Unions and labor

North Las Vegas officials say forced concessions were only option left: Saturday, June 2, 2012; By Brian Nordli; The unprecedented decision for North Las Vegas surprised no one at the special city council meeting Friday. City council members voted unanimously to grant special authority to City Manager Tim Hacker to force unions to agree to concessions to balance the $30.9 million budget gap.

Inmate release part of new North Las Vegas plan to reduce jail staffing: Friday, May 25, 2012; By Gregan Wingert; North Las Vegas released 70 inmates from its jail Thursday, part of a plan to reduce the size of the facility brought on by a rash of correctional officers calling in sick last weekend, a city official said Friday.

North Las Vegas city manager wants to suspend parts of police, fire contracts: Wednesday, May 23, 2012; Unions want state to intervene and take over management of city; By Sun Staff; North Las Vegas City Manager Tim Hacker will ask the city council to suspend portions of the city’s contracts with labor unions to help balance North Las Vegas’ budget while maintaining police and fire services.

Commissioners OK $1.1 billion county budget, cut 346 vacant posts: Monday, May 21, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; County commissioners Monday morning approved a $1.1 billion budget for the coming fiscal year that is virtually unchanged from the county’s current spending plan.

School District to lay off 1,015 teachers, literacy specialists: Wednesday, May 16, 2012; By Paul Takahashi; The beleaguered Clark County School District announced today it will send pink slips to 1,015 teachers and literacy specialists next month, triggering the worst-case scenario in dealing with a $64 million budget shortfall.

Last-hired teachers can be first fired, despite intent of 2011 Legislature: Wednesday, May 9, 2012; Education: Fine print in the reform legislation left layoff policies up to collective bargaining, so teachers union gets final word.; By David McGrath Schwartz; An education reform package passed by the Legislature last year was supposed to have ended the practice of basing teacher layoffs on seniority rather than performance.

NLV firefighters say no to further concessions, risking major layoffs: Tuesday, May 8, 2012; By Gregan Wingert; The North Las Vegas firefighters union refused to accept concessions sought by the city Monday and asked city leaders to consider consolidating the department into any of the valley’s other fire departments. Because the union won't accept furloughs and a continued salary freeze, the city intends to lay off 57 firefighters.

Frustrated families protest school budget cuts, teacher layoffs: Monday, May 7, 2012; By Paul Takahashi; About 100 parents and students rallied at a local elementary school Monday afternoon to protest impending teacher layoffs and budget cuts. The group marched in front of Vegas Verdes Elementary School, located less than two miles from the School District’s administration building.

Police union threatens legal action over Metro's decision to test body-mounted cameras: Monday, May 7, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; Metro Police don’t have dashboard cameras, but this month officers will begin testing one type of body-worn camera with hopes of purchasing more of the cameras and putting them into regular use within the next fiscal year.

With arbitration ruling, teachers union wins battle but comes out a loser: Friday, May 4, 2012; J. Patrick Coolican:; By J. Patrick Coolican; A conundrum: Polls show that teachers are some of the most admired people in America. Yet nearly half of the respondents in a 2011 Gallup poll said teachers unions hurt the quality of education, while just 26 percent said they helped.

State teachers union to push tax initiative: Wednesday, May 2, 2012; By David McGrath Schwartz; The state teachers union wants a turn to try to raise taxes for education. The Nevada State Education Association said Wednesday night that it will take the lead in filing a tax initiative, despite a competing measure from the state's largest labor organization and reluctance from business groups to sign onto a tax this year.

With pink slips looming, arbitration victory is bittersweet for teachers union: Wednesday, May 2, 2012; By Paul Takahashi; The Clark County School District is planning to lay off an untold number of teachers after an arbitrator sided with the teachers union on pay raises. The district has warned in the past that up to 1,350 licensed positions may be eliminated if the arbitrator sided with the union.

With infusion from Occupy movement, May Day march numbers hold steady: Tuesday, May 1, 2012; Groups supporting workers’ and immigrants’ rights march on downtown; By Tovin Lapan; Advocates for immigrants’ and workers’ rights rallied and marched in downtown Las Vegas Tuesday, and, as with many May Day rallies around the country this year, the local faction of the Occupy movement helped with organizing.

Former county manager-turned-author takes on public employee pensions in new book: Sunday, April 29, 2012; ANSWERS: CLARK COUNTY:; By Joe Schoenmann; Whenever we write about the compensation of county firefighters (the current average is about $175,000), someone chimes in that it’s unfair to add pension contributions to the total. Adding money that firefighters won’t see until they retire is misleading, they contend, making it look like they take home much more than they actually do.

Cabdrivers lose appeal to reduce number of taxis on streets: Thursday, April 19, 2012; By Richard N. Velotta; Southern Nevada taxi drivers made their case for reducing the number of cabs on valley streets in a new venue. And they got a familiar answer: No. The Nevada Transportation Authority rejected an appeal Thursday from two unions of last year’s Nevada Taxicab Authority approval of permanent cab allocations.