Iowans Repudiate Pro-Forced Unionism Governor

Iowans Repudiate Pro-Forced Unionism Governor

Right to Work Makes Major Gains in State Legislative Contests (Source: December 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) It takes a lot to convince Iowa citizens to oust a sitting governor. Until this fall, the last time a Hawkeye State chief executive failed to get another term after seeking one was in 1962! But over the past four years, Big Labor Democrat Gov. Chet Culver wore out Iowans' considerable patience. On November 2, he was one of 13 incumbent governors on the ballot across America. Eleven of these incumbents won, but Mr. Culver lost by a hefty 53% to 43% margin. What had Chet Culver done to receive such a harsh rebuke from normally amiable Midwesterners? He tried to gut Iowa's popular Right to Work law -- and he was sneaky about it. After saying nothing about the Right to Work issue during his successful 2006 gubernatorial campaign, Mr. Culver announced, almost as soon as the votes were counted, his support for legislation imposing forced union dues and fees on Iowa workers as a condition of employment. Since Mr. Culver's fellow Democrats controlled substantial majorities in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature that greeted him upon his inauguration in early 2007, it seemed Big Labor's stealthy scheme to bring back forced unionism to the state six decades after it had been banned would succeed. For four years, Gov. Culver tried to help union bosses extract forced fees from workers who choose not to join. But freedom-loving Iowans first thwarted him legislatively and then defeated him at the polls. But the National Right to Work Committee and the Iowans for Right to Work Committee were already mobilizing resistance. Pro-Right to Work Iowan Stopped Forced-Union-Fee Schemes in 2007 and 2009 Even before the new Legislature convened in January 2007, the National Committee began sending out a series of statewide and targeted mailings to members and supporters in Iowa, with a focus on selected House and Senate members in vulnerable seats.
Vague ‘Job Growth’ Talk Won’t Rescue Languishing Big Labor-Controlled States

Vague ‘Job Growth’ Talk Won’t Rescue Languishing Big Labor-Controlled States

(Source: November 2010 Forced-Unionism Abuses Exposed) Just a few months ago, millions of Americans were 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. Americans are right to be deeply concerned by such national data, but they can easily mislead us. Exactly half of the 50 states actually experienced a net gain in private-sector employment during the “lost decade,” and the five biggest absolute gainers, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Nevada, and Virginia, added a combined total of more than 1.6 million private-sector jobs. Meanwhile, California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, the five states shedding the most private-sector jobs, lost a net total of more than 1.9 million. The five biggest job gainers have one common characteristic: They all have Right to Work laws on the books that prohibit the firing of employees for refusal to join or pay compulsory fees to an unwanted union. Not one of the five biggest job losers has such a law. Consequently, workers in these states are routinely forced into a union as a job condition. Aggregate private-sector employment in the 22 Right to Work states increased by 3.7% during the “lost decade,” even as it fell by 2.8% in the 28 forced-unionism states. The sharp disparity is no coincidence. Leading labor economists such as Dr. Richard Vedder of Ohio University have shown repeatedly that forced unionism hinders job creation.
Right To Work Helps Fuel the Jobs Engine

Right To Work Helps Fuel the Jobs Engine

The publisher of Virginia Business, Bernie Niemeier, reminds readers among the natural advantages of states  such as  California, New York and Virginia it is often the "legal advantages"  "like being the northernmost Right To Work state and having reasonable tort laws and a relatively low corporate income tax rate" that separates Virginia from the pack. Excerpts from Niemeier's  editorial, Job creation is fueled by existing business expansion: Over the past few years, Virginia’s economic development news has been full of big marquee names: Volkswagen, Altria, Hilton, SAIC, Northrop Grumman and others. The commonwealth has held a winning hand in the high-profile game of attracting corporate headquarters from California, New York and other states. Natural advantages such as the Port of Virginia, Dulles Airport and proximity to Washington, D.C., are important parts of our success. Legal advantages — like being the northernmost right-to-work state and having reasonable tort laws and a relatively low corporate income tax rate — also make Virginia an attractive place to do business. When high-profile new business announcements are made, many take credit and rightfully so. Major out-of-state and international relocations involve the governor’s office, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), regional economic development alliances and local-level economic development offices. We’ve been a little less than humble in continually reminding ourselves and others of our reputation as the best-managed state, one of the best states in which to do business and the most business-friendly state, among other accolades. But perhaps Virginia’s existing businesses have been too humble in taking credit for the jobs their expansion and growth have created, especially during difficult economic times. In fact, existing businesses have led the commonwealth in job creation over the past several years.

Good Advice

Labor can spend a billion dollars but the American people clearly rejected their scare tactics and messages.  Now, Bruce Walker has made a persuasive case in favor of pushing new Right To Work laws as a way to protecting workers, creating jobs and promoting prosperity: The 2010 landslide means that Republicans in the House can stop any new legislative initiatives by the Democrats and that Senate Republicans, if united, can stop almost anything Democrats want to do in that body as well. House Republicans can also send to the Senate bills that will put political pressure on Obama and Senate Democrats, like a complete extension of the Bush tax cuts. But at the federal level, Republicans cannot actually do anything without Democrats caving in.  The situation is very different at the state level. Republicans now control both houses of the state legislature and the governorship in a number of states. Republicans now have complete control of state government in twenty states compared to a paltry seven states before the midterm election. Crucially, Republicans now control all state government in five industrial rust belt states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. This control will allow Republicans to draw congressional districts and also, just as importantly, state legislative districts -- a real political blow to Democrats. Unlike the federal government, a party that actually controls the state legislature and governorship can enact laws -- the filibuster is an odd creature almost unique to the United States Senate. There are many things Republicans in control of state governments should do:  limit spending, cut tax rates, reduce regulation. But there is one reform that stout-hearted Republicans running those five rust belt states should definitely do: pass Right To Work laws. The Taft-Hartley Act allows each state the option of enacting right to work laws, which allow workers to not join a labor union as a condition of employment. Twenty-two states have adopted right to work laws, and these states closely resemble the twenty-two states that Obama lost in 2008. Although the leftist establishment media gets a disproportionate amount of attention from conservatives, along with risible "civil rights" leaders and surreally silly academicians, the real political muscle of the Left comes from organized labor -- meaning the bosses who run with those vast empires called "labor unions" and who use the forced dues from members to engage in constant war against conservatives.