Posted on Oct 22, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a left-wing advocacy outfit based in Madison, Wisconsin, has called itself a “union shop” in reference to its unionized staff. But it’s a “union shop” in more ways than just that—in a conveniently-timed reversal of a previous position, CMD takes money from labor unions, too. (CMD doesn’t disclose these union […]
Posted on Oct 21, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
International Association of Fire Fighters President Harold A. Schaitberger’s expense account got the fine-toothed comb treatment from the New York Times. Citing internal documents that the Times obtained, labor beat reporter Noam Scheiber notes that the boss is a fan of the finer things in life: Then there are the meals. Mr. Schaitberger is a […]
Posted on Aug 25, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
We’ve followed with interest the problems of American Federation of Teachers Local 231, the Detroit Federation of Teachers. In January, taking a cue from the Chicago local’s election of radical Karen Lewis in 2010, union voters narrowly picked agitator Steve Conn to be the union’s president. That didn’t go well. Not in the predicted way—creating […]
Posted on Aug 04, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
As the presidential nomination contests heat up, there has been considerable interest in a brewing labor revolt within its traditional Democratic power structure. Self-declared socialist Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has energized labor unionists in support of his bid for the Democratic nomination, receiving informal “endorsement” votes from state AFL-CIO federations in South Carolina […]
Posted on Jul 01, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
The Supreme Court just agreed to take a major labor union case for its 2015-2016 sitting, titled Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. At stake is the power of public-sector unions like Randi Weingarten’s American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to collect forced dues—so-called “agency fees”—from non-members forced to accept their representation in at least 25 states. […]
Posted on Jun 16, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), led by Randi Weingarten, has a history of misdeeds by its local unions. Some past local officials have gone to prison for years for corrupt practices. Now, two local AFT unions are riven by internal political squabbles, with Detroit’s union president facing recall and the local for Orange County, […]
Posted on May 15, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
Recently, Baltimore, Maryland was racked by days of protests that surged into one night of violent rioting after a man died under suspicious circumstances—ruled by prosecutors to be an alleged criminal homicide—while in police custody. The focus on the city led many, including The Wall Street Journal’s William Galston, to ask why Baltimore has remained […]
Posted on Apr 09, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
California courtrooms—site of a major victory for school reformers against teachers unions’ defense of tenure—could soon be home to a big debate over employee rights. An education reform group (along with four public schoolteachers) has sued the state’s two teachers unions, affiliated with the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers (AFT). EdSource reports […]
