Posted on Jan 29, 2016 by LaborPains.org Team
This post has been updated since its initial publication with 2015 data from Unionstats.com. Yesterday, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual count of how many American employees are union members and what percentage of the workforce consists of union members. Overall union density remained constant at 11.1% of wage and salary employees, […]
Posted on Jan 22, 2016 by LaborPains.org Team
When last we checked in on American Federation of Teachers Local 231, the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT), Randi Weingarten at AFT national headquarters had attempted to restore order after the chaotic reign of former union president Steve Conn by placing the DFT in trusteeship. Instead of order, that move has brought chaos, with Conn’s […]
Posted on Jan 07, 2016 by LaborPains.org Team
Monday of next week (January 11) marks a major milestone in the effort to bring employee rights in the workplace to teachers and other public-sector employees. The Supreme Court will hear a case titled Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association et al., brought by California teacher Rebecca Friedrichs (and other teachers) against her National Education Association-affiliated […]
Posted on Dec 16, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
Life is good if you’re a union boss. A new report by The Seventy Four revealed that the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association (NEA), and United Federation of Teachers (UFT) spent almost $6 million in dues money on luxury hotels, overseas travel, and car services from 2011 to 2014. Read more below: Between 2011 and 2014, the […]
Posted on Dec 14, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
We’ve noted the fact that New York City construction unions’ black members make 20 percent less than white members. We’ve pondered why that might be, and a federal lawsuit that received a pre-trial hearing last week gives us considerable insight into how the locals represented by the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York may […]
Posted on Dec 04, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
Since we began our campaign to draw attention to the disparities in pay between African Americans and white workers in New York City’s unionized construction industry, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York has been flailing in response. They’re relying on tired, old ad hominems against us, but we’re more interested in […]
Posted on Dec 02, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
One of Big Labor’s notorious intimidation tactics is the so-called “scab list”—a public list of employees represented by the union who aren’t participating in some union activity, usually striking or paying nonmember “agency fees” in states where they aren’t mandatory. Last week, we covered one United Auto Workers local (UAW Local 600) which intimidated dissenters […]
Posted on Nov 23, 2015 by LaborPains.org Team
Under current labor law, leaving a union is anything but easy—even in right-to-work states. Todd Lemire, a Michigan plant worker and union member of over 17 years, found that out the hard way when he decided to leave his UAW Local 600 this summer. Following the opt-out, Local 600 Tool and Die Unit President Bob […]
