Trouble in Paradise; DNC getting pusback from Big Labor

At least 12 trade unions will boycott the Democratic National Convention in part because of its location -- Charlotte, North Carolina.  Apparently, North Carolina and 21 other states are on a union blacklist because they are Right to Work states.  The states are far from union-free, its just workers can't be forced to pay to a union boss. But in addition to locating in North Carolina, union bosses have "broad frustration" with President Obama and the Democrats in Congress.  Obama and the Democrats have given big labor everything they could but, of course, that is not enough. The Charlotte Observer has the story: CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Casting North Carolina as an anti-union bastion with “regressive policies aimed at diluting the power of workers,” more than a dozen trade unions affiliated with the national AFL-CIO have told the Democratic National Committee that they will sit out the 2012 convention in Charlotte, N.C. Coming on the heels of some liberals’ complaints that President Barack Obama is giving in to Republicans, the unions’ decision is another sign that key Democratic allies are unhappy with Obama and other party leaders as they gear up for a difficult election season. It’s also a signal that anything relating to Charlotte — from its besieged hometown bank to its lack of unionized hotels — will face scrutiny as the city eases into the national spotlight. Labor unions have long played an integral role in Democratic conventions. And some big ones, including the National Education Association and the Service Employees International Union, still plan to be active participants when the Democrats come to Charlotte in 2012. Local and state labor leaders also are still on board. The N.C. AFL-CIO helped lobby for Charlotte to be the convention site. On Friday, a leader of the Raleigh-based labor group called the national unions’ decision understandable, but “shortsighted.”

Beware the Backdoor Card Check Bill

Unable to force the Card Check Forced Unionism bill through Congress, big labor has turned to Plan B -- force the bill on the American people through administrative fiat, Chuck Hadden argues: Union organizers are still licking their wounds over the inability to get Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. They haven’t given up, however. They have regrouped and are counting on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to give them what Congress would not. And, with the addition of two new very pro-union Democrats on the NLRB, the effort to make sweeping EFCA-like changes to established election procedures has been given a second lease on life. On July 21, the NLRB proposed new regulations that would allow for “snap” or “quickie” elections that would effectively deny employees the ability to make fully informed decisions about whether to join a union by narrowing the timeline between filing of a petition for certification and a union election. If adopted, unions would be allowed to begin organizing a workforce secretly and then surprise an employer once enough signatures are collected. Employers would then have as little as 10 days to communicate with their employees, as compared to the 38 days (on average) that occurs under current law. The NLRB is also set to render decisions on two pivotal cases involving Specialty Healthcare and Boeing that could significantly impact employers. At issue in the Specialty Healthcare case would be permitting union organizers to set up micro-unions in the workplace. This would force employers to negotiate with multiple bargaining units, which would be confusing, time-consuming and, ultimately, job-killing.
Forced-Unionism Issue Looms Large For 2012

Forced-Unionism Issue Looms Large For 2012

Right to Work Committee Begins Lobbying Presidential Hopefuls (Source: July 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) This summer, New Hampshire is the site of an extended battle over the Right to Work issue, as pro-Right to Work citizens seek to secure two-thirds majority votes in the state House and Senate to override Big Labor Gov. John Lynch's veto of legislation (H.B.474) prohibiting compulsory union dues and fees. Because Right to Work has been in the New Hampshire news since both chambers of the state's General Court approved H.B.474 earlier this year, WMUR-TV (ABC) news anchor Josh McElveen decided to bring up the issue at the June 13 GOP presidential debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Mr. McElveen asked former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, one of the seven 2012 presidential hopefuls participating in the debate, whether he would, if elected, support "a federal Right to Work law." Mr. Pawlenty ignited the debate's longest and most enthusiastic round of applause with his response: "We live in the United States of America, and people shouldn't be forced to belong [to] or be a member in any organization, and the government has no business telling people what group you have to be a member of or not. "I support strongly Right to Work legislation."
Right to Work State Economies Grow Faster

Right to Work State Economies Grow Faster

Private-Sector Employees and Employers Alike Reap Major Benefits (Source: July 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Today, American employees and employers across the country are working hard and using their ingenuity to help their businesses recover from the severe 2008-2009 recession. Unfortunately, an array of laws and regulations imposed by the U.S. Congress and federal bureaucrats are hindering the efforts of workers, managers, and business owners. And the federal policies that authorize the firing of roughly 6.3 million private-sector employees should they refuse to pay union dues or fees as a job condition are among the very worst, if not the worst, obstacles to economic recovery. One indication of the damage wrought by the pro-forced unionism provisions in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Railway Labor Act (RLA) is the state-by-state gross domestic product (GDP) data reported by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis. According to BEA data, from 2000 to 2010, the combined real output of the 22 states with Right to Work laws protecting employees from the forced-union-dues provisions in the NLRA grew by 21.8%. That percentage gain is well over half again as large as the combined real 2000-2010 growth of the 28 states that still do not protect employees from forced union dues. To put it another way, had the entire country grown by as much as current Right to Work states did over just this ten-year period, by 2010 our national GDP would have been $13.674 trillion in constant, "chained" 2005 dollars, roughly $575 billion above the actual figure. Forced Dues Not Justified, Morally or Economically