Highlights: 'Right-to-work' headed to Senate vote in New Hampshire; Business Breaking With Kasich Over Union Busting Bill; MO Governor signs work comp compromise; MI: Snyder, GOP compromise on pension tax; IN Senate OKs plan aimed at expanding charter schools; plus stories on Connecticut, California, and Nevada

All Around

VIDEO: “Enough” Great video by the Chicago Federation of Labor

Right to Work: The Law that Brings You Falling Wages, 80-Hour Weeks
Labor Notes (blog)
by Steven McCloud | Tue, 04/12/2011 - 10:40am Twelve state legislatures are seeking to pass right-to-work bills, which allow workers to get the benefits of union representation without joining or contributing. That weakens the union's ability to

Ohio

Business Breaking With Kasich Over Union Busting Bill
TPMDC
John Kasich (R) has suffered mightily for his plan to restrict the collective bargaining rights of unionized state workers in Ohio. Though the Republican-controlled state legislature passed the law, known as Senate Bill 5, and Kasich has signed it,

Amendment would raise age limit for Ohio judges to 75
Columbus Dispatch
Those bills included the creation of a private, nonprofit entity to handle Ohio's economic development efforts, a weakening of collective-bargaining power for public workers, business regulatory reforms, and a crackdown on prescription drug abuse

Thousands of protesters rally in Columbus against Senate Bill 5
The-News-Leader
John Kasich that will ban strikes and limit collective bargaining by public employees. "Senate Bill 5 is an attack on police unions," he told a crowd at the Ohio Statehouse April 9. "Repealing Senate Bill 5 is important for us to protect you

David Pepper says budget woes in states without public employee collective bargaining top Ohio's

Gov. John Kasich has said collective bargaining should be restricted for Ohio's public workers to help governments balance their budgets and, in turn, help the state bring its spending into balance in the face of a massive deficit.

New Hampshire

Message delivered to Stiles at rally
Boston Herald
Lang said the union wants Stiles to vote against the Right To Work bill, pension reform, the elimination of collective bargaining for public employees and drastic cuts to "hurt the most vulnerable in our state." Read the full story at the Portsmouth

'Right-to-work' headed to Senate vote
Concord Monitor
Houde, of Plainfield, also said right-to-work laws have resulted in lower wages and benefits in other states. The committee recommended removing a clause from the House bill that would have limited collective bargaining agreements to union members

Senate Committee Recommends Right-To-Work Bill - Politics News ...
CONCORD, N.H. -- A bill that would end the practice of requiring non-union members to pay a share of collective bargaining costs in New Hampshire has won the support of a key Senate committee. Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Senate Commerce Committee green-lights right-to-work bill ...
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff 1 hour, 1 minute ago. CONCORD – The Senate Commerce Committee today voted 4-1 to recommend the right-to-work bill be ...

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Battle Over Union Rights Shifts to Recall Efforts, High Court Election
Fox News
Dan Kapanke, R-LaCrosse, outside the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board in Madison, Wis. (AP) The Wisconsin standoff over collective bargaining power may have ended a month ago, but the passion of that battle has shifted to an unprecedented

In the Wake of Waukesha, Thursday’s Subcommittee Hearing on the Elimination of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission Could Turn Heads

Local representatives review Walker's first 100 days
Oshkosh Northwestern
"This whole thing with collective bargaining has really ripped Wisconsin right down the middle and I truly think that's what he'll be remembered for, as someone who came in, destroyed the state, created dissention and divided it."

Wisconsin Awaits Outcome of Supreme Court Vote
New York Times
One thing is certain: Mr. Walker, who was a county executive relatively unknown outside Wisconsin until January, has become a national figure in a short time. His place, at the uncompromising center of an effort to curtail collective-bargaining rights ...

Pennsylvania

Vote on school vouchers delayed pending changes

Support for a school vouchers measure appeared to be slipping Tuesday, when expected Senate approval was delayed so that changes can be made to the bill.

Rep. Dwight Evans- The case against selling Pa.'s liquor stores

This is not a new debate. Today, you generally think about this issue in a philosophical context: "Is this something the government should or should not do?" Or you think about it in terms of money. But this discussion has been going on since 1933.

Protests Against Right to Work Bill
WDUQNews
Pennsylvania's unions are mobilizing against a bill that would end ... He's against stripping public unions of their collective bargaining power, though

Debate heats up over Pa. 'Right to Work' bill - Chambersburg ...
While not a Right to Work state, Wisconsin recently passed legislation that that stripped most public employees of their bargaining rights

Indiana

Senate OKs plan aimed at expanding charter schools
Beaumont Enterprise
Supporters said more charter schools would mean more options for Indiana parents ... committee vote Wednesday. — Restrict teacher collective bargaining

Michigan

MI: Snyder, GOP compromise on budget
Gov. Rick Snyder's prospects of getting his first budget through the Legislature brightened Tuesday when he and GOP House and Senate leaders announced a tentative agreement on a softened pension tax.

Missouri

Right-to-work states suffer
News-Leader.com
Shane Schoeller claims that right-to-work (RTW) states, which allow workers to receive union wages and benefits without paying union dues, enjoy more vibrant economies than non-RTW states. After the 2007 recession, between 2007 and 2010

Maine

EMMC nurses vote to authorize a second one-day strike
Bangor Daily News
“The Medical Center continues to allow staff shortages resulting in bed closures, longer waits in the emergency room and other delays of care,” said Sylvester, who is the Maine collective bargaining coordinator. Nurses say routine understaffing at the

Upcoming Meetings to Defeat Right to Work for Less- Caribou ...
PRESQUE ISLE- Meeting on Right to Work for Less and the Budget 1 pm-- Saturday, April 16. Edmunds Conference Center, Northern Maine Community College

Montana

Governor signs work comp compromise

Gov. Brian Schweitzer has signed the compromise plan he worked out with Republican leaders to reduce worker's compensation insurance rates universally regarded as among the most expensive in the country.

Tennessee

TN: Haslam signs teacher tenure bill
Gov. Bill Haslam signed his teacher tenure bill into law Tuesday, predicting that the effect of his first major piece of legislation "will be felt for many, many years."

California

San Diego: 'The Wisconsin of the West'
Voice of San Diego
DeMaio's comments, of course, referred to the recent protracted battle over collective bargaining rights for public employees in Wisconsin. America's Dairyland became the center of the ideological fight between conservatives and liberals over public

Connecticut

Connecticut governor seeks to avoid public employee layoffs

MANAGEMENT BEAT: The struggle over public employee concessions in Connecticut ... the prospect of salary cuts in Pennsylvania ... arguments about a pro-worker mural in Maine, and other government management news.

Nevada

Public Sector Unions And Local Governments Spar Over Collective Bargaining Bill
Nevada News Bureau
Despite national scenes like the Wisconsin protests over collective bargaining, the Roberson's bill sparked the first debate about local government contracts have in the Nevada Legislature this year. Gov. Brian Sandoval has not emphasized changes to