Wisconsin and Illinois showdown: handling state unions By Mary J. Cristobal, April 21, 2011, Illinois Statehouse News The two states share a border, but that’s about all that Illinois and Wisconsin have in common these days. How the two states deal with their respective public sector unions and state employees is as different as night...
Suppose you own a profitable, legal in all 50 states, business and want to expand or reorganize your operations. Now let’s suppose that someone came up to you and said “Sorry boys, but you cannot do what you want with your business. You cannot go anywhere you please. See those balls and chains on your...
Costa Mesa ‘Feet to the Fire’ forum gets feisty on outsourcing, pensions By Jon Cassidy, April 19, 2011, Orange County Register It didn’t take long for the first heckler to be shown the door. A debate on outsourcing, pensions and balancing Costa Mesa’s budget Monday night drew TV news cameras and about 250 people, some...
Dissolving Governments in Michigan New measures passed in Michigan will allow the state to dissolve governments, void union contracts, toss aside elected school-board members, close schools and authorize charter schools. Thankfully, those measures are being put to good use. Please consider Using New Emergency Financial Manager Law, They Start Dissolving Governments in Michigan In what...
As the Employee Free Choice Act (also known as “EFCA” or “Card Check”) is now legislatively dead, many unions are experiencing financial problems and declining membership. In an attempt to head off impending extinction, big labor bosses are returning to an old reliable business model to increase membership. Unions, like the SEIU and Unite Here,...
Union workers are above middle class Letter, April 12, 2011, Daily Herald So the public employee unions say they are the middle class. That’s funny, most people don’t get the large pensions of union members, particularly when you consider what they contribute to their pension. Most people also don’t just refuse to go to work...
The left’s alignment with unions is more than merely political—it is ideological. The major justification for continued existence of unions, particularly public sector unions, borrows heavily from a liberal conception of redistributive jus cialis 10mg tice, as follows: <ul> <li>As a matter of first principles, all Americans are entitled to a minimum standard of living.</li>...
Rahm Emanuel warns two Chicago unions about changes By Fran Spielman, April 5, 2011, Chicago Sun-times Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel is laying down the law to two unions whose cooperation he needs to turn Chicago around: teachers he wants to work a longer school day and laborers he wants to simply show up at work in...
“Our political principles are pretty straightforward. We’ll support those that support us.” This comes from Harold Schaitberger, President of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), as quoted earlier this week in a Huffington Post article entitled “Firefighters, Cops Warn Republicans Anti-Union Stance Has Consequences.” Since 82 cents out of every dollar of political contributions...
Advocates of public sector union reform have long been accused of playing partisan politics, but the data suggests it is the unions, not the reformers, who are political partisans. According to OpenSecrets.org, a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit research group tracking money in U.S. politics, just the top 20 labor unions over the past 20 years...
Florida state workers flock to Capitol for ‘death-match’ over pensions, privatization By Bill Cotterell, March 29, 2011, Florida Today Hundreds of green-clad government employees converged on the Capitol today for a “death match” lobbying effort to protect their pensions, maintain payroll deduction of union dues and fight privatization of state services. Members of the American...
In Wisconsin, unions have not yet gotten the message that taxpayers have had enough. In the wake of much needed legislation signed by Governor Walker, Unions Threaten Wisconsin Businesses. Here is a snip of a letter sent to Mr. Tom Ellis, President of Marshall & Ilsley Corporation: Dear Mr. Ellis: As you undoubtedly know, Governor...
Recession of 2008 Exposed True Cost of Public Employee Unions By Tad DeHaven, March 21, 2011, Washington Examiner A silver lining in the dark cloud of the recession that began in 2008 is that it has awakened the nation’s beleaguered private-sector work force to the fact that government employees are prospering at their expense. For...
Collective bargaining in the private sector is a time-honored and respected means of resolving differences between a company’s employees, who have organized willingly absent union intimidation, and the ownership/management of a private company. Collective bargaining is productive when conducted in a civilized manner, free of coercion, and not for political gain. Unfortunately, collective bargaining in...