Workplace Freedom
When it comes to unionizing, workers should be free of intimidation. The Goldwater Institute’s Save Our Secret Ballot effort is ensuring workers have anonymous ballots in union votes.
Executive Summary
In Arizona, occupational licensing requirements and regulations stifle competition, diminish quality of service, and drive up prices. Thousands of laws restrict entry into occupations for persons wishing to serve consumers as cosmetologists, barbers, African hairbraiders, taxicab drivers and street vendors. State agencies and occupational licensing boards act as gatekeepers, restricting competition and ensnaring entrepreneurs in thick layers of red tape.
John Talley and Orlantha Whitehair have known for years that they wanted to be doctors.
They want to spend their lives helping others. They especially want to help the disadvantaged. They are enthralled by all the discovery going on in medical science and the promise it holds for earlier diagnosis and treatment of disease.
They know about the negatives: long hours, interference from health care bureaucracies, the debt of up to $100,000 that they will have to pay back after they finish training.
The Obama Administration has fired its opening salvo against a cornerstone of democracy: the right to secret ballot.
Last fall, voters in four states voted overwhelmingly to amend their constitutions protect the right of workers to vote by secret ballot in deciding whether or not to form unions. That right has been enshrined in federal law for 75 years but is threatened by bills pending in Congress.
The Obama administration has fired its opening salvo against a cornerstone of democracy: the right to secret ballot.
Last fall, voters in four states voted overwhelmingly to amend their constitutions to protect the right of workers to vote by secret ballot in deciding whether or not to form unions. That right has been enshrined in federal law for 75 years but is threatened by bills pending in Congress.
By now its clear that racial and ethnic preferences, disguised as affirmative action, do little to solve the underlying causes of the achievement gap that limits opportunities for blacks and Hispanics. So it is welcome news that Ward Connerly, who heads the American Civil Rights Institute, came to Phoenix today to announce Super Tuesday initiatives to end racial preferences in multiple states, including Arizona.
Pinal County is prosecuting restaurant owner Dale Bell for letting his customers dance under the stars. After the longest zoning hearing in the County's history, the hearing officer found Dale liable for running an illegal dance hall because he allows or permits dancing outside of a completely enclosed structure at his steakhouse, San Tan Flat.
When Proposition 202 passed last November, the Center for Habilitation, which assists in training and employing the disabled, fired 100 workers. Other disability advocates feared that as many as 5,000 disabled workers statewide might also lose their jobs.
Before the new minimum wage, previous laws exempted disabled workers and allowed employers to pay wages commensurate with a disabled workers productivity level. When Prop 202 passed without these exemptions, disabled workers lost the freedom to negotiate wages reflective of their unique skills.
Several Arizona laws protect auto dealers from competition’"resulting in a higher sticker price on all cars. The laws prohibit manufacturers from selling cars, parts or offering financing to consumers without going through a dealer. These classic regulatory land mines allow vested interests to stymie competition.
Pop the champagne corks: it's time to celebrate. 2006 marks the 60th anniversary of Arizona's right-to-work law, one of the great contributing factors to freedom and prosperity in our state.
Article 25 of the state constitution says that "no person shall be denied the opportunity to obtain or retain employment because of non-membership in a labor organization."
In one of his regular email correspondences, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon wrote Friday, "I said that in order to be a GREAT city, THIS city needs to excel in three areas: Education, Public Safety and Jobs."
The mayor's prescription? "This downtown Phoenix Campus of ASU is the catalyst for the first - and the foundation for the other two.