Posted on Apr 01, 2010 by J. Justin Wilson
Schwarzenegger is back. After a judge declared the end to “Furlough Fridays”, the San Fransisco appellate court backed the Gubernator. From the Sacramento Bee: Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said that for now the ruling averts other moves the governor has been weighing to cut payroll costs if furloughs aren’t an option. “We budgeted for the […]
Posted on Mar 03, 2010 by J. Justin Wilson
The New York Times spared few punches in their piece “Still with Obama, But Worried”: “Because unions have been so crucial to the Democrats election after election, political experts say labor’s ambivalence, or worse, toward the Democrats could greatly deepen that party’s woes this fall. “Labor is very disappointed, whether it’s about card check or the effort […]
Posted on Feb 23, 2010 by J. Justin Wilson
Sometime there’s just a great sentence that comes along and captures the essence of what you are trying to say. From Daniel Griswold at CATO in the Washington Times: “Unions are rapidly becoming an economic anachronism. In recent decades, barriers to international trade and investment have fallen, and domestic markets, including transportation, energy and telecommunications, […]
Posted on Feb 18, 2010 by J. Justin Wilson
William Forbath, professor of law and history at the University of Texas and author of Law and the Shaping of the American Labor Movement, used his most recent Politico piece to call for Craig Becker‘s appointment by President. He doesn’t come right out and call the Administration (and the Hill, for that matter) cowards–but he […]
Posted on Feb 04, 2010 by J. Justin Wilson
Update: Senator Harkin justifies vote saying NLRB nomineee “cannot” change the rules As the Director of Organizing at the AFL-CIO, Stewart Acuff draws a smaller crowd than the SEIU’s Andy Stern or his boss at the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have something laughable to say. In his poorly timed […]
Posted on Jan 29, 2010 by J. Justin Wilson
We saw this dilemma coming. Labor is frustrated with Democrats, but how should they channel their anger? Stories about a Brave New World? Mass protests? Fist shaking? Democratic primary challenges (or just threatening primary challenges) are sounding better and better by the day. They’ve even got a short list. The National Journal reports: “It’s not one […]
Posted on Jan 28, 2010 by J. Justin Wilson
In light of the Supreme Court ruling last week, labor leaders have been up in arms about how it opens the flood gates for corporate monies to flow unfettered into the political arena. But it is quite a bit more complex than that. On the one hand you have Secretary-Treasurer of the SEIU, Anna Burger, […]
Posted on Jan 23, 2010 by J. Justin Wilson
Bloomberg reports: Union membership in the private sector declined in 2009 to a record low of 7.2 percent, as a recession eroded employment in labor-organized industries such as construction and manufacturing, a U.S. report showed. The figure compares with 7.6 percent in 2008, according to data released today by the Labor Department. Union membership made […]
