NILRR Weekly News Clips May 17, 2013

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Contra Ezra Klein, Unions Spend Plenty on Politics

Heritage.org, May 13 2013

The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein recently lamented that America has “a deeply unbalanced political system.†He highlighted a chart showing that business owners and employees donate billions to politicians, while unions give only a few tens of millions. True enough, but this does not make labor “totally outgunned,†as he claims. Unions give little directly to politicians because they run their own political machines.

Teachers Union Tried to Kill it But the Students Stepped in and Saved It

backwoodshome.com, May-June, 2013

There are few victories sweeter in life than that of young teenagers triumphing over organized mean-spirited adults in positions of seemingly absolute power. This is a story that comes out of my own home town of Gold Beach, Oregon. It pits the high school band, consisting of 15 teenagers ranging in age from 15 to 18, against the powerful local teacher’s union that tried to shut the band down because their unpaid volunteer band director, who everybody agreed was doing a good job, did not possess an Oregon teaching credential.

Record debate yields victory for care workers’ unionization

Star-Tribune.com, May 15, 2013

An all-night, 17-hour debate prompted by furious GOP opposition ended with a victory for unions seeking to organize care-workers on Wednesday.

Will Washington become a right-to-work state to win Boeing’s 777X?

HeraldNet.com, May 14, 2013

“It’s very clear that Boeing is choosing to expand into states that have more competitive labor environments, and that right-to-work states like South Carolina have a significant potential advantage,” said Baumgartner, R-Spokane.

Mexico, Where Teachers Take Hostages

Wall Street Journal Online, May 12, 2013

Mexican students studying to be teachers released a hostage on Wednesday—in the municipality of Nahuatzen—due to concerns about his health. But they continue to hold five others. The students are supported by the Michoacán State Teachers Organization, which warned that the remaining captives, who are state policemen, would be freed only when a demand for 1,200 new teaching jobs is met.

Victory for volunteer firefighters in Hays County

KVUE.com, ABC News, May 11, 2013

Voters struck down a proposal to allow paid firefighters unions collective bargaining rights.

Results show 83% of the votes were against the measure. Only 17 percent were for it.

Teamsters back away from representing O’Hare janitors

Chicago Sun-Times Online, May 17, 2013

Thomas Mandler, a lawyer for United Maintenance, said earlier this week that the company had negotiated a contract with the Teamsters but would look into SEIU officials’ claim that the janitors want to be represented by them.

UAW President upbeat over Volkswagen plant prospects

Times Free Press, May 16, 2013

The head of the United Auto Workers is sounding an upbeat note on a future union presence at Chattanooga’s Volkswagen plant, even as others question the prospects and the wisdom of such a move.

Union Bosses Demand Nuclear Option On Obama’s Flawed NLRB & Labor Nominations

Union Labor Report, May 15, 2013

On Thursday, it’s political payback time in the U.S. Senate as union bosses demand that Harry Reid and his fellow union dues-funded Democrats go to bat for Barack Obama’s deeply-flawed nominations at the National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor.

IRS Failed to Catch Labor Union Front Group’s Unreported Lobbying Activities

International Business Times, May 16, 2013

ROC is a labor union front group disguised as a restaurant industry employment center and watchdog. ROC’s tactics include mob-style shakedowns, often employing intimidation and harassment in an effort to force restaurants into submission.

 

Further Thoughts on the Third Circuit’s Recess Appointment Decision

Volokh Conspiracy, May 16, 2013 6:18 pm

One of the frequently explanations for why the Supreme Court prefers to let circuit splits develop is that the Justices benefit from having the views of many court of appeals judges before addressing a subject themselves.  Today’s Third Circuit opinion in NLRB v. New Vista Nursing & Rehabilitation serves that role admirably, adding two new perspectives to the existing circuit split on the breadth of the President’s recess appointment powe

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