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© 2011 The Union Label Blog & Grassfire Nation
-By Warner Todd Huston
Once again Indiana Democrats are playing the fleebagger game. Because they don’t have enough votes in the Indiana Statehouse, Hoosier Democrats are abandoning their rightful duties and fleeing the Capitol over Indiana’s right-to-work bill currently under consideration in Indianapolis.
Indiana Senate Bill 269 and House Bill 1001 would make it illegal to require workers in Indiana to join a union as a condition of being allowed to have a job. Allowing workers a choice seems like an inherently American idea, doesn’t it?
After all, how could anyone tell you that you must belong to a union or you’re not allowed to have your job? That sort of forced association seems so contrary to the American character. But forcing people to join unions just so that they can have a job is precisely what Indiana Democrats are fighting to protect.
Now, Republicans control the Indiana Senate by a 37 to 13 margin and the House 60 to 40, so the Democrats don’t have the power to rule with impunity over their pet issues. So, instead of understanding that the bulk of the people voted for the GOP agenda and doing what they can with what they have, Indiana Democrats have decided to run away.
House Speaker Brian Bosma (R, Indianapolis) warned Democrats that if they don’t come back to do the jobs for which they were elected, they will be charged a $1,000-per-day fine.
Brian Simka of Media Trackers notes that Indy Dems are even trying a ploy that goes against Indiana law in a desperate attempt to beat back the new rules that would allow workers to choose if they want to join a union or not.
“On Tuesday,” Simka says, “[Democrats] said the reason for their afternoon walkout was to protest Republican opposition to an amendment they would offer to place right-to-work legislation to a statewide referendum vote.”
So, what’s the big deal with that? Well, Indiana has no “referendum” process. The only thing that comes close to a referendum that would go before the voters in Indiana is a constitutional amendment. No common legislation has ever been put before voters as a referendum in the Hoosier state.
“There is simply no constitutional provision requiring or even allowing a referendum to take place. Such extra-constitutional legislating does not appear to bother House Democrats who, led by Minority Leader Pat Bauer, have consistently resorted to walkouts as a means of blocking legislative business,” Simka said.
So Indiana Democrats are at it again, violating President Obama’s most cherished axiom: “I won.” In Indiana, Republicans won, just as Obama said he won and that win meant he should be allowed to do whatever he wants to do. But Democrats in Indiana aren’t taking a cue from their president because, once again, they are running away from their jobs, leaving their duties unattended, and refusing to stand for their principles in front of Hoosiers.
-By Jack Spencer
Employees at the Mercy Health Partners Hackley Campus in Muskegon recently voted themselves out of the Service Employees International Union by a 65-9 margin. Three members voted for nonunion status.
The specific branch of the SEIU involved is Healthcare Michigan. The vote was taken last week. The employee group will now transition over to the National Union of Healthcare Workers.
The loss of the Hackley employees, coupled with the loss of the employees at the Luther Manor skilled nursing facility in Saginaw in a September election, means SEIU Healthcare Michigan is even more dependent on dues from a “forced unionization” of home healthcare workers. That forced unionization took place out of the view of public scrutiny under Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Meanwhile, the Hackley workers said they were glad to be rid of the SEIU…
Read the rest at www.michigancapitolconfidential.com
-By Warner Todd Huston
Remember back in the days of the debate over Obamacare when unions were the biggest voices screaming in support of the legislation? Many labor union bosses said that nationalized healthcare was exactly what they wanted. Further they said it was what was good for the country. Yet now we learn that Obama has given waivers to some 550,000 union members so that they don;t have to suffer under Obamacare.
Paul Connor reports that a classic Friday evening document dump from the White House shows that unions employing up to 543,812 members have received waivers fro the Obama administration.
Fridays are often the one day of the week when government agencies satisfy transparency rules and release documents that show what they’ve been up to. They release them on Friday in the early evening because they understand that reporters are already headed home for the weekend and TV news departments have already programed their evening newscasts. These agencies also understand that news agencies don’t often cover heavy news on weekends. Further, by the time Monday rolls around the document will be “old news” and many of them will simply escape attention.
But all these waivers really do make one ask a central question. If Obamacare is so great, why all the waivers? Why any waivers? More specifically, if Obamacare is such a well-accepted panacea for all that ails us, why are the unions who pushed so hard for Obamacare trying to get out from under it all?
It’s yet one more example of left-wingers making rules for the rest of us that they don’t want to suffer under themselves and then getting the politicians they bought and paid for to make sure that everyone but they have to suffer under those rules.
Rules are for you people, not liberals.
-By Josh Gillespie
Yesterday after the House Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee passed the contentious “Right to Work” bill 8-5, Democrats protested that Republicans refused to allow any amendments to the bill. Under House Rules, Committee Chairman Doug Gutwein, was in the right to refuse any amendments to the bill. This might lead anyone to believe that amendments won’t be offered to the bill. They will (most likely during third reading), but Democrats missed the deadline to submit amendments.
It should also be noted, that if Democrats had not walked out, they would have been able to submit amendments to the Joint House and Senate Committee hearing last Friday. But in an utter disregard for anything remotely resembling a coherent thought, Minority Leader Pat Bauer and most of the Democrats walked out, preventing a quorum and preventing their participating in a hearing that lasted over five hours and produced quite a bit of testimony…
Read the rest and see the video at Hoosier Access.
What Is Government Collective Bargaining?
- Legal Monopoly: Government collective bargaining gives unions a monopoly on the government’s workforce. The government must employ workers on the terms the union negotiates. It may not hire competing workers.
- Private vs. Public-Sector: Unions operate differently in government than in the private sector. Private-sector unions bargain over limited profits. Competition from other businesses moderates wage demands. Governments earn no profits and have no competition. Government unions negotiate for more tax dollars.
- Risking Public Services: When government unions strike, they can deprive citizens of essential services—such as education for children—until demands are met.
History of Government Collective Bargaining
What about Wisconsin?
See the video HERE.
Source, The Heritage Foundation
-By Larry Sand
How much is that sweet retired teacher who lives down the street draining from your bank account? As the public employee pension mess worsens in California, little Rhode Island shows a way out.
In last week’s post, I focused on “air time,” a little known scheme in California and 20 other states that allows teachers and other public employees to pad their pensions at taxpayers’ expense. Also, not very well known is just how many of Joe and Jill Taxpayer’s tax dollars are going into the pockets of retired teachers.
In California, teachers contribute 8 percent of their pay to their retirement system. Where do the rest of the contributions come from? The current rates include 8.25 percent from the teacher’s employer and 2 percent from the state. But wait a minute. Who is the teacher’s employer? It’s the school district. In Los Angeles, for example, most school district money comes from the state, some from the federal government and the rest is local revenue. Hence, the employer’s contribution is all really the taxpayer’s burden, as the state, city and feds generate no money on their own. So it would be much more honest to say that 10.25 percent comes from the taxpayer.
Let’s look at the taxpayer’s responsibility another way. Sandy, a teacher I know, worked for 24 years in CA and retired at age 61. The amount of money she contributed into the system at retirement (including interest accrued along the way) was about $150,000. Sandy started collecting a pension of about $40,000 year (plus a yearly 2 percent COLA increase) for life. Whatever interest this money accrues over the next few years, Sandy’s contribution will have evaporated in about four years. So, at age 65 she will start living off other people’s money – whatever the “employer” (i.e. taxpayers) kicked in, whatever the “government” (i.e. taxpayers) kicked in and whatever is left, the taxpayers will have to fork over. Continue reading »
Eric Odom (Media Director)
Vanguard of Freedom
Warner Todd Huston