Tag: trade union

Following the 2016 presidential election, unions witnessed a barrage of attacks on the labor sector. Most notably, the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME gave public workers the choice to opt out of unions and not pay membership dues. Many labor organizers predicted the adoption of such “right-to-work” laws would be a death call for unions, which have already seen their share of workers decline over the last 35 years. The AFSCME and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) did lose a vast majority of agency fee payers, or employees who opted out of union membership and still paid union fees before the SCOTUS ruling, according to analysis by Bloomberg Law. Overall, union membership stayed steady and financial consequences have yet to be seen. Despite recent blows, unions have dug in and continue to wield financial influence. On the political front, contributions from labor groups continue to play a significant role in elections. Contributions to federal candidates, parties and committees from the labor sector hit a record high in 2016 to the tune of $218 million. Since 1990, the total amount of contributions from labor increased by more than 300 percent.

Buy Photo Pennsylvania’s public-sector labor unions, which represent 6 percent of the state’s workers and spend tens of millions of dollars on political campaigns annually, could be substantially handicapped thanks to a blockbuster decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. Pete Matthews, president of Philadelphia’s District Council 33, said his blue-collar municipal union spent more than a year asking members to sign cards pledging to remain. Janus ruling follows years of labor losses The Supreme Court’s decision comes after America’s unions have suffered decades of decline. “This decision could have far-reaching implications beyond public-sector unions to unions generally and to workers, even some who are not organized,” Casey said. “Even if we didn’t have union participation in supporting candidates, I think there are some members of the corporate right that just don’t want workers to be organized anyway,” he said. His union mostly represents workers outside of the government. He echoed Morgan in saying that the Janus decision could mobilize workers who feel under attack. According to a 2014 report by the Congressional Research Service, 5.6 percent of workers are union members in states with right-to-work laws, compared to 15 percent in other states. Less than 10 percent of the people represented by the union are not members, according to Kirsch. It’s politics.

(CNN)On Wednesday, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling that could cripple public-sector unions -- and speed up organized labor's increasing fade as a powerhouse in American politics. This court decision comes almost a decade after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker won a years-long battle to drastically reduce collective bargaining rights for public employees in the Badger State. Walker beat back a recall effort driven by distaste with collective bargaining move -- and is running for a third term in 2018. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, membership in the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association has dropped 30% since Act 10 -- the collective bargaining law -- went into effect. Union members made up 14.2% of workers before Act 10, but just 8.3% in 2015. Tweeted Trump: "Supreme Court rules in favor of non-union workers who are now, as an example, able to support a candidate of his or her choice without having those who control the Union deciding for them. Court precedent, however, long held that you couldn't force non-members to pay fees for political activity -- Wednesday's ruling was about fees charged for issues related to collective bargaining. In the 2016 election, labor unions spent more than $217 million on political activities, with that money overwhelmingly going to Democratic candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The court decision Wednesday is likely to accelerate union struggles -- both in terms of labor's organizing ability, bargaining power and political might.

Labor unions are trying to take back politics in the Midwest. On Labor Day — designated a federal holiday in 1894 to honor America’s labor movement — at least eight Democratic candidates will hold rallies in five Midwest cities to tell workers just how far the country has veered from its pro-labor roots. In Iowa, Republicans rolled back an increase in the minimum wage in March. Each candidate will center their campaigns on their support for a $15 minimum wage, progressive health care, and pro-union policies. Cathy Glasson, a registered nurse and union leader in Iowa who will officially announce after Labor Day her campaign for governor in 2018, said that before this year, she had never considered running for elected office. We had raised the minimum wage in five counties in Iowa and this administration literally took money out of the pockets of Iowans — 85,000 Iowans were affected by the rollback here.” Like other first-time politicians throwing themselves into 2018, Glasson has been a union member for decades and will prioritize the need for more American workers to join unions and employee associations. One of the country’s largest labor unions, SEIU and its Fight for $15 arm — a national campaign to raise the minimum wage to $15 — will announce Monday a push to elect labor-friendly candidates in 2018 in the Midwest states where unions once held tremendous power. Republicans in Wisconsin have gerrymandered the state so they do not fear losing their seats, Bryce noted, but the union movement is going to latch onto policies that he believes will resonate with voters across party lines, like wages and health care. “It’s the right thing to do but it’s also going to help create jobs,” he said. “By collecting and pooling union members’ money, we are a force to be reckoned with in politics, and so the intentional attack on unions in the state of Iowa and the Midwest and beyond is intentional to silent the voice of everyday workers that need to have a voice in politics.” Bryce agreed that if unions do not get involved now, the Trump administration could decimate the labor movement to a point of no return.