Wisconsin’s Republican Majority Survives Union Recall Elections
This past week, big labor attempted to undue Governor Scott Walker’s initiative to cure Wisconsin’s massive debt, incurred as a result of years of big labor collective bargaining gone wild. The plan was to recall votes on six state Senate Republicans in order to regain the majority in the Wisconsin senate, however, the plan failed miserably.
Big labor was confident that the pressure created through its foot soldiers would encourage voters to oust all six Republicans. However, only two were defeated, leaving the majority to the Republican Party and preserving the Governor’s laws to reign in big labor and its collective bargaining monopoly. Even more troublesome for big labor is the fact that two Democratic Senators face recall votes themselves this week, which could allow Republicans to reduce or recapture losses. It appears the American people are waking up and rebutting big labor’s political corruption.
Additionally, teachers, one of the centerpieces of big labor in Wisconsin, appear to be growing tired of big labor tactics and control (see Teachers Losing Love for Unions). Teachers are realizing it is not they whom the public despises, but the big labor organizations that represent them. If teachers had the true ability to opt out under a state or federal “Right to Work” law, they would most likely vote with their feet and leave. While many states allow teachers to abstain from union membership, they are tethered to the union by still having to pay union dues or adhere to collective bargaining unit terms. This is just another form of perpetuated forced unionism.
Forced unionism is the goal of big labor. This is true both in the public sector, as described in Public Unions: Last Hope for Big Labor at America’s Expense and in the private sector, as chronicled in The Devil at My Doorstep . Big labor has nothing tangible to sell in this day and age, so it increasingly relies on thuggery instead of salesmanship or finesse, to force employees into unionism against their own will (see Union Thugs Know Where You Live). Big labor depends on employee and employer intimidation and crony politics to survive, as they are nothing more than Gasping Dinosaurs, attempting to avoid extinction. Bravo to Governor Walker and the citizens of Wisconsin for seeing the light, looking the bully in the eye, and not flinching. Will the rest of the states follow Wisconsin’s lead and keep the tsunami moving by curtailing public sector collective bargaining and enacting RTW laws?
It is also time to focus on big labor’s private sector push spearheaded by Obama’s National Labor Relations Board or NBLR – National Big Labor Resuscitation. As described in my blog, Debt Ceiling Used to Cover Gift Giving to Big Labor, the NLRB has made a major push to change regulations to achieve card check through regulatory action (see Card Check through Regulation vs. Legislation). This is becoming increasingly paramount for the Obama administration for two reasons. First, need to provide big labor the means to force–unionize employees quickly so big labor can extract union dues, which will immediately be put back into the Democrat‘s and Obama’s coffers for the 2012 election. Secondly, the Administration must maintain a radical majority on the NLRB board as the Labor Board Races to Make Rulings to push into existence these regulations, vigorously opposed by business and the Republican dominated house, so big labor can prosecute its corporate campaigns (see Corporate Campaigns: Vehicle to Forced Unionism and Political Payback).
Time is of the essence for Obama, because NLRB Chairperson Wilma Liebman’s term expires August 27, 2011. The term of Craig Becker, a former SEIU attorney and Obama recess appointee, expires December 31, 2011. Without them, they have little chance in pushing trough radical changes, which is even more critical for Obama as the 2012 election is just over a year from now. Without the unions how can he ever expect to raise the projected 1 billion dollars in campaign funds? The answers is he can’t, so he has to make sure the paybacks happen fast, which is why he will attempt to recess re-appoint Wilma Liebman during Congress’s August vacation. It is imperative congress keep some members in session to circumvent this from happening and stop Obama’s attempted Rule by Fiat. It is time for all Americans to wake up and say “No” before the rogue NLRB enacts new regulations that create A Death Penalty for Employees and Employers in an economy that can ill afford more bad news.
Wisconsin is leading the way in suppressing public sector big labor forced unionism. Let’s hope the rest of the state governors have the intestinal fortitude to follow Governor Walker’s lead and, simultaneously, Congress has the same fortitude to reign in the NLRB and Obama’s goal of Advancing Unions Via Fiat From Boards and Agencies.
About the author: David A. Bego is the President and CEO of EMS, an industry leader in the field of environmental workplace maintenance, employing nearly 5000 workers in thirty-three states. Bego is the author of “The Devil at My Doorstep,” based on his experiences fighting back against one of the most powerful unions in existence today.