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

Posted Tue, 31 Aug 2010 .

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

Posted Mon, 30 Aug 2010 .

Unions Working with Elected Officials to End Elections

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No sooner did the balance of power shift in Congress than did labor union leaders renew their call for the passage of the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act." This misnamed legislation would end the rights of employees to secret ballot elections when determining whether they wish to unionize, instead subjecting them to "card check." Under card check, unions can win new members simply by collecting signatures on cards, a system under which employees have no right to a private vote on whether unionization would be best.

Without any sense of irony, many of the politicians sent to Washington by secret ballot election are now laboring to end secret ballot elections in the workplace. Card check is a process that's rife with fraud and intimidation by union organizers, a fact that probably helped drive 75 percent of Americans to affirm in our poll that secret ballot elections are the fairest way of deciding union representation. Only 11 percent of respondents supported card check, which union leaders hope Congress will now make law.