Free Republic

A so-called “war on the American worker” has intensified in the Golden State. Massive layoffs are being spearheaded by the multi-billion dollar Southern California Edison utilities company, which is terminating scores of American IT workers and replacing them with immigrant IT workers, from a slew of foreign counties, who are willing to work for far less compensation. These immigrants are in the U.S. on an H-1B visa program. “We don’t need foreign workers. We have plenty of Americans who are fully capable and equipped to carry out these jobs. It’s an absolute issue of corporate greed; nothing more nothing less,”...

The AFL-CIO’s bold announcement that it would withhold contributions to congressional Democrats in advance of votes on fast-track trade protection authority thrilled labor supporters and annoyed many Democrats. But it remains to be seen whether the move will impede the Obama administration’s trade agenda — or merely become the latest illustration of unions’ declining clout. The AFL-CIO has tried such moves in the past — including during the 1993 fight over the North American Free Trade Agreement — only to be defeated and then resume funding Democrats again. Now, with a wide margin of pro-trade Republicans in the House and...

Despite port owners and union officials reaching a deal last month, businesses are still suffering from the aftereffects of a nine month long labor dispute that devastated the west coast. The dispute began in May when the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) were unable to agree on a new labor contract. The inability to come to a deal and the resulting port congestion prompted economic problems in many industries. It wasn’t until pressure from the president and a visit from Labor Secretary Tom Perez on Feb. 20 that the two sides were able...

Since its right-to-work law took effect, Michigan has experienced the nation's sixth-largest growth in the number of people working, adding 141,990 jobs from March 2013 through December 2014, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. California saw the largest increase during that span, adding 603,174 jobs. On a percentage basis, Michigan employment grew 3.3 percent, ranking 15th overall in the nation. North Dakota held the top spot, growing its workforce by 5.4 percent. Michigan had 4,294,532 jobs in March of 2013, a number that increased to 4,436,522 in December of 2014. The data on jobs comes from the monthly...

Even with Michigan’s right-to-work law, workers do not have full freedom. In bringing true fairness to both unions and workers, Michigan has the power to give public workers a complete choice when it comes to associating with a union, while at the same time lifting government unions’ burden of representing nonmembers. In Michigan, unlike non-right-to-work states, workers do not need to pay a union to keep their jobs. However, in both types of states, employees in a unionized job must accept union representation whether they want it or not. But right-to-work isn’t the only option available for bringing real fairness...

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could extend virtual “right-to-work” status to government employees in every state. Under such a ruling, those workers would no longer be required to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. The case is Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, brought by teachers in a forced unionism state who object to so-called “agency fees” that workers must pay to the union even if they elect not to be a “member.” First, however, the justices must decide whether to place...

In six years as a member of the Wal-Mart board of directors, between 1986 and 1992, Hillary Clinton remained silent as the world's largest retailer waged a major campaign against labor unions seeking to represent store workers. Wal-Mart's anti-union efforts were headed by one of Clinton's fellow board members, John Tate, a Wal-Mart executive vice president who also served on the board with Clinton for four of her six years. Tate was fond of repeating, as he did at a managers meeting in 2004 after his retirement, what he said was his favorite phrase, "Labor unions are nothing but blood-sucking...

State Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, was on the Senate floor Thursday when he learned of a “sweetheart” deal between the Lansing School District and the president of the state’s largest teachers union. The district has for several years allowed Michigan Education Association President Steve Cook to be considered a “school employee.” This lets Cook remain a member of the public school pension system, despite the fact that he actually works full time for a private organization. Moreover, Cook is accruing pension benefits based on his $201,613 union salary, setting him up for a much higher post-retirement payout from the...

Steve Cook, the president of the state's largest teachers union, is also listed as the highest-paid employee of the Lansing School District. His annual salary is $20,000 more than that of the district’s superintendent. The deal between the Lansing School District and the Michigan Education Association allows Cook to remain a member of the state’s pension system for school employees while working full-time as president of the private union. This lets him accrue pension benefits based on his $201,613 MEA salary, setting Cook up for a much higher post-retirement payout from the underfunded public school employees pension system. The Lansing...

For quite a few years, the number of states with Right-to-Work statutes was stuck at 22. Oklahoma adopted RTW in 2001, but then no more did so (despite serious legislative battles) until Indiana in 2012 and Michigan in 2013. Wisconsin has now become the 25th RTW state. What is going on? I think the momentum toward RTW – or more accurately, the declining appeal of compulsory unionism – is explained by two things. First, it is becoming clear that RTW status helps attract business, while compulsory unionism repels it. Second, more and more workers who once regarded labor unions as...

A Wisconsin business owner upset over enactment of a right-to-work law and other policies says he is expanding in Minnesota because the economic policies there are more conducive for his operation. James Hoffman, president of Hoffman Construction in Black River Falls, said Monday that he was accelerating plans to expand an office in Lakeville, Minnesota, that currently has two full-time employees. […] Hoffman says the decision is based on business, not politics. …

Denver Public Schools had four times the number of administrators as any other large metro area districts last year, and salaries and benefits for those staffers are $22 million more than the next largest metro district, Colorado Department of Education figures show. The teachers’ union president reviewed the data Watchdog.org obtained and said the nearly $68 million paid to DPS administrators would be better spent on students. “We need to be talking about keeping dollars closer to classroom when it comes to public education,” said Henry Roman, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. “Should they be putting the money...

On Tuesday, March 10, Washington State’s Employee Rights Political Action Committee (erpac.org), announced a grassroots initiative to replace restrictive employee laws with personal choice that both allows employees to keep their hard earned money in their pockets, and assists business in growing jobs. Called the “Employee Rights Act,” (I-1395) this new ballot initiative, if passed, will end compulsory union membership, ensuring an employee’s ability to find and keep gainful employment regardless of membership status and allow employers to hire without regard to a prospective employee's union participation. It will also allow employees to opt out of automatic union dues deduction....

Principles: If Republicans want to know how to respond to President Obama's barbs and attacks, they should pay close attention to what Gov. Scott Walker said after Obama smacked him for signing a right-to-work bill. Obama, who believes that he should comment on anything and everything under the sun, issued a written statement condemning the law. "I'm deeply disappointed," he said, "that a new anti-worker law in Wisconsin will weaken, rather than strengthen, workers in the new economy."

..Tamara Kay, a professor in the sociology department at the University of New Mexico, criticized right-to-work laws as "kindergarten math."Much of the focus on fights over right-to-work laws has been on Rust Belt states like Michigan, Indiana, and now Wisconsin, as its governor and likely presidential candidate Scott Walker signed a right-to-work bill Monday. But there's also a high stakes showdown underway in New Mexico. Late last month, the state's House of Representatives passed a right-to-work bill, setting up a face-off with the Senate, which could raise the profile of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, positioning her as a Walker-esque rising...

In a sharp jab at Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, President Obama on Monday criticized Wisconsin's newly-signed law to prevent workers from being obliged to pay union dues as a "sustained, coordinated assault on unions, led by powerful interests and their allies in government." "I'm deeply disappointed that a new anti-worker law in Wisconsin will WEAKEN, rather than strengthen workers in the new economy," Obama said. "Wisconsin is a state built by labor, with a proud pro-worker past. So even as its governor claims victory over working Americans, I'd encourage him to try and score a victory for working Americans —...

Earlier today, following rigorous debate in the legislature, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law SB 44, a right-to-work bill that makes union dues and participation optional for workers. SB 44 will further expand employee rights in Wisconsin and help create an atmosphere hospitable to economic growth. Right-to-work laws grant employees the freedom of choosing whether to financially support a union by prohibiting the payment of dues as a condition of employment. The implementation of voluntary union dues maximizes individual freedom in the pursuit of employment while holding unions more accountable to their members. Under a non-right-to-work state’s system of...

My first job as a teenager back in 1976 was working as a blue-suited Andy Frain usher at sporting events at places like Wrigley Field in Chicago. When I took the job, I was required to join the local union and pay dues. My co-workers and I used to endlessly complain that the union was snatching money from our paychecks even though we were only paid the minimum wage. “What has this union ever done for us?” we all raged. I think about that unpleasant experience a lot in the context of the debate raging in a handful of states...

Overhauling more than a half century of labor law in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker on Monday signed so-called right-to-work legislation banning labor contracts that require private sector workers to pay labor fees. In a matter of weeks, Republicans pushed through the measure making Wisconsin the 25th state with such a law, giving a victory to manufacturers in the state and a blow to organized labor and some construction firms, which had opposed the measure. The passage marks a shift in the GOP governor's position that comes as he pursues an all but certain presidential run. Walker said repeatedly during the...

Gov. Scott Walker will sign so-called right-to-work legislation on Monday morning at Badger Meter in Brown Deer after the Assembly passed the measure Friday morning following almost 24 hours of debate. The measure bans labor contracts that would make it mandatory for workers to pay union fees. The legislation zoomed into play this year, pushed by GOP legislators, after Walker brushed aside the issue as a distraction during his re-election campaign last year.