In California, voters will consider Proposition 19, a measure to legalize marijuana. Supporters got a big boost this week as the SEIU, the state’s largest union, endorsed the measure. Supporters of Proposition 19 hope the endosrement will bring with it…
During the health care debate, the union bosses of the AFl-CIO made bold threats to House Democrats -- vote against ObamaCare and we will sit on our hands during your re-election battle. As Miss Emily Letella on Saturday Night Live used to say, "Nevermind." With many of their congressional water carriers struggling for their political lives, the AFL-CIO backed of their threat putting power before principle. The Hill reports: The AFL-CIO released its first round of mailers in support of endangered Democrats this week. In it, the union sought to bolster Rep. Zack Space’s (D-Ohio) campaign with literature attacking his Republican opponent. Space was the lone Democrat from Ohio’s congressional delegation to vote against the healthcare bill, and his position enraged labor groups. But he’s not the only lawmaker who voted against the legislation to see union support trickle back his way.
In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray lives the same day over and over. In politics, recent headlines like “Unions gearing up to support Dems in November” is the equivalent. Every election, Big Labor bosses spend hundreds of millions of…
Contributions to political action committees are voluntary by law. But when the SEIU decided to punish local affiliates that did not meet fundraising goals, they instituted a punishment. The National Right to Work Committee filed a complaint with the Federal…
Contributions to political action committees are voluntary by law. But when the SEIU decided to punish local affiliates that did not meet fundraising goals, they instituted a punishment. The National Right to Work Committee filed a complaint with the Federal…
NRTW President Mark Mix Op-Ed in the Washington Examiner (read full article, click here): Imagine the outcry if McDonalds executives demanded that franchise owners collect “voluntary” contributions totaling $25,000 for the company’s Political Action Committee (PAC) from employees at every restaurant. What if the fast food titan’s headquarters followed up with a threat - pay us, or face a $37,500 fine? Do you think this heavy-handed scheme would raise a few eyebrows at the Federal Election Commission (FEC)? Replace “McDonalds” with “SEIU” in that description and you’ve got a pretty good idea of Big Labor’s latest political fundraising strategy. To meet their ambitious fundraising targets, Service Employees International Union bosses are now threatening to fine any local affiliate that doesn’t meet its PAC contribution requirements.
NRTW President Mark Mix Op-Ed in the Washington Examiner (read full article, click here): Imagine the outcry if McDonalds executives demanded that franchise owners collect “voluntary” contributions totaling $25,000 for the company’s Political Action Committee (PAC) from employees at every restaurant. What if the fast food titan’s headquarters followed up with a threat - pay us, or face a $37,500 fine? Do you think this heavy-handed scheme would raise a few eyebrows at the Federal Election Commission (FEC)? Replace “McDonalds” with “SEIU” in that description and you’ve got a pretty good idea of Big Labor’s latest political fundraising strategy. To meet their ambitious fundraising targets, Service Employees International Union bosses are now threatening to fine any local affiliate that doesn’t meet its PAC contribution requirements.
(Source: August 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Grass-Roots Right to Work Efforts Expanding in Midwestern States Pro-forced unionism politicians like Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-Mich., shown here with former Vice President Gore and President Obama) have lost credibility due to the extraordinarily poor economic performance of forced-unionism states. Credit: Radiospike.com All across America, Right to Work states have long benefited from economic growth far superior to that of states in which millions of employees are forced to join or pay dues or fees to a labor union just to keep their jobs. But over the past decade, the contrast between Right to Work states and forced-union-dues states has been especially stark in the Midwest. Four Midwestern forced-unionism states -- Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana -- suffered absolute private-sector job declines over the past decade that were worse than those of any of the other 46 states. Midwestern forced-unionism states (the four just mentioned, plus Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota) lost a net total of 1.88 million private-sector jobs. Combined, these seven forced-unionism states had 8.1% fewer private-sector jobs in 2009 than they did back in 1999. Meanwhile, the five Midwestern Right to Work states (North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa and Kansas) experienced an overall private-sector job increase of 2.3%. Moreover, from 1999 to 2009, real personal income in Midwestern Right to Work states grew by 17.3% -- an increase two-and-a-half times as a great as the combined real personal income growth in Midwestern forced-unionism states. State Right to Work laws prohibit the firing of employees simply for exercising their right to refuse to join or bankroll an unwanted union. At this time, 22 states have Right to Work laws on the books. However, because of intensifying grass-roots efforts in many of the remaining 28 forced-unionism states, the number of Right to Work states could be on the rise over the course of the next few years. Recession's End Won't Suffice to Revive Big Labor-Controlled States
The Columbus Dispatch puts the blame squarely on Gov. Ted Strickland for his cronies funneling no-bid contracts to his union boss buddies at the expense of a school for the blind, home-care worker freedoms, and more: Misfeasance As executive director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission, Richard Murray was supposed to act as a good steward of the millions of dollars Ohio pours into new school buildings every day. Instead, a report by the Ohio inspector general shows, he has abused his position to push the interests of unions, including the one to which he belongs, at substantial cost to the state and local school districts. His unprofessional behavior disqualifies him for this position. Murray’s union advocacy comes as no surprise; his career before Gov. Ted Strickland appointed him included more than 12 years as Ohio director of the Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust, a union advocacy group. He is a member of Local 423 of the Laborers' International Union of North America. Strickland’s decision in September 2009 to summarily oust well-regarded former Executive Director Michael Shoemaker, a fellow Democrat, and replace him with Murray shows that the governor, too, is far more interested in doing favors for one of his primary constituencies — labor — than in working for Ohioans’ best interests. In fact, Murray says he was instructed by the Strickland administration to treat construction unions as “constituents” and to improve relations with them.