"Program Evaluation: An Analysis of Kentucky's Prevailing Wage Laws and Procedures (2002)," a study by the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission finds that the process of setting prevailing wages on public works construction is flawed and can't make accurate determinations. The analysis says the same is true of the federal process for setting Davis-Bacon Act wages. The full report, #304, can be downloaded or may be ordered from their web site.
Here's another example of the dangers of arbitration. Overlawyered.com, a web page chronicling the high cost of our legal system and the foibles of the legal profession, reports on an arbitrator's ruling reinstating a school employee who was dismissed for coming to work with a high level of cocaine in his system. They note that the school has a zero tolerance policy for students.
The consistently best source of information about the National Education Association and union influence on education in general is the Education Intelligence Agency eiaonline.com. The EIA Communique is a lively, well written weekly look into the inner workings of the teacher unions. In "New Unionism Five Years Later: The Talk Vs. The Walk," the April 1, 2002 EIA Communique takes a look at the vision and the reality of NEA president Bob Chase's New Unionism.
On March 12, 2001, foundation President, David Denholm, was a featured speaker at a meeting of the Virginia association of Chiefs of Police. He discussed legislation in Congress to impose unionism on state and local police and fire departments, HR 1475/S 952. Copies of his remarks are available upon request
Employment and Union Membership 2001
The Public Service Research Foundation now has available the state by state, sector by sector data from the Current Population Survey on employment and union membership for 2001. We are in the process of producing a series of reports contrasting the relative and actual levels of employment and unionism in the public and private sector for each state. In addition, information is available about levels of unionism in the manufacturing and construction industries. Inquiries about this information are welcome.
New Data Shows Public Unions Dominate In Oregon -- March 5, 2002