Free Republic

Union officials haven’t found a very receptive audience for their warnings of a doomsday scenario in a legal case about making teachers pay dues in order to keep their jobs. The case is called Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association and it is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, which has scheduled oral arguments next week. According to America Works Together — a coalition formed in September by the nation’s largest public sector unions — the case is an “attack from wealthy special interests,” intended to “make it even harder for people to come together, speak up, and get ahead.” But...

Workers from nine U.S. airports are planning to block bridges, march through terminals and protest at airline headquarters during a day of civil disobedience on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The workers - a mix of cleaners, baggage handlers, fuelers and wheelchair attendants - will risk arrest at airports and other locations including the Mall, to bring attention to their campaign for better wages, the Service Employees International Union said. The actions are the latest in the airport workers' campaign for a $15-per-hour minimum wage, a benefits package and job protections. They're also protesting threats against their efforts to unionize....

A Michigan union fired back at workers who dropped off the membership rolls by urging its members to isolate them at work. Jeff Hagler, president at UAW Local 412 in Warren, Mich., sent out a newsletter to about 3,000 autoworkers who belong to the union in December. The letter includes a list of 43 mostly female workers who opted out of membership, as well as advice on how they should be treated in the workplace. "They have elected to quit paying union dues, but are still benefitting by continued representation by the union. Whether we feel this is fair or...

A president's eighth State of the Union address is supposed to be his victory lap, a final year in the spotlight, in which he touts his achievements and then rides off into the sunset. Tonight, President Obama may utter the clichéd words, "The state of our union is strong!" If he does, it's just one more lie upon the pile. Obama will probably boast he brought the country back from the financial brink and try to argue that the American economy is doing well. (Avoiding "the brink" only took $8 trillion in new debt.) He will undoubtedly boast of...

The E! News sensibility has finally permeated the Oval Office. Tonight on the White House website there will be a first ever Station of the Union address pre-show. It begins at 8pm and is hosted by Terrence Jenkins on the White House website. There may be an audience since it’s coming “straight from the theater at the Executive Office Building.” According to a press release, Jenkins, “an acclaimed author,”… has been a “co-host of BET’s hit show 106 & Park and more recently as the co-anchor of E! NEWS with Giuliana Rancic. Up next, Jenkins will STAR opposite Paula Patton...

Local 412 of the United Auto Workers has placed a spotlight on employees who have chosen to exercise their right to not support the union financially under Michigan’s right-to-work law. In a recent newsletter, the local urges co-workers not to share “tools, knowledge or support” with individuals who chose not to pay union dues. It then lists the names of the employees to be shunned. “I hope there is one thing we can all take from this,” the newsletter reads. “Please do not share any tools, knowledge or support for any of these employees who choose not to pay their...

On January 1, California residents will have to accustom themselves to a number of new laws that will be implemented in the state. These are some the laws that will likely have the most profound effect: SB 172: High school seniors will receive their diploma whether or not they pass or even take an exit exam; the law also applies retroactively to students who have graduated since 2004; ... SB 707: Bans concealed firearms from college campuses and K-12 school grounds

In 2011, Democrat Gov. Dan Malloy claimed to have exacted "painful" concessions from state employees. Here's how the employees' lead negotiator, Dan Livingston, described the deal: * On retirement benefits: "Now we have an 11-year pension and health care agreement ... that no other state worker in the country has." * On job security: "Four years' job security. Nowhere else in the country will you find four years' job security." * On wage increases: "Giving up the raise next year (3%) .. . to get three threes in a row in the three out years. ... Arbitrators around the country...

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) union has endorsed Bernie Sanders for president. The union said the Vermont senator, running to be the Democratic candidate for president against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley, would be a candidate who would "break with politics-as-usual and fight for America’s working people..." CWA's 700,000 members include broadcast and cable journalists."When CWA endorses a candidate it is just the beginning. Our 700,000 members are fired up, and we are going to work overtime to elect Bernie Sanders as the next President of the United States," said CWA President...

The backers of the Jeffco recall effort (read: Teachers Union) campaigned on the lie that the Jeffco School Board was lacking in transparency. That is why yesterday's ruling that Jeffco United, the nonprofit engaged in the recall effort, violated campaign finance laws is so, so delicious. The organization made a $90,000 donation to the recall effort without disclosing its donors. According to an administrative law judge, that is verboten. Its punishment is not so simple. The organization must pay $1,000, register as a political committee, and (here is the delightful part) disclose its donors. While nonprofits are not typically required...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Teachers Union has voted to authorize a strike. CTU says 88 percent of its members voted in favor of the action if necessary. State law requires 75 percent approval to authorize a strike. But a strike cannot take place until 105 days after the fact-finding phase begins. The CTU has called for that phase to begin immediately, but CPS does not want to start fact finding until mid-February. The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Illinois Educational Relations Board, which is scheduled dto meet at the end of January. If it...

The Democratic National Committee announced Friday that it is ejecting a sponsor from the next Democratic debate over a labor dispute. ABC News's New Hampshire affiliate, WMUR, is no longer participating in the contest Dec. 19 contest in Goffstown, N.H. "Regrettably, as a result of WMUR's unwillingness to move forward on scheduling negotiations between the Hearst Corporation and Production Department employees represented by IBEW Local 1228 prior to the debate, we will no longer include WMUR as a co-sponsor of the debate, and their talent will not be participating in any way," DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said in...

While the teachers they represent have seen very small pay increases or even pay freezes over the past three years, high level executives at the Michigan Education Association union received large raises. The average increase in the salaries paid to the top four union officials was 18.6 percent over three years. At the same time, the MEA's liabilities increased by nearly $100 million, or 50 percent in one year. Vice President Nancy Strachan received a 25 percent salary increase between 2012 and 2015 ($119,520 to $149,433). Secretary-Treasurer Rick Trainor was also up 25 percent during the period ($121,476 to $151,675)....

A retirement system created by the state’s largest teachers union for its own employees has become a huge financial drain on its finances. Skyrocketing pension and retiree health benefits were the largest contributors to a $100 million increase in liabilities on the books of the Michigan Education Association in 2015, up almost 50 percent from the previous year. The MEA’s overall liabilities jumped to $304.1 million in 2015, up from $206.2 million in 2014 and $181.5 million in 2013. The increases were disclosed in annual financial documents the union must file with the U.S. Department of Labor. The MEA’s cost...

While the teachers they represent have seen very small pay increases or even pay freezes over the past three years, high level executives at the Michigan Education Association union received large raises. The average increase in the salaries paid to the top four union officials was 18.6 percent over three years. At the same time, the MEA's liabilities increased by nearly $100 million, or 50 percent in one year.

While the teachers they represent have seen very small pay increases or even pay freezes over the past three years, high level executives at the Michigan Education Association union received large raises. The average increase in the salaries paid to the top four union officials was 18.6 percent over three years. At the same time, the MEA's liabilities increased by nearly $100 million, or 50 percent in one year.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has instructed the Foreign Ministry to reassess its involvement with European Union (EU) institutions regarding the political process with the Palestinians. Until the assessment is completed, Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the suspension of all political contact with EU institutions and representatives on the issue.

Just before recessing for a two-week Thanksgiving break, the Michigan Senate passed a pair of bills to prohibit two particular schemes that require taxpayers to pay for work done on behalf of teacher and government employee unions. The legislation, Senate bills 279 and 280, has been dubbed by some “the Steve Cook bills.” Senate Bill 279 would outlaw pension spiking of the type that allowed Michigan Education Association President Steve Cook to use a $201,613 union salary to pad his taxpayer-funded pension. Earlier this year, Michigan Capitol Confidential broke the story about how Cook took advantage of a special deal...

A man beaten by two Alameda County sheriff’s deputies in a San Francisco alley was scheduled for surgery Wednesday to repair extensive — and perhaps permanently disabling — injuries to his arms and hands.The operation at San Francisco General would be taking place amid indications that federal law enforcement authorities may join the investigation into the incident.Two deputies, still unidentified, were captured on motion-activated security camera video around 2 a.m. last Thursday chasing Stanislav Petrov down a Mission District side street — the end of a high-speed chase that originated in San Leandro.The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office says the deputies chased...

Another Michigan union has used its newsletter to post the names of employees who have chosen to exercise their right to not have to financially support a union as a condition of employment. Workers say the union is bullying them and creating a hostile work environment. This time, it’s UAW Local 600 that’s publishing the names of employees who chose to opt out of belonging and paying dues to the union. Bob Brezovsky, president of the UAW’s Tool & Die Unit, wrote in the union's online publication: “The employees listed below have chosen not to pay union dues any more...