News

Members of the Texas State Employees Union/CWA Local 6186 have formed a coalition with 36 other unions, civil rights and community groups that?s working for a fair approach to close the state?s budget deficit. The Texas Forward Coalition is diverse. In addition to TSEU, it includes the Christian Life Commission, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, and United Way.

Within a month of taking office, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez fired the director of the state?s Public Employee Relations Board. ?That action makes it next to impossible for the agency to enforce the state?s public workers? bargaining law,? said District 7 Staff Representative Robin Gould, a former state worker, and CWA?s legislative political coordinator for New Mexico. ?It?s like abolishing the entire National Labor Relations Board.?

In Tennessee, a broad coalition of unions and community supporters is fighting extreme proposals by the governor and some state legislators to eliminate collective bargaining for teachers, block public workers from making voluntary political donations and end the deduction of union and association dues from government paychecks.

The University of California is proposing $500 million in budget cuts to help reduce the state?s deficit. The problem is that most of those cuts are aimed at UC staff and faculty?s pension and health care benefits and at students, who face a big jump in fees.