Commentaries
Standing Up When My Pennsylvania Transportation Union Let Me Down
By Mindy McFetridge | The Center Square
“As a single mother, I’ve built my life around my daughter and her evolving needs […] I’ve become accustomed to overcoming obstacles at work and at home. My latest challenge involves both—defending myself from a union that made me choose between my daughter’s medical needs and my job.”
Anti-Semitism Report Lets CUNY Off the Hook, Offers No Help Against Hate
By Jeffrey Lax | New York Post
“In 2021, the EEOC substantiated my claim that CUNY and its faculty union, the Professional Staff Congress, discriminated against me and other Jewish professors because of my religion. So, I applauded when Gov. Kathy Hochul commissioned a report to expose and correct the hatred I had been fighting for years. I should have known better.”
Why I’m Suing My Teachers’ Union to End Segregation on its Board
By Isaac Newman | The Hill
“I have spent years struggling to convince both organizations to treat students and staff as individuals irrespective of race. But when my own union racially disqualified me from elected office, I felt compelled to take legal action. To run for a union board position, I had to check a box on a Google Form self-identify[ing]” as a person of color.”
I’m Stuck With an Anti-Semitic Labor Union at the City University of New York
By Avraham Goldstein | The Wall Street Journal
“[U]nion officials—who speak for me under state law—issued a resolution I, and many of my colleagues, view as anti-Semitic. Now I have a choice: Disrupt my life and damage my career again or rely on the constitutional protections that set America apart from most other countries on earth. I’m done running.”
How Private-Sector Unions Try to Strip Public Employees’ Rights
By Nathan McGrath | The Wall Street Journal
“I’ve represented union members fighting to defend their rights against some of the largest public-sector unions in the country. Now, I’m seeing a new trend: union officials in historically private unions across the Northeast outright denying that Janus applies to the public employees they represent.”
Were You Offended by Kanye’s Anti-Semitism? Examine Academia, Too
By Jeffrey Lax | The Washington Examiner
“The same people who referred to Israel as an ‘apartheid’ state are negotiating the salary and working conditions of Jewish professors at CUNY. Absurd? I thought so, too, and several professors joined me in suing the union, CUNY, and the state of New York to escape the union for good.”
How My Eight-Year Lawsuit Helped to Settle Pennsylvania Public Employees Rights
By Jane Ladley | Lancaster LNP
“Backing down from a bully is not in my nature, nor would it have set a good example for my students. […] Teachers, firefighters, police officers and other Pennsylvania public employees now have a definitive judgment that says Pennsylvania’s ‘fair share’ fee law is illegal if unions ever try to enforce these unconstitutional fees.”
Racial Harassment, intimidation from Union Officials Won’t Silence Me
By Ed Seabron | The Fairness Center
“After seeing the image for myself, I was shocked and disheartened—it looked to me like hate speech. […] Robbins’ abusive behavior is no secret, but he remains in his leadership position with the union. That’s why I’ve taken legal action. No one is holding him or the union accountable.”
Why I Put My Dream Job in the Allentown Symphony Orchestra On The Line
By Glen Wilkofsky | The Morning Call
“For 20 years, I always paid my dues on time. I’d given the union so much money over the years, but the minute I questioned the value they provided, they tried to intimidate me. […] Standing on principle is never easy, especially when doing so could jeopardize something you love.”
Confront City University of New York’s Anti-Semitism Problem
By Jeffrey Lax | New York Daily News
“As a grandchild of four Holocaust survivors and a great-grandchild of eight victims of Nazi torture and murder, I can’t describe how appalling it is to be labeled a white supremacist. […] I believe no one should be forced to associate with a group that hates them.”
The White House Swells Federal Union Member Ranks–But at What Cost?
By Nathan McGrath | RealClear Politics
“Using the estimated dues of the largest federal employee union as an example, the new union members for which the Biden administration is taking credit could represent between $37 million and $46 million in annual dues revenue. And as these employees are ushered through the union door, union officials and government agencies appear determined to slam it behind them.”
Pennsylvania’s ‘Right to Organize’ Amendment Violates Constitution
By Danielle Acker Susanj | RealClear Pennsylvania
“Just two sentences long, HB 950 could have far-reaching consequences on Pennsylvania law. Beyond establishing a constitutional right to organize, it would provide constitutional protections to agreements between government employers and unions that ‘requir[e] membership in an organization as a condition of employment.’”
Hartford Federation of Teachers Shirked Its Duty to Represent Me
By John Grande | Hartford Courant
“Over 30 years of teaching service. Thousands of dollars in dues payments. A union appreciation plaque for being part of a team that negotiated Hartford teachers’ last good contract. None of this swayed union officials whose representation I, by law, must accept. I guess not all Hartford teachers matter to the union.”