The decision to hold the Democratic National Committee convention in Charlotte, North Carolina is not going over well with the union bosses calling it a “calculated affront.” The fact that workers have a choice whether to join a union in…
(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) When Ronald Reagan was first elected, just 173 electoral votes of the 270 needed to become President came from Right to Work states. By the time Barack Obama again faces the voters, the number will be 220. Ongoing Shift in U.S. Economic Base Has Political Implications For many years, states that have Right to Work laws protecting employees from being fired for refusal to join or pay dues or fees to an unwanted union have benefited from private-sector job and personal income growth that are, in the aggregate, well above the national average. Conversely, states that do not protect employees from forced unionism have collectively endured sub-par growth. At the turn of every decade, the U.S. Census Bureau tacitly confirms that America's economic base is shifting from forced-unionism states to Right to Work states when it reapportions our nationwide political map. Such was the case again last month. On December 21, the Census Bureau announced that, after the 2012 elections, Right to Work Texas will gain four U.S. House seats, Right to Work Florida will add two, and five other Right to Work states -- Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and Utah -- will pick up one seat apiece. Millions of Workers 'Vote With Their Feet' For Right to Work Starting at the beginning of 2012, Right to Work states will hold 176 out of 435 House seats, compared to the 167 they hold at present, and the 133 they held in 1980, when Ronald Reagan was first elected President. When it comes to the Electoral College, by which Presidents are officially chosen under the U.S. Constitution, just 162 electoral votes of the 270 needed to become President came from Right to Work states in 1968, the year of Richard Nixon's first successful White House bid. In the 2000 showdown between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Right to Work states cast 195 electoral votes. By 2012, when President Obama next faces the voters, the Right to Work share will rise to 220.
(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) When Ronald Reagan was first elected, just 173 electoral votes of the 270 needed to become President came from Right to Work states. By the time Barack Obama again faces the voters, the number will be 220. Ongoing Shift in U.S. Economic Base Has Political Implications For many years, states that have Right to Work laws protecting employees from being fired for refusal to join or pay dues or fees to an unwanted union have benefited from private-sector job and personal income growth that are, in the aggregate, well above the national average. Conversely, states that do not protect employees from forced unionism have collectively endured sub-par growth. At the turn of every decade, the U.S. Census Bureau tacitly confirms that America's economic base is shifting from forced-unionism states to Right to Work states when it reapportions our nationwide political map. Such was the case again last month. On December 21, the Census Bureau announced that, after the 2012 elections, Right to Work Texas will gain four U.S. House seats, Right to Work Florida will add two, and five other Right to Work states -- Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and Utah -- will pick up one seat apiece. Millions of Workers 'Vote With Their Feet' For Right to Work Starting at the beginning of 2012, Right to Work states will hold 176 out of 435 House seats, compared to the 167 they hold at present, and the 133 they held in 1980, when Ronald Reagan was first elected President. When it comes to the Electoral College, by which Presidents are officially chosen under the U.S. Constitution, just 162 electoral votes of the 270 needed to become President came from Right to Work states in 1968, the year of Richard Nixon's first successful White House bid. In the 2000 showdown between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Right to Work states cast 195 electoral votes. By 2012, when President Obama next faces the voters, the Right to Work share will rise to 220.
(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Former Speakers Newt Gingrich (R-Ga., left) and Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) both made campaign pledges to support roll-call votes on forced-dues repeal, but blocked action on such legislation when Congress was in session. Politicians Pledging to Back Right to Work Take Charge of House Thanks in significant part to the efforts of National Right to Work Committee members across the country, starting this month the U.S. House of Representatives will be led by a speaker and a majority leader who have pledged full support for Americans' Right to Work without being forced to join or pay dues to a union. Now Committee members' job is to make sure Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and other members of Congress turn their pro-Right to Work promises into action. John Boehner, Eric Cantor Owe Leadership Posts to Worker-Freedom Advocates Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor enjoy their top leadership positions in the House in part due to pro-Right to Work Americans' support for congressional candidates nationwide who had pledged to oppose compulsory unionism. Millions of pro-Right to Work Americans mobilized against candidates who supported compulsory unionism, or tried to hide their position on freedom in the workplace. These Americans expect Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor to lay the foundation for a new federal labor policy respecting each employee's ability to decide for himself or herself whether or not to join or financially support a union, declared Committee President Mark Mix. "Poll after poll shows nearly four out of five Americans who regularly vote support the Right to Work," explained Mr. Mix. "When these citizens helped John Boehner and Eric Cantor become the new House leaders, they sent an unmistakable message to Capitol Hill -- roll back Organized Labor's compulsory-unionism privileges." In the 2010 elections, voters firmly rejected major Big Labor power grabs such as the "card check" forced-unionism bill, which sailed through the House as recently as 2007 and seemed close to becoming law in early 2009, after Barack Obama became the 44th U.S. President. Momentum Swings Toward Right to Work A full-fledged Committee effort to get federal candidates on the record against the "card check" bill, or "Employee Free Choice Act," as proponents cynically mislabeled it, surpassed expectations in mobilizing citizens and increasing the number of Right to Work supporters in Congress. To activate Right to Work supporters, the Committee distributed a record-smashing total of nearly 8.4 million federal candidate Survey 2010 "information packets" through the U.S. Postal Service last year. Above and beyond that, the 2010 program had a massive Internet component, including nearly half a million e-mails transmitted in October alone. All this plus radio, TV, and newspaper advertising. Lobbying by Committee members persuaded hundreds of House and Senate candidates to take a pro-Right to Work position, which in turn helped many get elected. That's not surprising, given the Right to Work principle's overwhelming public support. "The political momentum is now against compulsory unionism," commented Mr. Mix. "That means in this Congress the Committee actually has a chance, if members keep up the pressure, to pick up enough votes from the 'mushy middle' to push pro-Right to Work legislation through the House." Committee Pushes For Floor Votes
(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Former Speakers Newt Gingrich (R-Ga., left) and Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) both made campaign pledges to support roll-call votes on forced-dues repeal, but blocked action on such legislation when Congress was in session. Politicians Pledging to Back Right to Work Take Charge of House Thanks in significant part to the efforts of National Right to Work Committee members across the country, starting this month the U.S. House of Representatives will be led by a speaker and a majority leader who have pledged full support for Americans' Right to Work without being forced to join or pay dues to a union. Now Committee members' job is to make sure Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and other members of Congress turn their pro-Right to Work promises into action. John Boehner, Eric Cantor Owe Leadership Posts to Worker-Freedom Advocates Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor enjoy their top leadership positions in the House in part due to pro-Right to Work Americans' support for congressional candidates nationwide who had pledged to oppose compulsory unionism. Millions of pro-Right to Work Americans mobilized against candidates who supported compulsory unionism, or tried to hide their position on freedom in the workplace. These Americans expect Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor to lay the foundation for a new federal labor policy respecting each employee's ability to decide for himself or herself whether or not to join or financially support a union, declared Committee President Mark Mix. "Poll after poll shows nearly four out of five Americans who regularly vote support the Right to Work," explained Mr. Mix. "When these citizens helped John Boehner and Eric Cantor become the new House leaders, they sent an unmistakable message to Capitol Hill -- roll back Organized Labor's compulsory-unionism privileges." In the 2010 elections, voters firmly rejected major Big Labor power grabs such as the "card check" forced-unionism bill, which sailed through the House as recently as 2007 and seemed close to becoming law in early 2009, after Barack Obama became the 44th U.S. President. Momentum Swings Toward Right to Work A full-fledged Committee effort to get federal candidates on the record against the "card check" bill, or "Employee Free Choice Act," as proponents cynically mislabeled it, surpassed expectations in mobilizing citizens and increasing the number of Right to Work supporters in Congress. To activate Right to Work supporters, the Committee distributed a record-smashing total of nearly 8.4 million federal candidate Survey 2010 "information packets" through the U.S. Postal Service last year. Above and beyond that, the 2010 program had a massive Internet component, including nearly half a million e-mails transmitted in October alone. All this plus radio, TV, and newspaper advertising. Lobbying by Committee members persuaded hundreds of House and Senate candidates to take a pro-Right to Work position, which in turn helped many get elected. That's not surprising, given the Right to Work principle's overwhelming public support. "The political momentum is now against compulsory unionism," commented Mr. Mix. "That means in this Congress the Committee actually has a chance, if members keep up the pressure, to pick up enough votes from the 'mushy middle' to push pro-Right to Work legislation through the House." Committee Pushes For Floor Votes
With states in a fiscal mess and businesses leaving to go to Right to Work states or leaving the country, many governors are reassessing the value of allowing workers a choice when it comes to union dues and fees. CNN/TIME: “We…
(Source: December 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Independent Workers, Firms Face 'Card-Check Lite' Implementation It's been more than a century since Mr. Dooley, the immortal comic character created by Chicago-based journalist Finley Peter Dunne, opined that "th' Supreme Coort follows th' election returns." In the High Court's consideration of controversial legal cases over the years, it often really has seemed that majorities of unelected justices were reluctant, for good or ill, to ignore recent electoral results. But Mr. Dooley's adage doesn't appear to have made any impression whatsoever on the forced-unionism zealots who now hold all but one of the four occupied seats on the powerful National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB. (The fifth NLRB seat has been vacant for several months.) Despite the fact that voters in the November 2 general elections sent a clear message they oppose the imposition of new federal policies to help Organized Labor increase the share of workers who are under union monopoly-bargaining control, the Obama NLRB is signaling that is exactly what it intends to do.
(Source: December 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Independent Workers, Firms Face 'Card-Check Lite' Implementation It's been more than a century since Mr. Dooley, the immortal comic character created by Chicago-based journalist Finley Peter Dunne, opined that "th' Supreme Coort follows th' election returns." In the High Court's consideration of controversial legal cases over the years, it often really has seemed that majorities of unelected justices were reluctant, for good or ill, to ignore recent electoral results. But Mr. Dooley's adage doesn't appear to have made any impression whatsoever on the forced-unionism zealots who now hold all but one of the four occupied seats on the powerful National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB. (The fifth NLRB seat has been vacant for several months.) Despite the fact that voters in the November 2 general elections sent a clear message they oppose the imposition of new federal policies to help Organized Labor increase the share of workers who are under union monopoly-bargaining control, the Obama NLRB is signaling that is exactly what it intends to do.
(Source: December 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Union bosses like AFL-CIO czar Richard Trumka claim that forced-unionism policies are in union members' best interest. But a new scientific poll shows union members overwhelmingly support the Right to Work principle. New Nationwide Poll Shows Union Members Support Right to Work A scientific survey of union members nationwide, conducted the week before the November elections by well-known pollster Frank Luntz for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, shows that Big Labor bosses are out of touch with the people they purport to represent as well as the public at large. The poll gauged the opinions of both private- and government-sector union members regarding key aspects of the agenda Big Labor bankrolls with union treasury funds, which consist primarily of dues and fees that workers are forced to fork over as a condition of employment. In the 2009-2010 campaign cycle, union officials funneled forced dues and fees extracted from an estimated nine million union members and forced union fee-paying nonmembers into what appears to have been their largest ever federal mid-term electoral war chest. Top bosses of the AFL-CIO-affiliated American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union openly admit to having spent a total of nearly $87.5 million, mostly union treasury money, on mid-term electioneering. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) bosses acknowledge pouring $44 million, primarily forced-dues money, into 2009-2010 politics. National Education Association (NEA) teacher union chiefs have owned up to siphoning $40 million into politicking over the past two years. Altogether, it's safe to say Organized Labor shelled out more than a billion dollars in reported and unreported contributions, including "in-kind" support like phone banks and get-out-the-vote drives as well as cash, to its favored 2010 congressional candidates. Four Out of Five Union Members Reject Forced Union Membership, Dues