Fairness
Unions at a Crossroads: Democracy, Transparency, and Bridging Divides
Jake Altman, author of Socialism before Sanders, joins Disunion: The Government Union Report podcast host David R. Osborne to discuss labor unions and their challenges. Altman, a former union leader,…
Read More: Unions at a Crossroads: Democracy, Transparency, and Bridging DividesCompulsory public unions threaten individual worker rights and cost taxpayers billions. Reforms to the Pennsylvania Public Employee Relations Act are needed to restore and protect workers’ rights. No one—including government employees—should be blocked from leaving a union. To increase government integrity and accountability, policies should be adopted that ensure all special interests groups, including government unions, interact with the state government on a level playing field.
Public Union Democracy
Indiana: Ending Forced Unionism Creates Jobs
It’s been only six months since Indiana became the 23rd right to work state in America, but it is already seeing a surge in business activity. Indiana adopted right…
Media
Read More: Indiana: Ending Forced Unionism Creates JobsGovernment Accountability
Labor Day is for Taxpayers, Not Unions
Comprising the government employee unions, private sector unions, trial lawyers, extreme greens, and other nonprofits that feed off taxpayer money, the Union Party is aligned for a single purpose: To…
Commentary
Read More: Labor Day is for Taxpayers, Not UnionsPublic Union Democracy
Union Leaders Misrepresent Pension Reforms
CF Senior Fellow Rick Dreyfuss testified yesterday before the Pennsylvania House about how to make our public pensions current, affordable and predictable, proposing a five-step plan for doing…
Media
Read More: Union Leaders Misrepresent Pension ReformsPublic Union Democracy
Union Allowed to Stalk in Pennsylvania
A new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce highlights special state laws governing labor unions. For example, four states, including Pennsylvania, have anti-stalking laws, but exempt labor unions…
Media
Read More: Union Allowed to Stalk in PennsylvaniaPublic Union Democracy
Taxpayer Tornado Sweeps Through Kansas, Union Party Swept Away
What’s one of the few things stranger than a CF staffer reading the Huffington Post? Easy. A CF staffer reading on the Huffington Post about a great victory for the…
Media
Read More: Taxpayer Tornado Sweeps Through Kansas, Union Party Swept AwayEducation
PSEA Blows Smoke Over Political Spending
School board members at the West Chester Area School District are negotiating a new contract with teachers, and rightly questioning why the district deducts union dues from teachers’ paychecks, when…
Media
Read More: PSEA Blows Smoke Over Political SpendingEducation
Unable to Win, Union Bosses Try to Change Election Rules
My younger brother Matt and I often enjoy an intense pickup one-on-one basketball game. Being seven years older, I had the advantage for a long time. As kids, I was…
Media
Read More: Unable to Win, Union Bosses Try to Change Election RulesPublic Union Democracy
Unions Bankrupt Scranton, Who’s Next?
The City of Scranton is broke. It can’t pay its employees and faces a budget deficit of about $16 million this year, thanks to a toxic combination of declining…
Media
Read More: Unions Bankrupt Scranton, Who’s Next?Government Accountability
Union Privileges Fuel More Money in Politics
Turns out not everything is bigger in Texas. The Lone Star State has twice the population of Pennsylvania, yet when it comes to political spending, Pennsylvania’s labor unions can outgun…
Media
Read More: Union Privileges Fuel More Money in PoliticsPublic Union Democracy
Union Bosses Fight to Stay Relevant
Labor unions are so livid that the Democratic Party is having its national convention in North Carolina—a right to work state, and the country’s least unionized—that they are staging…
Media
Read More: Union Bosses Fight to Stay RelevantPublic Union Democracy
Unions Spent $4 Billion Nationally on Politics Since 2005
Labor unions spend four times more than originally estimated on politics and lobbying, reports the Wall Street Journal, making them a formidable behemoth in state and national elections. In…
Media
Read More: Unions Spent $4 Billion Nationally on Politics Since 2005Public Union Democracy
Unions Fight Flexible Funding
Gov. Corbett’s budget proposed combining five county human services programs into one flexible block grant. In the past, state legislation dictated how much counties could spend under each category, regardless…
Media
Read More: Unions Fight Flexible FundingPublic Union Democracy
Voters: Limit Government Spending!
In a recent poll, Susquehanna Polling and Research asked 700 registered Pennsylvania voters if they would support limiting the growth of state government spending—legislation similar to the…
Media
Read More: Voters: Limit Government Spending!Education
Why Public Opinion is Turning on Teachers’ Unions
Gil Spencer of the Delaware County Times penned a perceptive column yesterday on the waning popularity of teachers’ unions—and how an angry public is wising up to the unions’…
Media
Read More: Why Public Opinion is Turning on Teachers’ UnionsGovernment Accountability
Why Walker’s Win Pushes Principled Pa. Policies
Make no mistake, Wisconsin is sending a message to the Keystone State. If you are a Pennsylvania politician, that message is loud, clear and ignored only at your own peril.
Media
Read More: Why Walker’s Win Pushes Principled Pa. PoliciesGovernment Accountability
Pa. Teachers Forced to Pay for Wisconsin Politics
Want to find out how the Pennsylvania State Education Association is spending teachers’ dues? You chould check out the state of Wisconsin’s campaign finance disclosure site. That’s right, the…
Media
Read More: Pa. Teachers Forced to Pay for Wisconsin PoliticsPublic Union Democracy
The Booze Business is a Lose Business for Taxpayers
I heard on the radio this week another ridiculous ad against allowing retail stores to sell wine or liquor, funded by UFCW dues to play on stations across…
Media
Read More: The Booze Business is a Lose Business for TaxpayersPublic Union Democracy
Pennsylvania’s Pension Iceberg
Laura Olson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a story on the crisis in Pennsylvania’s public pensions, and Gov. Corbett injecting pension reform into the budget discussion: Even with…
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Pension IcebergPublic Union Democracy
Prevailing Wage Pummels Another School District
We’ve reported before about how Pennsylvania’s outdated prevailing wage law imposes needless extra construction costs on local governments and school districts across the commonwealth, hurting taxpayers. The law requires…
Media
Read More: Prevailing Wage Pummels Another School DistrictEducation
Union Guts More Teaching Jobs
Yes, the chickens are truly coming home to roost. But before status quo apologists cry ‘fowl,’ economic realities due to union strong-arm tactics and unsustainable benefits programs…
Media
Read More: Union Guts More Teaching JobsEducation
Who are Teacher Unions Protecting?
The Patriot-News published my letter that questions whether teacher unions protect teachers. Union lobbying to create an unsustainable pension program is directly connected to the Central Dauphin School Board’s…
Media
Read More: Who are Teacher Unions Protecting?