The American Spectator

Mirac777| 1.23.10 @ 7:52AM

This shows the pattern of the Unions being in bed with Obama. First time ever more Union workers in the gov't than private sector. The gov't is supposed to regulate and limit the power of Unions to ensure a fair election system and hiring practices. Note that socialist countries started out the same way. And we need to stop this stuff, before we end up like Russia in the 70's.This can lead to having a Marxist dictator instead of a duly elected President elected by the majority of the citizens. Unions ruined Gm and Chrysler , now they will have a part of ruining whats left of our nation if we let them!

Margie| 1.23.10 @ 1:38PM

"This can lead to having a Marxist dictator instead of a duly elected President elected by the majority of the citizens. Unions ruined Gm and Chrysler , now they will have a part of ruining whats left of our nation if we let them!"
~Yup. That's the plan, and Obama & co. plan on sticking to it.

Jim Hlavac| 1.23.10 @ 8:51AM

And only government workers are immune to layoff. There is never a bureaucrat who can be let go, with either one less form to fill out that he doesn't have to stamp and sign, or the rest of them can speed up to about 10 or 12 forms an hour. It's like a herd of turtles for sure, or maybe so many of them get in the way of each other.
Ah, but a policeman or a fireman? Fare game, to rile up the public for more taxes.

TLS| 1.23.10 @ 10:29AM

Another interesting point is that public sector union member do not have the right to strike. This, to me, seems a bit odd since the threat of a strike can be the unions most powerful weapon.

ggoblue| 1.25.10 @ 9:08AM

they mostly dont have the right to strike because they have a monopoly on the taxpayers money. you either pay the taxes or go to jail. private sector unions can [mostly] be boycotted by the customers.

JohnD| 1.23.10 @ 2:36PM

I hate to cop to this, but. . . I am actually a dues paying member of a government union; I work for the Federal Government. I am from the Washington Area and this being a company town I didn't have many choices other than work for the Government, or work at Safeway bagging groceries for government employees, or selling real estate to government employees, etc.

True, we have a no strike clause, and the truth of the matter is that the federal unions really don't have much power. Its an open shop, and most Feds don't actually join the union, even though iti tasked with collective bargaining for the entire work force at my agency.

Another thing I'd like to mention is that our chapter's annual budget is about $25K, which is spent on arbitration costs, catering for quarterly member meetings, and to send several members to the annual convention each year. Our small political contributions go to mostly local MD and VA politicians, and a few of the latter are Republicans. Most all my fellow members are liberal Democrats, but that would be true whether we had a union or not.

I joined as a dues paying member because I wanted to be around to let my voice be heard among the union management. I made it clear when I joined to the management of my chapter that I was a Republican, and not a big fan of unions. The management told me I was welcome to express my views, and they were happy to have a dissenting voice involved in the chapter (and I have not disappointed them).

MY big gripe with the union is that they create an atmosphere in which management cannot promote or give raises to employees based on merit. Seniority reigns as far as advancement, which takes power away from the managers, and rewards mediocrity.

I am not trying to defend government unions. I am just trying to give you all a perspective from the inside of one.

Go ahead, now; let me have it. . .

Margie| 1.23.10 @ 3:40PM

Sarah Palin was on the radio the other day and made an excellent point~ it's not the Union members who are bad, it's the Bosses!

JohnD| 1.23.10 @ 7:35PM

Thanks, Margie. I was worried how people would react to my post. I promise to keep an eye on the government union bosses and report any shenanigans to our online community.

ggoblue| 1.25.10 @ 9:11AM

thanks, thats good info. i'm trying to find a way to marginalize my own left wing union leaders. [uaw AND aflcio] . we dominate the discussion on the shop floor but the entire leadership is democrat first working man second....they've let the enviros destroy the membership....

wbfrank| 1.25.10 @ 11:27AM

I used to live in MD and had a neice & nephew work for Safeway. In the day they made pretty good money. How old am I? Well I used to work for Monkey Wards @ Wheaton Plaza...
I also work for the Gov'mint as well. Having a wage dispute right now; therefore I reluctantly joined AFGE... ugh! There is nothing so onerous as belonging to the AFL-CIO!
One thing is I have pretty good health insurance since I took family off. Used to pay, my part, $800+ per month. Is that considered a "cadillac plan"?? I bet your so called 'representative and senator' have a lot better... Oh I forgot we are beneath them aren't we??

bluecollarbytes| 1.23.10 @ 8:07PM

I've long thought unions have their place, primarily in dangerous jobs like Coal mining, which cannot be made completely safe. The best one can hope for is controlling the working conditions, something that a few operations put just below production in importance. Unions are effective at standing up for the safety of coal miners.

On the other hand, one of the few fights I had years ago as an adult was started when I stated my opinion that I had no use for unions, having been forced into several in my Michigan days. The Union stewards always had the easiest jobs around, plus the jobs were always key positions from which they could shut down or slow down the production anytime they copped an attitude. The natural adversarial relationship between employer and union makes for a dreary job, including an ;us vs them' workplace that flies in the face of Union claims that there's some kind of "partnership" going on which makes for better products.

Generally I think Unions Had their place, but a few still do.

JohnD| 1.23.10 @ 10:44PM

To expand on your point, and tie it into the subject above, government employees really need no one to ensure safe working conditions. Furthermore, in the private sector management has an incentive to protect the bottom line, whereas in the public sector, there is no market incentive for management to keep salaries and benefits down.

By the way, the federal unions run an open shop, meaning you do not have to join the union and pay dues. Currently, about 2/3 of federal employees choose NOT to join the union and pay dues. So in the federal government, only 1/3 of the civil servants are actual dues paying union members. Even so, its no surprise public sector union membership is growing while private sector union membership is declining.

JR| 1.23.10 @ 8:18PM

Private sector unions certainly aren't concerned about things like return on investment or finding ways to help a company stay afloat in these times. Just keep pouring on more health care benefits, etc., and they'll withold the blackmail (strike). Look at GM, Chrysler, Ford for example. These companies can now be considered as health insurance companies that, by the way, produce cars.

Oldefarte| 1.24.10 @ 10:13AM

One of the sad things about this fact is that this governmental, labor union employment increase naturally results in HIGHER WAGES for government employees, and guess WHO pays for the expenses of government [including salaries]-------you got it, we THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER!!!!!!!

wbfrank| 1.25.10 @ 12:11PM

Higher wages.... where? where??
I get paid what I get paid here at... well just say that I am a Gov'mint worker after retiring from the armed services... I hate to disappoint but: we are not even close to parity with the private sector... and unions are not going to help.
My boss, or shall we say one of many, has said many times: "... we could never get anyone to do your job because we could never afford to pay them for the job you do..."
Higher pay: ha!
wbf

Joe Hill| 4.2.10 @ 11:10PM

That not exactly correct. Government employees wages are determined by the wage surveys of the surrounding area, Pay scales are determined by the Office of Personnel Management and raises approved by the president, and as a matter of fact unions can not negotiate over wages in the federal sector.

Oldefarte| 1.24.10 @ 2:15PM

ALERT: Even though most of you bloggers are probably already aware of this, I've just read elsewhere an eidtorial [in the American Thinker] concerning the US Department of Justice establishing a group of government paid anomonous bloggers that write/comment upon favorable opinions at various media 'comment sections' of the current administration's policies/programs,etc. So be very suspicious of any/all such bloggers appearing here at the AS that may be US Department of Justice employees disguised as ordinary public citizens!!!!!

wbfrank| 1.25.10 @ 12:12PM

Oldefarte: I am available... where to I sign up??
wbf

Joe Hill| 4.2.10 @ 11:12PM

That not exactly correct. Government employees wages are determined by the wage surveys of the surrounding area, Pay scales are determined by the Office of Personnel Management and raises approved by the president, and as a matter of fact unions can not negotiate over wages in the federal sector.

mili8951| 5.8.10 @ 1:31AM

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Will| 5.12.10 @ 3:32AM

And a majority of Americans (51%) now think that labor unions "mostly hurt" the U.S. economy compared to a new low of 39% who say that labor unions "mostly help" the U.S. economy.

James | Michael