NILRR Weekly News Clips January31, 2013
The Hill Online, January 29, 2014
In a letter dated Monday, leaders of major unions told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that proposed regulations for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would do nothing to help union health plans.
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, January 30, 2014
Mesa, AZ (January 30, 2014) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a local transit worker has won a federal settlement after union officials violated his right to refrain from paying union dues or fees.
What should public-sector workers do if they can’t strike?
Washington Post Online, January 28, 2014
When public employees have been forbidden from collective bargaining, they’ve been known to strike, however illegal that may be. . When such actions are illegal, it goes without saying that no worker is legally compelled to support them, as they are compelled to support their unions for collective bargaining purposes when collective bargaining is legal, and when their unions have won the support of a majority of their co-workers and are engaged in negotiating and administering a contract.
Union Release Time Declared Unconstitutional in Arizona
National Review Online, January 30, 2014
Union release time, which allows public employees to be paid by taxpayers while working for their unions, was declared unconstitutional in Arizona on Wednesday, possibly setting the stage for similar decisions nationwide.
National Right to Work Foundation requests investigation of NLRB action
Washington Examiner Online, January 29, 2014
Attorneys for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation have requested that the National Labor Relations Board’s inspector general probe the board’s recent decision to publicly release internal legal advice memos involving the foundation’s cases.
NRTW has been representing employees of a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., in complaints against both the car manufacturer and the United Auto Workers. In memos written Jan. 17 and made public Jan. 23, NLRB lawyers called for the board to dismiss the complaints.
AFL-CIO enlists former GOP Speaker Tilley in ‘right-to-work’ fight
Politicmo.com, January 29, 2014
After opposing efforts to move a ‘right-to-work’ bill in the legislature while serving as Speaker of the House, Steven Tilley is back at it again – this time, joining the AFL-CIO as a lobbyist as it revs up for a potentially big fight over the issue.
Court: Scranton does not have to pay higher pension benefits
Times-Tribune Online, January 30, 2014
In an interview Monday with The Times-Tribune, the city’s new financial consultant, Henry Amoroso, said the city’s worst problems are its massive pension deficit and rising annual pension contributions. Mr. Bulzoni said of the Commonwealth Court rulings, “If the decisions went the other way, it would have been almost insurmountable” and could have led to the pension funds being wiped out.
Longshoremen ordered to pay millions in damages for port strike
Baltimore Sun Online, January 28, 2014
A federal arbitrator has ordered a local longshoremen’s union to pay nearly $4 million in damages after a labor strike in October led to lost revenue at the port of Baltimore.
Top state union leader calls Cuomo a ‘monkey,’ ‘moron’
New York Post Online, January 30, 2014
One of the state’s top union leaders called Gov. Cuomo a “monkey†and a “moron†Wednesday for downsizing the state workforce.
Mich. Right-To-Work Law Treads On Federal Turf, Union Says
Law 360, January 28, 2014
The Michigan State AFL-CIO urged a federal court Friday to reject Michigan Attorney General William Schuette’s bid to dismiss a suit challenging a state right-to-work law covering private sector workers, claiming the Michigan statute strays into areas that are exclusively subject to federal regulation.
Did Judge Juan Colas’ Family Ties Influence His Decision On Act 10?
January 30, 2014
Judge Colas has been at the center of the continuing legal controversy surrounding Act 10, Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to reform collective bargaining in Wisconsin. Union critics of Governor Walker have called Act 10 an attack on worker’s rights and they have sued the Governor in an attempt to have the law ruled unconstitutional.
Grace Colas’ employer, the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee, regularly receives financial support from the teacher’s union and its affiliates that have been parties in the case her father is ruling over.
What happens when public workers don’t have to join a union? They don”t
American Thinker, January 29, 2014
Let me be clear. I have nothing against unions but they should never be mandatory, especially in the public sector.  Furthermore, their contributions to political campaigns should reflect the wishes of the membership not the leadership.
Insider lays out litany of Local 17 wrongdoing in federal court
Buffalo News Online, January 30, 2014
“Try to delay work as much as possible,†he said of Local 17’s strategy toward non-union contractors. “Try to slow down the trucks.â€
Arbitrator’s bill in porn-watching teacher case: $48,600
Wisconsin Reporter Online, January 30, 2014
That’s how much taxpayers in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District paid for the services of Karen Mawhinney, the arbitrator who ordered the reinstatement of a seventh-grade science teacher fired for viewing multiple pornographic images and videos at school.