NILRR Weekly Clipsheet April 04, 2014


 

A black and white image of an eagle with its wings spread.

 

Sens. McConnell, Paul Introduce National Right to Work Amendment

www.mcconnell.senate.gov, April 02, 2014

“But right now, I’d like to talk about another jobs proposal Senator Paul and I have again introduced – national Right to Work legislation. It would allow American workers to choose whether or not they’d like to join a union – and it would protect a worker from getting fired if she’d rather not subsidize a union boss who fails to represent her concerns and priorities.

Group asks NLRB to deny UAW request for special hearing

nooga.com, April 3, 2014

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, five Volkswagen employees filed a brief with the National Labor Relations Board in an effort to maintain their inclusion in an upcoming hearing on whether there should be a new union election at the VW plant.

Even in Right to Work States, It’s Very Likely More Employees Pay Union Dues Than Benefit From ‘Exclusive’ Union Representation

nilrr.org, April 02, 2014

The fact that 84% of unionized employees were union members hardly means that 84% thought their unions were doing a good job.  As top union lawyer Thomas Harris (since deceased) acknowledged more than half a century ago, the very fact that a union wields monopoly power to negotiate an employee’s pay, benefits, and work rules puts that worker under “intense compulsion†to join.  Consequently, it is almost certainly more likely that, even in Right to Work states, an employee who doesn’t think the union in his workplace is doing a good job will nevertheless join, than that an employee who thinks the union is doing a good job will refuse to join.

House Floor Leader: expect ‘Right to Work’ on Wednesday

Missousinet.com, April 4, 2014

Jones says he is confident that there is support for “right to work†in his caucus.

Politicmo.com,  April 3, 2014

As the Missouri House of Representatives inches closer to a possible vote on ‘right-to-work,’ national conservative groups are publicly piling on in hopes of getting it across the finish line.

Union calls off Toyota vote

Ourwindsor.ca, April 4, 2014

Canada’s largest private-sector union says it’s “temporarily†withdrawing its application to represent workers at Toyota’s assembly plants in Woodstock and Cambridge.

Wisconsin labor unions announce endorsement of Burke for governor

badgerherald.com, April 3, 2014

Shortly after the unions’ announcement, the Republican Party of Wisconsin pointed out the unions now endorsing the candidate, which include the Wisconsin Education Association Council, AFL-CIO and Madison Teachers Inc., have criticized Burke in the past.

Aviation’s Biggest Names, Bucking Unions, Fly South

The Financial Times Online, April 3, 2014

Aerospace companies are taking a cue from the auto industry and moving their manufacturing operations to Southern states. The region’s lower costs, generous state incentive packages and right-to-work laws that make it hard for unions to organize are motivating these companies to choose the South.

Labor secretary inaccurately cites his department’s data in hearing

Washington Examiner, April 3, 2014

Roby has contended that the inspections are part of a broader plan to assist Big Labor’s efforts to organize southern auto plants. She has cited as evidence a letter last year from OSHA to the Service Employees International Union stating that it would allow union officials to accompany its officials during their inspections under certain circumstances.

New York City Workers Block Big Dues Increase

Labor Notes Online, April 02, 2014

But after more than 400 members sent letters to the local, district, and national union with concerns about how the vote was taken, national AFSCME President Lee Saunders refused to accept the vote, blocking the increase. Local leadership is now backing down, saying they won’t pursue it again until after members get a new contract. Members are still asking for more transparency in how their money would be used to build a stronger, fighting 

Blowback For Obama: Obamacare Is Strangling Unionism

Forbes, April 01, 2014

In 1975, Leonard Woodcock, then president of the UAW, tied the labor movement to making universal health insurance a matter of federal law. It is no stretch to say that Obamacare would never have become a reality without the active support of labor for nearly five decades. But labor’s commitment to what finally took shape in the Affordable Care Act may become the textbook case of a political backfire. Obamacare is killing unionism.

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