LaborPains.org

Cincinnati Enquirer: Voices: US labor unions face stacked deck
A union organizer argues that employees should only hear one side of the story: his.

Los Angeles Times: Ports face labor discord
The costly strike that ended in December is now at risk of starting again.

Washington Examiner: Study: Transparency in collective bargaining could save taxpayers $50 billion
A Goldwater Institute report reveals that only seven states mandate open negotiations for public sector unions.

Milawuke-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin’s ‘union’ label fading fast
The tale of the tape in the wake of Wisconsin’s Act 10 shows organized labor in dire straits.

Stowe Reporter: Vermont bill is a mockery of fairness
A Vermont teacher explains why paying a “fair share,” involuntarily, is actually unfair.

Reuters: Unions make U.S. Ports Less Competitive

There’s a reason that the nation’s ports have, once again, become the hotbed of labor problems: human beings are less effective than machines. Reuters has a full analysis on the issue, explaining that for every 20 dockworkers used at an American port, there are five (or less) dockworkers in ports at Rotterdam or Shanghai. After the eight day strike in California and the near-miss on the East and Gulf Coast ports, shippers have become wary of what could happen next.

The News Must Go On

Rather than emulating the Baker’s Union brinkmanship with Hostess, the Guild, the labor union representing the employees of two Philadelphia newspapers, took liquidation threats seriously and agreed to renegotiate with management. Interstate General Media gave their employees an ultimatum last week: be willing to renegotiate or face shuttered doors on Friday.

Teamsters Unionize Truck Drivers at Southern CA Ports

Having suffered a costly port strike in December, the businesses—to say nothing of the millions of Americans—who rely on the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach won’t be happy to hear this news: The Press-Telegram reports that 65 truckers for Toll Group have reached a union contract agreement with port management. The paper declared them “the first truckers at the port complex to win a collective bargaining agreement since Congress deregulated the industry three decades ago.” 

Lafe Solomon, the Acting General Counsel of National Labor Relations Board, released his office’s annual report this week. The report revealed that almost 94 percent of all initial union representation elections were held within 56 days of filing unionization petition, with a median of 38 days. The much-needed Employee Rights Act proposed that there be standard election timing, requiring 40 days between the filing of the petition and the vote.