breitbart--2019-09-02--Labor Unions Strike Back Against Janus Ruling in States

A report released at the Commonwealth Foundation calls attention to government union leaders’ campaigns in the states to bolster their power over workers.  “In many states, union leaders are using their considerable lobbying resources to slow legislation that would enforce Janus and to pass union-friendly bills,” said Charles Mitchell, president and CEO for the Commonwealth Foundation, in a press statement.  Union leaders are attempting to counter the increasing number of lawsuits alleging they have contrived obstacles to workers’ ability to leave government unions they were once forced to join and to collect refunds of past fees.  The labor unions’ campaign mimics that of other leftwing groups, such as the abortion industry, that claim a Supreme Court ruling in their favor is “settled law,” yet use their influence in state legislatures to undermine a potential Court ruling that is not to their advantage.  “According to Ballotpedia, as of early August 2019, 102 Janus-related state bills were introduced and seven bills backed by labor leaders were enacted,” states the Commonwealth Foundation’s report, adding:  For example, both the state of Washington’s House Bill 1575 and California’s Senate Bill 846 declare government unions are not required to refund union fees forcibly collected from workers prior to the Janus decision.  Oregon had ten new labor bills in 2019, including House Bill 3009, in which public safety unions were successful in securing a win to maintain their agency fees by replacing them with “reasonable fees and costs for representation that are unrelated to the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement.”  “In other words, the law is an illegal Janus workaround to maintain the union’s cash flow from agency fees and limit employees’ freedom of association—and is thus ripe for a court challenge,” states the report.  Republican Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed New Hampshire’s Senate Bill 18, which proposed voluntary union payments, the report notes.  “Continuing the payroll deduction for a month after a worker has chosen not to continue union membership falls outside the spirit of the Janus ruling and could potentially expose the state, counties and municipalities to litigation,” he said regarding his decision.  As the Commonwealth Foundation reports, union leaders in Oregon and California were also successful in codifying the practice of “release time” for union officials. The laws passed in these states require employers to grant union officials paid time off to conduct union business during their work day.  Legislation in other union-friendly states seeks to provide public sector employees’ private information to unions to assist in organizing, and to unionize new classes of workers with or without their knowledge or consent.  “This report warns that a Supreme Court decision is in danger of being undermined by politically savvy actors at the state level,” Mitchell said. “Advocates for workers cannot rest on their laurels and expect public employees’ newly-restored rights to be respected. States must pass laws that enforce and protect the Janus ruling.”


breitbart--2019-09-03--Biden Vows to Be Champion for Unions After Working to Offshore Their Jobs

Biden Vows to Be 'Champion' for Unions After Working to Offshore Their Jobs

On Labor Day, Biden released an ad in which he vowed that labor unions will have a seat at the table during all trade negotiations in his administration. Biden also said “unions will have no stronger champion in the White House” if he is elected.  Biden’s ad comes as union bosses, with deep ties to Democrat Party leaders, are worried that union workers will once again support President Trump in the 2020 presidential election, as he runs on his platform of economic nationalism and beating China in a trade war.  For Biden, being an advocate for the needs, jobs, and wages of America’s union workers has not been a cornerstone of his history in elected office. Biden’s support for job-killing free trade deals, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, have superseded his support for keeping American jobs in the United States.  While advocating for NAFTA in the Senate in 1993, Biden claimed NAFTA would bring more U.S. jobs to the Newark, Delaware Chrysler plant and increase domestic auto production.  More than a decade later, in 2007, those American workers who were promised a better livelihood by Biden and NAFTA were laid off from their jobs at the Chrysler plant. At its height, about 5,700 American workers were employed at Newark Chrysler. When the plant closed, around 700 to 1,100 Americans were left without jobs.  In May, Biden defended his support for NAFTA, saying “it made sense at the moment” for him to support the free trade deal which has contributed to the U.S. losing about five million manufacturing jobs and shuttering nearly 50,000 manufacturing facilities.  Then, just a few months later, during a 2020 Democrat presidential primary debate, Biden said he would oppose a “new NAFTA” deal when badgered by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) over his past support for NAFTA.  Throughout the later years of the Obama administration, Biden worked to lobby Republicans and Democrats in Congress to pass TPP — a free trade deal that would have made it easier for multinational corporations to offshore union workers’ jobs to Malaysia and Vietnam, where workers earn less than 60 cents an hour in some cases.  In 2013, during a speech at the Export-Import Bank’s 2013 Annual Conference, Biden said TPP was necessary to create a “new world order” which includes more open markets to ensure that even foreign countries like China prosper.  Similarly, in order to open markets globally, Biden said tariffs must be eliminated across the board:  In June, Biden said he would “renegotiate” TPP to make sure the U.S. enters the free trade deal.  Union bosses, as Breitbart News reported, are hoping America’s union workers forget Biden’s record of supporting free trade deals like NAFTA and TPP.  American union workers, though, are still experiencing the results of free trade through outsourcing, offshoring, and record low union membership. Federal data suggests that the rate at which American workers are members of unions has been cut in half since 1983. Then, there were 17.7 million workers in unions. Today, there are less than 15 million union workers.  John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.


breitbart--2019-10-18--Right to Work Legal: Chicago Teachers Have 'Right to Rebuff' Union Demands

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW) has issued a special legal notice to the more than 20,000 teachers affected by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike order.  The notice informs Chicago teachers they have a right to refuse to leave their students and to continue to provide for their families during the planned strike. Additionally, the notice offers teachers links to resources to help them exercise their rights without fear of retaliation from union leaders.  “This strike raises serious concerns for employees who believe there is much to lose from a union-ordered strike,” the notice reads. “Employees have the legal right to rebuff union officials’ strike demands, but it is important for them to be fully informed before they do so.”  NRTW says recent cases their staff attorneys have brought show union bosses often deceive workers about their rights during a union-ordered strike.  The NRTW legal notice informs Chicago teachers they should be aware they have the following rights:  A union has no disciplinary power over nonmembers and cannot discipline them for crossing a picket line and working during a strike. If you are currently a union member, you have the right to resign your union membership. Union officials can (and often do) levy large fines against union members who work during a strike. If you are now a union member and want to work during a strike, you should seriously consider resigning your union membership at least one day BEFORE you return to work. That is the only way to avoid possible ruinous union fines and other discipline. To have the best legal defense possible against fines the union may try to impose, you should give the union notice of your resignation BEFORE you cross the picket line so that when you return to work you are not a union member. If you encounter any difficulties in exercising your right to work during a strike, you can contact the Foundation to request free legal aid at www.nrtw.org/free-legal-aid.  NRTW reminds Chicago teachers the Supreme Court ruled last year in Janus v. AFSCME that nonmembers of a public sector union have a First Amendment right not to pay any union fees or dues — unless they have waived that right.  The Foundation warns of the need for workers to fully understand the waiver process:  A union has the burden of proving employees waived their First Amendment rights by “clear and compelling” evidence. Some unions claim that employees who authorized their employer to deduct union dues and fees in the past have waived their First Amendment rights. Whether a dues deduction authorization is an effective waiver depends on when it was signed and how it was worded.  Chicago teachers who encounter difficulties in ending the collection of union fees or dues from their paychecks are invited to contact NRTW.  “CTU bosses appear intent on attempting to shut down Chicago schools with a strike in order to flex their political muscle, even if leaving children out in the cold achieves nothing for the rank-and-file teachers,” said NRTW President Mark Mix. “Chicago teachers must decide for themselves whether abandoning their students at the behest of CTU officials is really what is best for them, and Foundation staff attorneys stand by to assist those teachers want to [sic] continue teaching their students and provide for their families.”  Teachers can obtain more information by visiting the NRTW website.


breitbart--2019-11-06--DNC Bows to AFSCME Union, Won't Hold 6th Debate at UCLA

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) bowed to the wishes of the Association of Federal, State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union Wednesday, canceling the sixth Democratic Party presidential primary debate at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in December. An alternative venue for the debate has not yet been announced.  AFSCME is in the midst of an ongoing labor dispute with the University of California over the use of short-term outsourcing. As such, it has asked political candidates not to speak at UC schools.  AFSCME 3299, an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, sent a letter to at least six of the candidates on Tuesday, asking them to respect its boycott on speakers appearing at UC schools until the dispute is resolved.  In other words, AFSCME 3299 told the candidates that if they support workers’ rights, they need to skip the UCLA debate. “What we’re doing is asking for the candidates who are coming to UCLA’s campus to honor the three-year boycott that we’ve had in place for any speaker attending any event on any of the university’s campuses to stand in solidarity with the workers and essentially to not lend their name and credibility to the university that’s treating workers like this,” said Liz Perlman, the union’s executive director.  Earlier this year, AFSCME Local 3299, which represents employees involved in patient care and related services, held a strike as an expression of solidarity with another union on strike against the UC system. The featured guest at a street-corner rally — which attracted more than 1,000 supporters — was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who had recently launched his 2020 presidential campaign.  As Breitbart News reported from the protest, Sanders barely mentioned the presidential campaign and focused on supporting the striking workers, saying he had always done so.


breitbart--2019-12-21--Joe Biden Goes Woke: 'We Should Unionize McDonald's'

Former Vice President Joe Biden pledged his support to unionize the fast food giant McDonald’s on Thursday, claiming it was a vital step to correct power imbalances in the American economy.  Biden, who often touts himself as a “union man” on the campaign trail, made the promise while speaking at a rally organized by the progressive organization Fight for 15 in Los Angeles, California. During his remarks, which came only hours before the Democrat presidential primary debate, the former vice president channeled his more progressive rivals when stating that fight for $15-an-hour was about more than economics.  “It’s not just the numbers, and by the way there’s been a war on fast food workers for a long, long time,” the former vice president said, before lambasting companies like Chuck E. Cheese that require their workers to sign non-compete agreements.  “It’s all about depressing the wages for working people,” Biden said. “Folks, look we’re in a situation now where we find ourselves in a position, where you are the victims of power, a significant amount of power.”  The former vice president argued that power imbalance would not be rectified by simply raising the wage to “$15 at minimum,” but by improving the “dignity of workers.”  “There is only one way you can fight back power,” he said. “That is with more power, and that’s union power… we should unionize McDonald’s.”  Biden added that if he was elected president in 2020, there would “never” be “a better friend in the White House for working people and for unions.”  The former vice president is not the only 2020 Democrat to express support for unionizing the fast food giant. Progressive firebrands like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have advocated for collective bargaining rights for McDonald’s employees since at least 2018.  On Thursday, Biden even echoed some of the same language about “power” imbalances that Warren used earlier this year when unveiling a wide reaching proposal to grant fast food workers the ability to unionize.  “We cannot have a truly democratic society with so little power in the hands of working people,” Warren said in October. “We cannot have sustained and inclusive economic growth without a stronger labor movement.”


channel4uk--2019-01-10--May turns to trade unions in plea for Brexit backing

Theresa  May has called Trade Union leaders today as she hunts for enough votes to get her Brexit deal through the Commons.  The Government has also met Labour MPs to find out if they would back the deal if there were more pledges on workers’ rights.  But the Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party won’t support the deal and that if the Government loses the vote, there should be a General Election.


channel4uk--2019-01-10--Theresa May calls the unions

Theresa May calls the unions

Theresa May has just started to do something Tory Prime Ministers haven’t done for a very long time and conduct a phone-round of trade union general secretaries.  As part of a Brexit outreach, trying to work out where opinion is amongst the wider Labour movement, the PM has called Unite’s Len McCluskey and is also planning to speak to the GMB’s Tim Roache.  After her meeting with Labour MPs led by John Mann, Mrs May’s team came away with the message that few were ready to vote for her on the basis of a pledge on workers’ rights but more could be available if there was a different approach to the final Brexit deal.  One who was in the conversation came away with the strong impression that could include talking about full membership of the Customs Union and a closer relationship with the Single Market.  Quite how the the Prime Minister can cobble together some outline of a future relationship in short order in time for a 29th March Brexit deadline is a mighty challenge. Some Labour MPs who are willing to engage with the government to avoid No Deal are nonetheless worried that they can’t trust a Tory Prime Minister who could be out on her ear the day after Brexit and not the Tory leader presiding over the key negotiations on the future relationship later in 2019 and beyond. On the other hand they are worried that Labour MPs (and Parliament in general) is getting a reputation in pro-Brexit Labour heartlands for trying to block Brexit.  Trade unionists will be very nervous about getting involved with the leader of a government they regularly and strongly condemn. Everyone is out of their comfort zone. But it looks like trade unionists are sufficiently worried about the economic impact of no deal to pick up the phone. Today’s news of car manufacturing job losses will only add to that calculation. For Theresa May’s part, some in the Soft Brexit camp of Cabinet may think it is an encouraging signal that she will move signficantly from her red lines if that can stop “no deal.”  The Business Secretary, Greg Clark, told me this morning that he had talked to Mrs May about indicative votes of the House of Commons to establish where the Prime Minister was though he acknowledged he wasn’t sure she was on side. Other Cabinet ministers have said privately that they think the Prime Minister has crossed the rubicon on this kind of approach.  It could be that the listening exercise ends up with little by way of concrete results. Mrs May would be aware that many in her party won’t tolerate her lurching towards much closer involvement in the EU’s institutions. Even if that and more ministerial resignations wasn’t a major issue there’s scarcely much time to finesse a whole outline approach to the future relationship when it’s taken two and a half years of internal government debate to come up with not very much .  But the Downing Street switchboard now has some numbers it hadn’t had for a long time. Strange times just got stranger.


chicagosuntimes--2019-02-19--Strait of the unions No solidarity for labor in crowded mayoral race

Strait of the unions: No solidarity for labor in crowded mayoral race

Organized labor almost never walks in political lockstep. But it’s truly marching to the beat of different drummers in the crowded race to replace Mayor Rahm Emanuel.  The Chicago Federation of Labor, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 have all taken a pass on the mayor’s race.  “We have unions who’ve come out for different candidates, for one. But, also because there [is] more than one candidate [who] has a solid reputation with labor,” said Robert Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor.  “It didn’t seem like now is the time to pick sides with this many people in the race. Anything could literally happen.”  ![Robert Reiter, president of Chicago Federation of Labor, speaks at a news conference in December. File Photo. | Colin Boyle/Sun- Times](https://suntimesmedia.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/acero-120918-23-e1550615166456.jpg?w=400&h=300)  Robert Reiter, president of Chicago Federation of Labor, speaks at a news conference in December. File Photo. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times  The Chicago Teachers Union, Service Employees International Union Locals 1 and 73 and SEIU Health Care have lined up behind Toni Preckwinkle. So has the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 881.  The SEIU endorsements alone have translated into roughly $2 million in cash and in-kind contributions to Preckwinkle, nearly two dozen full-time campaign workers and upwards of 500 part-time volunteers.  ![Chicago Public Schools parents, activists and union members rally in support of the Chicago Teachers Union in front of the Mayor's Office in 2016. File Photo. | James Foster/For the Sun- Times](https://suntimesmedia.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/teachers-100516-012-e1550614266171.jpg?w=400&h=300)  Chicago Public Schools parents, activists and union members rally in support of the Chicago Teachers Union in front of the Mayor’s Office in 2016. File Photo. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times  Trade unions are largely backing Susana Mendoza.  Together, political action committees for the carpenters, painters, bricklayers, laborers and finishing trades have pumped $885,000 into Mendoza’s campaign.  The Chicago Federation of Musicians, the Illinois Nurses Association, UFCW Local 1546 and labor leader Dolores Huerta have also endorsed Mendoza.  Bill Daley’s labor spigot is more like a trickle — from the Plumbers Union. The union’s endorsement event gave Daley an excuse to skip out on a recent televised debate with the top-tier candidates.  But, a dark money PAC with ties to Operating Engineers Local 150 is spending $714,000 in the campaign’s final days to blanket the television airwaves with an ad blasting Daley as a “Wall Street banker who got rich off working people.”  Bill Daley’s father, former Mayor Richard J. Daley, had a close working relationship with organized labor in the pre-collective bargaining days of handshake agreements.  The once rock-solid relationship turned sour under Bill Daley’s brother, former Mayor Richard M. Daley.  In a 2007 mayoral election that turned out to be Richard M. Daley’s last, the Chicago Federation of Labor did not endorse the incumbent mayor of Chicago for the first time in its modern history.  ![Mayor Richard M. Daley discusses the big-box ordinance at a 2006 news conference. File Photo by Jim Frost/Sun- Times](https://suntimesmedia.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/7-24-06-frost- bigbox-5-e1550618179907.jpg?w=400&h=300)  7-24-06 mayor Daley’s big box press conference. photo by Jim Frost sun-times  The CFL exacted its political revenge four months after Richard M. Daley used his first and only veto to kill a big-box minimum wage ordinance that would have required retailing giants to pay employees at least $13 an hour in wages and benefits by 2010.  The big-box veto might have been forgiven if it had been organized labor’s only beef with Daley. But it was more like the straw that broke the camel’s back.  It set the stage for labor to be a major player in the 2007 aldermanic election with an impressive scorecard: Five wins, two losses and seven aldermen forced into runoffs.  This time around, labor is either playing or sitting on the sidelines on a field of fourteen mayoral candidates. It’s almost certain to be a low-turnout election.  “The ability to put members on the street talking to their neighbors and fellow workers about a candidate is a pretty powerful force,” said Jerry Morrison, assistant to the president of SEIU Local 1.  “Whoever gets in second place, it could be by a few votes. In a race divided in as many different ways as this one is, you could argue that it could be the deciding factor.”  Bill Daley’s famous name and his $7.4 million campaign warchest — nearly double Preckwinkle’s take — has allowed him to take his message directly to Chicago voters.  But, he’s realistic about the potential impact of labor support and the political foot soldiers unions can provide to help get out the vote on election day.  “The bulk of Preckwinkle’s money is labor. That’s helped her be where she’s at. And Mendoza’s money— transferred from her comptroller’s race and the money she’s raised so far — is probably $1 million-plus from labor,” Daley said.  “That’ll have a big impact on them. It’s keeping ‘em both alive and well financially. I’ll find out Tuesday” whether or not labor support is decisive.  ![State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, right, with Ken Raskin, left, owner of Manny's Deli on Election day, March 20th, 2018. File Photo. | James Foster/For the Sun- Times](https://suntimesmedia.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/vote-032118-1-e1550616683903.jpg?w=400&h=300)  State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, right, with Ken Raskin, left, owner of Manny’s Deli on Election day, March 20th, 2018. File Photo. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times  As for the 11th-hour blitz aimed at portraying him as a Darth Vader to working people, Bill Daley characterized it as a gutless sneak attack.  “It pisses me off,” Daley said of the dark money the operating engineers are secretly spending on behalf of Mendoza.  “People are tired of throwing dirt and not saying who’s behind it,” Bill Daley said.  “If they gave $750,000 to her campaign and said, ‘Go out and tout yourself,’ great. But, all they do is try to hide and whack me with some phony name of the organization instead of the union. They’re not even proud to put the union name on it.”  ![Mayoral candidate Bill Daley in the 2019 Chinese New Year Parade earlier this month. File Photo. | James Foster/For the Sun- Times](https://suntimesmedia.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/chinaparade-021119-36-e1550616985222.jpg?w=400&h=300)  Mayoral candidate Bill Daley in the 2019 Chinese New Year Parade earlier this month. File Photo. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times  Daley stands alone among mayoral candidates in his support for an amendment to change the Illinois Constitution’s pension protection clause, which states those benefits “shall not be diminished or impaired.”  If Daley advances to the runoff against Preckwinkle, Reiter said, “We would have a better shot at building a coalition to get an endorsement” of Preckwinkle to stop Daley.  “But, it’s not necessarily guaranteed,” he said.  ![\(Left to right\) Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Andy Crooks sit at the Chicago Teachers Union Headquarters at a news conference in December. File Photo. | Colin Boyle/Sun- Times](https://suntimesmedia.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/acero-120918-11-1-e1550615670749.jpg?w=400&h=300)  (Left to right) Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Andy Crooks sit at the Chicago Teachers Union Headquarters at a news conference in December. File Photo. | Colin Boyle /Sun-Times  Already, AFSCME Council 31 is “taking steps to educate union members and the broader voting public about the anti-worker records, wrong priorities and dangerous allies” of Daley and Willie Wilson, union spokesman Anders Lindall said.  “We want to make sure Chicago voters know that Bill Daley co-chaired Bruce Rauner’s transition team and took a million dollars from Rauner’s top funder,” Lindall wrote in an email, referring to hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin.  “Voters should also know about Daley’s record of enriching himself at the crossroads of government and business, including as CEO of SBC when he took a million-dollar bonus before laying off 5,000 workers.”  The CTU’s December endorsement of Preckwinkle came one day after the former school teacher embraced the union’s entire education agenda.  That includes: a “fully-elected” school board; a freeze on new charter schools and public school closings for the four years until that board is seated; and “real progressive revenue” to bolster neighborhood schools.  Preckwinkle has insisted that won’t compromise her ability to negotiate a new teachers contract that beleaguered Chicago taxpayers can afford.  Mayoral candidate Gery Chico doesn’t buy it.  “If you take that kind of money — that percentage of what you raise — from one or two unions, you’re bought. … Your first priority is the people [who] funded you,” Chico said.  “You’re gonna be sitting at that table negotiating with the very unions that gave [you] millions. And you’re gonna do what now in terms of labor agreements for our people? You’re gonna cave, cave, cave. You’re gonna tax, tax, tax to pay for it. I don’t care what she says. That’s exactly what’s gonna happen.”  ![Mayoral candidate Gery Chico was endorsed by the Chicago Firefighters Union Local #2 during his 2011 mayoral run, but he's not getting union endorsements this time. File Photo. | Brian Jackson~Sun- Times](https://suntimesmedia.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/chico- cst-0126-7-e1550617251382.jpg?w=400&h=300)  Mayoral candidate Gery Chico was endorsed by the Chicago Firefighters Union Local #2 during his 2011 mayoral run, but he’s not getting union endorsements this time. File Photo. | Brian Jackson~Sun-Times  Preckwinkle’s spokeswoman Monica Trevino countered, “We are proud to have the support of Chicago’s workers and teachers. Unlike Bill Daley, who relies on millions in donations from Illinois billionaires, our campaign is people driven.”  In his 2011 campaign against Emanuel, Chico had heavy labor support from police and fire unions, the operating engineers and painters. This time around, he’s flying solo.  “It was basically Rahm and me last time. It was pretty clear who … would be sensitive to issues involving labor. That was me,” Chico said.  “This time, you’ve got fourteen candidates. You’ve got a much more confused picture. I understand it. I don’t whine.”  **Contributing:** _Rachel Hinton_  _Organized labor groups with an ownership stake in the Chicago Sun-Times include the Chicago Federation of Labor, the Service Employees International Union Local 1 and SEIU Health Care, the Labor/Management Union Carpentry Cooperation Promotion Fund, the Construction and General Laborers District Council of Chicago and Vicinity and Operating Engineers Local 150._


chicagosuntimes--2019-03-15--Toni Preckwinkle adds Teamsters Joint Council to list of union endorsements

The powerful Teamsters Joint Council 25 announced Thursday they were throwing their support to Toni Preckwinkle in the April runoff election for mayor.  The endorsement comes after Preckwinkle, the Cook County Board president, had already secured endorsements from the Chicago Teachers Union, Service Employees International Union Locals 1 and 73, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 881 and Teamsters Local 700, among others. SEIU 1 has an ownership stake in Sun-Times Media.  “Toni is the right person to take on Chicago’s great challenges because she knows the importance of standing together in order to make this great city work on behalf of working families,” Teamsters Joint Council 25 President Terrence J. Hancock said in a statement released by Preckwinkle’s campaign.  A representative of the council, which represents more than 100,000 men and women in 25 local unions in Illinois and northwest Indiana, was unavailable for an interview Thursday afternoon.  Preckwinkle campaign spokesman Chris Meagher praised the endorsement. “I think it shows that Toni has a lot of momentum behind her campaign,” Meagher said. “She’s proud to be endorsed by the working men and women of the Teamsters.”  “She has been a strong supporter of working families in Chicago,” Meagher said, citing Preckwinkle’s commitment to raise the minimum wage in Chicago to $15 by 2021.  [In what was seen as a blow to Preckwinkle’s campaign](https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/preckwinkle-lightfoot-chicago- federation-labor-cfl-remain-neutral-april-2-mayoral-runoff-election-2019/) earlier this month, the Chicago Federation of Labor announced they would stay neutral in the race for mayor.  The CFL, which represents 300 unions, found little difference between Preckwinkle and her opponent, Lori Lightfoot, the Sun-Times reported. The organization also has an ownership stake in Sun-Times Media.  [Lightfoot picked up the endorsement](https://chicago.suntimes.com/news /lightfoot-preckwinkle-city-council-corruption-budget-pensions-election- chicago-mayor-2019/) of the Chicago Plumbers Union Local 130 on Tuesday, which had previously endorsed Bill Daley in the race.  The union that represents Chicago’s firefighters [has also endorsed Lightfoot,](https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/lightfoot-preckwinkle-poll-tv- ad-firefighters-union-endorsement-chicago-mayor-election-2019/) which could help her shore up support in the 19th and 41st wards that are home to many of the city’s firefighters.  A spokesperson for the Lightfoot campaign didn’t return messages seeking comment about Thursday’s endorsement.


chicagosuntimes--2019-04-09--Pritzker to trade unions Rauner learned a lesson dont mess with labor

Pritzker to trade unions: Rauner learned a lesson — ‘don’t mess’ with labor

WASHINGTON — A national labor group on Tuesday applauded Illinois being back in the union game.  New Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker drew the sharp contrast between himself and his pro-labor policies and former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s drive to diminish unions in his debut speech as governor to North America’s Building Trade Unions 2019 legislative conference.  “When we were at this conference a year ago, Illinois had the most anti-union governor in the nation,” Pritzker said. The audience booed each time Pritzker said Rauner’s name. Pritzker paused, with relish, at each round of boos.  In 2018, Pritzker came to Washington for the conference as the Democratic governor nominee looking for labor support, though he did not speak to the group.  In 2018, Rauner traveled to Washington to be in the Supreme Court for oral arguments and the ruling in the landmark case he successfully brought against public unions, Janus v. AFSCME Council 31. Rauner had made weakening Illinois government unions a crusade during his entire term.  It’s telling that Pritzker was the only governor on the speaking program, which on Wednesday will include a string of Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls.  North America’s Building Trades Unions is the umbrella group for the major unions representing the trades: teamsters; bricklayers; electrical, sheet metal iron and elevator workers; painters; laborers; plasterers; cement masons; plumbers; welders; roofers; operating engineers; welders; insulators and boilermakers.  Pritzker started with shout-outs to trade union leaders from Illinois: Lonnie Stephenson with IBEW, Eric Dean with the Iron Workers, and Frank Christensen with the Elevator Constructors.  “My predecessor, Gov. Bruce Rauner,” he said, stopping for the boos, “was determined to lower wages for working families by ending collective-bargaining rights, by tearing down the labor movement.”  Rauner “was hell bent,” Pritzker said, on eliminating project labor agreements, pushing local right-to-work zones and “destroying” prevailing wage agreements while “stacking the Illinois Department of Labor with his anti-union cronies allied with the Koch Brothers,” a reference to the anti-union drives bankrolled by the billionaire brothers.  Rauner “went to war on the working families in Illinois. Gov. Bruce Rauner learned an important lesson though: Don’t mess with the men and women in the labor movement,” Pritzker said to applause.  Pritzker told the group about actions he did from day one as governor: signing orders restoring project labor and prevailing wage agreements and dealing with wage theft and day-labor exploitation. He also signed a law raising the Illinois minimum wage to $15-an-hour by 2025.  “I want to be clear. When it comes to fighting for Illinois workers, we are just getting started,” said Pritzker.  “I want my tenure as governor to be defined by our work to create real lasting opportunity for the middle class and for those who are striving to be in the middle class.”  Pritzker spoke after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “America’s middle class has a union label on it,” she said. Pelosi and Pritzker both pitched the need for federal and state infrastructure spending. “Build, build, build,” Pelosi said.  I knew Pritzker and Pelosi know each other but didn’t realize how far back they go — most of his life.  Pritkzer was born in northern California. His late parents knew Pelosi, living in San Francisco, because they were all involved in Democratic Party politics. “I grew up with her kids. We would go skiing sometimes. I knew her, I think, since I was 5 or 6 years old.”  Pritzker signed a law on Friday authorizing the sale of the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop, a state office building designed by Helmut Jahn.  The sale process will take years. I asked Pritzker were he wanted to relocate the state workers. The Bilandic Building across the street will likely have some, not all replacement space.  “In my view, we don’t need to be in the center of the city for all the functions of state government.”  My question: If the Thompson Center is demolished, what will happen to Jean Dubuffet’s “Monument with Standing Beast,” the sculpture by the famed French artist in the plaza.  “I don’t know enough about that to even opine about that,” said Pritzker.  A former Rauner associate told me since leaving office, Rauner has been traveling — was in New Zealand “for awhile and is now trying to plan what’s next.”  Also on the labor front Tuesday: Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., introduced Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul before he testified at a House Appropriations Committee panel on wage theft.  Last week at a hearing, Bustos slammed Trump Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta during a hearing on his department’s budget and the money requested for auditing and investigating labor unions.  Said Bustos, “Your philosophy of cutting the red tape seems to apply to everyone except for labor unions.”


chicagosuntimes--2019-10-18--Still no deal as CPS, teachers union wraps up bargaining Friday

A second day of bargaining after 25,000 teachers went on strike ended with no deal Friday.  That means the strike, that has canceled classes, sports and other activities for 300,000 Chicago Public Schools students, will continue. Bargaining resumes Saturday at 1 p.m.  The day started with the city’s lead labor attorney accusing Chicago Teachers Union officers of a lack of urgency around bargaining.  “URGENT MESSAGE RE: SCHEDULING,” began attorney Jim Franczek’s all-caps message to Jesse Sharkey and Stacy Davis Gates (whose first name he misspelled in the email). “Given the urgency of having over 300,000 students not receiving the quality education they deserve, we hereby respectfully request that we negotiate at least 10 hours per day beginning today and for each day thereafter, including this weekend, until a tentative agreement is reached.”  Click here to see a who’s-who of key figures in CTU contract negotiations.  Over the weekend, Sharkey and Davis Gates plan to attend part of a three-day Illinois Federation of Teachers convention held in suburban Rosemont. Sharkey confirmed Friday they’ll leave the bargaining table Saturday morning, leaving the rest of the team in place. (Saturday’s convention speakers also include Governor J.B. Pritkzer, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, and International Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery.)  But the urgent message from Franczek was meant for another audience beyond union brass: the public. The battle for the city’s hearts and minds is in full swing, and will only intensify the longer the strike continues. Late Thursday, the CTU also released radio ads, two in English and one in Spanish, furthering their efforts to get their message directly to the public.  As the inevitability of the strike became clear this week, the city and union began accusing each other week of “stalling,” then of “moving the goal posts.”  CPS’ team, represented by Franczek, has criticized the CTU leadership’s lack of availability for more extensive bargaining starting Monday, when they stepped away from negotiations to rally downtown all afternoon.  On Thursday when the strike began, Sharkey and Davis Gates, the top two officers, left again to do morning and evening press interviews, and again for an afternoon rally and march on CPS’ headquarters in the Loop.  CPS CEO Janice Jackson and Mayor Lori Lightfoot also are giving plenty of media interviews, but neither of them has yet to join the contract talks.  During an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday, Lightfoot was asked whether the teachers strike now into its second day is beginning to have the look and feel of a long walkout.  “Well, I hope not. That’s part of the reason why we called for, from this point forward, a commitment on the part of the union to bargain at least ten hours-a-day every day and that one of the principals—either Jesse Sharkey as president or Stacy Davis-Gates as vice-president—be at the table for the duration,” the mayor said.  “That’s the only way we’re gonna actually get something done. There’s got to be a seriousness of purpose. There’s got to be increased urgency…I don’t think they’ve gotten back to us on that yet.”  Bargaining team members trickled into Malcolm X College Friday morning, ahead of the planned 9:30 a.m. start time to resume talks. Asked whether Friday will be a long day, Matt Lyons, CPS’ head of human resources only said, “Hopefully,” as he entered the college.  But another 1:30 p.m. rally was held Friday, prompting Franczek to write, “We cannot afford to have another three to four hour recess in negotiations while both of you are gone. It is vital to the success of these negotiations that one of you be present at all times.”  Heading out to the Friday afternoon rally, Sharkey contended that negotiations don’t have to stop if he and Davis Gates aren’t there. But they decided Sharkey would go to the rally and Davis Gates would stay at Malcolm X College, where the two sides are meeting.  “Stacy and I went out for a few hours in the middle of the day to address the other really important group whose voice counts in this matter: the membership of the CTU and the membership of the public,” Sharkey said. “Part of my job is in a negotiation like this is talking to the press, because this is how the public understands what’s going on.”  Davis Gates questioned how their TV appearances differed from the ones by the mayor and schools chief.  “Janice gets to talk to y’all all day, the mayor gets to talk to y’all all day, and then they got a team up there” in bargaining, she said.  Sharkey told the Sun-Times Friday morning before bargaining that many from the CTU’s team were negotiating from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday, and that on some specialized matters such as special education, he and his vice president aren’t the best experts to negotiate. He also said he and Davis Gates have been exchanging proposals with CPS while away from the table.  Though both sides say talks aren’t moving fast enough, negotiations have been “positive,” Sharkey said. On Friday they discussed special education and class sizes and are set to talk about staffing of nurses, librarians and social workers when they get back together later in the afternoon.  Regarding the weekend bargaining schedule, Sharkey said “it might just be all the time,” referring to Franczek’s message.  Asked whether the parties owe it to families to go all weekend in their efforts to resolve the teachers’ labor dispute, he said, “Nobody’s taking the weekend off.”  “I think you have to work hard at the bargaining table. There’s two other dynamics at work here. One is that we need time to make decisions and talk to ourselves,” Sharkey said. “There’s a lot of work at the table but it’s not all at the table and we’re doing a lot of work and that’s an around-the-clock process.”  “We’re not just trying to get a fast deal, we’re trying to get a deal that commits to having educational justice in Chicago,” Sharkey continued.  But the longer the strike goes on, the worse the effect on the schools’ system, Lightfoot said.  At a time when CPS is already hemorrhaging students — down about 40,000 kids from 2011 — Lightfoot said she’s concerned that a protracted strike would only exacerbate that disturbing trend.  “When young parents are thinking about whether or not they’re gonna stay in the city and live, one of the things that they think about is what is the quality of the public schools. ‘What is the school that my son or daughter can go to?’ And stability is a big part of that equation,” the mayor said.  “If we have less people in the city, that means we have less people who are contributing to the vitality of our neighborhoods. It shrinks the population within CPS. It shrinks our tax base. So, it is in everyone’s best interest that the CPS system has stability. It’s critically important.”


chicagosuntimes--2019-12-12--US labor board sides with McDonald’s in union case

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled in McDonald’s favor in a long-running case filed by 20 workers who were fired or faced retaliation for trying to unionize.  The board said Thursday that it favors a settlement that will require McDonald’s franchisees to pay $171,636 to the affected workers. The franchisees must also notify current and former employees about the settlement and set up a $250,000 fund to handle future claims.  The workers were seeking a ruling that would consider McDonald’s a “joint employer” with its franchisees. That would have increased the company’s liability and potentially have made it easier for McDonald’s 850,000 U.S. workers to form a union.  But Chicago-based McDonald’s insists it doesn’t directly employ the workers. About 95% of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants are owned by franchisees.  An administrative law judge with the labor board rejected the proposed settlement in July 2018, saying it was unlikely to end the dispute and didn’t require McDonald’s to enforce the settlement.  McDonald’s appealed to the full board, which agreed with the company. The case will now return to the administrative law judge, who has been directed by the board to approve the settlement.


chicagosuntimes--2019-12-19--Teamsters slam ‘despicable’ plan to outsource Stone Park fire department amid unionization attempt

A union is blasting the fire chief for suburban Stone Park after he announced plans to outsource his department staff amid their effort to unionize.  Stone Park Fire Chief Jack Giuffre sent a memo Wednesday to the department’s staff of 13 paramedics and firefighters announcing their work will be taken over by the Melrose Park Fire Department on Jan. 1 in “the best interest of the taxpayers of Stone Park,” Teamsters Local 700 said in a statement.  That memo comes days after the members of the Stone Park fire department took the first step to unionize by filing a majority interest petition Dec. 5 to the Illinois Labor Relations Board, according to T.J. Wilcox, the Local 700 business agent who organized the effort.  “We did not take it lightly filing the petition,” Wilcox said.  Wilcox said the firefighters’ main concerns are staffing levels and worker safety.  In a statement, Stone Park Mayor Ben Mazzulla confirmed that some fire department services would be outsourced but disputed the union’s claim that the entire fire department would be shuttered.  “The memo sent to firefighters states the village is only going to outsource the fire service and not the ambulance service due to the lack of shift coverage. Therefore, no firefighter is losing their job,” Mazzulla said.  A spokesperson for Mazzulla declined to provide a copy of the letter, claiming it was for “personnel only.”  Teamsters president Michael Malone said Stone Park’s move for apparent economic reasons is hypocritical since the department put out a request for applications for new positions on Dec. 2, three days before their petition was filed.  “From our experience, this move is not only despicable but puts the residents of Stone Park at risk,” said Malone, who claimed the move would also mean higher emergency response times.  The union also believes that outsourcing the fire department would cost Stone Park more than it pays now.  “It’s our understanding that the department budget is $1.5 million, and that outsourcing would be $2 million,” Wilcox said.  Mazzulla, through his spokesperson, denied the union’s claims.  A message left with Giuffre was not returned Thursday.  Melrose Park spokesman Gary Mack said top village officials recently met with Mazzulla to discuss Stone Park’s consolidation plan.  “Municipalities are doing this all over the state of Illinois,” Mack said.


cnbc--2019-07-23--Sanders reaches deal with campaign staffers union for 15 minimum wage

Sanders reaches deal with campaign staffers' union for $15 minimum wage

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) greets supporters before marching in the Nashua Pride Parade in Nashua, New Hampshire, June 29, 2019.  After a prolonged dispute between Sen. Bernie Sanders and the union representing his presidential campaign staffers, the two parties reached an agreement that will pay field organizers the equivalent of at least $15 an hour.  A $15 minimum wage, and workers' rights more broadly, are centerpieces of Sanders' platform. But field organizers were being paid an average of less than $13 an hour, according to internal communications leaked to The Washington Post.  In a CNN interview Tuesday morning, Sanders announced that the campaign reached a deal with the union that would pay field organizers an annual salary equivalent to $15 an hour. The agreement followed a union dispute that had dragged on since at least May, according to the Post.  "Both the campaign staff and management have engaged in this process in good faith and to achieve a mutually agreed upon outcome. This is what democracy in the workplace looks like," said Jonathan Williams, a spokesman for the union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400.  He noted that the campaign will pay its field organizers $42,000 per year for up to 50 hours a week, which works out to more than $15 per hour.  Sanders said he was happy the union accepted his campaign's offer.  "I respect workers rights and I respect the union movement," he told CNN. "I'm proud that all of our workers are going to be well paid."  His campaign elaborated in a statement.  "We have and will always be committed to the fight for fair pay, decent work conditions, and a strong labor movement-- for our own workers and those all across this country," campaign manager Faiz Shakir said in the statement. "We're proud to have successfully negotiated with the union in good faith to raise the pay of field organizers, while continuing to ensure our campaign staffers are being paid a living wage."  No hours or positions are being cut to accommodate the salary increase, according to Williams.  Sanders' campaign was the first presidential campaign to unionize. Several others have since followed suit, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren's  and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro's campaigns.  Rep. Eric Swalwell's campaign had unionized, but Swalwell dropped out of the race in early July.


cnbc--2019-07-25--Former Bernie Sanders staffer files charge alleging retaliation for union activities

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and 2020 presidential candidate, listens during a Presidential Candidate Forum at the 110th NAACP Annual Convention in Detroit, July 24, 2019.  Although Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign just days ago settled a prolonged salary dispute with the union representing campaign staffers, its labor issues are not yet over.  An unnamed individual, who seems to be a former campaign staffer, filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board Monday alleging that the campaign committed labor law violations, including terminating employees for union activities.  The redacted NLRB charge posted by Bloomberg Law lists seven instances of unfair labor practices, including three accusations that Sanders' campaign fired employees for joining or supporting a union and one accusation that the campaign interrogated employees about union activities.  "Employer retaliated against me when I organized the bargaining unit," the individual alleges in the complaint.  The charge also alleges that the campaign did not tell the individual when hired that the campaign had a collective bargaining agreement and required workers to work additional time.  Sanders' campaign maintained his dedication to and support of union organizing.  "The campaign leadership, from Sen. Sanders on down, respects the rights of all of its employees to speak collectively and bargain about their terms and conditions of employment, and it supports the mission of the NLRB to enforce worker and union rights," the campaign said in a statement. "That is exactly why the Bernie 2020 campaign voluntarily recognized the employees' chosen union and engaged in good faith bargaining that resulted in an historic collective bargaining agreement."  The campaign said it could not comment on the specific charges the individual filed to avoid interfering with the NLRB process, but maintained there was no wrongdoing by the campaign.  "We are committed to cooperating with the NLRB and we are confident that they will find the campaign honors all of its employees' rights to both the letter and spirit of the law," the campaign said. "Sen. Sanders and the campaign believe all workers should have a strong voice on the job and the right to due process, including the right to petition to the NLRB."  NLRB investigators and attorneys must now evaluate the charge to determine if it has merit and issue a complaint.  Sanders has frequently expressed strong public support for unions, but this is not the campaign's first labor dispute.  Just a day after this charge was filed, the campaign resolved a long-running dispute with its union, which was attempting to secure a salary increase for field organizers equivalent to at least a $15 an hour wage.  "I respect workers rights and I respect the union movement," Sanders said in a CNN interview Tuesday about the salary dispute.  A spokesman for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400, Jonathan Williams, declined to comment. The NLRB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.    Correction: A former Bernie Sanders' staffer filed a charge with the NLRB. A previous version of this story said a complaint had been filed.


cnbc--2019-08-21--Bernie Sanders releases plan to double union membership as Democrats fight for labor support

Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during the 2020 Public Service Forum hosted by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) at UNLV on August 3, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders released a plan Wednesday that aims to dramatically increase U.S. labor union membership.  The Vermont independent's sweeping proposal would make it easier for workers to join unions, end the so-called right-to-work laws recently favored by Republicans and bar the replacement of striking workers, his campaign said Wednesday. It would also stop federal contracts to companies that pay workers less than $15 per hour, outsource jobs or discourage workers from forming unions, among other measures.  Through the plan, Sanders would aim to double union membership by the end of his first term in office in January 2025. He contends it would boost pay and benefits for U.S. workers who have seen money disproportionately flow to companies and their executives.  Sanders' measure comes as the more than 20 Democratic presidential candidates fight for support from politically influential labor unions. He released it ahead of a speech later Wednesday at an AFL-CIO event in Iowa, which will hold the first Democratic presidential nominating contest in February.


cnbc--2019-12-24--Union divide puts Elizabeth Warren in a bind over USMCA vote as she seeks labor backing

Presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren is in a political bind as she weighs whether to vote for President Donald Trump's new North American trade deal while several labor unions are concerned about the pact. The deal, called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, has earned the support of the country's largest federation of unions, the AFL-CIO. Yet several unions have publicly expressed concerns about the deal, which replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement signed by President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Some unions continue to gripe about USMCA privately, as well, according to people familiar with the matter. A surrogate for Warren told CNBC after this month's debate in Los Angeles that the senator was still weighing whether to support the deal as she considers the views of labor and community organizations. Warren herself told NBC News after the debate that she is concerned that the deal "has nothing on the environment, and that's really important, especially for the competition with our own companies." Warren, D-Mass., is in the top tier of Democratic presidential candidates, with national polling averages placing her third behind former Vice President Joe Biden, who supports the deal, and fellow progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Democrats who support USMCA shrug off concerns about backing one of Trump's signature policy victories by arguing their party's negotiators made the deal better and that they can put voters' interests above partisan politics. Those in the party who oppose it believe it doesn't go far enough to protect workers and insist on a better deal. Like Sanders, Warren is staking her electoral appeal on the populist wing of the Democratic Party and is seeking union support. Sanders has said he would not support USMCA after calling its improvements over NAFTA "modest." Other Democratic senators running for president have either supported it or stayed mum. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a moderate, has said she supports the deal after expressing concerns earlier this year. Klobuchar represents Minnesota, a state that will benefit from the deal's easing of Canadian dairy import rules. Sen. Michael Bennet, of Colorado, on Tuesday announced his intention to support the deal. Representatives for Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., did not respond to requests for comment. In June, months before House Democrats' negotiations with the Trump administration, Booker said he opposed the agreement as written. Warren's vote is unlikely to make a difference in the GOP-controlled Senate, where it is expected to pass next year after passing with bipartisan support in the Democratic-led House. But her vote could indicate how she would treat USMCA if she were to win the White House. If she votes for it, she risks angering key constituency in important swing states. If she votes against the deal, she is going against leadership in her party and in the largest federation of unions. "If she votes for USMCA, any union that doesn't endorse her is a problem," said Harley Shaiken, a labor economist at the University of California in Berkeley. "There could be many workers in unions that endorse her who just stay home," he added. Unions have largely withheld their endorsements until after the primaries. The final version of USMCA is the result of intense negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Trump administration. Pelosi said she was only comfortable bringing a vote before the House after it earned the warm endorsement of Richard Trumka, leader of the 12.5 million-member AFL-CIO. But the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and United Auto Workers are among those who released statements following the deal's announcement expressing their disappointment. Those unions have a presence in key swing states such as Michigan and Wisconsin. UAW, which is headquartered in Michigan, counts Ford Motor and General Motors among its members' employers. IAM represents 600,000 active and retired members, and companies that employ them include Boeing, United Airlines, Lockheed Martin and Harley-Davidson.  Pelosi has cheered the deal as significantly better than the one originally presented to her, due in part to added protections for workers and the removal of language that would have helped pharmaceutical companies. Trumka's support for the deal gave it more weight from Pelosi's standpoint. "When they were satisfied, we were satisfied," she explained at a recent convention of attorneys general, referring to the AFL-CIO. But not everyone is satisfied. The IAM, which is part of the AFL-CIO, has publicly urged Congress to vote against the deal. The union has said it does not believe the deal sufficiently halts the outsourcing of manufacturing to Mexico. It has expressed concern about how enforceable the deal is. The union also said it is frustrated that the deal did not give certain industries "stronger rules of origin" requirements, which dictate how much of the products its industry manufactures must be made in the U.S. Even industries that did get "rules of origin" perks, such as the auto industry, have expressed discontent. According to the new rules, 75% of car or auto parts need to be made from products that originated in the country partnership to achieve duty-free import status. Under NAFTA's rules, that floor was 62.5%. Additionally, a percentage of vehicles imported duty-free must be made in a place where employees make an average of $16 per hour. But UAW believes those rules have loopholes. "It is important to discuss what this agreement is and what it is not," UAW President Rory Gamble said in a statement. "It is not a 'fix' for the many problems created by NAFTA and other misguided tax and labor policies." American companies can still find cheaper labor in Eastern Europe and Asia, Gamble argued. The minimum required salary of $16 an hour is an average, not a floor, he said. As a result, "companies intent on keeping business as usual will go through great lengths to keep wages down and jobs in Mexico," Gamble said. "If the United Auto Workers are not for it, and they get 75% origin requirements, that's a real red flag about how much is gained in this agreement," said Robert Bruno, professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The UAW has 400,000 active members and more than 580,000 retired members.  Better than NAFTA? Or not enough?


cnn--2019-01-01--Federal employees union sues government over lack of pay

The American Federation of Government Employees alleged Monday that the government is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by forcing employees deemed essential to work without pay.  AFGE filed the suit in the US Court of Federal Claims on behalf of all essential government workers, as well as named plaintiffs Justin Tarovisky and Grayson Sharp, who work for the Bureau of Prisoners.  The union's president, J. David Cox, called the requirement that some federal employees work without pay "inhumane" in a statement Monday.  "Our nation's heroes, AFGE members and their families deserve the decency of knowing when their next paycheck is coming and that they will be paid for their work," he said, adding that many of the affected workers are veterans or law enforcement. "Our intent is to force the government and the administration to make all federal employees whole." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.


cnn--2019-01-24--Air traffic controllers union chief says shutdown causing routine mistakes

Air traffic controllers union chief says shutdown causing 'routine mistakes'

Paul Rinaldi, the President of the Air Traffic Controllers Association, told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "Cuomo Prime Time" Wednesday night that air traffic workers are making "routine mistakes" due to high levels of stress caused by the shutdown, which entered its 34th day on Thursday.  "The biggest toll I have right now is the human toll, the fatigue in my work environment right now where I'm seeing routine mistakes because they're thinking about which credit cards can I consolidate up for zero interest?" Rinaldi said.  Rinaldi also pointed to growing equipment concerns caused by staffing shortages at air traffic controlling facilities.  "Our equipment is not being fixed," Rinaldi said. "Equipment that we're relying on to make sure that planes line up on the right surface that they're supposed to land on ... equipment like being able to relay to the pilot that dangerous weather is ahead."  Wilbur Ross doesn't 'quite understand' why furloughed workers are going to homeless shelters to get food Such equipment failures are already happening, Rinaldi said. "Radars have gone down. They're not being brought up. That's how we get information from the radar systems," Rinaldi said. "This is a deep concern and it can't go on for months." Earlier on Wednesday, Rinaldi joined the presidents of two other aviation unions -- the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA -- in a statement urging Congress and the White House to fund the government due to "unprecedented" risks to the air safety environment. "In our risk averse industry, we cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break," the statement reads. The statement said that major airports were already seeing security checkpoint closures, with many more potentially to follow. Additionally, the aviation professionals raised concerns about cybersecurity as workers remain furloughed and cyberteams understaffed. Staffing at air traffic control facilities is currently at a 30-year low, according to the release, and workers are struggling to maintain the system "by working overtime, including 10-hour days and six-day workweeks at many of our nation's busiest facilities." 102 (and counting) very real direct effects of the partial government shutdown "The FAA continually reviews and analyzes the performance of the national airspace system to assess its safety and efficiency," the spokesman said. "We have not observed any appreciable difference in performance over the last several weeks compared to the same periods during the previous two years. We remain grateful to the air traffic controllers for their professional and dedication to their safety mission." The spokesman also said the "nation's airspace system is safe." Air traffic controllers in the United States have been working without pay since the partial government shutdown -- which appears to have no end in sight -- began on December 22. They are considered essential employees within the FAA. Earlier this month, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association filed a lawsuit in a District of Columbia US District Court alleging the government has "unlawfully deprived NATCA members of their earned wages," according to a news release. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and back payment for any hours worked since the shutdown, according to court documents.


cnn--2019-02-13--Union demands apology after seeing Confederate book displayed in congressmans office

Union demands apology after seeing Confederate book displayed in congressman's office

The American Federation of Government Employees is asking Rep. Drew Ferguson for a formal, public apology after its members said they found the book "General Robert Edward Lee; Soldier, Citizen and Christian Patriot," which presents Confederate ideology.  Union members said that the book, -- published in 1897 -- was displayed open to a page reading, "The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially, and physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing is necessary for their instruction as a race, and, I hope, will prepare and lead them to better things."  While a group of six union members were waiting for a meeting with Ferguson, they were invited to sit in the reception area of his office. Octavius Miller, one of the union representatives, who works with the Transportation Security Administration, said he noticed the book in a glass case near the reception area's chairs. When he noticed the pages the book was open to, he was shocked.  "The fact that this passage feels that me and my ancestors of color are immeasurably better off in the United States of America being slaves than we were in Africa, that is so disrespectful," Miller said. "My first reaction was to flip this little case upside down, and I had to think about why I was there, what I do for a living, but the disrespect and the inattention to everything that people who are colored like myself and the pigmentation of my skin had to deal with ... it enraged me."  Union members had gone to Ferguson's office to discuss TSA workers' rights, part of a legislative conference that the union arranges every year and members from around the country attend. The American Federation of Government Employees is a federal labor union that represents more than 700,000 federal employees from different agencies. Miller decided to take photos of the pages because he "could not believe" what he was seeing, he said, and later shared them with CNN. Ferguson, who represents Georgia's 3rd Congressional District and was a dentist before beginning his political career in 2016, is Miller's congressman. The union local President Shekina Givens, who was with the group, asked a staffer in Ferguson's office if they knew what the book on display said. The staffer said he wasn't aware of the book or the passage, according to Miller, but told the group they also had a section of George Washington's hair on display in the office. The union members were not able to meet with Ferguson -- there was some scheduling confusion between the union and his office, Miller said. The union contacted Ferguson's office later Monday asking for the book to be removed and for an apology from the congressman, according to a union spokesperson. Miller told CNN he received a call from Ferguson's chief of staff, Bobby Saparow, Tuesday morning apologizing and telling him the book had been removed. "He said he wasn't aware the book was there. He apologized maybe 15 times on the phone," Miller said. "It seemed as if they just said what was necessary to try to mitigate the situation." The union called for a formal apology from Ferguson in a statement to CNN. "It is utterly despicable that Congressman Ferguson would dare display such a racist item so prominently in his office," National President J. David Cox Sr. said in the statement. "I am mortified for Mr. Miller and any other constituent who have had the misfortune of seeing this racist book while just trying to visit their member of Congress here in the nation's capital." A CNN producer did not see the book during a brief visit to Ferguson's office to ask the congressman's staff about the incident. Ferguson's office did not respond to CNN's request for comment.


cnn--2019-03-15--Bernie Sanders staff unionizes in presidential campaign first

Bernie Sanders' staff unionizes in presidential campaign first

In a statement on Friday, the campaign said it had recognized its staffers' decision to unionize, making it the first major-party presidential campaign to employ a formally organized workforce.  Sanders tweeted that he was "proud" of the historical marker and, taking a page from his stump speech, tied the development to his own pro-union message.  "We cannot just support unions with words, we must back it up with actions," Sanders said. "On this campaign and when we are in the White House, we are going to make it easier for people to join unions, not harder."  The staffers will be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400, which said that anyone below the rank of deputy director would be eligible to join the bargaining unit. The campaign voluntarily recognized the group, the union said in a statement, after a majority of 44 eligible employees signed union cards.  Negotiations on a contract are expected to begin soon, the union said, and the bargaining unit could ultimately reach 1,000 members. The move will put other Democratic presidential campaigns, especially the ones competing for progressive voters, under pressure to follow suit and at least remain neutral if their staffers decide to organize. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro's campaign has signaled it would back a similar move. On the campaign trail, Sanders has repeatedly vowed in speeches -- as he did in 2016 -- to make it easier for workers to unionize, often tying it to his push for a rise in the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. This time around, following reports of sexual harassment and pay disparities on Sanders' last presidential campaign, there will also be added pressure to fortify safeguards against similar mistreatment. "We expect (unionizing) will mean pay parity and transparency on the campaign, with no gender bias or harassment, and equal treatment for every worker," United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 President Mark P. Federici said in a statement on Friday, "whether they're in Washington, D.C., Iowa, New Hampshire or anywhere else." In the aftermath of 2016, Sanders implemented what he described in January as a robust new reporting structure during his 2018 Senate re-election bid -- independent from the campaign -- for allegations of sexual harassment and "training for all employees on this issue." While Sanders' is the first large-scale presidential campaign to unionize, the move comes in the wake of a growing wave of organization within political operations -- for candidates and causes -- that have for decades been effectively accepted as difficult and occasionally dangerous working environments. Campaign workers for Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state were represented by the Campaign Workers Guild during the fall midterm elections, making her the first incumbent member of Congress with a unionized campaign staff. The campaign staff of Cynthia Nixon, who ran as a progressive outsider in New York's Democratic gubernatorial primary, was among the handful of others to take similar steps.


cnn--2019-04-29--Firefighters union endorses Joe Biden for president

"On behalf of the International Association of Fire Fighters, I'm proud to announce that we stand with Joe Biden and endorse his candidacy for President of the United States," Harold Schaitberger, the IAFF's General President, said in the video.  "Joe's a lot like our firefighters. He's a problem solver who cares deeply about America and committed to making our country better. He's one of the staunchest advocates for working families," Schaitberger said. "He knows that a strong middle class means a strong America, and we know, as president, he will stand up for all the patriotic Americans who want nothing more than to earn a decent wage, send their kids to college, have affordable healthcare and a decent and secure retirement."  The endorsement comes as the former vice president is set to hold his first official campaign event later Monday at a union hall in Pittsburgh where he'll deliver remarks on the middle class.  "I couldn't be more proud to have the International Association of Fire Fighters on my team," he wrote on Twitter. "Unions built the middle class in this country -- and as President, I'll fight to strengthen them and grow the backbone of this country." Biden has long enjoyed close ties to labor groups and often attributes his political ascent to unions, referring to them as the ones who "brung me to the dance." In the weeks leading up to his 2020 campaign announcement, Biden ramped up his appearances before union groups, speaking at the IAFF legislative conference in March and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction and Maintenance Conference earlier this month. One week before launching his campaign, Biden attended a rally with striking Stop and Shop workers in the Boston area. Obama's not endorsing, but he didn't talk Biden out of running in 2020 "Workers are not treated across the board with dignity," Biden said. "Wall Street bankers and CEOs did not build America. You built America. We built America." He added, "The middle class built this place. And you know who built the middle class? Unions." Biden's appearance in Pittsburgh also highlights the emphasis his campaign will place on the state of Pennsylvania, which Donald Trump won in 2016 after Barack Obama and Biden clinched the state in 2008 and 2012. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Biden will make stops in Iowa during his first visit to the state as a presidential candidate.


cnn--2019-07-19--Bernie Sanders unionized staffers clash with campaign over guarantee of 15 an hour

Bernie Sanders' unionized staffers clash with campaign over guarantee of $15 an hour

(CNN) Sen. Bernie Sanders is a staple on the front lines of the labor fight, leading the charge in Washington and around the country to raise the minimum wage for workers to $15 an hour. But within his own campaign, which unionized earlier this year, tense discussions over pay have spilled out into public view.  The dispute threatens to undermine Sanders' political message and, if it were to escalate, his ability to credibly advocate for workers around the country currently engaged in their own struggles to negotiate higher wages and better working conditions.  Word of the discontent first emerged publicly on Thursday night, in a Washington Post report detailing campaign field staff's frustration that their base pay, in some instances, does not match the $15-an-hour mandate that Sanders, as a legislator and candidate, has pressed for as the base minimum wage across the country. As the campaign ramps up, field staff are often required to work 10-hour, 6-day weeks, driving down their average hourly compensation.  A source tells CNN that campaign officials were in a room with representatives from the union, discussing the topic, when the campaign was first made aware of the Post's story.  In a statement to CNN, Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir said that the campaign offered the field staff a boost in pay that would guarantee a $15 an hour salary commensurate with a 40-hour work week. That proposal, according to Shakir, was rejected by the membership.  "As strong supporters of organized labor, this formal process is the sole process for making changes to the collective bargaining agreement. It would be anti-union, and likely illegal, for the campaign to negotiate outside this process," Shakir said. "We look forward to continuing those discussions and obviously are disappointed that some individuals decided to damage the integrity of these efforts before they were concluded."  As the negotiations continue, Shakir said he would be limiting the work week for field staff to only 40 hours a week.  Jonathan Williams, a spokesperson for the UFCW Local 400 would not comment on the specifics of the negotiations, but in a statement the union said it would continue working with the campaign to sort out the ongoing concerns.  "First and foremost, our union is a democratic organization. We cannot comment on specific, ongoing internal processes between our members and their employer, particularly without the consent of our members," the union said. "We can say that our union is proud to advocate for every member in every workplace we represent to earn a better life -- both during contract negotiations and beyond."  The leaked details from the negotiations and internal messaging within the campaign came at a particularly uncomfortable time for Sanders, who had only hours earlier praised the House Democrats for their historic vote to pass of the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.  "Four years ago, when I first introduced legislation to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, it was considered an impossible dream," Sanders said in a statement on Thursday. "Today, I am proud to say that a $15 minimum wage has gone from laughable to inevitable."  Its fate within his own campaign, though, remains unresolved. Campaign work hours are notoriously hard to plan out and predict, which is one of the reasons three current presidential hopefuls' staffs -- including Sen. Elizabeth Warren's and former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julián Castro's -- have unionized and others down the ballot have done the same.  A source directly connected to the ongoing negotiations between the Sanders campaign and the union representing his field staff, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400, confirmed to CNN on Friday that the two sides are actively negotiating staffers' pay scale within the confines of the collective bargaining agreement agreed to in early May.  "Political campaigns are cause-driven and because there is always more work that can be done, staffers are typically worked to the bone," Local 400 President Mark P. Federici said back on May 8, after their contract was ratified. "But it doesn't have to be this way. Even political work must be subject to minimum standards. I congratulate our members on the Bernie Sanders campaign for making their own revolution."  But the details revealed on Thursday night underscore the difficulties that have made the unionization of political campaigns so difficult, and unusual, for so many years.  Still, Sanders has been supportive of the effort and the campaign voluntarily recognized staffers' bargaining unit.  "We cannot just support unions with words, we must back it up with actions," he tweeted back in March. "On this campaign and when we are in the White House, we are going to make it easier for people to join unions, not harder."  Sources from both the campaign and the union confirmed that the collective bargaining agreement, ratified in May, set a base pay rate for field staff at $36,000 a year. That salary works out to under $15 and hour based on the 60-hour work week. But in addition to the pay scale, the CBA also provides full health insurance without a premium, mental health benefits, parental leave options, a gas card for use while on the job and other options not traditionally available to low-level campaign staff.  Additionally, the CBA also has a provision within the union construct called "Labor Committees," which allows for rank-and-file members to serve as part of a democratic process allowing them to raise concerns about various issues. That includes pay, but could also be housing options, workplace environment and benefits.


cnsnews--2019-01-24--Dem-Leaning States Push Pro-Union Bills in Aftermath of Public Union SCOTUS Decision

Prior to the landmark Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME, government unions were already devising ways to keep members and dues flowing. In a previous post, I discussed some of the ideas that the National Education Association put forth to lessen the impact of a potential Supreme Court decision that ruled forced union dues unconstitutional.  Ultimately, forced union dues were struck down and blue states started introducing bills to minimize the impact of Janus by limiting workplace choice and granting labor unions more privileges. Some public employers even refused to comply with the Janus ruling.  California was quick out of the gate. Even before Janus, in the summer of 2017, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 119, which provides union access to new public employees. As I previously wrote:  “This enables unions to make their pitch to a ‘captive audience,’ a practice unions condemn employers for conducting, while prohibiting opposing views at the meeting. Many times these orientations are mandatory to attend. In Washington State, the Service Employee International Union misled home care providers at an orientation meeting that joining the union was mandatory.”  In addition, AB 119 also forces public employers to hand over public employees’ personal information to the union. This policy does not permit unwilling employees to opt-out of sharing their private contact information. A similar rule was put into practice at the federal level. Yet, even the pro-union National Labor Relations Board under President Obama admitted that workers’ private data could be used to “harass, coerce, or rob employees.” Further, unions have been known to coerce and threaten workers to join the union. The states of Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Washington have all passed similar legislation that either requires employee captive audience meetings or forces public employers to hand over workers private information.  To protect unions from having to reimburse non-members for forced union dues, California passed Senate Bill 846. This law offers government unions “complete defense” against lawsuits that seek back dues paid before the Janus ruling. However, this only protects unions in state court. Already, there is one case that is working its way through federal court that is seeking to win back around $100 million in forced union dues for California public employees.  California is not alone in passing legislative Janus workarounds. In Delaware (House Bill 314) and Hawaii (HB1725 HD2), legislation was passed that changed how public employees may opt out of union membership. In Delaware, it created a default setting on how and when an employee may opt out of the union. If not set by a collective bargaining agreement, an employee may only opt out during a “period 15 to 30 days before the employee’s anniversary date of employment, effective on the employee’s anniversary date.” Similarly, Hawaii’s law limits opt outs to a 30-day window.  Despite the passage of these laws, which limit when an employee may opt out of union membership, they will likely be found illegal. Union members in states that, prior to the Janus decision, required non-members to pay agency fees, or forced union dues, should now have the right to immediately stop paying dues to the union. This is because these employees were faced with a now-unconstitutional choice—join the union and pay full membership dues or pay agency fees. In essence, employees could not have waived rights that they did not know they had. This makes signed dues-authorization forms dated before the Janus decision invalid. In these states, which includes Hawaii and Delaware, the union must collect new signed forms that authorize dues payments, which are dated after the Janus decision on June 27, 2018.  Later this week, I’ll take a look at bills that have been recently introduced with the goal of diminishing the Janus decision and to prop-up government unions.  Trey Kovacs is a policy analyst with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a public policy non-profit group in Washington, D.C.  : This piece was originally published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute.


cnsnews--2019-01-25--Oregon Introduces Taxpayer-Funded Union Subsidy Undercuts SCOTUS Public Union Decision

Oregon Introduces Taxpayer-Funded Union Subsidy, Undercuts SCOTUS Public Union Decision

Earlier this week, I took a look at legislation that has been enacted to undercut the Supreme Court’s decision last year in Janus v. AFSCME. Unfortunately, state legislatures are just getting started. Today, I’ll examine a bill introduced in Oregon.  This month, Oregon state Rep. Paul Holvey (D-Eugene) filed pre-session House Bill 2643. As highlighted at the beginning of the bill, Holvey crafted this legislation at the request of the education union Oregon School Employees Association. Since the bill was introduced at the behest of a government union, it should come as no surprise that the only beneficiaries of the legislation are government unions.  “The bill — a wolf in sheep’s clothing — first recognizes the newly affirmed rights given to workers in the Janus decision. Later, however, it creates a slush fund from which the state would pay the unions directly rather than deducting dues from workers’ paychecks.”  Simply, the bill—a first of its kind—represents a direct taxpayer subsidy to government unions. Besides acting as a blatant Janus workaround, the bill is potentially in conflict with Oregon’s constitution and statutes.  Article XI, Sections 7 and 9 of the Oregon constitution were meant to act as a wall of separation between public funds and private entities. As Dale Rubin, a professor at the Appalachian School of Law, asserts, the constitutional provisions “prohibit the State and its political subdivisions from pledging their credit in aid of any public or private person, company or corporation, or making any donation or grant to such persons or entities.”  HB 2643, which simply provides government unions with a taxpayer-funded subsidy, appears to be in conflict with the unambiguous language of the Oregon constitution. The bill, if passed, will impose a not-yet determined assessment on all public employers with employees represented by a union. These assessments will be paid to the Employment Relations Board, which would then distribute the funds to government unions. The bill does not require government unions to perform any tasks for the public in return for receiving the public’s money, nor does subsidizing government unions serve any kind of public purpose. According to the bill, permitted uses of these funds include collective bargaining and representing employees during grievances. This activity only benefits government unions to pursue the private goals of the association—negotiate higher pay and represent members.  Oregon adopted Sections 7 and 9 of the state constitution to prevent these types of schemes that use taxpayer money to fund private enterprise. In 1962 the Oregon attorney general’s office stated that Article XI, [section] 9 “was intended to prevent the union of public and private capital in any enterprise whatever.” Passing HB 2643 contradicts this reading of the Oregon constitution.  The bill appears to justify such an expenditure by citing ORS 243.656, which discusses the Legislative Assembly finding that “Recognition by public employers of the right of public employees to organize and full acceptance of the principle and procedure of collective negotiation between public employers and public employee organizations can alleviate various forms of strife and unrest.”  But this justification does not cut it. Oregon public employees, even after the Janus decision, are free to organize and collectively bargain with public employers. A taxpayer subsidy is unnecessary to accomplish the objective of this statute.  The bill also runs into another issue. Oregon statutes (ORS 243.668, 243.670, and ORS 243.672) make clear that public employers may not use public funds to assist or deter union organizing. This policy was enacted in order to “maintain the neutrality of public bodies in labor organizing by forbidding the use of public funds for unintended purposes and to conserve public resources by ensuring that public funds are used as intended.”  HB 2643 does not repeal these statutes, but simply states that “The payment of an assessment under this section is not a violation” of these laws. It will be interesting to see if such a statement, without any reasonable explanation of why the bill is not in violation, will pass judicial muster.  With states across the country seeking to aid government unions in the aftermath of Janus, it is important for legislators to keep this mind: government unions are private organizations that operate to benefit their members and do not provide any service to the public. As such, they should not receive taxpayer subsidies to bargain on behalf of their members or represent them during grievances.  For what it’s worth, Rep. Holvey is on record claiming “State government should support the essential services that Oregonians need: Education, Healthcare, Public Services and Public Safety. This can be accomplished with fiscal responsibility, a fair tax system, and by eliminating the corporate kicker and tax loopholes that give away billions of dollars to large corporations and the wealthy.”  Subsidizing well-financed labor unions is no different than when state governments “give away billions of dollars to large corporations.” If Holvey actually stands by his word, then he should withdraw HB 2643 because it contradicts his principles.  Trey Kovacs is a policy analyst with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a public policy non-profit group in Washington, D.C.  : This piece was originally published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute.


cnsnews--2019-03-08--Blame Pro-Union Monopoly Policies for Underfunded Pensions

Just over two years into his presidency, Donald Trump is basking in the glow of good economic news for the U.S.  The economy has added nearly five million net new jobs since Trump took office in January 2017.  After falling for years, labor force participation for prime-aged adults (aged 25-54) is rising, and is now back to where it was in April 2010.  Nominal hourly earnings rose by 3.2 percent over the past 12 months, more than they have in roughly a decade and well over 2018’s 1.9 percent annual inflation rate.  But despite these welcome developments, there is trouble ahead.  The President and his administration, along with other policymakers in Washington, D.C., must soon decide what to do about a number of seemingly intractable problems.  And one of the thorniest of all is what to do about an estimated $600 billion or more in unfunded promises made by “multiemployer” pension plans.  These are private retirement funds that are controlled by Big Labor in partnership with unionized companies.  Hundreds of the roughly 1,400 multiemployer pension plans across the country are now in deep trouble primarily for one reason:  The contributions going into these funds, in amounts determined through union monopoly bargaining, were never sufficient to pay for the pensions that union bosses and their agents told workers they would provide.  Emblematic of the multiemployer pension crisis is the Teamsters 400,000-participant Central State Pension Fund.  It is funded at a level of 28 percent to 38 percent, depending on the assumption you make about future investment performance, and is headed towards insolvency in 2025.  A number of smaller Big Labor-controlled funds have already slashed benefits, without ever having to file for bankruptcy, with the help of the so-called “Multi-Employer Pension Reform Act” (MPRA) of 2014.  The MPRA was championed in a lame-duck Congress by soon-to-be ex-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and signed into law by Barack Obama.  Under the MPRA, multiemployer plans that are classified as “critical and declining” may potentially cut benefits by nearly a third or more than half, while remaining open and promising new benefits.  At this time, for example, the Western Pennsylvania Teamsters and Employers Pension Fund is seeking approval from the U.S. Treasury Department to cut benefits for 21,000 people in the Pittsburg region by 30 percent.  Well over a million other unionized active employees and retirees know their benefits could be targeted for major, MPRA-authorized reductions in the near future.  They are naturally worried.  Meanwhile, Big Labor is trying to deflect the blame for a huge problem it played a central role in creating by pointing a finger at President Trump and his allies in Congress.  Union-label politicians led by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) are loudly pressuring Trump and Capitol Hill Republicans to go along with a scheme to bail out multiemployer pensions, primarily through low-cost, subsidized government loans that are guaranteed by taxpayers.  If they refuse, Brown and his cohorts falsely claim, they will be responsible for whatever happens after funds like Central States go bust.  Since many of the workers who now face steep pension cuts never even voluntarily joined the union whose officers are at fault for having mismanaged their benefit funds, legislation to help workers and family members who have counted on Big Labor-run pensions and now face grave financial hardship may be appropriate.  But it would be unforgivably reckless for Congress and the president to furnish such assistance without also holding union bosses and employers who colluded with them accountable for cheating workers out of their contracted compensation.  This would only encourage Big Labor to continue to lure unsuspecting employees with nice-sounding pension promises, and to continue failing to find a way to fund those promises.  And ultimately, Congress must end the pro-union monopoly federal labor policies that are largely culpable for the pension shortfalls that will surely be faced by millions of additional unionized workers over the next two decades.  Stan Greer is senior research associate at the National Institute for Labor Relations Research. NILRR’s website is www.nilrr.org. He is also editor of the National Right to Work Committee’s newsletter.