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© 2011 The Union Label Blog & Grassfire Nation
NoUAW.com, a website sponsored by Toyota team members who oppose the UAW, denounces newly elected UAW President Bob King and his plan to continue to “pound Toyota” until they force their team members to join the UAW. The public deserves to know the truth about how the UAW continues to disrespect Toyota team members.
For over 23 years Toyota team members have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, threats and lies at the hands of union organizers. It should come as no surprise that Toyota Team Members have freely exercised their first amendment right by continually rejecting the UAW.
Mr. King’s comments indicate that the UAW intends to corral Toyota team members through the use of a corporate smear campaign. The UAW intends to use media ads, news articles, emails, letters and pickets in its efforts to force Toyota to hand over its team members to the UAW.
The “pledge” Mr. King insists Toyota must sign may include the following requirements: mandatory UAW “informational” meetings with Toyota Team Members, release of all team members personal information to the UAW and a gag order preventing management from answering team members questions and concerns regarding the UAW. These are just a few examples of the items the UAW’s “pledge” may require.
For years the UAW has proclaimed that joining the UAW would give workers a voice. How ironic and revealing that their corporate smear campaign, if successful, would deny Toyota team members a voice in deciding their future.
The decision on whether to unionize should be decided by Toyota team members utilizing a secret ballot election, supervised by a neutral third party.
Recently, Mr. King and the UAW showed further evidence of their disdain for Toyota team members when they forced Kansas City Business Journal reporter James Dornbrook to remove his Georgetown, KY built Camry from the union hall parking lot in Kansas City.
According to Cars.com, Georgetown Built Toyota Camrys have the highest American content of any vehicle sold in North America.
As UAW membership has declined from 1.5 million in 1979 to 355,000 last year, the UAW has become more desperate in its attempts to unionize workers at US factories of overseas automakers.
Given the UAW’s double talk, it is not surprising the UAW has failed miserably in its attempts to unionize Toyota and other transplant factories such as Honda, BMW, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia and Mercedes. Today’s auto industry workers know that unionization is the love child of Greed and Stupidity.
To see the devastating effects of the UAW look no further than Michigan. Michigan’s unemployment rate, at more than 14%, is one of the highest in the nation.
When voters are not enthused even unions find it harder to get their supporters to rally to an election and this is one of the worst years for Democrats on record. Unions are finding their efforts hard slogging just like the rest of the Democrat Party is. It’s so bad even The New York Times is reporting the Union’s woes.
As we’ve repeatedly talked about here, The Times reports that Big Labor is pumping millions into the Democrat’s pockets in hopes of fighting off the conservative Tea Party enthusiasm out there this election year. Apparently, though, unions are finding that, like other Democrat constituencies, their members are not “feeling particularly enthusiastic about the party.”
Unions have been bitterly disappointed by Obama. When they voted for him only 2 years ago they thought that they had won the battle for all the freebies and payoffs that they’d ever want. But they’ve been frustrated by key losses — such as an inability to get cap and trade, green initiatives, and their most desired legislation the Employee Free Trade Act (EFCA).
Many unionistas have been upset at various members of the Democrat majority that have backpeddled on union demands because voters have spoken so loudly against then unions. For a while there unions were even making noise as if they’d actually work against Democrats that didn’t bow on bended knee before Big Labor. A few primary races earlier in the year even saw unions work against recalcitrant Democrats. But apparently that idea has fallen by the wayside as far as Big Labor’s bosses are concerned as more evidence of how badly Democrats might lose in November comes to light.
It is a measure of the dread among Democrats and their labor allies that several unions are no longer threatening to withhold endorsements from some conservative or moderate Democrats, like Representative Zack Space of Ohio, because they had bucked labor on health care legislation or other issues. Now, unions are generally backing those Democrats, feeling labor cannot afford such a strategy when the Democrats’ prospects seem so troubled.
The specter of a rout has scared Big Labor back to strict alliance with incumbent Democrats instead of trying to flex muscle against certain Democrats that have not been heeding labor’s call.
Big Labor sees a big spanking coming their way and they are scared. But this is a whirlwind unions deserve to reap.
The Wall Street Journal has a very good piece on how Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is at the forefront of a voter revolt against unions. This is a heartening thing if it has legs.
Malenga notes that unions were some of the most powerful influences on Washington and state politics all the way up until this election cycle. We all know this, of course. Unions have pumped billions into the pockets of Democrat politicians (and many Republicans, too) and have all too often had the final word on legislation that affects the business and employment sectors. In essence, Big Labor has served as unelected officials writing our laws to suit their own needs, not ours — and our politicians have allowed this because they get campaign cash out of the corrupt bargain.
But there seems to be a backlash at long last…
Instead, organized labor— increasingly dominated by public-sector workers—is facing a backlash from taxpayers because of widespread publicity about the rich pay and benefits of some government employees. That’s made Mr. Christie’s blunt campaign talk about reining in government costs a popular approach among candidates. Even old friends of labor in the Democratic Party have made public workers a target, leaving labor with fewer allies and playing defense.
It couldn’t be better news.
One of the main problems that Big Labor has caused itself is its constant drum beat to have all our taxes raised so that they, the unions, can get ever richer benefits and salaries. The voters finally seem to have had about enough of this corrupt bargain and are voting in politicians that are talking tough against unions.
But I have a warning to the voters. Yes, you should vote for the politicians talking tough against unions. But pay close attention to these people once elected. Despite the down economy unions still have millions to throw at politicians and it will be a great temptation for these tough talking pols to acquiesce to union demands when the unions start offering piles of campaign cash to them once in office.
Malenga gives us an overview of the loss of stature with the voters that Big Labor has caused for itself, it is well worth giving a read at the Wall Street Journal.
-By Lisa Fleisher/Statehouse Bureau , New Jersey Star-Ledger
Gov. Chris Christie Tuesday outlined a series of cuts to public workers’ pension and benefits he said are needed to keep the massive retirement system solvent, while unions said the plan was unfair and even illegal.
Christie’s bid to fix what one municipal official called a “ticking time bomb” would raise the retirement age, rework the formula to make pensions less lucrative and require workers to pay more for health care, among other changes. The reforms, which would also roll back an across-the-board 9 percent increase granted in 2001, would affect more than 780,000 current employees and retired workers in the pension systems — including judges, teachers, state workers and firefighters.
Christie also proposed requiring workers to pay 30 percent of their health care premiums and increase copays. He said this would prompt workers to pay more attention to the underlying costs and and save the system money. Public workers either currently put a percentage of their salary toward health care cost or will soon, based on a law passed in March.
At a town hall-style meeting in Camden County, Christie Tuesday said the state has to make its pension plans “more solvent and more honest,” and argued the changes are necessary to protect pensions for workers before the system collapses.
“I’m saving their pension, that’s what I’m doing to the mid-career public employee,” Christie said. “There may be some public employees right now who don’t like me because I’m prescribing tough medicine. But when the pension system gets well in a decade, I’m going to be their favorite governor. I’ll wait to get the thank-you notes then.”
Stock-market losses, a growing public workforce and billions of skipped payments by the state have led to an estimated shortfall of $46 billion, which represents the difference between how much New Jersey has pledged to its public workers for retirement payments and how much it has saved in investments. The gap in health care costs is $67 billion.
Though Christie did not provide immediate savings estimates, he said the changes would reduce the gap for health care and pensions to $23 billion in 30 years. Without the changes, he said that would rise to $181 billion.
Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) has said he will not allow any reforms to pass until the state makes a pension payment. The state has frequently skipped billions in required contributions — $3.1 billion this year — to make room for other state budget priorities. Christie said he intends to make the payment, but warned Sweeney can’t “have it both ways” — demand the payment and then complain about other budget cuts.
Unions said they would sue if the proposals advanced through the Legislature.
“The governor’s proposals are illegal,” said Hetty Rosenstein, state director for the Communications Workers of America.
“You don’t fix problems by throwing out red meat at a press conference and attacking the lowest-paid workers and the people with the most modest pension plan.”
Bill Lavin, president of the state Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association, said the proposals would “compromise the public safety … “It’s a young man’s job, and to believe we can force people to work longer to get less benefits is wreckless,” he said.
The Attorney General’s office under former Gov. Jon Corzine warned a court could rule similar pension cuts unconstitutional. Christie said he is ready for a lawsuit.
“If they want to sue me, tell them to get in line,” Christie said. “I’ve got plenty of lawyers to defend our positions.”
Rosenstein said requiring state workers and teachers — but not police officers and firefighters — to increase the percentage of salary paid toward the pension funds would be discriminatory toward women and minorities.
That was also pointed out by a supporter of the plan, League of Municipalities President Bill Dressel. He called the pension system “a ticking time bomb” but said he hoped more would be done to cut into pensions for police officers and firefighters.
Pensions are calculated based on years worked and salary or average salary. Christie wants to raise the number of years used to calculate that average salary from three years to five for state workers and school employees, and one year to three years for police and firefighters.
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) said making workers pay health care based on the cost of premiums would hurt lower paid workers.
Matt Friedman and Jessica Calefati contributed to this report.
For more than a year I’ve written off an on about the vicious fight between the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and offshoot union the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). The NUHW left the SEIU in a huff several years ago when the SEIU implemented a hostile takeover of the California-based NUHW that it had been affiliated with.
This month that fight has fallen upon the workers of Kaiser Permanente in the Los Angeles Medical Center where a vote is soon to be taken by KP employees to decide which of the rival unions will represent them.
Starting this week the 43,000 KP workers will be making their choice known and the vying for votes by the two unions has been “hostile,” as NUHW member Edvin Hakopian said.
NUHW members feel that this could be a make or break vote for their fledgling union. If they win this vote and are awarded the ability to represent KP’s 43,000 workers it could make them a force to be reckoned with in California’s healthcare industry.
The fight is interesting because the fight between these two unions would not even exist if the SEIU had not been so arrogant in its earlier dealings with the NUHW (or rather its earlier incarnation as the UHW) when it was still a member organization of the SEIU.
This whole mess is a result of former President Andy Stern’s arrogant practice of hostile takeovers of smaller unions. Stern’s rule-from-the-top style cutting out the voice of the locals is what lies at the root of the original split.
Certainly neither union is the best representation of the workers, but for sure the SEIU is the worse of the two. Anything that puts a ding in the strength and influence of the SEIU is a good thing.
But what is noteworthy is that the SEIUs arrogant tactics are a tiny hint of what would happen on an ever larger scale should the SEIU get more power. This power is something that we all should work to mitigate.
-By Jon Ward, The Daily Caller
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on Tuesday will accuse Republicans, private sector businesses and health insurance companies of “economic treason” in a red meat speech in Columbus, Ohio, to union members at their annual convention.
Trumka’s charge is centered on his anger at private sector business and corporations for sitting on capital — as much as $2 trillion by some estimates — instead of spending it to expand and create jobs, and at insurers for proposing rate hikes.
Business groups and leaders say that President Obama’s policies, namely the health-care overhaul and the financial regulation bill, have created massive uncertainty and are transforming hiring into the assumption of liability instead gaining an asset. Insurers who have announced rate hikes say that the health-care bill has increased their costs…
Read the rest including the text of Trumka’s speech at The Daily Caller.
Eric Odom (Media Director)
Warner Todd Huston