Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Director of Policy for Beacon Impact, Ron Shultis to the newsmakers line who explained elements of the PROAct, federalized occupational licensing, and the Freedom to Work Act bill proposed by Rep. Harshbarger.
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Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Senior Policy Analyst of the Independent Women’s Form, Patrice Onwuka to the newsmakers line to explain the details of the Biden administrations’ PRO Act and its effect on independent contractors and gig workers.
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In a post-session virtual luncheon hosted by Wason Center Academic Director Quentin Kidd, Senate Minority Leader Thomas Norment (R-James City) expressed alarm at erosion of Virginia’s business-friendly status while Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said moderate pro-business senators were helping protect Virginia’s business environment — for now.
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Six of the seven GOP gubernatorial candidates met for a debate hosted by the Virginia Federation of Republican Women on Tuesday evening. Candidates answered questions about Dominion voting machines, Second Amendment rights, transportation, and funding law enforcement. Organizers said Pete Snyder had a prior engagement.
Larry O’Connor asked the candidates, “Amazon is king right now in northern Virginia if you didn’t know any better. How will we expect small businesses to survive when government regulations that make it difficult for them are thrown out the window for literally the richest man in the world? How do you plan to protect key real estate in northern Virginia from being swallowed up by one company as well?”
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Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed State Rep. Chris Todd in the studio to discuss his new bill that would create a constitutional amendment for the right to work in Tennessee.
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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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U.S. House and Senate Democrats have reintroduced the PRO ACT, a sweeping pro-union bill that would wipe out right-to-work labor laws in 27 states.
Democrats argue the PRO Act will create safer workplaces and increase employee benefits by expanding union organizing. Those opposed to it argue it will force small businesses to close, cost an untold number of jobs and worsen the economy, and “impose a laundry list of other union boss power grabs.”
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Legislation that would add Tennessee’s right-to-work law to the state constitution was filed Thursday by Sen. Brian Kelsey, preparing the proposed constitutional amendment to advance through the Tennessee Legislature for the required second time.
“This amendment will guarantee future generations of Tennessee workers their right to work regardless of whether they choose to join a union,” Kelsey (R-Germantown) said of SJR 2.
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A resolution that would enshrine right-to-work protections in the Tennessee Constitution has passed the state House after already clearing the Senate.
“Since 1947, Tennessee has valued the right to work because we understand that it is truly a right,” Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, said on the House floor Wednesday evening before the resolution passed, 67-23.
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Tennessee House and Senate leaders introduced a resolution Wednesday that would add Tennessee’s Right to Work law to the state constitution.
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Wisconsin lawyers Adam Jarchow and Michael Dean will ask the Supreme Court to end mandatory bar association fees, which are common to the regulation of legal practice in at least 30 states.
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A U.S. magistrate judge has ruled that Aaron Benner, a former St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) teacher, can seek punitive damages against his former employer, which allegedly retaliated against him after he criticized its “racial equity” policy.
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The Tennessee Education Association has lost 44 percent of its members in the last decade.
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A city employee of Columbus, Ohio has filed a class action lawsuit against her local labor union for forcing her to pay union fees, despite the practice being ruled unconstitutional. Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) was one of the most impactful Supreme Court rulings…
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A Brainerd public official has become the first in the nation to successfully challenge her union’s “window period” scheme in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Janus v. AFSCME decision. Sandra Anderson, a clerk for the City of Brainerd Police Department, filed suit against the International Brotherhood of…
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by Tim Pearce The editorial workers and writers at the online publication Slate Magazine voted overwhelmingly to allow Slate employees to strike Tuesday. The final vote was 52 to one. Representatives from the Writers Guild of America – East, Slate employees’ union, and company officials are in talks discussing employees’ demands…
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More than half of all workplace tasks will be carried out by machines by 2025, organizers of the Davos economic forum said in a report released Monday that highlights the speed with which the labor market will change in coming years. The World Economic Forum estimates that machines will be…
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By Richard McCarty The nation’s largest union had a run of good luck during the Obama years, but the last couple of years have been rough for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). For those not familiar with the union, SEIU claims 2 million members and is composed of janitors, security guards,…
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A woman claiming to be a union member from Nashville left a foul-mouthed voice mail last week at the offices of the Mackinac Center, the Michigan-based think tank that filed an amicus brief in the Janus v. AFSCME lawsuit in which the Supreme Court ruled employees could not be required…
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News flash: People move out of states with high tax burdens, more regulations and fewer jobs to states with fewer taxes and regulations and more jobs. The former tend to be in Democratic-controlled states, while the latter tend to be in Republican-controlled states. That report comes last week from Mark…
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Since 2012, the UAW has desperately worked to shore up it’s dwindling numbers – as well as gain a semblance of presence in the South – by unionizing the Canton, Mississippi Nissan plant’s over 6,000 workers. Three weeks ago, union activists passed a significant hurdle when the petition to unionize earned the…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens signed “right-to-work” legislation into law on Monday, fulfilling a campaign promise that has been cheered by Republicans and the state’s business community. It was a busy day for the governor, whose victory lap took him to an abandoned warehouse in Springfield —…
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