Nov
2016 11
2016 11
1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back: VA’s Minor “Right-to-Work” Victory Countered by Losses in SD, AL
Right-to-work proponents scored victories in Alabama and South Dakota on Tuesday, surprising exactly no one. South Dakota rejected a ballot measure aimed at overturning the state’s “right-to-work” law, while Alabama approved a measure that enshrines the anti-union legislation in the state constitution. Elsewhere, Virginia…
Nov
2016 11
2016 11
Anti-Union Group Caught Sending Undisclosed Election Materials to Voters in WV
An anti-union group in West Virginia was caught mailing pro-Republican materials to voters without reporting the activity to the Secretary of State’s office. Election law requires the disclosure of independent political expenditures and prohibits electioneering communications between political groups: Letters obtained by the…
Nov
2016 10
2016 10
Bright Spot: On Tuesday, VA Rejected a Uniquely Oppressive Eternal “Right-to-Work” Amendment
In one of the lone bright spots for the labor community on election night, Virginia voters rejected an amendment that would have enshrined the commonwealth’s “right-to-work” status in the state constitution. Virginia has had such a law since 1947, but the ballot measure would have made the law permanent, a uniquely…
Oct
2016 25
2016 25
Kelly Ayotte, Who Opposes PLAs and Workers’ Rights, Trailing Badly in NH Sen. Race
According to a poll from WMUR and the University of New Hampshire, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (NH-R) is currently trailing Democratic challenger Gov. Maggie Hassan by eight points. It’s one of a handful of races that could determine whether Democrats are able to retake the Senate in November: The poll, which was conducted between Oct. 11 and…
Oct
2016 19
2016 19
Attack on Rural NC Political Office Results in Odd Admission of Ballot Tampering by GOP
Last Sunday, the Republican Party headquarters in Orange County, North Carolina, was firebombed by an unknown assailant. Shortly after, GOP spokeswoman Emily Weeks claimed “materials inside, possibly including completed absentee ballots, may have been destroyed.” Unfortunately, holding absentee ballots in the GOP headquarters is…
Oct
2016 12
2016 12
THIS IS NOT A TEST: VA Ballot Measure Would Make “Right-to-Work” Virtually Irreversible
Virginia has had some form of Right-to-Work law on its books since 1947. Now the Republican state legislature would like to see that anti-union language immortalized in the state constitution. The only thing standing in their way? Voters, who will have the opportunity to approve or deny the measure at the ballot box in [&hellip…;
Oct
2016 7
2016 7
Hillary Clinton: “I really support union apprenticeship programs.”
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has spent much of the 2016 election season focusing on job creation and the economy. She often describes “building an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top” and “offering real solutions to create more good-paying jobs and get incomes rising across the…
Sep
2016 23
2016 23
In Tight NC Race, AFL-CIO Sees Its Outreach, Union and Non-Union, As a Difference Maker
North Carolina is a key battleground state in this November’s election. That is why union organizers there are receiving an influx of money and resources from the AFL-CIO as they gear up for the largest mobilization of organized labor in the state’s history. The national AFL-CIO has elevated North Carolina to “Tier…
Sep
2016 19
2016 19
Since 1936, Every GOP President Has Created Manufacturing Losses. Every Democrat? Gains.
Donald Trump and the GOP would have you believe they are the party to revive manufacturing in America. But they would be wrong. Put plainly, the numbers don’t lie. Over the past 80 years, when Republicans held the oval office, manufacturing jobs decreased. When Democrats were in office, manufacturing jobs increased. It’s as…
Jan
2016 19
2016 19
Influence-za: Ailing Election System Features Business Interests Outspending Labor by 15-to-1 Margin
A look at Federal Election Commission data from 2013-2014 shows that when political donors are split up into their three most basic groups — business, labor, and ideological interests — business outspends labor by a ratio of nearly 15 to 1. The data was analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics through their [&hellip…;
Nov
2015 9
2015 9
Election 2015: Six Teamsters Re-Elected to Local Office in NY, NJ
Six Teamsters members who ran for office in the New York and New Jersey metro areas celebrated victories last week. All six were incumbents. A recent Teamsters Nation piece highlighted the six members, the highest-ranking of whom is Kevin McCaffrey. He was reelected to the 14th District of Suffolk County. The Republican McCaffrey first…
Nov
2015 5
2015 5
Prevailing Wage Repeal, “Right-to-Work” Expected in KY Following Surprise Gov Election Result
In what may have been the biggest surprise of election night 2015, Matt Bevin became the second Republican in 44 years to be elected governor of Kentucky. The wealthy Louisville businessman, whose only political experience was unsuccessfully running against Mitch McConnell in the Republican Senate primary last year, used a…