Entries for March 2015

With Wisconsin's economy trailing nearly every state in the Midwest, the Republican leaders in our State Government rammed through a so-called "right to work" bill in just over two weeks. Among other things, the law allows people to demand services from the Union without paying dues and makes it illegal for Companies to collect dues on behalf of the Union. The bill takes effect immediately.

So now what?

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There's a lot going on with the Union this month. The Quarterly Membership meeting is coming up and we'll be nominating positions for the Executive Board. We'll take a quick tour of the new offices in advance of the meeting. And don't forget, there are scholarships to apply for and taxes to be filed as well!

Who said there's nothing going on after the holidays?

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Happy New Year! Well, at least we hope it will be. It's going to be tough, though. Changes at the state and federal governments mean that workers are going to be under constant pressure for the foreseeable future.

Our Union has seen some recent changes and there are more things that are staying constant. Below we have important updates on the status of so-called "Right to Work" legislation, reminders about how the dues you pay impact your taxes, and updates from the rest of our Bargaining Units.

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Maybe not. "Right to Work" legislation doesn't do anything for workers; it is another giveaway to corporate interests. We haven't seen the content of the proposed bill yet, but it's safe to guess that the goal of the legislation is to destroy as many Unions as possible.

How will this destroy Unions? Right now, the dues that fund the Union are deducted from our paychecks by the company. Most so-called "right to work" bills forbid companies from doing that. Dues payments become voluntary and people can forget. Even worse, some people decide to freeload off of those who ARE paying their dues. Such people take the contract protections and raises and even demand representation at disciplinary hearings -- all while refusing to pay their share of the costs.

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