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Union Dues Collecting is examined by Missouri, Kansas lawmakers

John Hancock & Brad Cooper The Kansas City Star
Republicans say it’s a simple change, opting out to opting in. But by making it more difficult for public employee unions to collect dues, GOP lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri could weaken a chief political nemesis. If organized labor is dealt that blow this year, the stage could be set in subsequent years in Missouri to push for a right-to-work law — the most contentious of disputes between management and unions played out in state legislatures across the nation.

Focus Voters' Anger on Corporations, Not Just Republicans

Gordon Lafer Labor Notes
Now that we're well past the euphoria of election night, it's time to consider what the vote really meant, and how unions can move forward. First, it's clear that we in labor can't dedicate ourselves to "holding the president accountable" because Obama is not, in fact, accountable to us. He raised $1 billion for his re-election, and most of it was not from us.

Still on Strike, a Bus Union Sees a Threat to Its Culture

Al Baker The New York Times
Each August, just before the start of school, more than 1,000 drivers for the Atlantic Express school bus company gather in a lot in the shadow of Citi Field in Flushing, Queens. For the drivers, it is the event of the year, one repeated at lots all over the city, and is known simply as “the pick.”

California unions grow, bucking U.S. trend

Alana Semuels Los Angeles Times
Latino workers, demanding respect in a precarious job environment, helped boost the state's unionized workforce by 100,000 in 2012.

RIP Leo Robinson, Soul of the Longshore

David Bacon In These Times
Leo Robinson was a leader of the longshore union in San Francisco. He died this week. For many of us, he was an example of what being an internationalist and a working-class activist was all about.

Even if It Enrages Your Boss, Social Net Speech Is Protected

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE The New York Times
As Facebook and Twitter become as central to workplace conversation as the company cafeteria, federal regulators are ordering employers to scale back policies that limit what workers can say online.