses
maciverinstitute.com, August 24, 2018
Wisconsin’s largest teachers’ union again is a national leader in membership losses.
The union now stands at just 32,130 active members. Before the passage of Act 10, WEAC had 98,000 members. That means its member rolls have declined by 67 percent since 2011.
Nearly 54 percent of active union members left the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) between 2012 and 2017, according to data from the Education Intelligence Agency. The union now stands at just 32,130 active members.
The trend is even more stark when compared with the union’s pre-Act 10 heyday. . . . WEAC had 98,000 members. That means its member rolls have declined by 67 percent since 2011.
Teamsters block tech buses in Castro district protest
sfchronicle.com, August 23, 2018
About 40 Teamsters blocked tech buses in a surprise protest that started shortly after 7 a.m., when the group surrounded a bus at 18th and Castro streets, delaying its departure for nearly 10 minutes.
Then the protesters pounced as a white WeDriveU bus pulled up, standing in front of the bus, letting passengers on but stopping the bus for several minutes.
Duo of Union Officials indicted in federal court for extortion and conspiracy –
edgarcountywatchdogs.com, August 23, 2018
The union’s efforts to obtain a contract with D5 Iron Works failed. The lawsuit alleges Williamson Sr. decided that the union would take it “old schoolâ€. Several hours later near the Plum Creek Christian Academy that was letting out, several members of Local 395, including its president and business agent, physically attacked employees of D5 Iron Works, Inc. Scott Kundingo, a D5 employee, was thrown to the ground and repeatedly punched, clubbed, and kicked in the face with steel toe boots. The lawsuit detailed Kundingo’s injuries including a shattered jaw and multiple fractures.
Strike halts work at some of Seattle’s largest construction sites
komonews.com, August 21, 2018
Members of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 302 started a strike at 6 a.m. after rejecting a tentative contract with the Association of General Contractors (AGC), for a second time.
politico Morning Shift August 24, 2018
The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute released today a new policy agenda premised on the idea that employment rules are “rigged against working people from their first day on the job.†The agenda calls for an easier path to join a union, a ban on “right to work†laws, a higher minimum wage, and access to paid sick leave, among other demands. “Importantly, this is a practical agenda that progressive candidates could run on and a progressive Congress could pass on Day 1,†the group said in a related announcement. Read the plan here.