It is a basic axiom of government collective bargaining: If you have to bargain with a union about anything, you are liable to have to bargain with them about everything, and that includes things that you aren
The Illinois Policy Institute's Director of Government Reform, Brian Costin, submitted the following letter to the Illinois Times. An edited version appeared in the latest print edition
In the last two years, our Midwest neighbors in Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan have curtailed the power of labor unions.
Yes, Quinn
As the pension crisis threatens to engulf Illinois, legislators continue to fiddle. It’s no secret that Illinois has the worst-funded state pension systems in the nation. That’s an accepted fact by those on both sides of the aisle. Unfortunately, that fact hasn’t motivated any action from the state’s politicians. Now recent news point to even...
Many who lost middle-class jobs during the recession are taking low-paying positions. Employees and activist groups are pushing for a living wage.
As the pension debacle threatens to engulf Illinois, legislators continue to fiddle.
On Tuesday Michigan’s Legislature took the final steps in passing Right-to-Work legislation, and Gov. Rick Snyder signed the bill into law. Outside the Statehouse, union protesters became more agitated, tearing down a tent where Right-to-Work supporters had gathered (a handful of people were almost trapped inside the canvas) and assaulting a Fox News correspondent. In...
In my third Right-to-Work post, I
Michigan is now the 24th state to give individuals the right not to join a union through Right-to-Work legislation. Individual liberty is an important dimension of economic freedom and an essential component of a well-functioning market economy. When individuals are limited in their ability to contract, or sell one’s labor services, economic activity and quality...
Things still aren’t looking up for the Teachers’ Retirement System, or TRS. You’ll remember that it earned a dismal 0.76 percent return on its investments in fiscal year 2012, after predicting 8.5 percent returns. Earlier this year, TRS lowered that expectation, but only slightly: the system is still predicting 8 percent returns this year. But...
If you’ve ever heard Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis give a speech, you know she has a thing for Finland. She points to it as a shining example of how an education system should work. She extols its collaborative teaching environments, its tenure system and its short, four-hour workday. Now, school choice supporters have...
Is the IRS barking up the wrong tree?
If you