Unions

[BigBadBob]

From the Pew Poll referenced by Fox...

Views of unions that represent government workers... 48% favorable   40% unfavorable
Views of unions that represent private workers...         48% favorable   37% unfavorable

A much more interesting question...
Effect of labor unions on working conditions for ALL American workers...

51% say they have a positive effect, just 17% say they have a negative effect.

A ratio of 3 to 1 for those who expressed an opinion one way or the other.

[Groundpounder]

http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj30n1/cj30n1-9.pdf

Indeed, an important untold story is the rapid growth of population
living in right-to-work states relative to states refusing to grant
workers the right to reject unionization. In 1970, 28.5 percent of
Americans lived in right-to-work states; by 2008, the proportion had
risen to nearly 40 percent (to over 121 million).2 The population living
in right-to-work states more than doubled, compared with a
modest 25.7 percent increase in non right-to-work states.

The descriptive evidence above suggests that right-to-work laws
enhance the amount of labor resources within a geographic area, in
part from in-migration, in part from higher birth and labor force
participation rates, and in part because of lower unemployment
rates.

Suppose two states were otherwise identical, but one had a rightto-
work law while the second did not. Also, suppose the non-right-towork
states had real personal income growth of 50 percent (slightly
below the average of all states) over the 1977 to 2007 period. The
model predicts that economic growth in the right-to-work state would
have been about 61.5 percent—that is, a 23 percent higher growth
rate than in the non-right-to-work state. This is a powerful finding: a
seemingly modest change in the legal environment in which labor
markets operate has a significant impact on the rate of economic
growth.
Suppose the two states in the forgoing example had per capita
income of $24,000 in 2007 dollars in 1977. Per capita income in the
state without right-to-work protection would have risen to $36,000 in
2007, compared with $38,760 in the right-to-work state. The rightto-
work protection would have increased per capita income by an
extra $2,760—or over $11,000 annually for a family of four.

[BigBadBob]

http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/state-battles/right-to-work/the-effect-of-endogenous-right-to-work-laws-on-business-and-economic-conditions-in-the-united-states-20090501-991-415-415.html

Stevans found that a state’s right-to-work law:

    * Has no impact on economic growth
    * Has no influence on employment
    * Has no influence on business capital formation (the ratio of firm ‘births’ to the number of firms)
    * Is correlated with a decrease in wages

Stevan’s analysis of right-to-work states also yielded the following observations:

    * The average real state GDP growth rate of right-to-work states is not significantly different than non-right-to-work states
    * The average per capita income in right-to-work states is lower than in non-right-to-work states

Stevans concluded his analysis with the following observation:

“…From a state’s economic standpoint, being right-to-work yields little or no gain in employment and real economic growth.”


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/13/943816/-So-called-Right-to-Work-and-the-assault-on-the-middle-class

Additionally, consider the following measures. Of the top 10 states by median household income, only one is RtW. Of the bottom 10, seven are. RtW states also have higher rates of workplace death (PDF) and infant mortality, lower spending on education, and poorer educational results.
 

http://www.alternet.org/news/149965/wisconsin_is_a_battleground_against_the_billionaire_kochs%27_plan_to_break_labor%27s_back/

Labor is seen by corporate leaders as the last strong line of resistance against the wholesale takeover of government (and your tax dollars) by corporations. So, by this line of thought, labor must die.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj30n1/cj30n1-9.pdf

The Cato Institute. CEO’d by Charles Koch.

[Chargincharlie]

I am a union worker for nys and i will do my part to help with the budget problems but you know when i see a billion + welfare budget and when patterson was in office he raised the welfare budget i think around 30 million how the stink do you expect me to take a cut in pay or freeze my salary or take 0% raises on the next contract i have e mailed cuomo and i get no answers..

[Groundpounder]

http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/state-battles/right-to-work/the-effect-of-endogenous-right-to-work-laws-on-business-and-economic-conditions-in-the-united-states-20090501-991-415-415.html

Stevans found that a state’s right-to-work law:

    * Has no impact on economic growth
    * Has no influence on employment
    * Has no influence on business capital formation (the ratio of firm ‘births’ to the number of firms)
    * Is correlated with a decrease in wages

Stevan’s analysis of right-to-work states also yielded the following observations:

    * The average real state GDP growth rate of right-to-work states is not significantly different than non-right-to-work states
    * The average per capita income in right-to-work states is lower than in non-right-to-work states

Stevans concluded his analysis with the following observation:

“…From a state’s economic standpoint, being right-to-work yields little or no gain in employment and real economic growth.”


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/13/943816/-So-called-Right-to-Work-and-the-assault-on-the-middle-class

Additionally, consider the following measures. Of the top 10 states by median household income, only one is RtW. Of the bottom 10, seven are. RtW states also have higher rates of workplace death (PDF) and infant mortality, lower spending on education, and poorer educational results.
 

http://www.alternet.org/news/149965/wisconsin_is_a_battleground_against_the_billionaire_kochs%27_plan_to_break_labor%27s_back/

Labor is seen by corporate leaders as the last strong line of resistance against the wholesale takeover of government (and your tax dollars) by corporations. So, by this line of thought, labor must die.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj30n1/cj30n1-9.pdf

The Cato Institute. CEO’d by Charles Koch.

Hmm... a couple of extreme left wing blogs claim there's no economic growth impact from RtW laws.  Shocking!  Well, there's a couple more that disagree.
http://www.mackinac.org/9422
http://right-to-work-laws.johnwcooper.com/

One big problem with the personal income claims made in the Daily Kos piece is that most of the largest non-RtW states (like CA, NY, and CT) are also some of the highest on the cost of living index.  All other things being equal, they SHOULD have higher personal income.

Charles Koch is NOT the CEO of CATO.  He is on the board of directors, but the President and CEO is Edward H. Crane.  Koch was one of the founders of CATO along with Crane though.  But so what?  Is someone who achieves financial success not supposed to have any say in the national policy debate?  This country used to admire successful "Captains of Industry".  But today, liberals take every opportunity to vilify success.  Corporate leaders like Koch who openly support free market principles are not the ones to be worried about.  The CEO's that are "political entrepreneurs" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_entrepreneur#Businessperson_as_a_political_entrepreneur) are the real shady ones that are damaging our economy.

[Groundpounder]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/23/teachers-rights-muzzled-in-union-debate/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

These union leaders are dismissive of the fact that there are thousands of teachers in the Badger State who would rather not be represented by a union and do not want to pay exorbitant dues. What about their rights?

Not surprisingly, union dues are much higher in states that have forced unionism - sometimes twice as high as in states where teachers have the option not to pay the union. In Wisconsin, teachers pay more than $800 per year.

[Groundpounder]

Got this in an email today.  Just putting it out there in case anyone else is interested.

Dear Concerned American,

I didn’t come to Washington, D.C. to buddy up to Big Labor and continue decades upon decades of “politics as usual.”

I came to turn this place around.

And if there’s one thing I learned during the historic 2010 elections, it’s that good folks like you and me can make a real difference.

So won’t you please agree to sign the petition I link to in a moment urging your Congressman and Senators to cosponsor the National Right to Work Act to finally END Big Labor’s stranglehold on our government and our fragile economy?

The truth is, there may be nothing President Obama and his union boss pals fear more than a public roll-call vote on this bill.

You see, right now, more than 11 million American workers are forced to pay union dues just to keep their jobs.

That’s just plain wrong.

But every bit as bad is the toll forced unionism is taking on our economy.

Just in the past few years, UAW union bosses armed with forced-dues privileges nearly drove the Big Three automakers to insolvency -- until they were bailed out by American taxpayers.

Of course, the thousands of small businesses who were forced to shut their doors due to Big Labor militancy weren’t so lucky.

In the government sector, out-of-control union bosses’ outrageous demands, cushy pensions and bloated benefit packages all helped push California and dozens of other cities and states to the brink of bankruptcy.

And more stories like these are sure to come.

So, especially during these tough economic times, why has forced unionism been allowed to continue?

Well, thanks to their forced-dues privileges, the Big Labor bosses rake in eight BILLION dollars every year in forced union dues.

Every election year the union bosses spend one BILLION of that to elect and reelect their own handpicked politicians like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama.

Then, once elected, these tax-and-spend politicians fight for even MORE union-label power grabs like:

*** The “Card Check” Bill to strip workers of their right to a secret ballot election and FORCE millions more American workers under union boss control;

*** The Police and Firefighter Forced Unionization Bill which is designed to force EVERY first responder in the country under union boss control -- and is just the first step toward turning all state and local government workers nationwide over to Big Labor;

*** New, TRILLION-dollar “stimulus packages” and social welfare boondoggles like ObamaCare all laden with Big Labor goodies -- sending our already soaring deficit through the roof and increasing pressure for economy-crushing tax hikes;

*** Taxpayer bailouts for everything from failed unionized companies to Big Labor’s own mismanaged “Cadillac” union pension funds.
I hope you agree something’s got to change.

The good news is, passage of a National Right to Work act would end the forced-dues mandates in federal law and finally put an end to this vicious cycle.

So please, join this fight by clicking here to sign the petition to your Senators and Congressman.

http://righttoworkcommittee.org/rprtwa_petition.aspx?pid=sg1c

You see, just getting a public, roll-call vote in both houses of Congress would be a huge victory.

Nearly 80% of the American people are opposed to forced union dues.

So if the union bosses’ pals in the U.S. House and Senate want to vote against our National Right to Work Act, they can be my guest.

They’ll pay the political price at the ballot box when faced with reelection -- and 2012 could be an even worse year for forced unionism and the union bosses than 2010!

Just imagine the price the union bosses’ allies will pay once the American people come face-to-face with the fact that:

*** Millions of workers are forced to surrender part of every paycheck to Big Labor just to keep their jobs.

This cash funds aggressive “organizing” drives, a limousine lifestyle for union bigwigs, and bankrolls radical, tax-and-spend politicians like Barack Obama;

*** Big Labor’s power is poison to hundreds of thousands of small businesses.

Union-label politicians and Obama-stacked bureaucracies are strangling small businesses with confiscatory taxes, destructive laws and straitjacket regulations;

*** Union thugs terrorize workers and communities with violent strikes where they get away with beatings, arson -- even murder.
But this fight won’t be easy.

The union bosses are going to do everything they can to try and suffocate the National Right to Work Bill quietly behind the scenes without even a public vote.

That’s why I’ve agreed to help the National Right to Work Committee mobilize Americans from all over the country to force Congress to vote publicly on the National Right to Work Act.

They’ve been leading the fight to end forced unionism in America for more than 50 years.

The Committee has drafted a petition to your Congressman and Senators that I hope you’ll agree to sign IMMEDIATELY by clicking here.

http://righttoworkcommittee.org/rprtwa_petition.aspx?pid=sg1c

This petition is a vital part of the Committee's plan to turn up the heat on Congress and force a vote on a National Right to Work law.

Using their sophisticated direct mail, email and phone mobilization programs, they’ll make sure Big Labor’s allies in Congress know they won’t get away with sweeping the forced-unionism issue under the rug.

In fact, over the next few months, their goal is to contact up to fourteen million Americans!

And in the days before the vote, the Committee will prepare hard-hitting newspaper, radio and TV ads to make sure my colleagues understand the political price they’ll pay should they choose to betray the nearly 80% of their constituents who oppose forced unionism.

But such a massive program isn’t cheap -- and none of it can happen without the support of good folks like you.

So, in addition to your signed petition, I hope you’ll agree to a generous contribution to the National Right to Work Committee.

Some folks have given as much as $2,500 or $1,000.

That’s a lot, I know. Only a few folks can make that kind of contribution.

All I ask is that you please contribute as much as you can.

Perhaps you can give $500 or $250. Or perhaps $100, $50 or $35.

Friend, folks like you and me who truly believe in freedom must make sure that victories at the ballot box aren’t wasted.

Instead we should capitalize on them -- and one of the best ways to do that is to force a vote on the National Right to Work Act.



So please, click here to sign the petition to your Congressman and Senators right away!

http://righttoworkcommittee.org/rprtwa_petition.aspx?pid=sg1c

And after signing your petition, will you agree to a generous contribution of $500, $250, $100, $50 or $35 to the National Right to Work Committee today?

I’m counting on your support.

Sincerely,

The Hon. Rand Paul
U.S. Senator (R-KY)


P.S. There may be nothing President Obama and his Big Labor allies fear more than a public roll-call vote on the National Right to Work Act to END forced union dues nationwide.

With nearly 80% of the American people opposed to forced unionism, should Big Labor’s allies choose to vote AGAINST this bill, they’ll go down in flames at the ballot box.

So please sign the petition to your Congressman and Senators urging them to cosponsor the National Right to Work Act -- and make your most generous contribution of $500, $250, $100, $50 or $35 to the National Right to Work Committee TODAY!

[Groundpounder]

Poll: Performance, not seniority, should decide teacher layoffs

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110225/NEWS01/102250337/Poll-Performance-not-seniority-should-decide-teacher-layoffs?

Looks like the debate is heating up everywhere...

[BigBadBob]

a couple of extreme left wing blogs

Hypocrite. I hadn’t even heard about alternet until you used it as a source in a thread here on RaceNY. It must have been one of those rare occasions when the truth served your purposes. Thanks for that tip though. It is an extremely informative site.

It’s humorous that you can even think of spinning the Cato Institute as a reliable source for union information when it’s operated by the Koch mob, the very people trying to kill unions.

I didn’t bother reading your newest propaganda information since I’m sure it’s just more of the usual propaganda. More of the totalitarian tactics employed by corporations by their political arm, the radical Republican right. Here’s an alternet link to 8 authoritarian tactics employed by them in Wisconsin so far.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/150046/8_authoritarian_tactics_right-wingers_have_used_to_sabotage_the_wisconsin_uprising/?page=1

Included here is the threat of miltary intervention, the use of disintelpro popularized by the FBI in 60‘s, threat of blackmail, blocking internet use in the same way those wishing to block democracy in the mideast have done and Koch sponsored propaganda on corporate controlled broadcast outlets.

In the quest that the ruling class in America has for the middle class to become chattel, serfs and peasants, you would now have us say that you’re right. It's to our advantage that corporate management dictate to us that we have no benefits. It’s better for us to work longer hours. It’s better for us to work more days days of the week. It’s better for us to work for lower wages. It’s better for us work in unsafe conditions. It’s better for us to make our lives as trivial and meaningless as possible all for the sake of corporate profits.

Screw the banks. Screw the McDonalds and Walmarts that took away the mom and pops on Main street. Screw wall street and the corporate schemers that continue to steal from tax payers aided and abetted by their bought and paid for Republican and Democrat “lawmakers”. And screw the corporate shills spread throughout our country whose task it is to spread lies and dis-information through unrelenting and unending repetition.

[Groundpounder]

a couple of extreme left wing blogs

Hypocrite. I hadn’t even heard about alternet until you used it as a source in a thread here on RaceNY. It must have been one of those rare occasions when the truth served your purposes. Thanks for that tip though. It is an extremely informative site.

Sorry, not a hypocrite.  As a libertarian, I generally consider the left (even the extreme left) to be right...uh, correct on civil liberties but find their positions on economic issues extremely flawed.

It’s humorous that you can even think of spinning the Cato Institute as a reliable source for union information when it’s operated by the Koch mob, the very people trying to kill unions.

I didn’t bother reading your newest propaganda information since I’m sure it’s just more of the usual propaganda. More of the totalitarian tactics employed by corporations by their political arm, the radical Republican right. Here’s an alternet link to 8 authoritarian tactics employed by them in Wisconsin so far.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/150046/8_authoritarian_tactics_right-wingers_have_used_to_sabotage_the_wisconsin_uprising/?page=1

Included here is the threat of miltary intervention, the use of disintelpro popularized by the FBI in 60‘s, threat of blackmail, blocking internet use in the same way those wishing to block democracy in the mideast have done and Koch sponsored propaganda on corporate controlled broadcast outlets.

In the quest that the ruling class in America has for the middle class to become chattel, serfs and peasants, you would now have us say that you’re right. It's to our advantage that corporate management dictate to us that we have no benefits. It’s better for us to work longer hours. It’s better for us to work more days days of the week. It’s better for us to work for lower wages. It’s better for us work in unsafe conditions. It’s better for us to make our lives as trivial and meaningless as possible all for the sake of corporate profits.

Ok, so I read that whole piece and found nothing implicating the "Koch mob" in any of that.  It did mention "Yesterday, Americans for Prosperity -- yes, the group founded and partly funded by the Kochs -- started a massive ad campaign on both network and cable TV in Wisconsin."  But again I say, "so what?"  Anyone can start a Political Action Committee and raise money for a cause they believe in.  That right is protected by the 1st Amendment.  And what exactly makes a PAC started by a corporation or a financially successful individual any worse than one started by a labor union?  I know, unions are the good guys, comprised of all great upstanding citizens with no hint of corruption, right?  I'm sure Jimmy Hoffa would agree with that. 

You seem to share the liberal attitude that corporations are inherently evil and must be attacked at every opportunity.  Where would we be without corporations though?  Where would all the jobs come from?  Is there corruption in corporate America?  Sure, just like in the labor unions.  Should we be trying to combat that?  Absolutely.  But don't paint every corporation out there with the same brush.  And don't make policy that throws the baby out with the bathwater.  If our economy is ever going to recover, we have to support the corporations (job providers), not keep squeezing them until they all flee overseas.

Screw the banks. Screw the McDonalds and Walmarts that took away the mom and pops on Main street. Screw wall street and the corporate schemers that continue to steal from tax payers aided and abetted by their bought and paid for Republican and Democrat “lawmakers”. And screw the corporate shills spread throughout our country whose task it is to spread lies and dis-information through unrelenting and unending repetition.

I prefer to say screw the "political entrepreneurs" and the government officials they have bought & paid for.  Screw the subsidies, corporate welfare, regulations and government agencies that they use to further their goals at our expense.  And screw the Democrapublicans who ignore the will of the people and continue to support massive deficits and ever increasing debt while driving us full speed toward economic ruin.

[Chargincharlie]

All the budget problems we have in this state and in this country the headlines today is the same sex marriage bill how much money has government spent on this for 1% of americans over the last ten years but lets layoff teachers, fireman and policemen lets close our state parks lets freeze state workers pay GP+ bigbadbob am i out of line here? OH wait i work with inter city kids last sunday they all came in with there brand new cell phones unlimited everything now 90% of them are on welfare so they get free money all year then they tell me there parents got thousands back on there taxes how does that happen when they get free money all year long ANYONE have any answers so lets layoff the working people and we will have less money to support the people who dont work...

[uticamike]

From the "Strike while the iron is hot" category, this >> http://www.mediaite.com/tv/shep-smith-pretending-wisconsin-is-about-a-fiscal-crisis-is-malarkey/   

Kinda bolsters 3xBobs argument. Every debate  whether here on RaceNY or the Tube or Net becomes an all or nothing

proposition. A balance is never sought and both sides want to always win. If Rand Paul uses the words BIG LABOR ( big ? =
about 7-8 % in the private sector ) then BIG it is. The Right ( not all, some) have been "after" public  unions for years. Now with the economy in the dumper the window of opportunity is at hand to end the "strangle hold" (don't you love that term) they have on the public. Not once during the past two weeks have I seen anywhere in the major media anything on the origins  of "big labor".  As I have said this fight, labor v capitol is as old as the Industrial Revolution. It continues on.

[Groundpounder]

All the budget problems we have in this state and in this country the headlines today is the same sex marriage bill how much money has government spent on this for 1% of americans over the last ten years but lets layoff teachers, fireman and policemen lets close our state parks lets freeze state workers pay GP+ bigbadbob am i out of line here? OH wait i work with inter city kids last sunday they all came in with there brand new cell phones unlimited everything now 90% of them are on welfare so they get free money all year then they tell me there parents got thousands back on there taxes how does that happen when they get free money all year long ANYONE have any answers so lets layoff the working people and we will have less money to support the people who dont work...

Chargincharlie, the Democrapublicans love to trot out hot button issues such as same sex marriage and abortion to deflect attention from where the focus should be.  It's a shady tactic that they've been using for decades now, but as long as the public keeps falling for it, it will remain effective.  As far as the welfare recipients with cell phones (and xbox, etc.), being "poor" today is a whole lot different than it was 50, 75, or 100 years ago.

[Groundpounder]

http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/tgif/wisconsin-labor-brouhaha/

The governor stands accused of leading a nationwide conservative movement to crush unions, but union officials are not shy about acknowledging their own narrow political interest. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Proposals in Wisconsin and other states have “great ramifications” beyond the damage to union coffers and membership, said Gerald McEntee, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the nation’s biggest public-sector union.

Unions have told the Obama administration that the state fights could affect the 2012 presidential election by draining unions’ political resources, especially in states like Wisconsin and Ohio. “I think it can put him in some [political] danger,” Mr. McEntee said of the president.

Most of us were taught in public school that the labor legislation of the New Deal and beyond shifted power from business to labor. Some rejoice while other despair over this. But on closer look, labor legislation looks far more like a program to tame worker organizations, bringing their leaders to the corporatist table as junior partners. (The National Civic Federation and the American Association for Labor Legislation, groups filled with the business elite, had long sought similar laws.) These laws set rules for the formation of unions and the tactics they can use.  When the the Taft-Hartley amendments to the National Labor Relations Act came along, the wildcat strike, sympathy strike, and secondary boycott became illegal or contractually prohibited. Less formal kinds of pressure, such as work-to-rule, fell by the wayside. Things had to be done by the book or else — and the book was enforced by the union officials themselves.

Finally we get to government workers and the row in Wisconsin. It is a grave mistake to treat so-called public employment like other employment. Governments are monopolies that get their revenue by force, not through voluntary exchange. Thus they don’t face the market test of free competition, and they lack key price information with which to engage in economic calculation. The consequences of this difference are considerable.

As Freeman columnist Charles Baird notes, when government negotiates terms with employees, the parties are coconspirators in the looting of captive taxpayers. (Government employees aren’t taxpayers; they are tax-consumers.) Moreover, government-union bureaucrats and government administrators alike want to build up their fiefdoms. Fundamentally they are not rivals but rather accomplices with a harmony of interests contrary to those of the taxpayers. This is aggravated by the fact that those unions are powerful political actors and rich sources of campaign contributions (the source of which is the taxpayers) and manpower. A politician negotiating with a government union whose election support he seeks is unlikely to have the taxpayers’ interest uppermost in mind.

[Groundpounder]

Regulation and Union Corruption

http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd1011d.asp