Free Republic

NY Reporter asks Union Worker: "What's your message to Joe Biden?"

Volkswagen workers at an automotive plant in Tennessee voted to unionize Friday, becoming the first southern car manufacturer to do so since the 1940s, the Washington Post reported. Roughly 75% of the 3,613 workers employed at the plant voted in favor of joining the United Auto Workers(UAW) union over the course of the election, according to a Volkswagen press release. The vote to unionize was opposed by a coalition of six Republican governors in the region, citing concerns that a stronger union presence could lead to fewer companies investing in new factories and, by extension, fewer jobs, the Washington Post...

I know that unions are traditionally associated with democrats and I was hoping to get some opinions on whats currently going down in Huntsville "Rocket City", Alabama right now. The IAM is passing out fliers and picketing with signs at Blue Origins 1100 Explorer Blvd Rocket Engine plant trying to get employees signatures. Personally, I'm against it and was just wondering how people here my feel on the topic.

Mickey, Goofy and Donald want to work in a unionized Disney clubhouse. The “cast members” who don the costumes of the beloved characters at Disney’s California theme parks filed a petition to have a vote on whether to join the Actors’ Equity Association, the union shop which represents live performers such as Broadway actors and even strippers. The group organizing the petition said that it had amassed signatures from more than two-thirds of the 1,700 Disneyland employees as of Thursday.

Thousands of Alabama Mercedes-Benz workers will vote in May to determine if they want United Auto Workers (UAW) union representation. The election is set for May 13-17 and will be held in person in Vance, Ala. The National Labor Relations Board, which will administer the vote, will count the ballots on May 17. The vote comes as around 4,300 workers at the Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tenn., are voting this week on union representation, the results of which are expected Friday. The development is part of UAW’s push to unionize workers at auto manufacturing factories in Southern states.

Time to Change Our Language.. It is time to stop blaming “Covid” for breaking the economy, destroying businesses and livelihoods, and wreaking untold havoc upon families. It was not “Covid” that did this. It was not even the Chinese. It was our government. The government has conditioned us to blame the impersonal “Covid” for the destruction it wrought upon our businesses and families. We need to change the discussion by using the proper language to fix the blame where it belongs. Good generals can win a battle by picking the terrain upon which they fight. At Waterloo, Wellington forced Napoleon...

The New York City Sergeants Benevolent Association has warned city council members to skip slain Officer Jonathan Diller’s funeral this weekend – and accused them of being complicit in his death through their “twisted ideology” on policing. SBA President Vincent J. Vallelong wrote Wednesday that city council members who show up to the Saturday morning service would “shed a few crocodile tears” and use the event as a “good photo opportunity.” “The Council members who are vehemently and inexplicably against public safety are responsible for the carnage in the streets and the heartbreak brought about by PO Diller’s completely avoidable...

A majority of adults in the United States said the decline in union membership is bad for the country, according to a survey conducted earlier this year. The Pew Research Center poll found that 54 percent of surveyed U.S. adults believe the decline in union membership is bad for the country. Another 59 percent said that the decline is bad for working people, the survey found. Union membership has been decreasing in the U.S. in recent years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the union membership rate at 10 percent in 2023, which is slightly down from 10.1 percent...

Democrats hate the gig economy, since they can’t force independent contractors to join unions (and thus rake off their union dues). So Biden’s NLRB issued a “joint-employer standard” to force companies to treat gig employees and subcontractors as subject to union representation. Well, a federal judge in Texas squashed that rule. Last week, a federal judge in Texas issued a ruling that struck down a new joint-employer standard by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that would have classified numerous companies as “employers” of specific contract and franchise employees, obligating them to negotiate with unions representing those workers. U.S....

The head of the powerful Transportation Workers Union is warning members not to be “fooled” by the AFL-CIO’s recently published scorecards for U.S. Congress members - because the process is “deliberately biased” to boost Democrats. TWU national president John Samuelson sent a letter Thursday to his union’s 155,000 transit workers, airline staffers and other members, saying the AFL-CIO “disincentivizes pro-trade union Republicans,” leading to a rigged result in favor of Democrats in its Legislative Scorecards released Feb. 29. “Do not be fooled,” added Samuelson. The AFL-CIO - which is comprised of 60 international and national unions, including the TWU -...

The Border Patrol union mocked President Biden’s visit to the southern border in Texas this week. The National Border Patrol Council posted a fake joke itinerary for the 81-year-old president’s trek down to Brownsville, Texas in a tweet on Saturday — accompanied by a photo of Biden fast asleep in a beach chair. “Board AF1, take nap,” the post said. “Wake up in place called Brownsville. Read large teleprompter message, ‘It’s all Trump’s fault.'”

The Border Patrol union mocked President Biden on Saturday for his trip to the Texas border this week. "Board AF1, take nap. Wake up in place called Brownsville," the union wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in a joke itinerary of his day, along with a photo of Biden resting in a beach lounge chair. "Read large teleprompter message, ‘It's all Trump's fault.’ Board AF1, ask who people in green uniforms were, told they ‘strap’ illegal aliens, express horror, take nap. Wake up, call a lid, hit beach, take nap." While in Brownsville on Thursday, Biden lamented that the bipartisan immigration...

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had no answer Tuesday when asked why the White House did not extend an invitation to the leader of the national Border Patrol union for President Joe Biden’s upcoming border visit. During a press conference, a reporter asked Jean-Pierre why National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd was stiffed by Biden yet received an invitation from Donald Trump. “So look, I will have more to share on what Thursday’s gonna look like. We’ll have more to share on who’s going to be joining the president,” Jean-Pierre replied.

The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) on Wednesday became the first Hollywood union to formally call for a Gaza ceasefire as it signed a labor movement petition addressing the conflict. The guild announced the move in a statement posted to the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, the Wrap was the first to report. The union’s post included a link to a labor movement petition calling for the return of hostages taken by Hamas, for President Joe Biden to immediately call for a ceasefire, and for “the basic rights of people” in Gaza to be restored.

The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that the nation of Hungary, on two occasions, blocked attempts by the European Union to make a consensus statement against the anticipated Israeli military operation against Hamas in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where the bulk of Hamas terrorists are thought to be concentrated.EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell reportedly tried to unite all 27 member states behind a statement calling for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a move that Israel argues would allow Hamas to regroup and rearm its terrorist elements.According to the report, Borell eventually succeeded...

Strong journalism is a core part of a strong democracy. When news outlets illegally fire their writers, it undermines our democracy and our free press. Misinformation can run rampant. Corruption and corporate greed can go unseen. Research shows that communities with less local news have lower civic engagement and voter turnout. Publications have been going out of business for years as corporations buy them up for profit, consolidate them and then lay off workers. The trend continues for publications big and small. If you stand with union journalists in the face of illegal firings, sign our open letter.

President Biden on Monday met with union workers in Las Vegas, seeking to bolster his support with a key constituency on the eve of the state’s primary and ahead of the general election. Biden spoke to members of the Culinary Workers Union at the Vdara Hotel, shaking hands and taking photos. His visit came after the union, which represents hospitality workers in Las Vegas, reached an agreement with several hotel-casinos in the city to avert a potential walkout. “Wall Street did not build America. The middle class built America. Unions built the middle class. There would be no middle class...

Production workers at Nickelodeon’s Animation Studio are fighting for their first contract alongside already-organized artists (writers, designers, colorists, storyboarders and background painters) who have been working under an expired contract for two and a half years. The workers collectively produce animated shows: The Loud House, Rugrats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Spongebob SquarePants. The artists have been members of IATSE Local 839, The Animation Guild (TAG) since 2002, and 3D computer graphics staff joined in 2013. After a vigorous campaign, the production workers joined in January 2023. These workers keep things coordinated, flowing and on schedule. Production workers have lost...

Feb. 1 (UPI) — The United Auto Workers union said Thursday that Hyundai workers have signed up more than 30% of the auto workers at a plant in Alabama for an organizing campaign to join the union.

(WASHINGTON) — Today, Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien demanded Anheuser-Busch deliver its last, best, and final offer, after the company wasted another negotiating session putting forth an unacceptable proposal that threatens to kill Teamster jobs by closing breweries and permanently laying off Teamsters systemwide. After refusing to commit to protecting Teamster jobs since mid-November, Anheuser-Busch executives returned to the bargaining table this week with an offer to butcher the good-paying jobs behind its products. If the company does not reverse course and come to terms on an agreement that rewards and protects workers, 5,000 Teamsters will be forced to...