"Thanks to my Spider sense, I am freed from those who have deceived me"

"Thanks to my Spider sense, I am freed from those who have deceived me"

Right to Work: Spider Senses Tingling From the Foster's Daily Democrat State Rep. Steve Vaillancourt makes the case for enacting Right to Work: Until the last few weeks, right to work has always been a close call for me. In years past, I have opposed the bill after buying into the argument that one should not benefit from union contracts unless one pays the cost of negotiating them. It was a close call because then as now, I believe the individual should control his or her own life without being coerced into joining anything. Thus, I have always seen a conflict of two principles and have to weigh their importance. This year, with the Daniels amendment, the conflict was removed, and I voted for right to work. It remained a close call, l but the Daniels amendment tipped the scales to supporting the bill. Even with the Daniels amendment gone, I continue to support the right to work bill, and guess what. It's no longer a close call. I'm now a staunch supporter of the bill and urge all my Republican colleagues, especially those who like me have been on the fence in the past, to vote to override the governor's veto. Clearly, unions were using the payment for negotiation argument as nothing more than a red herring. How do I know this? Because, when they refused to budge in their total opposition to the bill, even when the Daniels amendment was added, my Spider senses startled tingling. That's a phrase I use to describe when I begin to realize that I'm being taken for a fool, that those trying to convince me are in fact being less than totally honest.

"Thanks to my Spider sense, I am freed from those who have deceived me"

Right to Work: Spider Senses Tingling From the Foster's Daily Democrat State Rep. Steve Vaillancourt makes the case for enacting Right to Work: Until the last few weeks, right to work has always been a close call for me. In years past, I have opposed the bill after buying into the argument that one should not benefit from union contracts unless one pays the cost of negotiating them. It was a close call because then as now, I believe the individual should control his or her own life without being coerced into joining anything. Thus, I have always seen a conflict of two principles and have to weigh their importance. This year, with the Daniels amendment, the conflict was removed, and I voted for right to work. It remained a close call, l but the Daniels amendment tipped the scales to supporting the bill. Even with the Daniels amendment gone, I continue to support the right to work bill, and guess what. It's no longer a close call. I'm now a staunch supporter of the bill and urge all my Republican colleagues, especially those who like me have been on the fence in the past, to vote to override the governor's veto. Clearly, unions were using the payment for negotiation argument as nothing more than a red herring. How do I know this? Because, when they refused to budge in their total opposition to the bill, even when the Daniels amendment was added, my Spider senses startled tingling. That's a phrase I use to describe when I begin to realize that I'm being taken for a fool, that those trying to convince me are in fact being less than totally honest.

Recent Right to Work Victories Under Fire

Recent Right to Work Victories Under Fire

Big Labor Blitzes For Compulsory Unionism in Wisconsin and Ohio (Source: May 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Since the 1960's, Big Labor lobbyists in 21 states have successfully pressured elected officials to pass statutes explicitly authorizing union bosses to get independent-minded public servants fired for refusal to pay dues or fees to a union the employees would never voluntarily join. Until this year, despite the growing success of the Right to Work movement with regard to the private sector, not a single state legislature had ever revoked government union bosses' forced-dues privileges after previously granting them by statute. But this March two states, Wisconsin and Ohio, made history by restoring the Right to Work of public servants. Over ferocious and sometimes menacing Big Labor opposition, Badger State legislators approved, and GOP Gov. Scott Walker signed into law, S.B.11. Key provisions in this law abolish all forced union dues and fees for teachers and many other public employees. Unfortunately, it leaves public-safety officers unprotected. The Buckeye State reform, which union militants opposed with nearly equal bitterness but considerably less media attention, includes provisions protecting the Right to Work of all categories of state and local government employees, including public-safety officers. This law, signed by GOP Gov. John Kasich, is still commonly referred to by its legislative bill number, S.B.5. National Right to Work Helped Mobilize Public Support For Reforms

Keeping Missouri Competitive with “Right to Work”

Keeping Missouri Competitive with “Right to Work”

Missouri Senator Ron Richard wants Right To Work to help put Missourians back to work. Unfortunately, Big Labor Democrat Governor Jay Nixon seems more focused on getting President Obama’s job renewed than growing Missouri jobs. From Sen. Richard’s Op-Ed in the May 2011 issue of Inside ALEC: From the first day of the legislative session, my colleagues and I in the Missouri Senate sent a clear message that our main goal during the session is putting Missourians back to work. With 9.4 percent or more than 200,000 of workers in our state unemployed, we are willing to explore a variety of ways to stimulate job growth and attract businesses to the state.  One of these proposals is making Missouri a Right to Work state. This legislation would increase our state’s economic attractiveness and give employees the choice of whether or not to join a union. Simply put, the legislation makes sure that Missouri employees only join a union and pay dues if they want to, rather than as a condition of getting or keeping a job. During a Senate hearing on the bill, the committee room was packed with those wanting to testify on the issue. One of the most interesting pieces of testimony was from a site selection consultant who said that 75 percent of the manufacturers he works with prefer to be in a Right to Work state, with half of his clients refusing to consider forced union states as a future location.

If We Honor Liberty.....

If We Honor Liberty.....

Not many states honor liberty like New Hampshire. Their license plates boldly proclaim "Give me liberty or give me death." To say that forced unionism runs counter to that philosophy is an obvious statement.  Senator Jim Forsythe makes that case in the Union Leader newspaper: Most Granite State citizens take their freedom and liberty seriously, which shouldn't be surprising since our state’s motto is “Live Free or Die.” Yet each and every month, tens of thousands of Granite State workers are forced to surrender a portion of their paychecks to a union just to have a job and feed their family. And to add insult to injury, the unions turn around and use this forced-dues cash to bankroll causes and politicians that many of these workers who are forced to pay union dues would strongly disagree with. I should know, since the unions mailed negative campaign material against me since I was openly campaigning on passing right-to-work legislation. This is antithetical to the idea of freedom. No American should be forced to pay dues to any private organization as a condition of employment.

Obama Bureaucrat Tells Boeing Where to Expand

Obama Bureaucrat Tells Boeing Where to Expand

Company Prodded to Abandon New Aircraft Plant in Right Work State (Source: May 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) To a rational observer, it's obvious that the antics of the strike-happy union bosses at Boeing's West Coast facilities over the past few decades have been detrimental to the interests of the aerospace company's rank-and-file domestic employees as well as its shareholders. Since 1975, International Association of Machinists (IAM/AFL-CIO) union bosses have ordered employees at Boeing's Washington State and Oregon facilities out on strike five times. The most recent strike, in 2008, lasted 58 days and cost the company $1.8 billion. In a highly competitive, globalized industry like aircraft production, such costly labor stoppages put Boeing jobs at risk. The potential harm to workers is far greater than any economic gain they could possibly reap from a strike. Obama NLRB's Top Lawyer: Sensible Business Decision Driven by 'Anti-Union Animus'