skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, April 26, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

White House is 'close' on Japan, India tariff agreements but expect them to be light on specifics; Families in limbo following federal energy assistance program cuts- we have reports from NH and MD; NV adopted CA's 'clean car' standard, rule now under GOP examination.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Educators worry about President Trump's education plan, as federal judges block several of his executive orders. Battles over voting rules are moving in numerous courts. And FSU students protest a state bill lowering the age to buy a gun.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Migration to rural America increased for the fourth year, technological gaps handicap rural hospitals and erode patient care, and doctors are needed to keep the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians healthy and align with spiritual principles.

Union Groups Look to Democrats to Fight Back After Janus

play audio
Play

Thursday, June 28, 2018   

CHICAGO – Dealing a serious financial blow to Democratic-leaning organized labor, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling Wednesday that government workers can't be forced to contribute to labor unions has labor groups calling on Democrats to rally together.

The case involved Illinois state government worker Mark Janus, who argued that everything unions do, including bargaining with the state, is political and employees should not be forced to pay for it.

In a 5-4 decision, the high court sided with Janus, giving a win to conservatives who've long fought against unions.

Emma Tai, executive director of the independent political group United Working Families, says the ruling was not a surprise to her.

"The real question is whether the Democrats will fight back,” she states. “In the middle of protection for workers, protections for women, protection for immigrants, people of color being stripped away by the high court, Democrats have been chasing their tails in a debate about civility. "

The ruling is being praised by conservative groups, which consider it a big win for workers and the protection of their First Amendment rights.

A recent study by Frank Manzo of the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and Robert Bruno of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign estimated that public sector unions could lose more than 700,000 members over time as a result of the ruling and that unions also could suffer a loss of political influence that could depress wages as well.

Tai says she thinks that was the plan all along.

"This was a Supreme Court decision that was specifically designed by the people who have raked in the profits from a rigged economy to weaken collective efforts to fight for good jobs, good schools, safe communities, breathable air," she states.

The court's conservative majority, re-empowered by Justice Neil Gorsuch, upends a 41-year-old decision that had allowed states to require that public employees pay some fees to unions that represent them, even if the workers choose not to join.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $3.1 billion for "underserved farmers" and land access, according to the USDA. (Pixabay)

Environment

play sound

Frozen federal grants have thrown a South Florida farm training program into chaos, leaving a nonprofit scrambling to salvage it after sudden funding …


Environment

play sound

North Dakota lawmakers have opted to side with farm chemical manufacturers facing legal challenges about the safety of their products. The state has …

play sound

It has been a busy week for supporters of higher education in Illinois, with two separate protests at Northern Illinois University and Northeastern …


Social Issues

play sound

More than 60 Pennsylvania counties do not have enough public defenders for their caseloads, forcing some, including in Erie County, to each handle …

Originally operated by Entergy, Palisades was acquired by Holtec International in June 2022.
(JHVEPhoto/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

The owner of Michigan's Palisades Nuclear Plant is getting another $47 million to restart the facility. It is the third installment of a $1.5 …

Environment

play sound

Next week, Congress is expected to vote on whether to roll back states' authority to set their own clean car and truck standards. Research shows …

Health and Wellness

play sound

The Alaska branch of the American Heart Association is helping save lives by teaching the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021