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| Home Front: Politix |
| Ban government employee unions |
| 2009-11-17 |
| There was a time in America when the typical union member was a blue-collar guy sweating in a Pittsburgh steel mill, screwing together Chevies in Detroit or loading and unloading ships on the San Francisco docks. But things are radically different today because Joe Lunchpail has been replaced by white-collar Todd and Margo Yuppiecrat processing Social Security checks in Baltimore, conducting environmental audits in Denver or keeping the lines moving at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The breakdown of union membership make this change clear: Only 7.3 percent of all private sector employees are union members, while 37.6 percent of all government workers are unionized. Fifty-one percent of all union members are government workers. As the Heritage Foundation's James Sherk points out, these numbers ought to be red flags for taxpayers because "government employees don't strike to get higher wages from a private business -- they strike to get higher wages from you." "Their pay is funded through your tax dollars," he adds. "For government employee union members to get more, your taxes need to go up. So that is what unions now lobby for." And as with so much else in this country, Sherk cautions that what is happening on the West Coast is likely a portent of disturbing things to come for the rest of us: * In Oregon, public employee unions are funding ballot initiatives to raise personal income and business taxes in order to protect gold-plated medical benefits from state spending reductions. * In California, the Service Employees International Union spent at least $1 million on a massive television ad campaign demanding that desperate state government officials raise oil, gas and liquor taxes instead of cutting spending. These actions point to the hard reality that the interests of government employee unions are fundamentally opposed to the interests of taxpayers. The unions are serving their own members, while the government officials who oversee them are serving the public, which usually means delivering the most efficient service at the lowest possible cost. These diverging interests are perfectly illustrated at the federal level by the political endorsements of the American Federation of Government Employees, which actively backed Barack Obama. For his part, the president is now pushing federal spending to unprecedented heights while expanding the federal work force and working with Congress to raise taxes. Between elections, AFGE, along with other federal employee unions like the National Treasury Employees Union and the National Federation of Federal Employees, constantly lobby Congress against any proposal to rein in the spiraling compensation costs of the federal civil service. Hard-pressed taxpayers shouldn't have to fight tax-happy congressmen and greedy government worker unions at the same time. Public service employees should be forced to bargain as 92.7 percent of the work force does -- in a way that recognizes the best interests of both sides and does not assume that government is a Daddy Warbucks with limited resources. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 I can opt-out of paying the higher dues figure that contributes $ to the PAC, and I do,.. The various government unions are infamous for flaunting that. Just google 'union illegal dues political contributions'. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-11-17 23:24 |
| #5 We are also prohibited from striking and would likely lose our jobs if we did... In Michigan, the public employees unions are prohibited by law from striking. However, judges are reluctant to enforce the law due to the threat of having the unions against them come election time. No one ever loses their job and strikes occur with semi-regularity. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-11-17 11:29 |
| #4 As a gubbamint engineer, I work in a closed shop, meaning I have to join the union's bargaining unit, i.e.: pay basic union dues to cover their labor negotiations for wages and cafeteria benefit package (health ins., etc.). I can opt-out of paying the higher dues figure that contributes $ to the PAC, and I do, since they don't represent my political views very well. We are also prohibited from striking and would likely lose our jobs if we did...We lost 6% last year and it will be years before we see any wage increases - more likely the furloughs and givebacks will continue for the next 2 or more years. Layoffs are coming. Civil Service with classified employee positions were devised to prevent patronage and corruption. Just the way it is...the alternative is Chicago writ large |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-11-17 09:53 |
| #3 Lets make Unions just as culpable as corporations. Meaning that if a teacher goes and molests kids the school district can be sued - but so can the union. If a machinist screws up a part and an airliner goes down killing everyone - the Union can be sued for that too. In short make them responsible for the quality of their workers. Right now they have all the benefits (fees) and none of the responsibilities. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-11-17 03:31 |
| #2 I agree. Union members as individuals can do whatever they want, I have no problem with that, but the union should not be allowed to engage in political activities. At the very least they should lose their tax exempt status. I find it difficult to believe that a union that donates 99% to Democrats has 99% Democrat membership. Use of dues for political contributions should be prohibited. I have no problem with a union setting up a PAC and ONLY donating from the PAC from voluntary member contributions but I have a serious problem with using any resource paid for with dues for political activity. That means no use of union facilities, equipment, infrastructure, etc. Not even a union telephone line. The PAC can rent their own office and buy their own phone lines, computers, etc. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2009-11-17 01:35 |
| #1 Lets not forget the Teacher's union. Personally I think unions (all unions) should be banned from *all* political activities (contributions, phone banks, workers, etc...). Its simply not their job. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-11-17 01:00 |