NILRR Weekly News Clips, November 22, 2013


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

 

Regent Law Students Participate in Two Supreme Court Cases

Networkedblogs.com, November 20, 2013

Through the Right to Work Practicum at Regent University School of Law, Regent’s law students have recently had the incredible opportunity to participate in not one, but two cases being heard by the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court will rule on Mulhall v. UNITE HERE in 2014.

Supreme Court Hears Argument on Legality of Neutrality Agreements

Labor Relations Today, November 14, 2013

Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral argument in UNITE HERE Local 355 v. Mulhall involving the issue of whether the Labor-Management Relation Act’s prohibition on employers from providing a union with any “thing of value” extends to the promises an employer makes in a neutrality agreement. Last year the Eleventh Circuit held that “organizing assistance can be a thing of value that, if demanded or given as payment, could constitute a violation of § 302.” The Eleventh Circuit decision was contrary to decisions from the Third and Fourth Circuits holding that neutrality agreements and the promises typically included therein are not “payment” of “things of value” proscribed by § 302.

Advocacy groups file suit over Unified’s union contracts

Kenosha News Online, November 22, 2013

WILL and NRTWF filed the suit Thursday in Kenosha County Circuit Court on behalf of an unidentified Unified teacher, as well as former Lakeview Technology Academy teacher Kristi Lacroix, who now serves as Wisconsin membership director for American Association of Educators.

State Labor Board Files Complaint Against Teachers Union

whmi.com, November 21, 2013

The National Right to Work Foundation filed a state charge on behalf of Linda Evon with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission in Detroit.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Ruling Allows Union Recertification Elections

National Right To Work Foundation, November 22, 2913

Madison, WI (November 22, 2013) – Last night, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a ruling that allows teachers across the state to vote to determine whether union officials can continue to claim to represent those teachers in their respective workplaces.

The ruling strikes down a Dane County Circuit Court judge’s order that prohibited the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) from conducting secret-ballot recertification elections that are guaranteed under Wisconsin Act 10.

Sorry, Leo Gerard, Employers Can and Do ‘Bribe’ Union Bosses by Helping Them Seize Monopoly Power Over Employees

NILRR.org, November 20, 2013

Six years ago, then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens recognized, in writing for a 7-2 majority in U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Brown, that under federal labor law employees have an “underlying right to receive information opposing unionization.â€Â  This is a right Big Labor bosses like Leo Gerard are loathe to acknowledge.

NLRB, UFCW and Wal-Mart:  A Tale of Two Hours’ Time

LaborPains.org, November 19, 2013

Yesterday, at precisely 5:12 PM Eastern Standard Time, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced by press release that it was authorizing complaints against Wal-Mart at the behest of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW).

ObamaCare’s Union Favor

Wall Street Journal Online, November 17, 2013

Earlier this month the Administration suggested that it may grant a waiver for some insurance plans from a tax that is supposed to capitalize a reinsurance fund for ObamaCare. The $25 billion cost of the fund, which is designed to pay out to the insurers on the exchanges if their costs are higher than expected, is socialized over every U.S. citizen with a private health plan. For 2014, the fee per head is $63.

Is There a New Filibuster Rule?

The Volokh Conspiracy Online, November 21, 2013

What has the Senate actually done so far, with respect to the filibuster? Some of the reports of what happened today say that the Senate has adopted “new rules†eliminating the filibuster for some purposes. I’m not sure that’s true, in a formal sense. As I understand what happened, the Senate voted to ignore  the current filibuster rule (on constitutional grounds). It did not vote to change it.

Supreme Court voids Act 10 contempt order

host.madison.com, Novemer 22, 2013

The state Supreme Court late Thursday threw out a contempt order issued last month by a Dane County judge that put union recertification elections on hold for school and municipal workers.

State senator considers taking ‘right-to-work’ measure to the ballot

q13fox.com online, November 21, 2013

Baumgartner wants Gov. Jay Inslee to call a special session of the Legislature right away to act on right-to-work.  That, he argues, will help save Boeing jobs here in Washington.  “It’s not about being anti-union,†he said.  “It’s about being pro-choice and pro-freedom.â€

UAW Subverting Secret Ballot in TN

Townhall.com, November 21, 2013

Normally, a company’s workers would vote in a secret ballot election to determine union representation, but the UAW has taken an approach that circumvents the democratic process and a fair election by utilizing a process known as card check. Under card check, workers show their support for unionization by signing a membership card, often in the presence of labor organizers, meaning they are often pressured and coerced, as opposed to voting their conscience without fear of reprisal.

Labor Unions Fueled Major Liberal ‘Dark Money’ Group In 2012

Huffingtonpost.com, November 21, 2013

Patriot Majority USA received nearly $2.26 million from unions and another $750,000 from a health care trade association in the last election cycle, according to a review of federal records by The Huffington Post.

The Boeing Machinists Say No

Wall Street Journal Online, November 22, 2013

One reason for the decline of private union membership is that labor chiefs are willing to trade away jobs for retirement benefits. Witness the  Boeing  BA +1.56%     machinists in Seattle last week who shot down a contract that would guarantee 20,000 jobs, which might now take flight to more business-friendly destinations.

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