RandomNumbers
RandomNumbers's JournalU.S. Supreme Court Accepts Case to Give 'Right-to-Work' to All Public Employees
http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/21499Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association was brought on behalf of 10 California public school teachers who sued for the right to leave their union and not still pay "agency fees." If the Supreme Court rules in their favor, it could have the same effect as extending right-to-work law protections to all public employees by invalidating the involuntary extraction of agency fees from worker paychecks. Previous decisions have recognized workers' right to not have union dues extracted, but agency fees are still allowed. These fees are typically 80 percent of the full dues payments. ....
Also more here:
SCOTUS Case Could Bring "Right to Work" to All 50 States
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=14140
Thank you for joining us, Samantha.
SAMANTHA WNSLOW, STAFF WRITER, LABOR NOTES: Thanks for having me.
DESVARIEUX: So we should note that the court will begin hearing the case in its next session, so that's not until the fall. But this is a very important case because the court has even decided to take it on. Supporters of right to work legislation say that public sector workers should be able to exercise their First Amendment rights to not pay if they don't want to be in a union.
So for you, Samantha, considering that argument, shouldn't we sort of take a listen to what they have to say? That if in order for them, that they shouldn't be paying these union dues if they're not a part of the union.
WINSLOW: Well, they have the right to not be in a union right now. And so what the compromise is is that they have to pay a fair share of the dues that full members pay. And the thinking behind that is that they enjoy the benefits of the union contract. They enjoy the wage increases that the union negotiates, and they enjoy the job security. And they can even be represented if they face discipline or some kind of attack from their employer.
So that was what the Supreme Court decided three years ago to compromise, to say that yes, you have the right to be a member or not be a member. But you do have to pay a fair share of dues to cover the representation that is required by law.
...
(Apologies if this is already posted. I saw it and thought it too important not to post, and didn't see it here.)
I always think of "right to work" as "right to work for less". I am in a non-union job in the IT industry and see very well what we lose by not having a union.
Do we have amnesia, or just didn't really care in the first place? (Domestic Violence / Cavs)
All around me I hear people rooting for the Cavaliers, and I want to puke. Is it just me?
I put into the Google News search box, "cavaliers domestic violence video" and this is the top hit, from May 11, 2015:
http://www.technologytell.com/entertainment/61855/the-other-problem-with-the-cavs-domestic-violence-video/
Then there's this, also from May 11:
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/11/report-cavaliers-not-firing-anyone-over-video/
The video aired on the jumbotron during a Bulls-Cavs game on May 6, 2015.
FIVE DAYS. Based on Google News, that's about all we (the larger "we"
even gave a damn about this.
To its credit, RH Reality Check (not exactly MSM) contributed this excellent piece on May 14:
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/05/14/cleveland-cavaliers-video-domestic-violence-wasnt-mistake/
After it was roundly condemned on Twitter and across the web, the Cavaliers released a statement the next day that read in part:
But in order for this video to get made, someone had to think of the concept. The set had to be created, actors cast, parts learned. Visual had to be filmed, the entire thing had to be edited down, and graphics and voiceover had to be added. To say that it was simply a “mistake” is to downplay and nearly erase the amount of approval that had to happen for that video to get made. It did not “whoops!” into existence.
....
The night the Cavs showed the video in the arena, statistics tell us that the odds were high that a woman was sitting next to her abuser, their shoulders or knees probably touching. We can imagine her turning her eyes to the Humongotron upon hearing the first bars of “I’ve Had The Time of My Life.” Then she would have seen a scene unfold onscreen that probably would have caused her back to stiffen, shifting away from her partner as she recognized too well the dynamic she was seeing. And then she would have had to watch and listen to the people around her laugh and perhaps even cheer the satisfied smirk of the man at the end of the video as he said, “Go Cavs.”
Then she might have looked over at her partner, her abuser, and seen him, a dedicated Cavaliers fan, enjoying that video. He, too would have recognized the dynamic—but for him, the message he received would have been “Yeah boy!,” with a double thumbs-up from the Cavs. Neither one would have thought they were looking at a “mistake.”
Maybe the Cavs win the NBA title. To be fair, it wasn't the players that conceived, produced, approved, and aired that video. But they belong to an organization that did.
And I don't know how anyone who cares about domestic violence can root for that organization to win anything.
Is it just me?
On Pivot TV now - Vanishing of the Bees
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanishing_of_the_BeesReally informative.
It airs again at 5 pm Eastern time tomorrow.
http://www.pivot.tv/schedule/Eastern/05-31-15
(I realize this is group is the choir ... )
Hey world, what you say?
I think the lounge could use more Michael Franti ...
I was going to put this on the saddest songs thread, but I think it deserves its own.
What do you say?
(I can't hang around tonight, just leaving this here. Hope someone likes it.
)
Don't Worry, Be Happy :)
From Playing for Change ... some of these kids can sing. And they're darn cute.
vimeo.com/110876578
This new Song Around The World episode features children performing alongside PFC musicians on the Bobby McFerrin classic, “Don’t Worry Be Happy”. Perfect message and a great song.
This video is part of PFC partnership with Okaïdi, a children’s clothing line based in France. Playing For Change Foundation is working with Okaidi to launch a music program across 10 primary schools in the Mirpur District of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Okaidi Foundation recently created these schools and is now partnering with the PFC Foundation to introduce music as part of their curriculum. Through this new initiative, over 500 underprivileged children between the ages of 6 and 12 will receive free music education as part of their weekly activities at school. Music is the Key!
Get ready to smile from ear to ear and move your dancing feet. Share this with your family, friends, and community, and together we can continue to make this world a better place!
http://playingforchange.com/episodes/dont-worry-be-happy/
HIPAA and celebrities (e.g. Whitney Houston's daughter)
So I'm watching CNN and they start talking about Bobbi Kristina Brown, Whitney Houston's daughter, who as you probably know, was taken to the hospital after being found unresponsive.
The announcer (sorry I'm not awake enough and I don't know CNN well enough to know who it was) makes a comment along the lines of "we don't know yet if there were drugs or alcohol involved".
That kind of pissed me off. WHY SHOULD WE EVER KNOW? Yes, realistically, we probably will at some point hear exactly what caused this young person's medical condition. But is it really any of our business?
And I thought of HIPAA, and how the whole point is that a person's medical details should not be revealed except to authorized persons. So who is the person who isn't just telling the media to go the f*ck away?
Okay, I'm fairly cranky this weekend for a whole bunch of reasons totally unrelated to this, except for the common thread that Mean People Suck. I think it's mean to slice and dice this person's psyche and situation in the media. I am not aware of anything that she has done to deserve it.
Is it just me? What do you all think?
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