tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post5235903620927096436..comments2024-03-22T02:15:56.280-07:00Comments on Jersey Jazzman: The Friedrichs Freeloaders Go To CourtDukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535645107179796099noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-86337907444251525212017-08-23T08:54:11.530-07:002017-08-23T08:54:11.530-07:00FYI, according to this, members-only unions are al...FYI, according to this, members-only unions are already legal.<br /><br />"the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has approximately 120,000 members in members-only unions spread across Texas, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Virginia."<br /><br />http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18530/members-only-unions-minority-labor-declineStateAidGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00346914457455404884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-34384259060966073782017-08-23T08:45:03.769-07:002017-08-23T08:45:03.769-07:00IMO, the problem with right-to-work isn’t that wor...IMO, the problem with right-to-work isn’t that workers can benefit from union contracts without paying agency fees, the problem is exclusive representation. Ie, that the union still negotiates for workers who want to have nothing to do with the union.<br /><br />Unions denounce non-joiners as “free riders,” but they are also “compelled riders,” since those workers currently have no choice but to work under the union’s contract. If a worker is willing to negotiate his own contract, legally he cannot. To call someone a “free rider” who doesn’t want to take that ride in the first place is wrong because that person is being given a service he never wanted. <br /><br />True, under Abood, workers who object to a union’s political activities can be exempted from paying for money that goes to politics, but it is extremely hard to draw a line between what is contract negotiation and what is lobbying. If a public sector union negotiates (with elected officials) a very generous contract and taxes increase or it becomes extremely difficult to fire an underperforming staff member, then reasonable people can decide that that is political, even if it was arranged in a negotiating room.<br /><br />Although negotiating salaries isn’t the same thing as electioneering, it has large impacts on public policy and thus can be considered political under a broader definition of that term.<br />In practical terms, unions tend to determine that extremely high percentages of their spending is negotiation & contract related. To look at New Jersey, NJEA dues (all-in) are about $1,000 per full time employee, but an agency-fee payer would still pay almost 85%.<br /><br />If a contract is three years, then an agency fee payer would still pay $2550 for union representation, which is a huge amount even if negotiations take place over 20 hours. In a 500 staff member district, the union is taking $1,275,000 just for negotiations?<br /><br />C’mon. Negotiations and contract disputes themselves don’t cost this much money. <br />The reason that there is so much more legal activism right now for right-to-work and not members-only representation is right to work has to precede members-only representation. If all workers are required to be agency-fee payers anyway, then how could a members-only contract exist?<br /><br />Members-only contracts are legal under the National Labor Relations Act and the courts, but they are prohibited by state laws.<br /><br />The reason for this is the unions themselves.<br /><br />Unions know that the almost all of the workers who would negotiate their own contracts are workers who are able to negotiate better deals for themselves, whereas everyone else would (probably) take the union contract. Since unions don’t want anyone getting more money than what they negotiate, unions do not want members-only arrangements.<br /><br />And since unions don’t want members-only arrangements, they are unable to accept right-to-work either.<br /><br /><br /><br />The legality on members-only contracts is complex, but it appears to be legal.<br />http://prospect.org/article/labor-crossroads-defense-members-only-unionismStateAidGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00346914457455404884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-7713374782978461892016-01-22T19:55:26.539-08:002016-01-22T19:55:26.539-08:00You can bet as soon as they win this they will be ...You can bet as soon as they win this they will be getting jobs with the very people that are supporting their case. Leaving three legacy behind and be very smug about how well they did their masters bidding.taph2ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00131508634960946534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-45496443514127752552016-01-13T17:29:23.537-08:002016-01-13T17:29:23.537-08:00Rob, it's fixed. Actually was pointing to the ...Rob, it's fixed. Actually was pointing to the wrong thing; now it points to an EPI brief by Jeffrey Keefe. Sorry about that.Dukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16535645107179796099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-50321166590950273162016-01-13T03:20:34.648-08:002016-01-13T03:20:34.648-08:00It looks like one of the sites you link to has bee...It looks like one of the sites you link to has been hacked. The "teachers make considerably less" link directs to a bad siteRobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10645346656941710217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-10309352636370825472016-01-12T16:25:39.507-08:002016-01-12T16:25:39.507-08:00I don't think this has anything to do with the...I don't think this has anything to do with the teachers themselves. I think it has everything to do with a deliberate action to further weaken unions. <br /><br />Here's a paragraph from the NYTimes as to who is behind the case: "The case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, No. 14-915, was organized by the Center for Individual Rights, a libertarian group. The plaintiffs’ lead lawyer, Michael A. Carvin, represented the challengers last year in King v. Burwell, a failed attempt to strike down nationwide tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Carvin pursued an unusual litigation strategy in the teachers’ case, asking lower courts to rule against his clients so he could speed the case to the Supreme Court."Sandra Talaricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747287918049683725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-64968139110250043832016-01-12T08:53:11.835-08:002016-01-12T08:53:11.835-08:00They really are self hating teachers. Also, why ca...They really are self hating teachers. Also, why can't someone else (the state,town, or district) pay the agency fees? If freeloading teachers aren't willing to pay some other institution that mandates collective bargaining and the union as the exclusive representative needs to step up. This is a rigged gameAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14592350119719894453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-12146864592742119082016-01-11T17:34:46.024-08:002016-01-11T17:34:46.024-08:00An excellent response to the Friedrichs Freeloader...An excellent response to the Friedrichs Freeloaders. In my opinion, if these freeloaders hate unions so much, then they should teach at a wide array of non union schools: charter schools, private schools and religious schools. No one puts a gun to their heads to teach in a unionized school, they should be aware of what they are getting into. These shameless freeloaders have no problems taking the better wages, the better benefits and the better working conditions as a result of the efforts of their union colleagues. A union is a democratic organization and its members have plenty of opportunities to voice their concerns and objections, there is plenty of opportunity to speak up and out. These anti union freeloaders disgust me, they are built-in scabs. It's all about union busting.Giuseppehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03418801372998968620noreply@blogger.com