Posted on Mar 26, 2014 by LaborPains.org Team
Unions used to be the leading source of organizational political contributions. A quick look at the Opensecrets list of “heavy hitters”—the top outside donors since 1989—shows that of the top 15 donor organizations, 10 are still labor unions. And Opensecrets only counts federal PAC contributions (which are opt-in); unions also maintain sophisticated state- and local-level […]
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Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic Governor of New York, has had his hands full with agitation by the American Federation of Teachers Local 2, the United Federation of Teachers. Cuomo sits more on the “reform” side of the internal debate in his party between the teachers unions (who have the ear of City Mayor Bill de […]
Posted on Mar 24, 2014 by LaborPains.org Team
Unions in the construction and contracting sectors (especially the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners) are well-known for attempting to intimidate businesses that hire non-unionized contractors. Even though the National Labor Relations Act forbids secondary pickets (protesting against third-party businesses that deal with a non-union company), Carpenters locals and councils are permitted (under a 2010 […]
Posted on Mar 21, 2014 by LaborPains.org Team
Remember Karen Lewis? She is the radical President of the Chicago Teachers Union, American Federation of Teachers Local 1, which made national headlines in 2012 for going on citywide strike. (Our thoughts on that action aren’t subtle: You don’t block the schoolhouse door to stop reform of one of America’s lowest-performing school districts.) Lewis is […]
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We noted earlier this week that the Service Employees International Union-backed worker centers, following a playbook to organize restaurant workers by an intimidation-laced national card-check campaign, were going to protest fast food franchises. They did, and basically nothing happened—all the “strikes” were stage-managed stunts. You don’t have to take our word for it: The Associated […]
Posted on Mar 19, 2014 by LaborPains.org Team
News from New York, the city whose most vulnerable kids are under siege from Randi Weingarten and the American Federation of Teachers: A new Quinnipiac Poll finds a majority of New Yorkers disapprove of the education policies of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has followed Randi’s radical agenda chapter and verse. While de Blasio’s overall […]
Posted on Mar 18, 2014 by LaborPains.org Team
Today, proto-union “worker centers” set up by the SEIU will stage demonstrations in up to 30 cities in support of SEIU’s “Fight for 15” organizing campaign. The demonstrations are part of an ongoing, complex, and sophisticated campaign to organize restaurant employees without a secret ballot under card check arrangements. Today’s protests are expected to focus […]
Posted on Mar 17, 2014 by LaborPains.org Team
We’ve pointed out before that unions’ ability to effectively compel members—including members who don’t support the unions’ political preferences—to support the politicians of the unions’ choosing makes them political power players. Now, our Executive Director is telling Pennsylvanians that Trumka’s money is coming to influence their election, a large bloc of members’ opinions aside: Last […]
