For some, getting arrested at a union protest is a badge of honor–something to make Uncle Saul proud.

In Sin City, union protesters engaged in “civil disobedience” by blocking the Vegas strip in order to protest failed negotiations earned their activist merit badges on Wednesday by getting themselves arrested.

It’s Friday, and here are your Union Briefs:

• 98 arrested in rally on Vegas Strip; workers protesting stalled talks with Cosmopolitan casino

Tourists watched from an overpass across Las Vegas Boulevard as police led workers wearing red union shirts one-by-one into a white police bus.

Police arrested 98 protesters, according to Metro Police Capt. Todd Fasulo. The workers chanted, “If we don’t get no contract, you don’t get no peace,” as they waited to be taken away.

Close the NLRB for renovations… (Redux)

• House panel passes bill to temporarily shutdown NLRB

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed a bill today on a 23-15 vote to require the National Labor Relations Board to cease all activity until the question of whether it has a legal quorum to act is resolved by the Supreme Court.

According to a statement by the committee, the bill would require the NLRB “to cease all activity that requires a three member quorum. The bill also prohibits the board from enforcing any action taken after January 2012 or making any interagency appointments that require a quorum.”

For the children…?

• $1 Billion In the Hole, Rahm Emanuel to Close 54 Chicago Schools in Poor Neighborhoods

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office indicated Thursday he plans to close 54 elementary schools in poor, predominantly black neighborhoods because Chicago public schools face a $1 billion shortfall.

According to the Associated Press, “many of the schools identified for closure are in high-crime areas where gang violence contributed to a marked increase in Chicago’s homicide rate last year.” These schools are in “overwhelmingly black and in low-income neighborhoods.”

• Ann Arbor teachers union voting on tentative agreement authorizing 3-percent pay cut

Ann Arbor Public Schools teachers will continue voting Thursday on whether to give up 3 percent of their pay to help the district reduce its budget by $17 million to $20 million for the 2013-14 academic year.

Voting began Wednesday on a tentative agreement between the union and district administration.

Not good enough…!

• AT&T: CWA Fails to Ratify ‘Fair and Reasonable’ Contract

AT&T said it was unfortunate that the very fair and reasonable contract was not ratified; it included annual wage and pension increases and would have preserved excellent middle class careers. The contract would have covered more than 17,000 employees in California and Nevada.

Der Wienerschnitzels…

• UAW, VW union talks prompt questions: How would a German-style labor organization work in the United States?

What does a German-style labor board even look like in the United States? Labor organizations in the United States are very different from those in Germany. So, how do officials reconcile those differences?

Why would Volkswagen executives want to team up with the UAW, whose membership has struggled in recent years? Isn’t one of the benefits of locating in the South that company leaders can generally avoid union organization?

If the plant does create some sort of hybrid labor organization, will that hinder the potential for local expansion or access to state incentives?

These have been your Union Briefs for Friday, March 22nd.

Best wishes for a great week’s end.
___________________________
“Truth isn’t mean. It’s truth.”
Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

Get LUR updates on Twitter.