Labor unions gave nearly half a billion dollars to Democrats to give them complete control of the federal government. They certainly expect something in return. It isn’t the squeakiest wheel anymore, it’s the deepest pockets and the unions have deep pockets and Democrats know it.
I have to wonder if union members are happy knowing their hard earned dues are being funnelled to Democrat candidates? Do they get a secret ballot to vote on where their union dues are spent? Ha! Just kidding! Not that they shouldn’t have a say, but I really doubt they do.
Workers should have the right to a secret ballot when deciding whether to unionize or not. How would you like a thug showing up at your door, saying you had to sign a card right there in front of him? Sounds intimidating, doesn’t it? If they do that to enough workers, voila! You’re in a union with someone else taking a chunk out of your check.
Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, argues that the entitlement mentality taking over our great nation could destroy our economy. I tend to agree.
Card check would dramatically change U.S. labor laws, overturn a half-century of balance in labor-management relations and strip workers of core protections. By depriving workers of a secret ballot vote in union elections, this legislation would allow for coercion of workers who don’t want to unionize and could force millions of Americans to join unions against their will.
Democratic members of Congress struggle in how to say card check is good for the nation, for productivity or for creating jobs. Yet they are eager to pass this legislation to pay back unions for their support. One prominent union leader said publicly he would gladly use union opposition to pending free trade agreements as a political bargaining chip to get card check passed quickly.
I wish union leaders and the politicians supporting card check would have been with us on the road from Delhi to Agra. They would better understand that America’s success is not God-given destiny. We have come far with hard work and creativity and a focus on education and investment.
Unions once shouldered a burden of protecting worker safety, but these protections are now law and unions and their supporters ignore that we are competing on a world stage. More, they are using their political force to block free trade agreements with countries that can add to American jobs by removing tariffs on our exports. Unions are making our companies less competitive.
Today, our nation is a world leader in technology and all the content creation it allows. From our semiconductor companies to our computers, from Hollywood to music, from games to Internet services, the United States remains the world’s innovator. Our strategy should be to allow these companies to prosper and export – not to burden exports with tariffs, tax their output at the second highest rates in the world, or restrict their flexibility with union rules.
A fast-moving, successful tech company with differential compensation and incentive compensation and the need to adapt quickly is inconsistent with the straitjacket of a union environment. The tech industry executives I represent simply can’t believe Congress would enact a card check law that could force jobs overseas. Read full article.
This doesn’t bode well for the economy, especially in these times. Isn’t this the sort of thing McCain-Feingold was supposed to eliminate?
