Are the Elected Officials of Nebraska Dealing with Reality?

As we complete our analysis of the amendment introduced by Business and Labor Committee Chair, Senator Steve Lathrop, what we’ve found in it during the first full sweep makes us ask the question… Where are our elected officials’ heads? Apparently, Senator Lathrop, and his “working group”, all see the world far differently from that which [...]

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Collective Bargaining (CIR) Shell Bill Hearing WEDNESDAY April 13

  Since the February 7 Business and Labor Committee hearing, those interested in the issue of collective bargaining and CIR (Commission on Industrial Relations) have been waiting for the contents of the shell bill introduced by Committee Chair Steve Lathrop at the beginning of the legislative session. At the end of March, details began, finally, [...]

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Want Collective Bargaining Reform in Nebraska? It is up to YOU

If you believe collective bargaining reform in Nebraska is important, it’s important to understand that it’s going to be up to the people within the state to keep up the pressure on all of the elected officials. This is particularly true if you recognize how collective bargaining is negatively impacting spending and influencing the outcome [...]

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Too Many Opponents of Collective Bargaining Reform (CIR) in Nebraska Have a Horse in the Race

Image from horseclipart.com As with any other very important issue of public policy, it is necessary to consider the potential biases and interests of the parties who make assertions or advocate for particular outcomes when you begin to inform yourself about each of the various proposals to solve the problems presented by collective bargaining by [...]

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Hearing Testimony: Collective Bargaining By NE Govt Obstructs Spending Caps (CIR)

Monday the Nebraska Legislature’s Business and Labor  Committee convened hearings on the nine measures that propose various changes to the State’s statutes pertaining to how public employee salaries, wages, and some benefits are determined. The whole issue is being commonly referenced as “the CIR”, which is the entity that has the authority to settle disputes [...]

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Public Employee Unions: Breaking State and Local Budgets

For the past week, we’ve been advocating for passage of two legislative measures introduced by Nebraska State Senator John Nelson; LB664 and LR29CA. Both measures would prohibit collective bargaining by the State with public employees; LB664 would repeal certain Nebraska laws that provide for the practice and LR29CA would give Nebraskans an opportunity to vote [...]

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Reduce Government Budgets: Contact Senators About Worker Wages and Benefits

As we reported on Wednesday, there are a number of bills that have been introduced in the Legislature regarding the entity that is dominating the cost of employing government workers at the State, County, and local levels in Nebraska, the CIR (Commission of Industrial Relations). In that article, we detailed what the CIR is, how [...]

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