Opinion
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Unions Drive Growth of Government
Opinion -David Denholm, president of the Public Service Research Foundation (PSRF) in Vienna, Virginia, has spent almost 40 years studying the impact of unionism in government on government. -
Union Demands Wash. Workers Be Fired
Opinion -On November 2, 2005, the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE), Washington state's largest public employee union, delivered a list of 800 workers' names to the state Labor Relations Office. -
Illinois Court Strikes Down Ruling Against Workers Comp Fee
Opinion -Barely one year after an Illinois circuit court judge ruled a state surcharge on workers compensation insurance policies violates the state constitution, the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and State of Illinois must again square off in court over the -
California Voters Won’t Allow Union Members to Control Dues Spending
Opinion -California voters on November 8 terminated all four of Gov. -
Ill. Governor Implicated in Pension Probe
Opinion -As the federal corruption trial of Illinois' immediate past governor was about to begin, the state's current governor apparently was implicated in a massive fraud, extortion, and kickback scheme involving the government employee pension system. -
Pension Investment Fees Get Close Look, Calls for Reform
Opinion -Questionable fees amounting to millions of dollars that have been paid to middlemen for the placement of Illinois' government employee pension investments have resulted in subpoenas from federal investigators and calls to end the practice. -
State, Local Pension Plans Are ‘A Ticking Time Bomb Set to Explode’
Opinion -In July 2005, Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) signed legislation that will change the state's public pension system from a nineteenth century defined benefit plan to a twenty-first century defined contribution plan. -
AFL-CIO Defections May Weaken Unions’ Influence
Opinion -The defection of two major unions from the AFL-CIO has stirred questions about the possible impact on local, state, and national tax and budget policies. -
Poll Shows Falling Support for Unions
Opinion -Barely one in three non-union workers would consider voting to unionize their workplace, while a 56 percent majority would not, according to a Zogby/Public Service Research Foundation poll released July 22. -
Government Unions Spend Lavishly on Politics
Opinion -Government employee unions put much more time, money, and effort into politics than do their private-sector counterparts. One simple measure of this is in the public action committee (PAC) reports unions file with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). -
‘Living Wage’ Laws Don’t Help Low-Income Families
Opinion -In July, Sonoma, California passed an ordinance requiring certain employers to pay $11.70 an hour with health benefits or $13.20 without health benefits, indexed to the consumer price index. -
Rare Coins Scandal Rocks Ohio
Opinion -Up to $13 million of rare coins owned by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation have gone missing and a huge investment loss last year went unreported, shocking state lawmakers and prompting criminal investigations, a request for a U.S. -
Financial Crisis, Felony Violations Rock San Diego
Opinion -Six current and former officials of San Diego's nearly bankrupt pension fund have been charged with felony violations of California's conflict-of-interest law for inflating pensions for themselves and others, one in a string of financial crises to rock -
$5 Million Pension for Daschle?
Opinion -Thirty-eight former senators and representatives from the 108th Congress qualify for taxpayer-funded pensions, with former Sen. -
Illinois Contractors Fight Union-Friendly Order
Opinion -An executive order issued in 2003 by Illinois Gov. Rod R. -
Proposed Law Would Put California’s Public Pensions on Private-Sector Footing
Opinion -A California assemblyman has proposed scrapping the state's public employee pension system for new employees, instead putting them under the same type of 401(k) pension system offered to most private-sector employees. -
Schwarzenegger Signs Workers Comp Reform
Opinion -At a Boeing Co. aircraft factory on April 19, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed SB 899, a bill reforming California's workers' compensation system. The measure had passed the state assembly 77-3 and the senate 33-3. -
Time to Reform Workers Comp in New York State, Governor Agrees
Opinion -New York State employers, in a survey released by The Business Council of New York on April 19, overwhelmingly agree their workers' compensation costs have "increased in the last five years" and those costs are "limiting employers' opportunities to grow, -
California Blueprint for Workers’ Comp Reform
Opinion -Workers’ compensation is a worthwhile program that works well in most states. California’s program, 90 years old, should be salvaged. But lawmakers must rewrite workers’ comp rules before more damage is done to the state’s economy. -
California Launches New Round of Workers’ Comp Reform
Opinion -In early January, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger renewed his call for dramatic reform of the state’s workers’ compensation insurance program, warning “California employers are bleeding red ink” from the system.
