Senator Lamar Alexander targets effort to force nonunion workers to pay dues

Lamar Alexander

After a Monday report indicating that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has requested legal briefs to consider creating regulations that could force employees in right-to-work states to pay union dues, irrespective of their union status, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) spoke out harshly on Tuesday against the concept and the NLRB.

“I will fight any effort by the NLRB to force workers to support a union and undermine state right-to-work laws,” Alexander, chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, said. “This latest action is an outrageous move that threatens to...

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Beacon Center Offers Teachers Assistance to Opt Out of Their Union

Poll Headlines National Employee Freedom Week Effort to Educate Union Employees About Rights

NASHVILLE – In celebration of National Employee Freedom Week, the Beacon Center of Tennessee will be running a week-long public awareness effort, which will focus on giving teachers across the state the information and resources needed to opt out of their union.

“The teachers’ unions continue to make the process of opting out difficult and complicated,” said Beacon CEO Justin Owen. "We believe opting out should be simple, and we are here to help clarify the process for those teachers who would rather keep their hard-earned money than give it to an extreme, far-left organization.” Owen noted that the states’ union has advocated for a state income tax along with other views completely out of the mainstream.

A new poll shows that 81% of Tennessee residents support allowing union employees to leave their union without force or penalty, a concept generally referred to as right-to-work. This poll was released as part of National Employee Freedom Week (NEFW). The full results of the poll, released yesterday, can be found here.

This poll headlines the activities of NEFW, which runs from August 10 to 16, 2014. NEFW is a coalition of 77 organizations in 44 states that are conducting widespread outreach to inform union employees about their rights to opt out of union membership. 

Unions often do as little as is required by law to inform their employees that they have the right to opt out. But as previous NEFW polling illustrates, over 33 percent of those in union households want to leave. Therefore, educational efforts similar to what Beacon is doing this week are absolutely necessary to inform and educate union members about their workplace rights and empower them to make the decision about union membership that's best for them.

The Beacon Center empowers Tennesseans to reclaim control of their lives, so that they can freely pursue their version of the American Dream.  

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The Federal Raid on Gibson Guitar

by James M. Kaminski – A lifelong Nashvillian, James has spent time working for Senator Bob Corker and Governor Bill Haslam. He currently works in the healthcare field and remains active in local politics.

 
On August 24th, about 20 federal agents armed with high-powered weapons raided the Gibson Guitar factories in Nashville and Memphis. This marks the second time in two years the Department of Justice has raided Gibson Guitar as they continue their unfounded witch hunt for allegedly illegal wood. Gibson has presented proof of the wood’s legality, however, and no formal charges have been filed and yet the government has refused to return confiscated inventory totaling well over one million dollars. This wood is the same wood used by Fender, Taylor, and C.F. Martin.

In my opinion, Gibson is being targeted for their decision to operate in  right-to-work states. Also, they may have selected Gibson due to certain Republican political donations made by the C.E.O. and other employees. Gibson’s competitors use a mainly unionized workforce, and have been found to have major Democrat donors.

I wish I knew exactly why our government is targeting a reputable and historic American manufacturer that provides many jobs here in Tennessee. Instead of promoting job creation and economic growth, our government is ignoring pressing issues and using ambiguous laws to stifle domestic manufacturing. Please email your representatives!
 
Here are some links to interesting articles on this matter:

 
CEO of Gibson Guitar a Republican donor:Democrat competitor uses same wood
 
Federal Raid on Gibson Guitars – Retaliatory Harassment?\ Obama is killing American jobs 
 
Gibson Guitar to Uncle Sam – “From my cold deadhands” 

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