Best Practices for Reforming State Employee Pensions
(PDF here) Bloated pensions and retirement benefits for unionized government employees threaten the finances of…
Labor Watch
Hospital Unionization Harms the Sick
(PDF) Nursing is a valued career in a civilized society. It combines helping people with the economic demand for health care. Now, however, this noble profession is…
July 2012 Labor Notes
June 1st brought terrible news on the jobs front: the previous month saw only 69,000 jobs created, and the unemployment rate climbed back up to a dismal 8.2 percent. To…
Scott Walker, Union Slayer
Scott Walker, Union Slayer (PDF here) On January 3, 2011, Scott Walker was sworn in as Wisconsin’s new governor. The state’s finances were a mess;…
June 2012 Labor Notes
May brought more disappointing news on the unemployment front, as the Labor Department announced that in April the economy added a measly 115,000 net new jobs. While the official unemployment…
Should Union Members Get to Re-Elect Their Unions? One Way to Make Unions Accountable
(From the June 2012 publication, Labor Watch, PDF here) It’s the law: when employees are unionized they may not negotiate wages, benefits, or other working…
Corporate Campaigns: How Unions Take the Secret Ballot Away from American Workers
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka once called a corporate campaign the “death of a thousand cuts.” He was referring to a type of union organizing strategy that uses an arsenal…
The Battle for the Postal Service: Postal Unions Go Postal
The Battle for the Postal Service: Postal Unions Go Postal by Cheryl K. Chumley Labor Watch, April 2012 (available as PDF) Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe recently explained to Congress…
The Battle for New England
The Battle For New England Labor Watch March 2012, by Ivan Osorio (PDF available here: LW0312) Summary: Like the rest of the nation New England is reeling from…
The Battle For California
(view as PDF here: LW0212) California voters may soon get to decide whether to change the state’s public employee pension system. Supporters of a pension reform ballot…