(NN&V Staff) – On Monday, the Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs (APNJ) announced it was re-launching its efforts to educate citizens in Nevada about issues affecting the workplace, particularly those which would result in job loss, and undue burdens to employers and employees in the Silver State.
APNJ was originally formed to educate citizens on the job-killing Employee ‘Forced’ Choice Act (EFCA) and the devastating effects the legislation would have on the Nevada economy. The mission of APNJ is to protect jobs in Nevada, and stand up for the workers and small business owners in the state that grow our economy.
The Nevada economy is still hurting with an unemployment rate near 10 percent. Workers and small businesses are working hard to make ends meet in this terrible economy that has seen the housing market collapse, jobs disappear and wages diminish. But union bosses in Nevada are living the high life, taking advantage of the very workers they claim to represent and hurting the employers who are making investments and taking risks to provide good paying jobs to their employees.
We are concerned about initiatives being promoted by union bosses that look to damage Nevada jobs, deter tourism and hurt Nevada’s economy. For example:
• The local Culinary Union 226 is actively working to deter tourism to Nevada launching a travel alert site, discouraging couples from having their weddings in Las Vegas, and misrepresenting the very workers whose jobs they’re claiming to protect.
The leaders of the local Culinary Union have gone too far. They’re hurting jobs, rather than standing up for the Nevadans they claim to represent. Their efforts in recent weeks have shut down portions of The Strip in Las Vegas with mass protests, ultimately preventing tourists to visit hotels and casinos and ensuring fewer tips for workers and business for employers.
• The City of North Las Vegas is nearly bankrupt thanks in large part to Big Labor’s unrealistic demands and overinflated salaries.
North Las Vegas was hit hard by the downturn in the economy in 2008, and still seeking to recover from it. The city has twice declared a financial state of emergency in last-ditch effort to halt the demands of the union bosses. What happened to Detroit, where union bosses ran a great American city into the ground, shouldn’t happen to North Las Vegas.
• The union bosses at the Nevada State Education Association (NSEA) are actively working to increase taxes on the very employers that provide good paying jobs to their members. They have made a $1 million dollar donation to an organization whose goal is to pass a margins tax on job creators via the referendum process. This misguided approach will hurt workers and small businesses across the Silver State and lead to an increase in unemployment.
“Union bosses are running wild here in Nevada,” said Zachary Moyle, spokesman for the Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs (APNJ). “The citizens of Nevada need to understand that the distasteful tactics union leadership are engaging in hurts the very workers they claim to represent. Their actions show that they don’t have the average worker in mind, and are focused on lining their pockets with more union dues that helps them promote their own agenda.
“We will seek to bring together concerned parties and disaffected union members to shed light on the potential job-killing actions of local union bosses.”
APNJ believes union members deserve better and we will continuously work to help them retain their hard earned money and not have it be spent by union bosses who do not have their worker’s best interests in mind.
“Workers have a choice when it comes to dealing with the union bosses,” said Assemblywoman Michele Fiore. “Many workers probably don’t know they can opt out of paying unions dues under Nevada law, which are currently being used to deter tourism, raise taxes on job creators and put a city on the brink of financial insolvency.
“I look forward to working with the Alliance to Protect Nevada Jobs to educate workers on their rights and highlighting the abuse the union bosses are engaging in.”
