But for all his bluster, he can’t keep New Yorkers, for example, from noticing that while the number of Empire State pupils enrolled in K-12 public schools fell by more than 121,000 over the last 10 years, schools added 14,746 teachers and 8,655 non-teaching professionals to their payrolls, all of whom are required to pay union dues or fees to keep their jobs.
First, the New York Times wrote an article detailing how even some liberal Democrats are tired of the union bosses continued squeezing of the taxpayers; and now the Boston Globe has weighed in against the enactment of an…
The greed and avarice of the labor union bosses has gotten so bad that their allies in government are starting to say "no" the the never ending list of demands that are bankrupting the country. The New York Times (of all places) reports: Stephen M. Sweeney, the president of the State Senate here, glowered with disgust as he described how one New Jersey town paid out nearly $1 million to four retiring police officers for their unused sick days and vacation time. Mr. Sweeney, a Democrat, also scowled about the estimated $46 billion New Jersey owes in pension contributions and its $58 billion in liabilities to finance retiree health coverage for government employees. For years, Republican lawmakers have railed against public employees’ pay and benefits, but now another breed of elected official is demanding labor concessions, too: current and former labor leaders and allies themselves. After 12 years erecting steel beams for office buildings, Mr. Sweeney became a top official in New Jersey’s ironworkers union, now holding that post along with his legislative one. He says the state can no longer afford the benefits won over the years by public sector unions. “At some point, you reach the limit of your ability to pay,” he said.
Protecting the Right to Work Improves Overall Job Climate (Source: June 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Early this year, Chief Executive magazine asked 651 CEOs from around the country to grade all 50 states and the District of Columbia in three general categories that businesses invariably consider when they are contemplating where to make job-creating investments. As Chief Executive's editors note, the business leaders were asked to "draw upon their direct experience" to rate each state for a) taxation and regulation, (b) quality of workforce, and (c) living environment. In its May/June issue, Chief Executive published the survey results. They indicate that, in the wake of the severe 2008-2009 recession, state Right to Work laws may be even more critical for private-sector job and income growth than they were in the generally favorable national economic climate of 1982-2007. Overwhelmingly, the CEOs judged that, in Right to Work states, employees have superior work ethics, real estate costs are relatively low, and public officials have a much more positive attitude toward business. Every one of the seven states with the highest overall rankings has a Right to Work law prohibiting the firing of employees for refusal to pay dues or fees to an unwanted union. Nine of the top 10 states are Right to Work states. Thirteen of the top 15 are Right to Work states.
Protecting the Right to Work Improves Overall Job Climate (Source: June 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Early this year, Chief Executive magazine asked 651 CEOs from around the country to grade all 50 states and the District of Columbia in three general categories that businesses invariably consider when they are contemplating where to make job-creating investments. As Chief Executive's editors note, the business leaders were asked to "draw upon their direct experience" to rate each state for a) taxation and regulation, (b) quality of workforce, and (c) living environment. In its May/June issue, Chief Executive published the survey results. They indicate that, in the wake of the severe 2008-2009 recession, state Right to Work laws may be even more critical for private-sector job and income growth than they were in the generally favorable national economic climate of 1982-2007. Overwhelmingly, the CEOs judged that, in Right to Work states, employees have superior work ethics, real estate costs are relatively low, and public officials have a much more positive attitude toward business. Every one of the seven states with the highest overall rankings has a Right to Work law prohibiting the firing of employees for refusal to pay dues or fees to an unwanted union. Nine of the top 10 states are Right to Work states. Thirteen of the top 15 are Right to Work states.
Big Labor continues to throw good money after bad in political campaigns — after all it’s not their money. The Washington Examiner believes their free spending ways has the whiff of desperation: Their desperation is a function of two realities: First, only…
Big Labor continues to throw good money after bad in political campaigns — after all it’s not their money. The Washington Examiner believes their free spending ways has the whiff of desperation: Their desperation is a function of two realities: First, only…
http://article.nationalreview.com/437053/a-nation-of-trentons/the-editors A Nation of Trentons Government employees’ unions already maintain a death grip on the finances of most state and local governments, and a remarkably bad piece of legislation — the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act…
The Washington Examiner correctly opines about the big labor exemption in the DISCLOSE Act: In March, the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision struck down campaign finance limits on political expression by individuals working through corporations and unions as a violation of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech. A cry ensued among liberal Democrats predicting doom if they and their special interest allies were required to follow the Constitution. Big Labor's bosses promised to spend millions to protect the Democratic majority if it would speedily pass legislation to circumvent the decision (and thus the Constitution), but restore limits on their corporate foes. The resulting DISCLOSE Act, according to its backers, will ensure transparency in campaign ad funding. Thursday, the House of Representatives approved the bill 219-206, with 36 Democrats and 170 Republicans in opposition to the measure, which was written by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat who heads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this year, and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, who led the Senate Democrats’ campaign panel in 2008. The bill is full of draconian restrictions on individual political speech expressed via corporations, but gives privileged status to the Democrats' union masters. A provision pushed by Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Bob Brady, for example, allows unions to transfer unlimited funds among affiliated groups to pay for political ads with no disclosure whatever. That makes campaign funding more transparent?