Free Republic

... The employees, who are backed by the union organizing Starbucks' workers, filed class-action lawsuits in state court in Illinois and Colorado. Workers also filed complaints with California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency. If the agency decides not to seek penalties against Starbucks, the workers intend to file a class-action lawsuit in California, according to the complaints. ... “As part of this change, and to ensure out partners were prepared, partners received two shirts at no cost,” the company said Wednesday. Starbucks refers to its employees as “partners.” Starbucks’ new dress code went into effect on May 12. It requires...

The state’s largest teachers union came in for sharp criticism on Wednesday after it asked school districts to defend educators from bullying and harassment for speaking out on the death of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In a joint statement, Max Page and Deb McCarthy, the president and vice president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, argued that the “ongoing campaign by extreme-right conservatives to discredit and defund public education has grotesquely exploited the shooting death of Charlie Kirk to launch attacks against people commenting on this public figure’s beliefs and statements.”

>PORTLAND, Maine — Some labor unions that helped U.S. Sen. Susan Collins win in 2014 say it’s too early to decide whether they’ll support her again in 2020 as her Democratic opponents courted workers over the Labor Day weekend.  Collins, a Republican, was supported by several labor unions in her last re-election race. Her campaign touted the endorsements heavily, and they were notable because unions typically support Democrats, though her race was uncompetitive and she won with two-thirds of votes.  Things could be different in 2020. Collins’ seat is expected the subject of one of the most expensive Senate campaigns...

The Massachusetts Teachers Association is calling on school districts not to punish educators who have reacted positively to Charlie Kirk’s assassination. MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy are urging districts and public colleges and universities to be “partners with unions in the fight to defend educators from bullying and harassment and to protect their rights."

The parents have spoken.A recent survey suggests more than half of American adults with children attending public schools would choose a private one if vouchers were available to cover the tuition. Rasmussen Reports surveyed 1,289 adults nationwide and found that only 32% would not take advantage of vouchers. As of July 2025, 23 such programs are offered throughout 15 states, according to EdChoice, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing educational freedom. Some states have other programs under the umbrella of school choice, with at least one private school option available in 30 states and Washington, DC. Yet alternatives to public school...

Apparently, Josh Shapiro thinks forcing workers to give their money to a group in order to work so they can then donate money to the Democratic Party and other Leftist causes is something to brag about. --SNIP-- They all are 'moderate' until they get elected.

The permanent cuts include about 100 people who worked in violence prevention. At least 600 employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are receiving permanent termination notices in the wake of a recent court decision that protected some CDC employees from layoffs but not others. The notices went out this week and many people have not yet received them, according to the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 2,000 dues-paying members at CDC. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday did not offer details on the layoffs and referred an AP reporter...

Hundreds of employees are losing jobs at a grape nursery owned by Wonderful Co., one of the state’s biggest agricultural operations. The company says it is unrelated to a contentious battle by the United Farm Workers to unionize workers at the nursery in Kern County. One of California’s largest agricultural employers plans to close a Central Valley grape nursery by the end of the year after laying off hundreds of employees, including many supportive of a United Farm Workers effort to unionize the workforce. Wonderful Co., owned by billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick, plans to shut down the majority of...

Randi Weingarten just promoted her new book calling those on the side of parents "Fascists." She's wearing a shirt that says "Protect Our Kids." She thinks she owns your kids. Wake up, parents. Dismantle the teachers unions.

The Trump administration’s immigration policies are affecting workers and driving, in part, a decline in tourism, including international tourists, to Las Vegas, according to workers and the largest labor union in the state of Nevada. Visitors to Las Vegas overall dropped 11.3% in June 2025, compared to the same month last year. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, international visitors to one of the world’s largest tourist destinations dropped 13% in June. “A lot of departments are having a lot of layoffs,” said ​​Norma Torres, a housekeeper for eight years at Mandalay Bay and a member of...

It's the summer of the burn-it-down ballot measure in Los Angeles. For the past three months, labor unions and business groups have been locked in a protracted fight over a law, approved by the City Council in May, hiking the minimum wage for hotel employees and workers at Los Angeles International Airport to $30 per hour by 2028. Both sides, in an attempt to gain the upper hand, have proposed ballot measures that, if approved, would disrupt the city in enormous ways, leaving an impact that would go well beyond the hourly pay of housekeepers, valets and LAX skycaps. Unite...

After years of loyally backing Democrats, Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien is diversifying the union's PAC to support Republicans, too. It wasn’t just 2024: the Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien is signaling a more permanent realignment by donating to battleground Republicans in the upcoming midterms. For the second year in a row, the labor union’s political arm donated to the Republicans’ House campaign arm after nearly two decades of mostly backing Democrats. The labor union’s D.R.I.V.E political action committee — Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education — gave the National Republican Congressional Committee $5,000 in the second quarter. In addition to...

Republicans are continuing to receive labor union support amid Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien repeatedly lambasting Democrats for allegedly deserting the working class. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education (DRIVE) PAC has doled out nearly $70,000 to Republicans this year. The donations mark the second cycle in a row that the Teamsters’ political arm has donated to Republican candidates after contributing to Democrats exclusively for roughly two decades. “Our members are working people whose interests cut across party lines,” Kara Deniz, a Teamsters spokesperson told POLITICO’s Playbook, who was first to report the DRIVE PAC contributions....

A group serving as a central hub of information for congressional town halls was founded by a former Hillary Clinton campaign staffer and its parent company is located at the same address as an organization funded by liberal billionaire George Soros. Democrats have insisted that recent town hall outbursts against Republican politicians occurred organically, likening them to the Tea Party, while President Donald Trump yesterday tweeted that the "so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous occasions, planned out by liberal activists. Sad!" The Town Hall Project, a group that serves as a one-stop shop...

A federal appeals court lifted a judge's order on Friday that prevented the Trump administration from ending union bargaining for federal workers. Six unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), had obtained an injunction that was issued by U.S. District Judge James Donato, a lower court judge. A three-judge panel on the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused the injunction, which prevented 21 federal agencies from implementing Trump's executive order from March ending union bargaining for federal workers.

Oklahoma is taking a bold step to preserve educational integrity and curb the growing threat of left-wing indoctrination in schools. The state’s Superintendent, Ryan Walters, announced this week that Oklahoma will become the first state to require teachers relocating from liberal-leaning states to pass a new certification test that ensures they align with Oklahoma’s curriculum standards. In a statement, Walters emphasized that the state’s new approach is designed to weed out any “woke” influences and prevent leftist ideologies from infiltrating Oklahoma’s classrooms. He explained that the new test, developed in collaboration with conservative think tank PragerU, will focus on fundamental...

Jimmy Hoffa’s final morning on earth, in late July 1975, began with a photo session at his suburban Detroit lakefront home, and thanks to government files, we can see those images 50 years after his disappearance. The portly labor icon posed for photos on July 30, 1975, and then drove to a scheduled luncheon meeting with a pair of hoodlums from Detroit and New Jersey. The mobsters never showed, standing up Hoffa, and the famed labor leader himself was never seen again. Hoffa remained officially missing for seven years, and was declared dead in 1982.

Union members who assemble Boeing's fighter jets in the St. Louis area have "overwhelmingly voted" to reject the company's contract offer on Sunday, with the company now preparing for an imminent strike. Boeing's proposal, which was sent on Tuesday to more than 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 837, included a 20% general wage increase over four years and a $5,000 ratification bonus, as well as more vacation time and sick leave. "The proposal from Boeing Defense fell short of addressing the priorities and sacrifices of the skilled IAM Union workforce," the IAM...

More than 20 federal employee unions, professional associations and good government groups on Monday urged Senate lawmakers to reject President Trump’s ... ..... “By law, the special counsel must be ‘an attorney who, by demonstrated ability, background, training and experience, is especially qualified to carry out the functions of the position,’” the groups wrote. “As head of OSC, the special counsel should be someone who respects federal workers, who will treat them fairly and without bias. The special counsel must be a person who will exercise their duties in a nonpartisan manner, a person of honesty and integrity who has...

The NEA described the Holocaust as having '12 million victims' from 'different faiths' without mentioning the attempted extermination of the Jewish people The nation's largest teachers' union plans to promote a version of Holocaust remembrance that does not mention Jews, according to its 2025 handbook, which references "victims of the Holocaust from different faiths" and teaches that Israel was founded through "forced, violent displacement and dispossession," its most recent guide for members shows. The National Education Association, which represents nearly three million public school teachers and education workers, outlined the priorities in its 2025 handbook. The NEA publishes the document...