Free Republic

From correctional, child support and security officers to program techs – about 900 members are trying to leave the Service Employees Union, but voter packets were inadvertently mailed out early two days early. (snip) We want to bring back the old way of representation which would just be for members wages and benefits, and get out of the Obama-care fight, the immigration fight, the Black Lives matter fight, the 15 fight – all these fights that are not associated with public sector employees.” – Eulalio Gomez, Fresno Sheriffs Correction Officer.

A recent caller to Rush Limbaugh’s radio show highlights the size and scope of Donald Trump’s supportive base: CALLER: I just wanted to let you know, I wanted to talk about the Trumpster. I think he’s tapped into some of the Democratic voters because I’m a Teamster back here, and I was working with 30 Teamsters last night. We put shows in conventions and load trucks up, and these guys, now, mind you, only three of the 30 of us are Republicans, one’s a Libertarian, and the rest voted for Obama. And these guys love the Trumpster, they love him....

The indictment of former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett closes a chapter in yet another sad tale of greedy, cheating city officials. Her lawyer says she has agreed to plead guilty when she appears in court, and I hope the judge throws the book at her. But ethical misconduct is only a part of BBB's legacy. The ex-CEO—along with the rest of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's crack team at the Board of Education—has left us with a whopper of a problem that could hit full force as soon as next month. I'm referring to the nearly $500 million hole in...

The 2015 American Federation of Teachers annual report shows a left-wing political machine humming on all cylinders — with teachers buying the gas. For the fiscal year ending June 30, the union reported $37.6 million in political activity and lobbying expenditures, a $12.7 million increase from the previous year. Even more political spending was tucked away elsewhere in AFT’s annual U.S. Department of Labor filing, reported as “Contributions, Gifts and Grants,” “General Overhead” or “Representational Activities.” AFT paid union president Randi Weingarten, one of the nation’s most prominent “progressive” activists, a total of $497,118. The union reported only 2 percent...

Leaked Audio: Hillary Clinton Calls at Private Fundraiser for Infrastructure Bank to Resemble Clinton Global Initiative Hillary Clinton told donors at a private fundraiser in New York last Thursday that she plans as president to create a “national infrastructure bank” modeled on the Clinton Global Initiative, according to a recording of her remarks obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. This was the first time that Clinton, who has long supported the formation of a government-controlled bank to invest in national infrastructure projects, cited the Clinton Global Initiative—the flagship arm of her family’s controversial foundation—as an investment model for her proposed...

The public school district in Taylor, Michigan is in big trouble financially. It is shedding students and has run significant deficits in recent years due to spending more than it takes in, requiring special oversight from the state. But the district still finds the money to pay four union stewards to do union work on the taxpayer’s dime. More than $108,000 is given up so that the union can enjoy this privilege. The practice is called “release time,” and school districts across the state do it. The arrangement allows union officials, typically the president of the union local, to be...

The two authors [Dylan Bennett of the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha and University of Washington Ph.D. candidate Hannah Walker] construct their argument calling Walker a racist by observing that the city of Milwaukee is home to the largest concentration of black people in Milwaukee. As in many metropolitan areas, many of the suburbs surrounding Milwaukee “such as Brookfield and Waukesha” are chockablock with white residents. Thus, the white scholars contend, any effort to reduce the scope of government is racist even if — especially if — proponents of limited government never use any overtly racist language. “Governor Walker engages a strong,...

Governor Scott Walker made his name reforming Wisconsin’s labor laws. Now he proposes to do the same at the federal level. In a speech yesterday, Walker detailed solid labor-policy reforms that conservatives should embrace. His reforms boil down to eliminating union power over the government and focusing private-sector labor law on employee choice. Walker sees creating government unions as a policy mistake that unnecessarily increases government spending. Neutering Wisconsin’s government unions enabled him to eliminate a $3.6 billion budget deficit and cut taxes by $2 billion. Federal unions are not as powerful as state and local government unions — they...

Yes, yes, Scott Walker doesn’t have enough pizazz or excitement for some Republicans. Let’s just toss out this bold agenda while we’re at it. >>>Walker will propose eliminating the National Labor Relations Board, which he will say has “become a one-sided proxy for the big union bosses — often at the expense of taxpayers and workers.” He will also propose eliminating “big-government federal unions,” saying the time members of those unions spend on union efforts takes away from the time they spend doing their jobs serving the American people. Walker’s plan would also make Right to Work nationwide, giving employees...

..... On Monday, the Wisconsin governor released his plan to strangle unions, titled “My Plan to Give Power to the People, Not the Union Bosses.”....Under President Obama, the NLRB has been more aggressive for labor than the business-friendly boards of previous administrations. In August, for example, it made it easier for unions to negotiate on behalf of workers at companies that rely on contractors and franchisees. If fast-food workers at McDonald’s or software testers at Microsoft want to unionize, employers have to come to the table to negotiate. For Walker, this decision is evidence that the NLRB is now “a...

[Hillary] used the social media platform to accuse Walker of employing “bullying” tactics when dealing with unions. “Unions help keep working families strong. Scott Walker’s attacks on unions and workers’ rights aren’t leadership—they’re bullying,” Clinton wrote. The tweet was signed with her initial, indicating she personally authored the tweet. A few hours later, Walker responded — and hit back hard. @HillaryClinton Actually, we’re protecting the American worker from being forced to support candidates like you,” [SW]

Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) is proposing the elimination of federal employee unions as part of broader package of policies aimed at curbing the influence of unions across the country. Walker rocketed to national prominence on the back of his own anti-union policies back in Wisconsin, so he’s looking to elevate that push to the national level as he works to rebound from slipping poll numbers. The plan, released Monday morning, includes shuttering the National Labor Relations Board, a government agency that protects employee’s ability to join unions and rules on unfair labor allegations. Walker plans to call the NLRB a...

MADISON, Wis. — Sinking in the national polls, the bumbling campaign of onetime frontrunner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, is preparing to double down with renewed attacks on working people. Career politician Walker’s desperate bid to remain competitive on the backs of the middle class and working people will be unveiled in a Monday speech in Las Vegas Nevada, hometown of anti-union, Walker mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. “Scott Walker has always been willing to do or say anything to try to win an election,” commented One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. “It’s no surprise he’s...

In a report by Lansing TV station WLNS on a public meeting related to the Grand Ledge public schools, teachers made claims about their pay that don't stand up to scrutiny. The district’s latest teachers union contract expired June 30. The report quoted teachers who said they haven’t had pay raises in 10 years. One described a stipend of up to $4,000 to teach one extra class period a day as “tiny.” The TV station reported: “Some teachers say they haven’t gotten pay increases in 10 years and that’s led some to resign.” That is contradicted by the last union...

Employees with access to their employer’s email system have the right to use it for union organizing and other communications about wages and working conditions, but only during “nonworking time,” the National Labor Relations Board ruled Thursday. The ruling overturns a 2007 board decision stating employees don’t have a statutory right to use their employer’s email system for such purposes. Since then, the board’s makeup has changed and the board’s three Democrats agreed to overturn the earlier decision. The two Republican members dissented. The ruling, part of a rush of decisions the board is expected to make by Dec. 16,...

[Excerpted]

Emails released by the State Department Monday night show that the leader of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the nation's top unions, had direct access to the office of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Several emails show that requests from Tina Flournoy, union President Randi Weingarten's assistant at the time, for private meetings or phone calls were given priority by Clinton. For example, in a July 20, 2010, message to Clinton's private account "HDR22@clintonemail.com," Flournoy, using her American Federation of Teachers address, said: "Have a little issue I would like to discuss with you over the phone. Not...

Rosemary Stawasz wasn't sure what Michigan's right-to-work law, enacted at the end of 2012, would mean for her. Stawasz, a special education teacher with the Van Buren Intermediate School District, worried about what would happen if she exercised her new right to not be forced to financially support the local teachers union. Under the previous law, paying union dues or fees was a condition of employment. Now, she had a choice. Educators can find out more about that choice at www.AugustOptOut.org. “I have had no problems at all," she said of the decision she made to leave the union. "The...

Powerful and well funded, 1199 SEIU has unprecedented reach into city and state government. ... Medicaid is one of the primary sources of funding for the hospitals employing workers from 1199 SEIU, the powerful hospital and nursing-home employees’ union. ... The union’s clout can be assessed by several measures: the sheer size of its membership, its spending on campaigns and lobbying, and the depth and breadth of its connections with New York’s ruling elite. With well over 300,000 members in Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, Washington, D.C., and New York (where over half of that total resides), 1199SEIU is the largest union...

A Civil War monument in Petersburg was vandalized at some point early Saturday morning. The Monument to Union Soldiers stands on Wakefield Street and is across from Walnut Hill Elementary School. Petersburg police and the National Parks Service are working together to investigate the damage. If you have any information that could help investigators, call Petersburg police at 804-732-4222 or Crime Stoppers at 804-861-1212.