Commentary: Reforming Private Sector Unions

Unlike public sector unions, which are inherently corrupt and need to be outlawed, private sector unions have a vital role to play in American society. But these unions have become coopted by the same special interests they were originally formed to oppose. The political agenda of America’s unions is almost exclusively leftist, and being part of America’s institutional “Left” is not what it used to be.

The biggest misconception in American politics today is that the political Left is fighting corporate power. Leftists may still attack corporate profits and demand corporations pay their “fair share,” but on every major issue affecting the economic freedom and prosperity of working families in America, these presumed antagonists are actually in perfect alignment.

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The Goldwater Institute Demands Arizona Cities cease Unconstitutional Labor Union Trapping Policies

The Arizona-based Goldwater Institute (GI) announced Tuesday it had sent letters to the cities of Phoenix and Tempe, demanding the governmental bodies to change allegedly unconstitutional labor union practices that keep employees trapped paying dues.

“We think it is critically important for government employers to respect public employees’ constitutional rights. Under the U.S. and Arizona constitutions, no one can be forced to remain a member of—or make payments to—any private organization, particularly if it engages in speech or political activity the person disagrees with. Unions are no exception, and cities should not be making deals to trap public employees into being union members or paying union dues,” said GI Staff Attorney Parker Jackson in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.
“We think it is critically important for government employers to respect public employees’ constitutional rights. Under the U.S. and Arizona constitutions, no one can be forced to remain a member of—or make payments to—any private organization, particularly if it engages in speech or political activity the person disagrees with. Unions are no exception, and cities should not be making deals to trap public employees into being union members or paying union dues,” said GI Staff Attorney Parker Jackson in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.

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Industry and Unions Warn Pennsylvania Senate RGGI Will Kill Jobs, Hurt Consumers

Blue Collar Worker

In a rare moment of concord between industry and unions, representatives of both interests exhorted Pennsylvania state Senators on Tuesday to resist Pennsylvania’s entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Eleven states in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions have joined the pact to impose prices on carbon emissions for power plants. Unlike most member states, however, Pennsylvania entered into the agreement without legislative approval though an executive order by Gov. Tom Wolf (D) in 2019. The emissions pricing has not yet gone into effect; the governor wants to implement it in the next fiscal year.

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Connecticut Public-Sector Unions to Get Costly Raises and Bonuses If Contracts Approved

Worker in restaurant kitchen

According to a brochure distributed by Connecticut’s public-sector-labor coalition, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) and the state’s unionized employees have negotiated contracts that will cost taxpayers plenty if ratified. 

Wins for each unionized worker would include $3,500 in bonuses and and three yearly wage hikes of 2.5 percent, which would be made retroactive to summer of 2021. About two-thirds of union-affiliated employees would also get “step” raises; i.e., elevation to the next pay rate. These bonuses and salary gains would also factor into future pension payments.

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Connecticut School Superintendent on Leave After Allegations of Misconduct Suddenly Resigns Claiming Threats, Racism

The superintendent of Middletown Public Schools in Connecticut, who has been on paid leave due to an investigation into allegations of misconduct by top district officials, has resigned suddenly, claiming he received threats and a racist letter.

Middletown Police are investigating the letter, that now former Superintendent Michael Conner has alleged was mailed to him and contains death threats and racist language.

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Proposal Would Let Connecticut Agencies Sue Employers and Bestow Proceeds on Unions

Michael Winkler

A bill in the Connecticut House of Representatives would allow the state to effectively nullify worker-employer agreements designed to prevent lawsuits and let state officials bestow some monetary awards on unions.

The legislation, sponsored by State Representative Michael Winkler (D-Vernon), would evade what it refers to as “forced arbitration agreements” and “allow employees to sue employers on behalf of the state after having waived their personal rights to sue.” 

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Commentary: The Union Card

Until a few years ago, corporate political influence in the United States was balanced between those promoting a progressive, green agenda, and those maintaining a distance from social equity issues while continuing to lobby for conventional energy policies. But the incredible wealth amassed by high-tech companies over the past few years—all of them progressive and “green”—has completely overwhelmed that balance. America’s corporate establishment has now joined with the financial, academic, and media establishments, along with government bureaucracies, to unequivocally support progressive politics.

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Commentary: As Biden Courts Unions, Poll Shows Voter Split on Labor

Staff were still finding their desks at the White House when the new first lady hosted a summit to celebrate educators. There were just two guests invited on that first full day of the new administration: the leaders of the two largest public teacher unions in the country. And not that there was ever any confusion, but Jill Biden assured them both that organized labor “will always have a seat at the table.”

That has been true throughout the 46th president’s first year. For the Bidens, unions aren’t a casual part of some coalition. Labor is family. The first lady is a card-carrying member of the National Education Association. It is personal when Joe Biden promises to govern as “the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen.”

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Commentary: Pennsylvania Democrats Have a Union Problem

When Joe Biden kicked off his presidential campaign in April 2019 at the Teamsters Local 249 union hall in Pittsburgh, he declared himself a “union man,” sounding a theme that he repeated during his more than 25 campaign visits to the state. When Election Day came, however, Biden lost the union vote in Pennsylvania, winning instead with the support of moderate, suburban voters – especially women – who bristled at Donald Trump’s penchant for pandemonium. 

Now, after nearly a year of Biden’s presidency, Democrats’ long-standing, intimate relationship with unions has reached a crossroads in the Keystone State and elsewhere. Recent scandals, moreover, are earning the party a reputation for instability and even untrustworthiness – potentially relieving the GOP of its “chaotic” label.

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Unions and Businesses Nationwide Split on Biden’s Vaccine Mandate

President Joe Biden’s wide-ranging vaccine mandate will affect tens of millions of U.S. workers, but experts, labor unions and business groups are divided on what impact the rule will have.

While experts disagree on whether the federal mandate, which applies to the majority of the U.S. workforce, may lead to mass resignations, the rule will at the very least disrupt workplaces nationwide, Erik Eisenmann, a partner at the national law firm Husch Blackwell, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Tennessee Senate Approves Right-to-Work Resolution to Amend State Constitution

Tennesseans may receive explicit protections from union membership or affiliation as a condition of employment. If added to the Tennessee Constitution, the “Right to Work Amendment” would afford individuals the right to refuse membership within a union without facing repercussions concerning their employment. 

In order for an amendment to be made to the Tennessee Constitution, it must be approved twice. A simple majority is all that’s needed for the first approval. Then, the second approval must occur after an election via a two-thirds majority. State Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) first introduced this proposed amendment last January. The Senate passed it quickly, and was approved by the House in June. for the required second time in November. 

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Democrat Governor Roy Cooper On $15 Minimum Wage: ‘Admirable Goal’

North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Roy Cooper recently said that a $15 minimum wage is an ‘admirable goal’, however, wants to see “how high we can get it.” WRAL reported: Gov. Roy Cooper called Wednesday for an increase in North Carolina’s minimum wage and said it need not be the $15-an-hour phase-in many Democrats have called for. “We need to work with the General Assembly to see how high we can get it,” Cooper told WRAL News. “$15 is an admirable goal.” According to the WRAL report, Governor Cooper made these remarks “in a morning speech to the AFL-CIO and from a brief conversation with WRAL News afterward.” The report by WRAL also states that Cooper “endorsed, in broad strokes,” the AFL-CIO’s legislative priorities and that he said that the AFL-CIO’s priorities list “align with the mission” he has established. It’s unclear exactly what “mission” Cooper is referring to, however, a set of incremental wage hikes he appears to endorse combined with the tax hikes he has called for would likely torpedo the promises made in his “jobs plan.” “What we need is a leader with a laser focus on creating good paying jobs and lifting wages,” Cooper’s campaign website reads.…

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Durham City Council’s Proposed ‘Workers’ Rights Commission’ Backed by Statue-Toppling Communist

A proposal being entertained for a “workers’ rights commission” by the Durham City Council has a vocal communist supporting the measure. The News and Observer reported that “activist Takiyah Thompson” stood in support of the measure: Activist Takiyah Thompson told the council it is no mistake that union membership in North Carolina and South Carolina is so low, given the states’ history of slavery. “Durham is a chocolate city,” Thompson said, meaning it has a large African-American population. “In the absence of strong unions, workers must have access to a body who will defend them to the constant attacks leveled to them from their bosses, and in a city with such a large black population.” The News and Observer did not mention that Thompson is more than just an activist, but in fact is a communist and a member of the communist labor organization, the Workers World Party. In 2017, Thompson gained national attention for her prominent role and subsequent arrest for the toppling of a Confederate statue in Durham. Thompson scaled a ladder, fastened a noose around the statue’s neck and then protesters pulled until the monument came crashing down. Durham law enforcement later arrested Thompson and charged her with…

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President Trump Puts an End to Taxpayer Subsidies for Unions

President Trump

by Richard Manning   Government employee unions have enjoyed an absolute boondoggle in recent years, receiving hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds. But the boon could soon be over thanks to a new executive order from President Donald Trump. Last Friday, the president signed an executive order requiring that federal government employees who work full-time for the public employee unions at taxpayer expense spend at least 75 percent of their paid time on the government’s business. The administration estimates this will save taxpayers $100 million. This measure is one of three executive orders the president signed on Friday. Those orders do not eliminate taxpayer subsidies for public employee unions altogether—that is Congress’ job—but they do end the taxpayer subsidy of travel for union business; mandate that unions be charged fair market value for rents of government office space; streamline the public employee appeals process so that bad apples can be fired more rapidly; and force taxpayer-funded union workers to spend at least three-quarters of their time doing the people’s business. Most people are shocked to learn that taxpayers have been footing the bill for public employee union salaries, but they become incensed when they learn that in 2016, union employees were paid $177 million by the…

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Report: Painters Union Center in Nashville Luring Illegal Aliens Using False Information

An “ICE Free Zone” flyer  was reported to have been posted on the door of the new worker resource center opened in Nashville by Local 456 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT). Regardless of the union’s effort to lure illegal immigrants to the the center, it is not, according to ICE guidelines, off bounds to immigration officials. The Star asked ICE Public Affairs Officer, Mr. Nestor Yglesias whether an “ICE Free Zone” would discourage ICE officers from entering the premises if they had probable cause to believe a removable alien was inside the building. Mr. Yglesias referred The Star to the FAQ on Sensitive Locations and Courthouse Arrests posted on ICE’s website. “Sensitive locations” are those places where ICE enforcement and removal actions are less likely to occur although there are circumstances under which, exceptions will be made and enforcement actions will proceed. Places like the union’s Nashville office are not included in any of the “sensitive location” categories. Local 456 has teamed up with the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and Worker’s Dignity Dignidad Obrera to provide information and assist those who seek out the center’s resources. Nashville Workers Dignity organized in 2010 to represent “wage theft” from low wage…

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Memphis Fast Food Workers Rally For $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage

  Some fast food restaurant workers in Memphis walked out Monday to call for raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, reports WREG News Channel 3. Similar Labor Day protests were held across the country. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25. In Tennessee, the state minimum wage is the same as the current federal minimum wage. In Memphis, a group in front of the McDonald’s on Poplar Avenue waved signs at 6 a.m. reading, “Show me $15 & a union” and “#Fightfor15.” There group included workers from McDonald’s, KFC, Wendy’s and Church’s Chicken. The Memphis workers were joined by local Black Lives Matter activists, representatives with Workers Interfaith Network, IBEW and the Copper Coalition, and state Rep. G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis). The group later moved to the Taco Bell at Poplar and Belvedere, and then up Evergreen to Trinity United Methodist Church, which was hosting a picnic. #WeShutItDown #FightFor15 #UnionStrong pic.twitter.com/Ewp9YXabv6 — Show Me $15 (@Show_Me15) September 5, 2017 “Memphis workers in the Fight for $15 stressed their demand not just for $15 an hour, but for union rights in order to fix the economic and political systems in the U.S. that are rigged to benefit big corporations over working…

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