Tag: public sector unions

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Supreme Court may limit ability of public unions to forcibly take money from ‘members’

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By Nick Sorrentino on January 12, 2016

This would be a positive for the country. (Though some will of course wail.) Unions shouldn’t be able to just take money out of people’s paychecks just because a particular union says that it represents a particular worker. That’s crazy.

I am of the opinion that in theory private sector unions can actually be valid tools within the marketplace. They help to set expectations for employees and management alike while also creating some degree of employment stability for workers. So long as such a private union is based upon free association and not a tool of cronyism (this is of course the rub), and doesn’t coerce fees from its members, I can see how a private union, again in theory, can be a perfectly good thing. However, in a government situation, where the taxpayers are the employers, unions shouldn’t be allowed. Governments are nearly always hijacked by public sector unions which “negotiate” with politicians who are elected with money from the public unions. Even FDR thought public unions were a bad idea.

https://www.againstcronycapitalism.org/2016/01/supreme-court-may-limit-ability-of-unions-to-forcibly-take-money-from-members/

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New Jersey is one of five of the states where government union membership rates exceed 50 percent

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New Jersey is one of five of the states where government union membership rates exceed 50 percent.

How powerful are public employee unions in your state?

By Jason Hart  /   February 26, 2015   | Watchdog.org

More than half of the public employees in 13 states are union members, and government union membership rates exceed 25 percent in 27 states.

Labor unions work against employers — local, state and federal taxpayers, in the case of public employees. While slamming labor reforms as “anti-worker,” America’s four largest unions enrich themselves and their members at taxpayer expense.

The National Education Association, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of Teachers and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have a combined total of more than 7.5 million members.

Over 3.3 million unionized public employees work in California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, five of the states where government union membership rates exceed 50 percent.

https://watchdog.org/202460/public-unions-state/

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Supreme Court to consider ‘kill shot’ on public sector unions

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Supreme Court to consider ‘kill shot’ on public sector unions
By Tim Devaney – 06/28/14 01:06 PM EDT

The Supreme Court will make its most important ruling in labor law in decades next week when it weighs in on a right-to-work case that could determine whether non-union workers can be compelled to pay public sector union dues.

Courts for years have recognized the rights of unions to ask non-members to pay dues for union negotiating costs, but a group of home healthcare workers in Harris vs. Quinn are challenging dues they pay to a branch of the Service Employees International Union as a violation of free speech.

The case is pitting business groups and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation against labor giants like the SEIU, which worry the court could rule broadly to prevent all non-members of public sector unions from being compelled to pay dues.

Such a decision from the court, which is expected to rule on Monday, could deliver a “kill shot” to organized labor at a time when it is already struggling with a declining membership.

Still, some labor supporters say they’re anticipating a loss.

“I expect the worst,” said Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the progressive Economic Policy Institute.

The case was brought by Pamela Harris, who receives money from the state of Illinois to take care of her son.

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/210882-high-court-to-consider-kill-shot-on-public-sector-unions#ixzz35xaMPms9