Arizona

Unions Face Off With Koch Group Over Arizona Bills

Nick R. Martin | February 29, 2012, 5:45AM

A protest against bills introduced in Arizona to restrict the rights of unions. Feb, 9, 2012. (Jack Kurtz/ZUMA Press)

The battle over government employee unions in Arizona is far from finished.

As Republican lawmakers marched forward Tuesday on a bill that was previously thought to be dead, two major national groups on opposite sides of the issue were calling in reinforcements.

Read more »

Unions

Anti-Union Bill Back From The Dead In Arizona

Nick R. Martin | February 28, 2012, 2:35PM

One bill in a series of proposed laws that would devastate public unions in Arizona has come back to life and is set to be debated later today on the floor of the state Senate.

The measure was on life support two weeks ago after Republicans said they didn't have enough votes to pass it. But it was given a second chance and could quickly get a formal Senate vote if it moves past the debate.

Read more »

Arizona

Aggressive Anti-Union Bill On Life Support In Arizona

Nick R. Martin | February 15, 2012, 2:12PM

A proposed law that would devastate public unions in Arizona appears to be stalled in the state Senate after Republicans said they failed to come up with enough votes to pass it.

The measure, which would strip collective bargaining rights from government workers throughout the state, sailed through two Senate committees earlier this month and seemed likely to become law because Republicans control two-thirds of both houses of the legislature. Unions scrambled to find a way to defeat it but none expressed much hope of success.

Read more »

Utah

Utah Newest Front In GOP Battle Against Unions

Nick R. Martin | February 9, 2012, 6:07AM

The Utah State House of Representatives, January 2012

Republicans in Utah have opened up the next front in a battle against public unions being waged in statehouses throughout the nation.

A bill introduced last week in the Utah legislature would ban government employees from collectively bargaining on any issue except for wages and health benefits. The proposal would bar unions from having a say in things like training, equipment and disciplinary procedures.

Read more »

Jan Brewer

Brewer Distances Herself From Arizona's Anti-Union Bills

Nick R. Martin | February 3, 2012, 2:19PM

Gov. Jan Brewer distanced herself on Friday from a series of Republican proposals in the Arizona Senate that could devastate organized labor in her state, saying she was never consulted on them and has other priorities.

Read more »

Arizona

Unions Scramble As Arizona GOP Moves Quickly On Labor Bills

Nick R. Martin | February 1, 2012, 11:54PM

Union members were searching for a way out of the wilderness on Wednesday in Arizona as the Republican-controlled Senate moved ahead quickly on several bills that could devastate organized labor in the state.

The measures caught many union leaders by surprise, being introduced on Monday night and passed in committee less than 48 hours later.

Read more »

Arizona

Tougher Than Wisconsin: Arizona Republicans Launch 'All Out Assault' On Public Unions

Nick R. Martin | January 31, 2012, 5:13PM

The Arizona State House of Representatives in Phoenix, AZ

With a sweeping series of bills introduced Monday night in the state Senate, Republicans in Arizona hoped to make Wisconsin's battle against public unions last year look like a lightweight sparring match.

Read more »

Wall Street

Wall Street Takes Aim At New Transparency Rule For Executive Pay

Susan Crabtree | July 22, 2011, 6:00AM

Wall Street

Wall Street has deployed an army of lobbyists to try to whittle away as much of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill as possible, spending $242.2 million on 712 hired guns to press their message on Capitol Hill since the beginning of 2010, according to a new report by Public Citizen.

The 30 most politically active business and financial industry organizations also ponied up $15.6 million in federal political contributions during the same time period. The entities with the deepest pockets include: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Bankers Association, the Financial Services Roundtable, MetLife, Goldman Sachs, to name just a few.

Why lay out so much cash to influence Washington in the months leading up to the first anniversary of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law? Some of Wall Street's biggest firms are gunning for a rule specifically designed to address one the main causes of the financial meltdown: exorbitant incentive-based executive compensation packages.

Read more »

Unions

Florida Teachers Union Sues Gov. Scott Over Budget Cuts

Jon Terbush | June 20, 2011, 1:59PM

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL)

The Florida Education Association on Monday filed a class action lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) and several administrators with oversight over a state retirement fund, alleging that they violated teachers' existing contracts with an "unconstitutional" 3% pay cut imposed by the recently-passed budget.

In the suit, the FEA claims that the state made backdoor cuts to teachers' salaries in the new budget by forcing them to begin paying 3% of their earnings into a retirement fund as a way to reduce the government's obligation to pay into that pool. The suit argues that the change reneges on promises made in the current contracts, and is therefore illegal.

"This pay cut was used by legislative leadership to make up a budget shortfall on the backs of teachers, law-enforcement officers, firefighters and other state workers," said FEA President Andy Ford in a statement posted to the FEA's website. "It is essentially an income tax levied only on workers belonging to the Florida Retirement System.

Read more »

Michigan

Michigan GOPers Put Teachers On Notice, As Strike Looms

Eric Lach | April 21, 2011, 11:40AM

On Wednesday, the Michigan House's Committee on Education discussed two bills aimed at upping the consequences on teachers who strike illegally, amid reports that the Michigan Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, is considering just such a move.

Read more »

Idaho

Idaho Approves Bill To Cut Collective Bargaining For Teacher's Unions

Jon Terbush | March 9, 2011, 8:46AM

Wisconsin's legislature may still be deadlocked over a proposal to restrict collective bargaining rights for public employee unions, but on Tuesday in Idaho, the state legislature approved a bill to do just that for the state's unionized teachers.

The law, which cleared the House by a 48-22 vote, would permit teachers to bargain solely for pay and benefits, but not for other aspects of their jobs, such as class size. The state Senate had approved the bill in February, and it now only needs to be signed by Gov. Butch Otter (R) -- who helped craft the bill -- to become law.

Read more »

Wisconsin

WI House Dems Warn Gov. Walker Not To Cross NFL Packers

Susan Crabtree | February 18, 2011, 11:13AM

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker may be engaged in a high-stakes political battle with Democrats and state workers, but he's playing with fire by clashing with the Green Bay Packers, warn two Democratic members of the state's delegation in the U.S. House.

In a match-up between Walker and the Packers, Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), a popular former county prosecutor in the state, says his money is on his Superbowl champions.

"I wouldn't want to be going up against the Packers right now," he said.

"Yeah, I like those odds," remarked Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

Read more »

SEIU

SEIU, Stern Deny Federal Investigation

Rachel Slajda | September 28, 2010, 3:56PM

President of the Service Employees International Union Andy Stern

The SEIU is flatly denying reports of a federal investigation against the union and its former leader, Andy Stern.

The Associated Press reported this morning that the FBI and the Department of Labor are looking into a $175,000 advance Stern got for a book deal in 2006, and the approval of a contract for a former union official who was booted after it was discovered he did no actual work.

The sources, identified as "two organized labor officials," told the AP that they had been questioned this summer. Investigators, they said, were interested in Stern's book deal because the SEIU and its locals bought thousands of copies. They also asked about Alejandro Stephens, the former president of a California local, who was paid a $75,000 consulting salary until the SEIU realized he wasn't doing any actual work. Stephens was recently sentenced to jail for stealing tens of thousands from a voter outreach program.

Read more »