Louisiana

Louisiana workers fight back against repressive anti-union legislation

Published

2 years ago

April 23, 2024

Louisiana workers fight back against repressive anti-union legislation

The Republican-controlled Louisiana State Legislature, under the leadership of far-right, white supremacist Gov. Jeff Landry, is ramping up its attack on workers. Several new pieces of anti-union legislation have advanced in the Senate, constituting an all-out war on Louisiana workers. Several unions and community organizations, including the Louisiana branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, quickly mobilized in response and took to the streets of New Orleans on April 6 to demand an end to the state’s attack on workers’ rights.

Taken together, the bills introduced amount to a virtual ban on public sector unions. House Bill 572 would prohibit collective bargaining with most public sector unions. Notably, this repressive measure would not impact law enforcement agencies. This is an indication of the power of police unions and their apparent untouchability within the political establishment. Police unions are notorious for protecting killer cops and granting special privileges not afforded to other labor unions. Another bill, House Bill 571, would prohibit government agencies from spending public funds on contract negotiations, and Senate Bill 331 would limit the ways that public sector unions can collect membership dues.

This latest attack on workers comes just weeks after the swift passage of several new racist “tough on crime” bills passed in the Legislature’s Special Session on Crime last month, bound to exacerbate the crisis of over-policing and mass incarceration of Black communities. Now, the legislature is cracking down on even broader swaths of the working class. Among those whose bargaining rights are at stake are the state’s 50,000 public school teachers, whose unions have already been severely undermined by the corporate charter school system built on the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans city workers, who won an ordinance in the City Council last year that codified their right to organize, fear that their hard-won efforts could soon be reversed. “The legislators are really throwing everything at us all at once to make it harder to fight back against,” said Maria Singer of the New Orleans City Workers Organizing Committee. “Years of work by my colleagues would be destroyed with the passage of many of these bills.”

Grace Reinke, a public sector worker and organizer with United Campus Workers, sees the curtailing of worker’s rights as a targeted measure aiming at repressing worker people, especially in New Orleans. “Conservative elites see growing power in cities like ours and consider it a threat to their interests,” Reinke said. “Anything they can do to make organizing workers harder fits squarely in line with the broader agenda of pushing free-market ideals and maximizing profits at the expense of workers.”

Workers in Louisiana — and all across the Deep South — are among the most exploited in the country. The state consistently ranks among the worst for wages, healthcare access, education, incarceration, and climate impacts. The corporate elite sees the South and its working class as a dumping ground for unwanted externalities. Poor people develop cancer and die when fossil fuel magnates flood their neighborhoods with toxic chemicals; Black working class communities are displaced by wealthy developers seeking new investment opportunities; tens of thousands of migrants are detained in privately-owned immigrant detention centers; the legacy of slavery continues through the violent and racist apparatus of mass incarceration. It would be foolish to divorce the issue of workplace benefits from the myriad of other issues that working class people face.

Workers fight back against anti-union bills in Louisiana. Liberation collage: United Teachers of New Orleans IG; Louisiana state capitol building in Baton Rouge. by Jim Bowen, CC BY 2.0 DEED.

The ruling class establishment has proven that they will only side with labor when it is convenient for them and not overly detrimental to their primary interests– wealthy bankers, business executives and their shareholders. Despite his election promises to be a “pro-union” president, Biden quickly turned his back on labor in 2022 when he chose billionaire railroad executives over their workers. He signed a bill to block a strike and forced Congress to impose a contract that the union rejected, a clear violation of basic labor rights. A vast majority of Democrats voted in favor of the resolution to avert a walkout.

Former Louisiana governor Bel Edwards won in 2015 and 2019 with the help of a strong base of union support and labor endorsements, including the AFL-CIO. Throughout his tenure he signed some modest reforms into law including paid parental leave for Louisiana state employees and a bill codifying employees’ right to leave for health screening. Yet, after eight years of Democratic governorship, the state still ranks as one of the most abysmal for workers. Louisiana is one of over two dozen “right to work” states, a policy which allows workers to opt out of union membership — a victory for exploitative industries and bosses.

We cannot hang our hopes on either of the corporate, ruling class parties to deliver basic rights to the working class. In the capitalist system, both parties are ultimately accountable to the bosses, and hardly ever to workers. No matter what backwards legislation our politicians pass, our movement will not falter. Only an independent, multinational, working class party, which unites all working class people under a socialist program, is capable of building a mass movement to end the dictatorship of the rich and put working people in power.

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Louisiana

Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases

Published

12 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Jury selection begins Monday in what prosecutors describe as one of the largest auto insurance fraud cases in Louisiana history, with two local attorneys set to stand trial on charges that include fraud and obstruction of justice.

Attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are accused in an alleged scheme in which drivers — referred to as “slammers” — were paid to intentionally crash into 18-wheelers, file injury lawsuits and allow attorneys to collect the settlements. Both have pleaded not guilty.

63 people have been charged in the case. Many have already pleaded guilty. Motta and Giles are being tried together.

Criminal defense attorney Craig Mordock, who is not directly involved in the case but has been following it closely, said the scope of the litigation is significant.

“You have 10 years of personal injury cases and almost… almost a billion dollars in recovery. That’s all at issue,” Mordock said. “So yeah, this could go two to three weeks.”

Motta’s defense team has advanced a narrative that she was manipulated by a co-defendant.

“There is a compelling narrative that’s been advanced by Vanessa Motta’s lawyer in terms of her being manipulated by one of the co-defendants… about being manipulated by him and him having a prior federal conviction for fraud,” Mordock said.

Motta’s team originally claimed she did not know the crashes were staged. In 2024, her team told FOX 8 she is the victim.

Mordock said Giles faces a more difficult defense.

“I don’t see a favorable juror for one of the other lawyer defendants, Jason Giles. There’s not a clear theory of innocence. This is basically a standard white-collar prosecution where knowledge and intent are going to be the issue,” Mordock said.

The case carries what Mordock described as a shadow. In September 2020, key witness Cornelious Garrison was killed in New Orleans four days after his name appeared in an indictment. Garrison’s admitted killer, Ryan Harris, is expected to testify.

The judge in the case is also allowing the slain witness’s recorded descriptions of the alleged scheme to be admitted at trial.

Mordock said Louisiana drivers have a direct stake in the outcome.

“As your average Louisianan, the idea would be you would save… because the people committing this fraud have been wrapped up. The insurance companies are going to know how to look for this,” Mordock said.

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Louisiana

Pervy mayor’s kids told cops that they caught her romping with teen boy at boozy pool party

Published

24 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Pervy mayor’s kids told cops that they caught her romping with teen boy at boozy pool party

The children of a disgraced Louisiana mayor told cops that they both caught their mom fooling around with a 16-year-old boy at a boozy pool party, according to video played at her rape trial.

Misty Roberts, the 43-year-old former head of DeRidder, Louisiana — population 9,8000 — faces a charge of third-degree rape over the 2024 incident.

Roberts’ son told investigators in an interview played for jurors that he saw his mom having sex with his pal through a crack in a window.

Misty Roberts is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old boy in 2024.

But, when asked about his recollection, he demurred — telling the court he wasn’t exactly sure what he saw that night, according to KPLC.

The jury also reviewed pictures from the party, which showed kids holding drinks as well as a photograph of Roberts and the victim that prosecutors described as “lewd.”

That picture showed Roberts at the party in her bikini, with the teen victim looking up at her smiling.

Roberts’ son texted his mom that night, incredulous about what was happening, and told her that his sister was crying, according to messages presented by prosecutors.

“He is seventeen,” the son texted Roberts.

The boy was later confirmed to be 16 years old, according to KPLC.

Roberts’ daughter also took the stand while prosecutors played her interview with detectives, in which she said she saw her mom and the boy “on top of each other” that night.

The former mayor’s nephew also admitted he tried to sneak a peek — using his phone to try and get a peek at what was going on in the room. He testified that he wasn’t sure if he hit “record” — but if he did said he never sent it to anybody.

Roberts was in her second term as mayor when she resigned. 7 KPLC

None of the three witnesses who testified said they saw the “private parts” of Roberts and the victim. The teen boy, they noted though, was shirtless.

After the alleged tryst, the victim’s mother texted Roberts to ensure that she was not pregnant, to which she replied she was on birth control. Roberts shared a screenshot of that message to a group chat with her friends, who urged her to take Plan B.

A DoorDash driver testified that he delivered an emergency contraceptive to Roberts’ house, which he recognized from trick-or-treating with his children there.

In other texts shown in court, Roberts asked her son what kind of alcohol her son and other kids wanted for the party.

Days after police launched their investigation into the alleged crime, Roberts resigned as mayor of DeRidder, a city of just under 10,000 people about 20 miles east of the Texas border.

Roberts was charged with third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles.

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Louisiana

Louisiana Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Feb. 28, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Feb. 28, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

06-20-35-54-65, Powerball: 10, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

8-3-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

5-4-7-5

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

9-9-1-3-0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Easy 5 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

04-17-21-27-33

Check Easy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

08-10-15-21-22-33

Check Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.

By mail, follow these instructions:

Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.

Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:

Louisiana Lottery Headquarters

555 Laurel Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70801

To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:

555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.

When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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