Primary Voters Rebuke Issue-Dodging Republican

Primary Voters Rebuke Issue-Dodging Republican

Senate candidate Trey Grayson (facing forward) refused to oppose legislation promoting union monopoly bargaining over public employees. He thus reinforced voter concerns that he was a Big Government Republican. Credit: AP (Source: June 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Refusal to Respond to Right to Work Survey 'Raised Concerns' Just a few months ago, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson was widely considered the favorite to win the GOP nomination this year for the U.S. Senate seat now held by pro-Right to Work Republican Jim Bunning, who is retiring after two terms. A number of pundits contended that the strong support of Mitch McConnell, Kentucky's senior U.S. senator and the head of the GOP minority in the upper chamber of Congress, would practically guarantee Mr. Grayson's nomination. However, the Grayson campaign made serious misjudgments during the final weeks before Kentucky's May 18 primaries. Most important to pro-Right to Work Kentuckians, Mr. Grayson refused to pledge to oppose several of the top power grabs now being advanced on Capitol Hill by Organized Labor, the #1 pro-Big Government special-interest group in America today. More broadly, many voters who were deeply concerned about the rapid growth in federal spending under the George W. Bush Administration as well as under the current one became convinced Mr. Grayson lacked the intestinal fortitude to fight to reduce spending from its current stratospheric level. 'Any Genuine Opponent of Big Government Would Eagerly Oppose' Police/Fire Scheme
Tweedle Dee Lincoln and Tweedle Dum Halter

Tweedle Dee Lincoln and Tweedle Dum Halter

(Source: June 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Both Candidates in Arkansas Democrat Run-Off Back Forced Unionism Shortly after this month's National Right to Work Newsletter goes to press, incumbent U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln will face a run-off contest against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter as she seeks her Democratic Party's nomination for a third term. Ms. Lincoln and Mr. Halter ran neck-and-neck in Arkansas's May 18 primary, and neither received a majority of the votes. (That is why the June 8 run-off is required under Arkansas law.) Most election observers expect the run-off will also be close. But one thing is already clear in advance of the Lincoln-Halter showdown: The victor will have a track record of supporting forced-unionism power grabs and giving the back of the hand to the overwhelming majority of Arkansas citizens who support their Right to Work law and oppose tampering with it. The only substantial difference between Ms. Lincoln and Mr. Halter on the forced-unionism issue is that the senator has very recently, with an eye toward the general election this fall, tried to obscure her long history of pro-forced unionism votes. Ms. Lincoln is now suggesting to freedom-loving Arkansas employees and employers that she is an "independent" voice on labor-policy issues.
Forced-Unionism Expansion, by Hook or Crook

Forced-Unionism Expansion, by Hook or Crook

Big Labor 'Organizing' Strategy Reliant on Washington, D.C. (Source: May 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Nationwide unemployment hovers near 10%.  (U.S. DOL reports unemployment rate of 9.9% for April 2010) Across America today, there is widespread hardship resulting from most businesses' lingering inability to hire more workers profitably even as the country emerges from the 2008-2009 recession. What is the response of Big Labor politicians in Washington, D.C.? Sadly, they appear determined to make matters worse. Last month, union-label U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.) admitted to the Hill, a D.C. Beltway publication, that she and other members of her chamber's Democratic majority were working behind the scenes to concoct an "alternative" version of the mislabeled "Employee Free Choice Act" for floor action this year. In its current form, this legislation (S.560/H.R.1409) is designed to help union bosses sharply increase the share of all private-sector workers who are under union monopoly control by effectively ending secret-ballot elections in union organizing campaigns. However, the National Right to Work Committee and its allies have mobilized massive public opposition to the measure, greatly lowering its prospects for passage in its current form. Monopoly Unionism Negatively Correlated With Private-Sector Job Growth In response, as Ms. McCaskill recently acknowledged, Big Labor politicians and union lobbyists are now concocting new legislation designed to accomplish the same objective through somewhat different means.
'Decade of Decline' in Private-Sector Jobs

'Decade of Decline' in Private-Sector Jobs

Forced-Unionism State Employment Down by 1.9 Million Since 1999 (Source: April 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Recently, millions of Americans have been dismayed by reports, based on official U.S. Labor Department Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, that from 1999 through 2009 our country endured a "lost decade" in private-sector employment. In this context, the term "lost decade" refers to annual BLS statistics showing that in 2009 there were 107.95 million private-sector jobs nationwide, roughly 370,000 fewer than in 1999, when there were 108.32 million. This marks the first time since the Great Depression that an entire decade has gone by with negative net growth in private-sector employment across the U.S. However, some of the 50 states have fared far better than others over the past 10 years. And a review of how each state's job market performed suggests that the U.S. Congress could dramatically improve America's employment prospects for the next decade by adopting one simple change in federal labor policy. Private-Sector Employment in Right to Work States up by 1.5 Million Since 1999 Current federal labor law authorizes and promotes the payment of compulsory union dues and fees as a condition of getting or keeping a job. Under pro-forced unionism provisions in the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the 1951 amendments to the Railway Labor Act (RLA), an estimated 6.6 million private-sector employees must pay dues or fees to their Big Labor monopoly-bargaining agent, or face termination from their jobs. At the same time, thanks to many years of vigilant efforts by freedom-loving Americans, federal labor law continues explicitly to recognize states' option to protect employees from forced union dues and fees by adopting Right to Work laws. Currently, 22 states have Right to Work laws on the books prohibiting the firing of employees simply for exercising their right to refuse to join or bankroll an unwanted union. A huge majority of the 22 Right to Work states actually experienced net gains in private-sector employment from 1999 through 2009. Overall, private-sector employment in Right to Work states is up by roughly 1.5 million since 1999. Meanwhile, the 28 forced-unionism states collectively endured a "lost decade" in employment growth far more bleak than that of the nation as a whole. In these states, private-sector employment is down by 1.9 million since 1999.
'Decade of Decline' in Private-Sector Jobs

'Decade of Decline' in Private-Sector Jobs

Forced-Unionism State Employment Down by 1.9 Million Since 1999 (Source: April 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Recently, millions of Americans have been dismayed by reports, based on official U.S. Labor Department Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, that from 1999 through 2009 our country endured a "lost decade" in private-sector employment. In this context, the term "lost decade" refers to annual BLS statistics showing that in 2009 there were 107.95 million private-sector jobs nationwide, roughly 370,000 fewer than in 1999, when there were 108.32 million. This marks the first time since the Great Depression that an entire decade has gone by with negative net growth in private-sector employment across the U.S. However, some of the 50 states have fared far better than others over the past 10 years. And a review of how each state's job market performed suggests that the U.S. Congress could dramatically improve America's employment prospects for the next decade by adopting one simple change in federal labor policy. Private-Sector Employment in Right to Work States up by 1.5 Million Since 1999 Current federal labor law authorizes and promotes the payment of compulsory union dues and fees as a condition of getting or keeping a job. Under pro-forced unionism provisions in the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the 1951 amendments to the Railway Labor Act (RLA), an estimated 6.6 million private-sector employees must pay dues or fees to their Big Labor monopoly-bargaining agent, or face termination from their jobs. At the same time, thanks to many years of vigilant efforts by freedom-loving Americans, federal labor law continues explicitly to recognize states' option to protect employees from forced union dues and fees by adopting Right to Work laws. Currently, 22 states have Right to Work laws on the books prohibiting the firing of employees simply for exercising their right to refuse to join or bankroll an unwanted union. A huge majority of the 22 Right to Work states actually experienced net gains in private-sector employment from 1999 through 2009. Overall, private-sector employment in Right to Work states is up by roughly 1.5 million since 1999. Meanwhile, the 28 forced-unionism states collectively endured a "lost decade" in employment growth far more bleak than that of the nation as a whole. In these states, private-sector employment is down by 1.9 million since 1999.