unions news stories on Newser

Ohio Voters Reject Anti-Union Measure

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:37:57 CST

Ohio voters today defeated the state's new collective bargaining law after an expensive union-backed campaign that pitted firefighters, police officers, and teachers against the Republican establishment. In a political blow to GOP Gov. John Kasich, voters handily rejected the law, which would have limited the bargaining abilities of 350,000...

Unions Join Occupy Wall Street

Kevin Spak — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:41:05 CDT

The Occupy Wall Street movement is getting a whole lot bigger. A coalition of New York’s established unions is jumping on board, including the local branches of the United Federation of Teachers, Workers United, and the Transport Workers Union, Crain’s New York Business reports. This evening, many will join the...

Hoffa: Let's 'Take Out' Tea Partiers

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 03:18:00 CDT

Furious Tea Partiers are demanding that President Obama call Teamsters union boss James Hoffa to heel after he urged workers at a Labor Day rally to "take out" party members. "They've got a war. We're going to win that war," Hoffa said in Detroit before Obama's appearance. "President Obama, this...

Starring in Target's Anti-Union Training Film: Union Actors

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:38:30 CDT

Oh, Target: Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to hire union actors for your anti-union employee training video. The video, which Gawker dubs “propaganda,” was created in 2003 but made headlines this week when that site made it publicly viewable for the first time. Now Salon reports that the...

Judge Strikes Down Wisconsin's Anti-Union Law

Kevin Spak — Thu, 26 May 2011 12:14:09 CDT

A Wisconsin county judge has struck down the state’s controversial law limiting public unions’ collective bargaining rights, ruling that Republicans broke the state’s open meeting law when passing it . In her ruling, Judge Maryann Sumi wrote that she wasn’t ruling against the law because it was “controversial or unpopular,” but...

Torqued at Dems, Unions Sit on Wallets

Mark Russell — Sun, 22 May 2011 07:36:24 CDT

Angry at lack of support by the Democratic Party in the face of Republican attacks, unions have sharply cut back their financial support, reports the Washington Post . Union political action committee spending for House Democrats dropped nearly in half for the first quarter of 2011, compared to the same period...

In Wisconsin, the System Worked

John Johnson — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:26:08 CST

Critics are calling Scott Walker's legislative end run around AWOL Democrats in Wisconsin last night an affront to democracy. But it's "certainly as legitimate as the Democrats fleeing the state to deny the Republicans quorum," writes Ezra Klein in the Washington Post . Think of it this way: Democrats "did something...

Wisconsin Senate Passes Anti-Union Measure

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:49:00 CST

Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate voted today to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers after discovering a way to bypass the chamber's missing Democrats. The measure now goes to the Assembly, which is expected to approve it tomorrow. The Senate requires a quorum to take up any...

Wisconsin Cops Tackle Rep Heading Into Capitol

Mary Papenfuss — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 08:00:00 CST

Vigilant Wisconsin cops jumped a man heading into Madison's protest-wracked capitol building Thursday night and wrestled him to the ground. The problem? He was a state legislator trying to get to work. In video of the takedown, officers try to block a WISN cameraman as Democratic state Rep. Nick Milroy...