'Mandatory Union Membership' Is PLA's Purpose

'Mandatory Union Membership' Is PLA's Purpose

Committee President Mark Mix: The Right to Work movement and its allies are challenging President Obama’s 2009 executive order promoting union-only "project labor agreements" on federal taxpayer-funded public works. (Source: June 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Ohio Town Council Cuts Through Big Labor/White House Fog  Marietta, which has only about 15,000 residents, but enjoys a place of honor as the oldest city of any size in Ohio, is located more than 230 miles outside the Washington, D.C., Beltway.  And from the vantage point of Marietta's community building at Lookout Park, where the town council considered adoption of a so-called "project labor agreement" (PLA) on May 13, it appears to be far easier to see and state the obvious than it is at the White House or on Capitol Hill.  This spring, building trades union bosses lobbied furiously to convince the council's seven members to impose a Big Labor PLA on employees and firms seeking to participate in the renovation of the town's former Ohio Bureau of Employment Services building into a new municipal court facility.  Parkersburg Marietta Construction and Building Trades Council union President Bill Hutchinson claimed, time and again, that the reason he and his cohorts were twisting arms to get a PLA was to ensure that "local" workers got the jobs.  Finally, at the council's May 13 meeting, Councilman Jon Grimm decided to test building trades union bosses' sincerity.  Mr. Grimm called attention to the provision in the PLA mandating that 50% of any contractor's employees be registered with the union and pay union dues, even if they weren't union members, and didn't want to join.
'Too Bad For Recently Hired, Talented Teachers'

'Too Bad For Recently Hired, Talented Teachers'

(Source: June 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Union Bigwigs Make Sure Public School Layoffs Are 'Quality-Blind' In recent years, forced dues-funded teacher union lobbyists and union negotiators played a major role in convincing public officials to increase the number of instructional employees at K-12 public schools at a blistering clip. Nationwide, the number of K-12 public school instructional employees (full-time equivalent) grew roughly 3.5 times as much as the number of school-aged children (15.9% vs. 4.5%) from 1998 to 2007. This spring, Gaylene Hayden was one of just six Indiana K-12 public school teachers to be recognized for their "outstanding service." Teacher union boss-perpetuated seniority rules have since cost her her job. (Fox 59 News, Bloomington, Ind.) Since an estimated 65% of U.S. public schoolteachers are under union monopoly bargaining, and more than 40% are forced to pay union dues or fees as a job condition, K-12 employment growth that far outpaces the growth of America's five to 17-year-old population represents a huge windfall for Big Labor. However, in the wake of the severe 2008-2009 recession, many strapped states now have no choice but to pare back a small portion of the K-12 instructional staff increases of the previous decade. Hoosier Teachers Recognized For 'Outstanding Service,' Then Laid Off When school officials have the power to restrict layoffs to employees they have identified as the least effective, then occasional recession-related reductions in force of 5–10% are not necessarily detrimental to student achievement, according to education experts like Stanford University's Eric Hanushek.
'Too Bad For Recently Hired, Talented Teachers'

'Too Bad For Recently Hired, Talented Teachers'

(Source: June 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Union Bigwigs Make Sure Public School Layoffs Are 'Quality-Blind' In recent years, forced dues-funded teacher union lobbyists and union negotiators played a major role in convincing public officials to increase the number of instructional employees at K-12 public schools at a blistering clip. Nationwide, the number of K-12 public school instructional employees (full-time equivalent) grew roughly 3.5 times as much as the number of school-aged children (15.9% vs. 4.5%) from 1998 to 2007. This spring, Gaylene Hayden was one of just six Indiana K-12 public school teachers to be recognized for their "outstanding service." Teacher union boss-perpetuated seniority rules have since cost her her job. (Fox 59 News, Bloomington, Ind.) Since an estimated 65% of U.S. public schoolteachers are under union monopoly bargaining, and more than 40% are forced to pay union dues or fees as a job condition, K-12 employment growth that far outpaces the growth of America's five to 17-year-old population represents a huge windfall for Big Labor. However, in the wake of the severe 2008-2009 recession, many strapped states now have no choice but to pare back a small portion of the K-12 instructional staff increases of the previous decade. Hoosier Teachers Recognized For 'Outstanding Service,' Then Laid Off When school officials have the power to restrict layoffs to employees they have identified as the least effective, then occasional recession-related reductions in force of 5–10% are not necessarily detrimental to student achievement, according to education experts like Stanford University's Eric Hanushek.
Big Labor's Grip on Financial Reform

Big Labor's Grip on Financial Reform

  There isn't a bill coming out of the Senate nowadays that doesn't contain a special interest provision aimed at empowering the labor union bosses.  The financial reform legislation is no exception.  Tucked inside the bill -- which a handful of Republicans are considering supporting -- is a provision that would give labor activists unprecedented power.  BigGovernment.com takes a look at the provisions which includes: Under the American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S 3217), several provisions tucked away in the bill will give labor bosses unprecedented powers that, especially if abused, could threaten the very structure of our free market system.
Big Labor's Grip on Financial Reform

Big Labor's Grip on Financial Reform

  There isn't a bill coming out of the Senate nowadays that doesn't contain a special interest provision aimed at empowering the labor union bosses.  The financial reform legislation is no exception.  Tucked inside the bill -- which a handful of Republicans are considering supporting -- is a provision that would give labor activists unprecedented power.  BigGovernment.com takes a look at the provisions which includes: Under the American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S 3217), several provisions tucked away in the bill will give labor bosses unprecedented powers that, especially if abused, could threaten the very structure of our free market system.
Why Is Big Labor 'Out of Touch' With Workers? Union Officials Making $150,000+ Tripled

Why Is Big Labor 'Out of Touch' With Workers? Union Officials Making $150,000+ Tripled

Forced-Unionism Privileges, Not Fat Paychecks, Are the Root Cause (Source: May 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Just between 2000 and 2008 (the last year with complete data), the number of union officials and union staff members "earning more than $100,000 a year" tripled. Over the same period, the number of officers and staff "earning more than $150,000 also tripled." The review of federal union disclosure forms to derive these data, which pointedly challenge the conventional wisdom about union finances today, was performed not by the National Right to Work Committee or by an anti-union pundit, but rather by New York City-based union activist Mark Brenner. Mr. Brenner published his findings in an article appearing in the March issue of Labor Notes, a publication that strongly supports forced unionism, but is independent of the union hierarchy. Data Indicate Unionized Workers' Job Losses Don't Deplete Union Treasuries The fact that the number of union officials and staff earning high salaries "has exploded in recent years," as Mr. Brenner has demonstrated, might surprise people who get their information on labor unions from major media. Many commentators on American labor unions have spun together a myth about declining union finances from what is truly bad news only for union-"represented" workers, who are typically forced to pay union dues or "agency" fees as a condition of employment.
Why Is Big Labor 'Out of Touch' With Workers? Union Officials Making $150,000+ Tripled

Why Is Big Labor 'Out of Touch' With Workers? Union Officials Making $150,000+ Tripled

Forced-Unionism Privileges, Not Fat Paychecks, Are the Root Cause (Source: May 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Just between 2000 and 2008 (the last year with complete data), the number of union officials and union staff members "earning more than $100,000 a year" tripled. Over the same period, the number of officers and staff "earning more than $150,000 also tripled." The review of federal union disclosure forms to derive these data, which pointedly challenge the conventional wisdom about union finances today, was performed not by the National Right to Work Committee or by an anti-union pundit, but rather by New York City-based union activist Mark Brenner. Mr. Brenner published his findings in an article appearing in the March issue of Labor Notes, a publication that strongly supports forced unionism, but is independent of the union hierarchy. Data Indicate Unionized Workers' Job Losses Don't Deplete Union Treasuries The fact that the number of union officials and staff earning high salaries "has exploded in recent years," as Mr. Brenner has demonstrated, might surprise people who get their information on labor unions from major media. Many commentators on American labor unions have spun together a myth about declining union finances from what is truly bad news only for union-"represented" workers, who are typically forced to pay union dues or "agency" fees as a condition of employment.