Tyranny Triumphs in the Great Lakes State
Ignoring ample evidence of forced unionism’s unfairness and its damaging impact on jobs and incomes, Big Labor Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Right to Work destruction in 2023.
Joe Biden Embraces Shady Union Boss’ Support
Harold Schaitberger Allegedly Padded His Pension With Dues Money
On September 29, rising rank-and-file anger about his shenanigans prompted Mr. Schaitberger to announce unexpectedly he would not seek another term at the helm of the IAFF.
But he is still promising to do “everything” in his “power to help Joe Biden become the next President of the United States and our good friend, Kamala Harris, become Vice President.”
According to the New York Daily News, the Biden presidential campaign has “welcomed” Mr. Schaitberger “as a speaker on the stump several times.”
New York magazine has reported that Mr. Schaitberger was one of a handful of “top allies” with whom Mr. Biden consulted as he considered who would be his running mate this spring.
And as recently as September 8, the campaign website managed by Mr. Biden and Sen. Harris (Calif.) ran an advertisement for a “virtual community event” in support of the Biden-Harris ticket at which Mr. Schaitberger was a featured guest.
National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix commented:
“The Biden-Harris team’s evident willingness to continue accepting Harold Schaitberger-directed political support, mostly paid for with firefighters’ dues money, even as federal authorities investigate him for systematic misappropriation of union funds and tax evasion, is alarming.”
‘We Will Have a Key To the Back Door Of the White House’
Mr. Mix added:
“No wonder Mr. Schaitberger has personally communicated to other powerful IAFF union officials that ‘we will have a key to the back door of the White House’ under a Biden presidency.
“He obviously believes that, should the Biden-Harris ticket prevail on November 3, federal authorities will suddenly decide to drop their investigations of the IAFF brass.”
It’s not hard to see how Mr. Schaitberger got that idea.
After all, during his ongoing campaign for President, Mr. Biden has gleefully accepted the endorsement of the ethically challenged bosses of the United Auto Workers (UAW/AFL-CI0) union along with the backing of the Schaitberger gang.
Just before this Newsletter edition went to press in early October, former President Dennis Williams (2014-2018) became the 11th high-ranking UAW officer to plead guilty to federal crimes since 2017 in connection with an ongoing probe into embezzlement, racketeering, and labor law violations.
Mr. Biden has also courted and happily accepted the backing of United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW/AFL-CIO) union kingpins.
It was recently reported that 59 local subsidiaries of the UFCW have apparently failed to comply with federal legal provisions compelling them to file copies of their own bylaws so forced dues-paying workers can ascertain if the union hierarchy is complying with them!
Biden-Backed Bills Would Give Crooked Union Bosses Even More Unwarranted Power
In exchange for all the Big Labor support he is getting, Mr. Biden is publicly vowing as President to sign into law a whole slew of special-interest schemes that would give crooked union bosses even more unwarranted power over employees, small business owners and hard-pressed taxpayers.
For example, government union chiefs of Mr. Schaitberger’s ilk would be prime beneficiaries from passage into law of the Biden-backed H.R.3463/S.1970, which would by federal fiat foist union monopoly bargaining on state and local firefighters and other public-sector workers in all 50 states.
Mr. Mix commented:
“Public-sector monopoly-bargaining laws that are already, unfortunately, on the books in more than 30 states have for years helped unscrupulous union bosses consolidate their power to such an extent that they become nearly untouchable.
“By overturning the laws of strong Right to Work states like Virginia and North Carolina, which have refused to pass laws mandating that local elected officials accord monopoly powers to government union bosses, H.R.3464/S.1970 would help union dons like Harold Schaitberger rapidly expand and consolidate their empires.
“Even more than their embrace of shady union bosses’ support, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ unabashed advocacy for this destructive power grab is a sure sign that helping Big Labor, not American working men and women, is what they are all about.”
