Right to Work Blog

Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s) are government-sponsored kickbacks to Big Labor bosses that drive up the cost of publicly-funded construction projects by as much as 25% to the taxpayers.  PLA’s limit competitive bidding for project work to construction companies that have union contracts or will agree to them, shutting out over 85% of all construction workers who are not under union monopoly control.  But that didn’t stop the Utica School Board from imposing one on a $187.6 million capital project.  Rather than using the money for more schools and better classrooms, the School Board voted to hand taxpayer money over to Big Labor.  They should get an “F” in Accountability.

With California on the brink of bankruptcy, you would think that elected officials would be looking to save taxpayers money rather than paying more than they have to for the cost of construction.  You would be wrong.

Colorado voters oppose the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill like the rest of the nation.

Firing a teacher in New York is almost impossible thanks to the powerful teacher union that dominates City politics. Just ask Alan Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld was accused to sexual misconduct. Rather than replace him, the City was forced to put him in a room by himself allowing him to keep his $100,000 a year salary. That was in 2001. Almost a million dollars later, the City wants something done about it. Union monopoly bargaining is the cause.

Newly-elected New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed an executive order ending the current system of pay to play politics in the Garden State. The order states that unions are now added to the list of groups which are barred from receiving state contracts of more than $17,500 if they had donated more than $300 to a campaign for Governor or county political committee in the previous 18 months.   The order is expected to curb the union influence and patronage that was prevalant during the Corzine administration.

As government unions grow more powerful than private sector unions, in part because of their ability to force workers into unions through a “card check” process, the drain on taxpayers continues to grow.

California is a shining example.

Detroit, MI (January 28, 2010) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a citizen activist announced today that he will file an appeal with the Michigan Supreme Court in an ongoing public disclosure battle over the use of school district e-mail systems for union political activities.

In 2007, political activist Chetly Zarko from DeWitt – invoking Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure law – requested e-mail communications among Howell Education Association (HEA) union brass regarding heated collective bargaining negotiations between the Howell Public School (HPS) system and union officials.  The HEA union is a local affiliate of the Michigan Education Association and National Education Association unions.

At the time of the collective bargaining conflict, Zarko suspected union boss lobbying was occurring at taxpayer expense.  Zarko is seeking the release of approximately 5,500 e-mails between the union hierarchy and teachers.

HEA union officials claimed a special exception from the requirements of Michigan’s FOIA law, despite the fact that the e-mails were sent over a taxpayer funded e-mail system and the HPS’s “Acceptable Use Policy” explicitly states that e-mails sent on the server are “not consider private communication [and] may be re-posted.” 

Foundation attorneys won a ruling from the Livingston Circuit Court requiring disclosure, but union lawyers managed to convince the State of Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn the lower court’s decision.  

“Public resources should not be spent on the shadowy and self-serving political activities of union bosses,” said Patrick Semmens, Legal Information Director of the National Right to Work Foundation.  “Howell Education Association union officials should be subject to the same public disclosure requirements as everyone else who uses taxpayer funds.”

            The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses.  The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, is assisting thousands of employees in over 200 cases nationwide. Its web address is www.nrtw.org. 

For Release: January 28, 2010

Contact: Anthony Riedel (800) 336-3600 

Radical Big Labor lawyer Craig Becker has been renominated to that National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by President Obama. 

The National Right to Work Committee has opposed Becker’s nomination from the start and other groups are joining the chorus.

The Committee’s Becker Alert highlights the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) Founder Wade Rathke’s ringing endorsement of Obama’s Becker nomination. Rathke wrote, “Here’s a big win no matter how you shake and bake it: Craig Becker being nominated for a seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)!

Becker, an associate general counsel to both the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the AFL-CIO, will likely support measures to eliminate a workers right to a secret ballot through executive action.  

You can’t help but wonder if Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) reads his local newspapers. With a Senator so far out of touch with his local constituency, the obvious answer is: probably not.

Despite vehement opposition from the Las Vegas Review Journal and others, Reid keeps carrying big labor’s agenda and the taxpayers are the ones that pay the price.

Hold on your your wallets if you are a taxpayer in Atlanta.  The union bosses are demanding their due.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Steve Visser reports that big labor expects big favors from new mayor Kasim Reed. Local union boss Charlie Flemming says “we did a lot of work and we spent a lot of our resources” supporting Reed. It should be noted that it wasn’t Flemming’s resources but worker’s dues money that was spent but that is another story. Flemming is demanding that Reed pay them back with kickback and favoritism.

In the book, Stranglehold, Reed Larson reveals the astonishing story of how organized labor has acquired incredible, hidden power over local, state, and national governments in America. For a free copy of Stranglehold, go here.