Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's Union Only PLA Squashed

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's Union Only PLA Squashed

From Virginia State Senator Mark D. Obenshain: Big Labor must be reeling after the one-two punch they just received-first they were pummeled in Wisconsin and now organized labor has beat a major retreat here in Virginia. On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) finally took Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) off the table for the Dulles Rail project, voting 11-1 to scrap PLA incentives for bidders. But let's not mince words: these weren't just run-of-the mill "incentives"; they were a bid scoring bonus that would have effectively made the project union-only, locking out Virginia's non-unionized contractors. Virginia is a Right to Work state with a 96% non-union workforce. The Project Labor Agreement that MWAA wanted would have run up costs and limited competition, to the great disadvantage of Virginia companies and Virginia workers. Earlier this year, I patroned SB 242, legislation prohibiting state agencies and recipients of state assistance from mandating PLAs for Virginia and Virginia-assisted construction projects. The bill passed both chambers and has been signed by Governor McDonnell.

Teacher's Union Bosses: 30% More Taxpayer Money and Less Work or We Strike!

Teacher's in Chicago, Illinois have voted to authorize a strike over their demand for a 30% pay increase (funded by the taxpayers) and smaller classroom sizes. The union wants a two-year deal that reduces class size and calls for teachers to receive a 24 percent pay raise in the first year and a 5 percent pay raise in the second year. The strike would start at the beginning of the next school year should the union not come to terms with Mayor Rahm Emanuel. With their neighbors on one side in Indiana enacting a Right to Work statute and their neighbors on the other, in Wisconsin, enacting reforms to save taxpayers money, it is clear Big Labor in Illinois hasn't gotten the message. Taxpayers want reform, choice, efficiency and freedom. That message will take root in Illinois soon. Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said the public schools cannot afford a strike. "At a time when our graduation rates and college enrollments are at record highs – two successes in which our teachers played an integral role – we cannot halt the momentum with a strike," she said. "Our teachers deserve a raise, but our kids don't deserve a strike and taxpayers cannot afford to pay for 30 percent raises." You might remember this video from a previous Chicago/Illinois Teachers Union staged event titled "Give up the bucks!"    

Teacher's Union Bosses: 30% More Taxpayer Money and Less Work or We Strike!

Teacher's in Chicago, Illinois have voted to authorize a strike over their demand for a 30% pay increase (funded by the taxpayers) and smaller classroom sizes. The union wants a two-year deal that reduces class size and calls for teachers to receive a 24 percent pay raise in the first year and a 5 percent pay raise in the second year. The strike would start at the beginning of the next school year should the union not come to terms with Mayor Rahm Emanuel. With their neighbors on one side in Indiana enacting a Right to Work statute and their neighbors on the other, in Wisconsin, enacting reforms to save taxpayers money, it is clear Big Labor in Illinois hasn't gotten the message. Taxpayers want reform, choice, efficiency and freedom. That message will take root in Illinois soon. Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said the public schools cannot afford a strike. "At a time when our graduation rates and college enrollments are at record highs – two successes in which our teachers played an integral role – we cannot halt the momentum with a strike," she said. "Our teachers deserve a raise, but our kids don't deserve a strike and taxpayers cannot afford to pay for 30 percent raises." You might remember this video from a previous Chicago/Illinois Teachers Union staged event titled "Give up the bucks!"    
Big Labor Flying Too Close to the Sun

Big Labor Flying Too Close to the Sun

Fox All Star and syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer discusses the meaning of the Wisconsin recall election and how taxpayers have finally had enough of Big Labor's power and pocketbook grabs while union bosses claimed mythical societal benefits arose from forced-dues: Tuesday, June 5, 2012, will be remembered as the beginning of the long decline of the public-sector union. It will follow, and parallel, the shrinking of private-sector unions, now down to less than 7 percent of American workers. The abject failure of the unions to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) — the first such failure in U.S. history — marks the Icarus moment of government-union power. Wax wings melted, there’s nowhere to go but down. The ultimate significance of Walker’s union reforms has been largely misunderstood. At first, the issue was curtailing outrageous union benefits, far beyond those of the ordinary Wisconsin taxpayer. That became a nonissue when the unions quickly realized that trying to defend the indefensible would render them toxic for the real fight to come. But as the recall campaign progressed, the Democrats stopped talking about bargaining rights. It was a losing issue. Walker was able to make the case that years of corrupt union-politician back-scratching had been bankrupting the state. The real threat behind all this, however, was that the new law ended automatic government collection of union dues. That was the unexpressed and politically inexpressible issue. That was the reason the unions finally decided to gamble on a high-risk recall. Without the thumb of the state tilting the scale by coerced collection, union membership became truly voluntary. Result? Newly freed members rushed for the exits. In less than one year, -AFSCME, the second-largest public-sector union in Wisconsin, has lost more than 50 percent of its membership.

"Wisconsin, the rebellion of those who pay the freight against the public employee unions"

From Rick Manning at NetRightDaily.com: Democrats are spinning the Wisconsin results, saying, "The exit polls show O is leading in the state, so it doesn’t matter." Of course, those same exit polls showed that the Big Labor Walker recall was too close to call, when it was a veritable blowout. So much for hanging your hat on exit polls. The shocking realization for Big Labor out of the Wisconsin campaign is that its president was unwilling to expend any of his political capital at the moment of greatest need on its behalf. One has to wonder if this will hurt Obama’s ability to mobilize the shock troops of the Democratic Party in November. If it does, the failed Wisconsin recall will be devastating to Obama’s reelection bid nationally whether he wins the state in November or not. Beyond the unsavory fact of public employee unions being the major contributor to the campaigns of those whom they negotiate contracts with, the decision to dramatically raise their profile has made public employee unions fair political game.

"Wisconsin, the rebellion of those who pay the freight against the public employee unions"

From Rick Manning at NetRightDaily.com: Democrats are spinning the Wisconsin results, saying, "The exit polls show O is leading in the state, so it doesn’t matter." Of course, those same exit polls showed that the Big Labor Walker recall was too close to call, when it was a veritable blowout. So much for hanging your hat on exit polls. The shocking realization for Big Labor out of the Wisconsin campaign is that its president was unwilling to expend any of his political capital at the moment of greatest need on its behalf. One has to wonder if this will hurt Obama’s ability to mobilize the shock troops of the Democratic Party in November. If it does, the failed Wisconsin recall will be devastating to Obama’s reelection bid nationally whether he wins the state in November or not. Beyond the unsavory fact of public employee unions being the major contributor to the campaigns of those whom they negotiate contracts with, the decision to dramatically raise their profile has made public employee unions fair political game.
Union goons shoot up home with mother and 8-year-old daughter

Union goons shoot up home with mother and 8-year-old daughter

It was a quiet April evening, shortly before midnight, and Deanna Ussery had already gone to bed. The house was dark except for a nightlight in the bedroom of her eight-year-old daughter, Sheila Ann. Suddenly, there was an explosion of gunfire, and 12-gauge shotgun slugs shattered Sheila Ann's bedroom windows, ripping her bedspread and tearing holes in the wall just above her bed. Miraculously, no one was hurt. Sheila Ann was away for the night. A made for TV movie? No, a real-life story of terror in Hot Springs, Arkansas, as set forth in the official record of a trial against a United Steelworkers of America local in Garland County Circuit Court. It is a story of union violence and harassment against five courageous women who defied the strike orders handed down by officials of a USW local against National Rejectors, Inc. of Hot Springs. Even after the strike was over, the women were subjected to name calling, obscene language and threats. Glue or grease was rubbed on their chair seats at work. Supervisors had to accompany them to the bathroom for their protection. There were repeated incidents of hair-pulling, shoving, slapping and tire-slashing. They were pursued in their cars by thugs who tried to run them off the road.