Issues & Insights
..." A California Grocers Association study recently found the state’s hazard pay ordinances could raise grocery costs for the average family of four by $400 a year while hundreds of workers, most of them UFCW members, will lose their jobs. It’s a pyrrhic victory that may be repeated regardless of the impact on workers because it generates good headlines for the unions."
"At their peak, unions represented more than a third of American workers. Now, after several decades of continuing decline, less than 10% of workers in the private sector are part of organized labor. And with so much of American manufacturing having moved offshore to escape the less-than-friendly business climate the politicians created, that’s not really news.
"What some people don’t know is how union leadership has continued to cozy up to progressive politicians pushing policies that are antithetical to the interests of the rank and file.
"On his first day in office, President Joe Biden – who campaigned as a moderate — signed an executive order killing the Keystone XL pipeline and, with it, more than 10,000 good-paying union jobs. Among Democrats, that’s par for the course. The vocal progressives dominating the Democratic Party these days are in command of the agenda.
"In another case, the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Union has been pushing for at least ten months for “hazard pay” that doesn’t mesh with the interests of its members. UFCW International President Marc Perrone is demanding some of the nation’s largest grocery chains commit to the pay bump because of COIVD.
"Initially, he wanted $2 an hour. Now he wants $4, even $5 an hour in several West Coast cities. For this, he’s finding support from city and county politicians whose campaigns are union-funded.
"Shortages caused by the lockdowns have made it challenging for grocers and their frontline employees. The UFCW’s on them, after they’ve already invested billions to improve safety measures ignores the facts and smacks of ingratitude. Some grocery chains, like Kroger, are already offering $100 bonuses to employees who get a COVID vaccine.
"But what of what the union wants? A letter to the editor recently appearing in the Los Angeles Times said it well: “I fully agree that the grocery store workers are heroes. However, how does requiring them to be paid more solve the problem here? Are we saying to workers that it’s OK if you get sick, so long as you are paid more?' ” . . .
‘That Is A Lie!’: Leo Terrell Blasts Teachers Union President For Saying Reopening Schools Promotes ‘Structural Racism’ "Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell said Thursday that “it’s a lie” for a teachers union president to suggest that reopening schools will promote “structural racism.” “I know what [the] term [structural racism] means. She doesn’t,” Terrell continued, referring to Cecily Myart-Cruz, the president of United Teachers Los Angeles who said that reopening schools propagates “structural racism.' ” . . .
Mother Says She’s Being Targeted By California’s Largest Teachers Union After She Pushed For School Reopening "A mother who received an email from California’s largest teachers union asking her to identify her race believes she’s being targeted after she spoke favorably about school reopenings with local media." . . .
“You are quoted twice in the last eight months,” the email said, in part. “I know that Maryam is a common Iranian name, but I will not make any assumptions without a legitimate method,” the email continued. “Could you tell me how you racially self-identify or point me to a citation on your identity?”
