Teamsters turnkeys leave door open for criticism in prison row
The Buffalo News reported today on….wow….how prison guards in Teamster-officiated areas just walked away from their posts, leaving prisoners unattended. Take a look: State inspectors in a recent report describe the Erie County penitentiary as a management-challenged prison where deputies abandon their posts, legitimate inmate grievances go nowhere, and would-be reforms move slowly. Commission of Correction [more...]

Posted Fri, 20 Nov 2009 .

New York Times to Unite Here: You are nasty, brutish, and short
In an article entitled “Some Organizers Protest Their Union’s Tactics,”Steven Greenhouse looks at a disgusting organizing practice known as “pink sheeting.” The title would be perfect but for the “Some” caveat that the paper feels is necessary to include. Don’t worry, New York Times, we get the fact its not EVERY labor organizer. Just more of [more...]

Posted Thu, 19 Nov 2009 .

Union Officials Elect for Hypocrisy

Given this level of public and media support for elections, some may be surprised by union officials’ campaign to take away secret ballots from working Americans. They may be more surprised to find that union officials seem to prefer elections when it comes to their own staff deciding whether to join a union.

An analysis by the Center for Union Facts found more than three dozen cases of NLRB petitions filed by one union seeking to represent the staff of another. That means an employer—the union—chose not to accept cards as a sign of their staff employees’ intent (and, as noted below, the affirmative rejection of card check is a reasonable conclusion). Such a position is, at best, hypocritical. Leaders of the UFCW seemed particularly fond of requiring elections for union staff who sought representation, followed closely by SEIU and Teamsters leaders. It is notable that these are among the most vocal unions to support ending secret ballots for working Americans.