NILRR Right to Work News October 13, 2017
freebeacon.com, October 12, 2017
Patrick Semmens, spokesman for the National Right to Work Foundation, called Griffin’s tenure “a disaster for the rights of independent workers who don’t want to associate with a labor union” and said Robb’s appointment is “critical” to winning balance on the board.
Flight Attendant: Southwest, Union Want to Get Away With Religious Discrimination
freebeacon.com, October 11, 2017
Carter described herself as being heavily involved in the union at various points in her career, but noticed a change in the union’s approach during the 2009 healthcare debate. She said union officials stopped focusing on “our job or our safety” and concentrated more on “telling us who to vote for or telling us what to say” about political issues.
She eventually became an agency fee payer to cut down on the amount of money that could be used for politics to voice her dissatisfaction, but began taking larger steps in recent years. She became a vocal support of a movement to recall Stone and her administration, joining other dissident union members to elect new leaders.
SCOTUS Will Hear a Case About Public-Sector Unions, and Democrats Are Terrified
weeklystandard.com, October 11, 2017
With Abood’s overturn imminent, the vast political machine—precisely what Roosevelt worried we’d give life to—fears for its survival. The proportion of Democratic funding extracted from public unions since the late 1970s makes their solvency essential to status-quo party operations. Obama overturned the last Bush administration’s transparency rules for public unions, providing cover for their political spending; but, five years ago, an indispensable investigation by the Wall Street Journal extrapolated from Bush-era data that organized labor’s political spending is quadruple the common estimate.
Politico.com, October 11, 2017
The American Federation of Government Employees sacked the leadership of Local 12, which represents employees at the Labor Department, and took over management of the local. The stated reason was some unapproved hotel expenses. But the deposed local officials had been at odds with AFGE brass for some time. One called it a “sloppy coup d’état.â€
In June, Local 12 President Alex Bastani threw an $18,000 luncheon at the Hyatt Regency to celebrate the local’s victory in a $7 million overtime dispute settlement with DOL, Washington Post columnist Joe Davidson reported. In a memo, AFGE President David Cox accused Bastani of misusing funds and failing “to abide by a vote of the local membership, conducted in September 2016, regarding the establishment of an audit committee and the hiring of an outside vendor for conducting an audit.â€
NORTHEASTERN WORKERS RATIFY DEAL:
Politico.com, October 11, 2017
Food service workers at Northeastern University ratified a new five-year contract Tuesday. Last week, the workers (represented by UNITE HERE Local 26) voted to strike if a new agreement couldn’t be reached by today. A strike would have coincided with a Clinton Global Initiative event at the school, possibly compelling former President Bill Clinton and his daughter to cross a picket line, but a tentative agreement was reached Monday night, averting the strike. Under the new contract, full-time workers will receive an average salary of $35,000 by 2019, up from $21,460. In addition, UNITE HERE said that the “new contract provides enhanced protections for immigrant workers, strengthened non-discrimination language including the addition of gender identity and expression, and additional sick days.â€
NLRB revokes union certification at FedEx Freight Terminal
financial.news.co.uk, October 20, 2017
To date, at three of the four FedEx Freight locations that originally voted for Teamster representation, the Union has either been decertified by employee vote or voluntarily decided not to continue as bargaining representative.
CR England Chicago intermodal drivers decertify Teamsters local
americanshipper.com, October 10, 2017
Nearly 70 intermodal drivers working out of the Chicago site of trucking and refrigerated transportation company CR England have voted to decertify Teamsters Local 705 as their bargaining representative after a long battle to unionize that was followed by a relatively short period of representation, CR England said in a statement Monday.
Is Right to Work Coming to Northeast? Delaware Councilman Introduces Ordinance
dailysignal.com, October 10, 2017
If Sussex County passes a right-to-work ordinance, it could signal change for the northeast region of the country, where no states are currently right to work, according to the National Right to Work Committee.
Huntington Chamber seminar to explain WV’s ‘right-to-work’ act
herald-dispatch.com, October 11, 2017
“Following a recent decision by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, right-to-work is now law in West Virginia and causes significant changes in employee relations, especially if your business has employees who are organized as members of a union,” said Bill Bissett, the chamber’s president and chief executive officer.
Fired/Rehired: THREE SHOOTINGS IN THREE YEARS
washingtonpost.com, October 07, 2017
A Washington Post investigation found that hundreds of police officers who were fired for misconduct, including allegations of sexual assault and drug trafficking, have been reinstated. Since 2006, at least 451 of 1,800 officers fired from 37 of the nation’s largest departments have won their jobs back through appeals provided for in union contracts.
For ex-union official turned mayor, priorities have shifted
Boston Globe Online, October 09, 2017
Union support helped propel Walsh, a former state representative, to two decades of election victories and generated predictions that he would be too beholden to labor once he took office. But as he seeks reelection this year, Walsh is finding his experiences with unions to be very different from when he was a leader with the Building Trades Council.