With each passing day our nation is becoming more and more like the USSR and less and less like the United States of America. The latest from the Wall Street Journal:
The biggest bailout news this week wasn’t the ritual shaming of bank CEOs Wednesday on Capitol Hill. The real political cudgels were wielded in a February 10 letter that Big Labor sent to Wall and K Streets: Any business that takes a bank rescue dollar must give up its rights to free political speech and free association.
Anna Burger, chair of the Change to Win federation, wrote that financial services firms and their trade group should “immediately cease all lobbying and advocacy” against “card check” legislation that would end the secret ballot in union elections. The letter was sent to Steve Bartlett, the head of the Financial Services Roundtable, with helpful copies to Congressman Barney Frank and Senator Christopher Dodd, who happen to have life or death power over the banks.
It seems the Roundtable, a banking lobby, has dared to join the rest of American business in opposing the Employee Free Choice Act. Ms. Burger even took exception to the group’s plans to make the bill “a highlighted topic” for discussion at its spring meeting. She also noted that two members of the Roundtable’s board “engaged in direct partisan opposition to Employee Free Choice.” Someone call the Stasi.
I wonder how much porkulus is available for Big Labor. How about we shut them up!
But if Big Labor wants to limit speech, why stop at the bankers? The unions, including those that belong to Change to Win, get plenty of government money for their affiliates to run job training and other programs. For that matter, many employees of companies that have received bailout cash — General Motors or Chrysler, say — use some of their wages to pay union dues. The unions then use those dues to become major political players at election time — to the tune of $450 million in the last election cycle, and that’s the amount they admit to spending. If banks can’t lobby against card check, the United Auto Workers ought to be banned from politics too.
These labor unions are as bad as the government. They think people need them to survive. Perhaps a long time ago the unions served a noble purpose, but those days are gone. These days they’re all about their own power.
It’s very important for everyone to send emails and make phone calls to their elected officials and tell them NOT to support card check. This is going to be a make or break issue for many of them on reelection.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
“These labor unions are as bad as the government. They think people need them to survive. Perhaps a long time ago the unions served a noble purpose, but those days are gone. These days they’re all about their own power.”
I am an aircraft worker in Wichita Kansas. I am a Union member but I do agree with the above statement. I was not as involved in the political world when I first started out here. I was told that when I got hired that the union was the only thing saving me from a variety of horrible things when I started my first day. I can say now that I have learned that the Union is no different these days than our government. They make promises they dont keep and have become a big business. They have 4 years to work on a contract to avoid strikes and we still end up striking. Greed is not just in our government. It is also within our unions. I will be waiting for my “roll around” day to come to unlist from the union this year based on several things I have learned about them. The unions used to promote hard work for an honest wage. These days it keeps lazy workers employeed dragging down production and quality. If the union were more like It was founded to be I would still be a part of it. In our local paper it disclosed wages of our union workers. I now know why they decided to raise the dues with the secratary making over $80,000 a year!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
$80k for a secretary job? Where do I sign up?!?
A local union here just voted to close their plant. The company is Magna, used to be New Process Gear. They make transfer cases, etc. for Chrysler. I knew a guy who made $70k a year before his early retirement. He would laugh and say he smoked pot and pushed a broom all day long. So these people were told by the company the only way they could stay in business is to cut their pay temporarily until business picks up again. They were all whining about how they can’t take a cut in pay. So they voted against the new contract and the plant’s going to close. It’s been here forever. Then they whine about jobs moving overseas. Nobody can afford to stay in business here. Wait until they get out to the real world.
How many people lose jobs and then refuse a job that pays less than they are used to making? Robert Ringer once said there’s no better motivator to work than the threat of starvation. The government has removed that motivator for too many people. Unions do have too.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
The Employee Free Choice Act (card check) is costing jobs now. Many employers are facing the difficult task of what to do with their excess workforce in these slow economic times. Many are choosing to have a traditional layoff. My own company has been forced to have a layoff. However, fear of passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is forcing some companies to make the difficult decision to permanently fire employees. These fired employees will not have recall rights. If they are rehired, they will have to start all over for wages and benefits. Why is this? Fired employees can not be a part of a unionization campaign. If they have signed cards or sign cards in the future, these cards will not count under the EFCA. Most employers believe the ‘card check’ legislation will pass this year. President Obama supports this legislation and democrats control both houses of Congress. The House of Representatives has already passed this legislation. Employers are terrified of how easy it will be to unionize their workforces when this law passes. They are taking every step possible to prevent this from occurring. Unfortunately, this has a bad effect on employees who are being downsized.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0