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The Public Policy
Christmas Card Check
(Page 2 of 2)
Much of new union money would go into politics. Organized labor spent nearly a half billion dollars in 2008. The unions didn’t expend that money for altruistic reasons. Earlier this year, Bill Darling, the AFL-CIO's legislative director, predicted that a Democratic presidential victory "could be an opportunity for historic change."
Big Labor’s basic agenda is to mulct money from the rest of us. One goal is to further tilt labor law towards union-organizers. Along with card check organized labor wants to impose contracts through arbitration, an enormous shift of power away from market to government.
Union leaders also want to overturn decisions of the NLRB on such esoteric issues as the definition of supervisors, who are exempt from bargaining requirements. Union lobbyists have been pushing to prohibit companies from replacing strikers -- who have walked off of their jobs. Organized labor backs legislation to unionize federal security personnel at the Transportation Security Agency, as well force states and localities to allow unionization of public safety employees. Labor also wants to cripple the Office of Labor Management Standards, which monitors union spending and corruption (convictions were up 20 percent last year).
Moreover, the modern labor movement has become highly redistributionist. Organized labor has been pressing for an auto industry bailout. It opposes consumer-oriented health care and supports nationalizing the medical system. Union leaders oppose reforming Social Security to give workers individual accounts. Organized labor wants to mandate paid family leave and create a new legal spoils system in the name of combating gender salary discrimination.
Big Labor backs higher taxes and almost all federal spending programs. Unions lobby incessantly to limit free trade and raise the minimum wage, which limits competition from lesser skilled workers. Organized labor has allied itself with the personal injury bar, opposing tort reform.
UNION OPPORTUNITIES for looting will only grow in the new bailout state. For instance, labor activists, backed by the usual Democratic politicians and left-wing activists, used the federal bank bailout to effectively shake down Bank of America to continue lending to a bankrupt firm. President-elect Barack Obama is likely to be even more susceptible to pleas from his political allies for financial aid and support.
No wonder a recent Gallup poll found that only one-third of Americans want unions to have more influence. Even union members overwhelmingly support secret ballot elections. A Zogby poll found that union members support representation elections by an overwhelming margin of 84 to 11 percent.
Ironically, the best argument against the card check "Forced Unionization Act" comes from its supporters. For instance, labor activists do believe in elections when workers are seeking to decertify unions. Citing the U.S. Supreme Court, the AFL-CIO argues "that a representation election 'is a solemn…occasion, conducted under safeguards to voluntary choice.'" Moreover, the "representation election system provides the surest means of avoiding decisions which are 'the result of group pressures and not individual decision.'"
Seven years ago Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chief House sponsor of card check, joined 15 other House members to urge Mexico "to use the secret ballot in all union recognition elections." The legislators claimed that "increased use of the secret ballot in union recognition elections will help bring real democracy to the Mexican workplace."
Two years ago Rep. Solis was involved in a bitter dispute within the congressional Hispanic Caucus and complained that the new chairman was not chosen through a secret ballot. "It is important that the integrity of the [Caucus] be unquestioned and above reproach," she wrote in a multi-member letter to Caucus Chairman Rep. Joe Baca.
Union officials hope to intimidate their way to victory. Giving them greater power over the economy will make all of us poorer.
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Melvin| 12.24.08 @ 7:54AM
It will be a very cold day in hell before I let some union goon and his political lackey intimidate me by force to join a union.
Unions want to push workers who do not wish to join, fine, but there are many of us out here who will push back allot harder and if some union thug steps one foot on my private property, you can rest assure they won't be walking off under their own power.
My wife belonged to a union in California and it was the most corrupt and worthless organization next to government.
Pecos Pete| 12.24.08 @ 8:21AM
The first action by the 2009 Congress will be to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine to kill opposing voices and strengthen the voice of organized labor through its lobbyists and money contributions. Thus, liberal newspapers and other media will be more able to influence public opinion in favor of Card Check.
frost| 12.24.08 @ 10:58AM
Senator George McGovern made clear that his party has gone too far to the left with the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act" (EFCA) - legislation that would strip union workers of the right to a secret ballot. McGovern argued that the bill, which has the strong support of the Democratic leadership and is supported by President-Elect Barack Obama, is a betrayal of Democratic ideals in an attempt to appease big labor. "To my friends supporting EFCA I say this," wrote McGovern. "We cannot be a party that strips working Americans of the right to a secret-ballot election." That from one of the most Liberal (uh, pardon me, "progressives") in fairly recent history, writing in the WSJ sometime ago.
Marc Jeric| 12.24.08 @ 11:56AM
Unions have destroyed many an industry already - cars, steel, textile, electronics (television, radio, computers, etc.), appliances, toys, flowers, apparel, ans so on. Government employee unions are worse since there is no outsourcing possible there. Teacher unions have detroyed education. Immigration unionized employees sent visa extensions to the 9/11 terrorists six months after they were dead. Supervisor in a government office is forbidden by union contract to request his or her secretary to prepare a memo for a next day's meeting - you see, no deadlines can be given of any kind.
old progrmr| 12.24.08 @ 1:33PM
Please look at the Detroit Auto Industry, it is not the simple fact that a company becomes unionized that causes the problem. The Union can only expand its power and influence if management permits it. It is when weak management allow themselves to be bullied by the Union that the problems begin. The old "Big Three" simply abdicated their power to manage and control costs to the UAW. They failed to protect the other stakeholders in the business. Rather than protecting the business for the long term, they "took the easy way out" and caved on the issues that are now destroying these once great companies.
If unionization grows, then we must simply demand stronger managers and corporate leaders who understand the long term consequences of cowardance in the face of the Union thugacracy. A long strike today will prove less damaging in the long term than a bad contract that will ultimately destroy the business; better to fail now and demonstrate the consequences of adversarial unions to an entire industry than to wimp-out and delay the enevitable.
RetAF| 12.24.08 @ 8:04PM
Look what unions did to the British manufacturing base. The country that led automobile and aircraft development for the first half of the 20th century became a joke for lousy quality. (Anybody here ever own a Triumph?). Now there isn't even a British automaker in existence. Hmmm
Gordonot| 12.25.08 @ 6:32PM
"employers have little opportunity to inform workers about the costs of unionization."
Ha! The "cost" to the worker is union dues. The gain is about $4.07 per hour in compensation. What you all are worried about is workers coming together to fight for themselves. No matter what the system of choosing representation, if it amounts to you paying more for labor, or labor having input to what the business does, you oppose it. You aren't opposed to freedom of choice, you oppose unions, period, no matter how they are selected by workers.
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