By Doug Cunningham

The Bush Supreme Court Thursday struck another blow against unions when it ruled that public unions must get permission from non-members covered by union contracts before spending their agency fees on politics. Agency fees are assessed in some states on people covered by union contracts but who aren’t members of unions. The Washington State Supreme court had ruled the law restricting public union political spending was unconstitutional. But the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it. The case involved Washington State Education Association. Charles Hasse is President of the union. He says anit-union groups that want to muzzle unions politically are behind this litigation.

By Doug Cunningham

The U.S. Supreme Court decided against workers' interests in two cases this week. It ruled that home health care workers are not entitled to overtime pay. And it ruled that companies can terminate pensions in bankruptcies even when unions offer to merge the pensions into multi-employer plans. In the pensions case Crown Vantage used its pensions funds to buy an annuity that paid workers a minimum pension and pocketed five million dollars for the company.

By Doug Cunningham

Can public employee unions continue to spend dues money on politics or do they first have to get the permission of each member? That’s the question that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide in a case that begins Wednesday.
The case comes from Washington state, where the state supreme court overturned a law forcing unions to get permission from each member before spending dues money on politics. The anti-union National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation is attacking labor's political clout by trying to force a burden on unions that would hobble their political spending. In so-called Right To Work states, when a union represents a group of workers, not all of them have to join the union even though they get the benefits of union negotiated contracts. Both the AFL-CIO and the Change To Win federation have filed a joint brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging that thwe Washington State Supreme Court’s decision be upheld. Organized labor says that the law the state court overturned unfairly restricted labor’s right to make political contributions as it sees fit.

As organized labor gears up to the appeal the recent National Labor Relations Board ruling that broaden the definition of supervisor, Jesse Russell takes a look at the historical timeline leading up to the decision:

By Jesse Russell

When the Taft Hartley Act was adopted by Congress in 1947 it included a provision that protected lead workers from being classified as supervisors. Nearly 50 years later that long standing definition, upheld by courts and previous incarnations of the board has been over turned. In the past decade the NLRB has attempted to classify the workers twice, but both times the Supreme Court has rejected that definition. Fred Feinstein, counsel to the NLRB for the Clinton administration explains:

By Doug Cunningham

Labor won a round in the U.S. Supreme Court Monday as Detroit newspaper union workers who were fired allegedly blocking entrances to newspaper buildings during a mid-1990s strike will get their jobs back. The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a National Labor Relations Board ruling ordering the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press to reinstate the fired workers.

Should labor unions be allowed to spend nonmember bargaining fees on political causes without permission? That is the question heading to the Supreme Court. Jesse Russell has more:

By Jesse Russell

After the Washington state Supreme Court ruled that the Washington Education Association did not need to have explicit consent of nonmembers to use contract negotiation fees for political purposes, state Attorney General Rob McKenna appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The union represents nearly 80,000 school employees in the state and offers nonmembers the option to receive a refund of half their contribution if they do not agree with the unions political agenda. If struck down by the court, some labor unions could have a much more difficult time funding political activities. The decision to take on the WEA was initiated by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a think tank founded by former Republican legislator Bob WIlliams.

By Jesse Russell

The Supreme Court unanimously came down in favor of a female forklift operator who was punished for filing a sex discrimination complaint against her supervisor. Sheila White was suspended for 37 days without pay and shifted from her duties as a forklift operator to more physical yard work. White, an employee of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway in Memphis, accused her foreman of sexual harassment. He was suspended, but the railroad charged her with insubordination. The ruling establishes broader standards for retaliation claims by employees against their employers.

By Jesse Russell

The recent Supreme Court ruling that inhibits the ability of whistleblowers to have protection on the job will have little impact on federal workers according to John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees:

[Gage1]: The real problem is the chilling effect it will have on whistleblowers. And this administration puts enough of a chill by itself and to have the Supreme Court and especially the newspapers and the media come out and say this was a blow to whistleblowers, it was a blow to whistleblowers because it was so chilling. I think they should be covered by First Amendment rights; however in the case of federal employees we still have our protection under a whistleblower statute.

By Jesse Russell

Would-be whistle blowers might need to start whistling a different tune after the Supreme Court ruled what public employees say is not always protected under the First Amendment. The vote came down 5-4 with Samuel Alito casting the deciding vote. Jeff Ruch is executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Protection; he explains the potential impact of the decision:

[Ruch]: It makes candor inside the agencies much more difficult and creates this anomaly that says public employees will have constitutional protection only when they go out of their job duties or go public. Those that try to resolve issues constructively within their chain of command have no constitutional protection.

By Jesse Russell

One of the primary concerns of opponents to the possible confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito is record on labor rights. Joanne Ricca is a member of the legislative staff at the AFL-CIO, she said in the wake of the Sago Mine tragedy one Alito case that is being overlooked is the nominee siding against workers with a coal-processing company that had been cited for mine safety violations. Alito said the company wasn't covered by the Mine Safety and Health Act:

[ricca]: Two other judges actually disagreed with Alito. Both Reagan appointees saying those workers did indeed deserve health and safety protection. It just shows a real hostility of Alito to government regulation on behalf of workers and always an attempt on his part for the narrowest interpretation of laws that we have been able to get passed by Congress, to protect workers.

By Jesse Russell

One of the primary concerns of opponents to the possible confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito is record on labor rights. Joanne Ricca is a member of the legislative staff at the AFL-CIO, she said in the wake of the Sago Mine tragedy one Alito case that is being overlooked is the nominee siding against workers with a coal-processing company that had been cited for mine safety violations. Alito said the company wasn't covered by the Mine Safety and Health Act:

[ricca]: Two other judges actually disagreed with Alito. Both Reagan appointees saying those workers did indeed deserve health and safety protection. It just shows a real hostility of Alito to government regulation on behalf of workers and always an attempt on his part for the narrowest interpretation of laws that we have been able to get passed by Congress, to protect workers.

By Doug Cunningham

If Harriett Miers is confirmed as George W. Bush's newest Supreme Court justice workers can forget about a fair hearing on their issues from her. Miers former law firm, Locke, Liddell and Sapp, served corporations as union busting and avoidance consultants. The law firm's web site says the threat of a union organizing effort can be traumatic for companies, which is why they need an experienced partner on their side to bust unions. The law firm also represents a large association of building owners where SEIU is trying to organize janitors.

One of the most important features on the Workers Independent News website is our raw audio page. We provide the full audio of interviews we conducted with labor leaders, activists and working people so listeners can expand on stories we report. While most news organizations just give you one or two soundbites, we want you to have the whole story in the context it was presented. Here is a list of some of the most recent audio we have collected. Any of this can be used for your purposes as long as you credit the Workers Independent News.


(to see a complete list of Raw Audio, click here.)

• Sandra Day O'Connor was no moderate - decisions were anti-labor
  WIN's Doug Cunningham interviews labor activist Nathan Newman of the Agenda for Justice on Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the Supreme Court nominee fight. Newman, who has a Yale law degree and a PhD in sociology from UC-Berkeley, says pressure should be put on Democrats for painting O'Connor asa moderate when she was so anti-worker rights on the court.




• WIN Interview: NEA President Reg Weaver (Part 1 of 2)
• WIN Interview: NEA President Reg Weaver (Part 2 of 2)
  WIN's Doug Cunningham talks with NEA President Reg Weaver about the court battle with the federal government over No Child Left Behind, the NEA's recent convention in Los Angeles and the variety of issues facing educators and teacher's union members.




• UAW President Ron Gettelfinger on AFL-CIO reform
  Excerpts from a recent press conference featuring UAW President Ron Gettelfinger responding to questions about AFL-CIO reform. The UAW is urging labor unity after the Chicago convention and is supporting John Sweeney for reelection as AFL-CIO president.




• NYC labor activist Harry Kelber runs for AFL-CIO VP (part 1 of 2)
• NYC labor activist Harry Kelber runs for AFL-CIO VP (part 2 of 2)
  WIN's Doug Cunningham interviews labor activist and writer Harry Kelber on Kelber's candidacy for AFL-CIO Vice-President. The 91 year old Kelber says there needs to be a voice at the convention raising dissent on behalf of the rank and file.

By Doug Cunningham

Nathan Newman of the Agenda for Social Justice says Democrats should be taken to task for lionizing Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day 'O'Connor as moderate when the reality is that she's been right wing and anti-labor in her decisions on the court.

[Nathan Newman 1] : "In a string of decisions over her career whenever there was an issue up on whether workers were gonna have the rights under the labor law she always sided with the business community in stripping workers of those rights."

Newman, a labor activist with a PhD from UC-Berkeley and a law degree from Yale, says working families should pay close attention to the Supreme Court nominee fight.

By Doug Cunningham

Newspaper Guild President Linda Foley says the jailing of New York Times reporter Judith Miller should make all Americans very concerned about a reporter's right not to reveal confidential sources - something that's critical to doing the work of a reporter. Foley is calling for a national reporter's shield law to make that would protect journalists from being forced to reveal confidential sources.

The Supreme Court has refused to hear a case of two reporters facing jail time for refusing to reveal confidential sources in testimony. New York Times reporter Judith miller and Time Magazine reporter Matt Cooper could be facing 18 months of jail time because they are refusing to disclose who told them the identity of a CIA agent. Miller had interviewed people, but never wrote a story using the information, Cooper wrote a story after conservative pundit Robert Novak outed the agent in an editorial. It is not clear as to why Novak is not facing similar charges.

Linda Foley, President of the Newspaper Guild, says the issue is a case of selective determination. The federal prosecutor is determining the journalists that are entitled to First Amendment protections and who aren't.

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5-4 yesterday that municipalities have the right to take homes or businesses for private development. Essentially the court chose to keep with a long standing tradition of deffering best interest decisions to the state. In the case, the city of New London, Connecticut is seeking to seize a number of homes to make way for an Oceanside hotel, a business building and a park for the purpose of revitalizing the city. Jeff Finkle of the International Economic Development Council argues the benefits of allowing a city to seize homes for such a purpose:

[Finkle]: We're trying to create jobs. We're trying to get a tax base that can make cities safer and more economically friendly to rich and poor alike, but the better beneficiaries are the poor.

Senator Ted Kennedy says labor, civil rights groups and others interested in checking corporate and Republican power should pay close attention to the expected attempt next week by Republicans to end the filibuster rules in the U.S. Senate. Kennedy this is a dangerous power grab by Republicans that will have broad and adverse impact on our system of checks and balances on political power.

[Sen. Ted Kennedy] : "Every American should know that we're facing a confrontation of historic proportions in the coming days on the Senate floor. If the Republican leadership succeed in breaking the rules of the senate to change the rules of the senate we will have a reverse revolution that could turn back the clock 229 years to the time when we were subjects
of a king with absolute power."

The U.S. Supreme Court has handed a victory to low-wage workers. It refused to hear an appeal of a San Francisco U.S. Court decision upholding Berkeley, California's living wage ordinance. Skates on The Bay, a non-union waterfront restaurant in Berkeley¹s marina had challenged an extension of the law. Berkeley City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque (Albu-kirk) says this is important for other cities around the nation that want to enact similar living wage ordinances.

[Manuela Albuquerque 1]: "The ninth circuit decision which the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear was a very thoughtful, scholarly opinion and it established that social welfare legislation of this sort is to be treated with a great deal of deference in the courts."

It's not a very merry Christmas for Arizona's immigrant population, as a federal judge lifted the injunction against Proposition 200 yesterday allowing it to take effect. Approved in a state ballot initiative, the law requires state workers to check the legal residency of those applying for benefits. And if an applicant is found to lack proper documentation, the law requires state employees to report the person in writing or face a misdemeanor charge. Proposition opponents are planning to appeal to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.