A Union-Approved Candidate
Here at Labor Pains, we often talk about the political clout of unions, how they funnel millions upon millions of dollars into elections, the vast majority of which goes to Democratic candidates. But it’s not often that a union makes a power play this blatant: A government studies teacher at Washington Irving High School in [more...]

Posted Tue, 31 Aug 2010 .

What They Are Really Thinking
The recent kerfuffle over the Los Angeles Times releasing scads of data on LA’s teachers has provided some interesting insights into how defenders of teachers unions think. The head of the LA teachers union, for example, said he was “outraged” that the Times would publish data revealing which teachers were effective and which teachers weren’t [more...]

Posted Mon, 30 Aug 2010 .

No Reason For Elections?

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After pressuring members of the House of Representatives to pass the comically misnamed “Employee Free Choice Act” in March 2007, union officials continued their drive to rewrite organizing rules by raising the issue in the Senate in June.

Labor leaders hope to dramatically change the way working Americans join unions — by stealing every employee’s right to a personal, private vote. Why would union bosses do this? Because they need to rebuild their shrinking membership, and it’s easier to coerce and cajole employees under the “card check” method, which is like an open petition. This is a process rife with intimidation, coercion, and confusion because everyone knows each employee’s preference and because there is often no opportunity given to tell the side of the story union bosses don’t want exposed.

Bruce Raynor, a top union president, claims: “There’s no need to subject the workers to an election.” It would be better to listen to the words of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which said “workers sometimes sign union authorization cards not because they intend to vote for the union in the election but to avoid offending the person who asks them to sign, often a fellow worker, or simply to get the person off their back.”