New Jersey's 'Day of Reckoning Has Arrived'

New Jersey's 'Day of Reckoning Has Arrived'

Government Union Monopolists Have Brought State to Brink of Ruin (Source: May 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) From 1999 to 2009, according to the U.S. Labor Department, New Jersey's private-sector employment fell by 2.4%, a percentage decline seven times worse than the national average. Over the same period, New Jersey's state and local public employment jumped by a whopping 15.2%, substantially more than the hefty-enough nationwide increase of 12.5%. For most hard-working Garden State workers and employers, these statistics sum up why New Jersey is in even worse shape, economically, than the nation as a whole. For years, the state's heavily unionized public sector has been sucking resources and vitality out of beleaguered private-sector employees and businesses. But for government union officials, the relentless expansion of the Garden State's public-sector employment from 1999 to 2009, even as the state's private-sector employment alternately stagnated or shriveled, is a magnificent achievement that must be preserved and built upon, whatever the cost. During his successful campaign for the state's highest executive office and since he was inaugurated in January, GOP Gov. Chris Christie has sided with the vast majority of New Jerseyans who appreciate that state and local government must now be rolled back to give the private sector room to grow.
Police-Fire Union Scheme Prepped For Floor Vote

Police-Fire Union Scheme Prepped For Floor Vote

Bill Would Herd Now-Independent 'First Responders' Into Unions (Source: May 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has sent out an unmistakable signal that he is dead set on pushing through a bill that would undermine state Right to Work laws and soak state and local taxpayers for billions of dollars in additional goverment costs. On April 12, Mr. Reid reintroduced as S.3194 the Police/Fire Monopoly-Bargaining Bill, which was already pending in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee as S.1611. Mr. Reid's clear purpose in carrying out this tactical maneuver was to make it possible for him to bring up this federal government union power grab for a Senate floor vote at any time, with as little as 48 hours public notice and with no HELP Committee action whatsoever in advance. Harry Reid and his cohorts cynically mislabel their legislation, also introduced in the U.S. House as H.R.413 by union-label Congressman Dale Kildee (D-Mich.), as the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act." States' Bitter Experiences Illustrate Dangers of Harry Reid's Scheme But that moniker has nothing to do with reality. S.3194/H.R.413 would institute a federal mandate foisting union "exclusive representation" (monopoly bargaining) on state and local police, firefighters, and other public-safety employees nationwide. Reid-Kildee would force countless policemen, firefighters and EMT's to accept as their monopoly-bargaining agent a union they never asked for or voted for, and want nothing to do with.
New Web Site Facilitates NRTW Member Action

New Web Site Facilitates NRTW Member Action

Right to Work Activists Will Now Be Able to Do More, Faster (Source: April 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) A new weapon in the war against forced unionism was introduced early last month, as National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix made the Committee's new web site available to Internet users around the world. The Committee web site -- still accessible at www.NRTWC.org -- now features a new Legislative Action Center (LAC). Committee members and supporters are already using the LAC not just to track federal and state Right to Work-related legislation, but also to contact state and federal legislators through the site and contact their local media and send letters to the editor and other comments. Right to Work activists are also using the LAC to get locations and times for town hall meetings with their elected officials. Complete Information Can Make Right to Work Members Even More Effective "The LAC is a valuable tool for promotion of the freedom of choice for the individual working man and woman," explained Mr. Mix. "Until now, the Committee web site has helped build public awareness about the Right to Work issue, and specifically about the damage wrought by federal and state laws that authorize and promote union monopoly bargaining and forced union dues. "The Committee is now launching the LAC to enable Right to Work supporters to do more, faster when they engage in grass-roots lobbying against forced-unionism laws and legislation."
Big Labor's Congress vs. State, Local Taxpayers

Big Labor's Congress vs. State, Local Taxpayers

Monopoly-Bargaining Mandate Would Bust Budgets Across Nation (Source: April 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Over the course of the past few decades, public servants, especially state and local government employees, have become Big Labor's bread and butter. By 2009, union officials wielded monopoly-bargaining power over 7.5 million state and local employees, nearly 43% of all such employees nationwide, compared to just 8% of private-sector workers. Moreover, for many years now, Big Labor featherbedding and counterproductive work rules have sharply increased real taxpayer costs for compensation of state and local government employees. In fact, from 1998 to 2008 alone, taxpayers' aggregate real costs for compensation of state and local government employees soared at a rate nearly 50% faster than the total real growth of private-sector employee compensation! And now, incredibly, the Big Labor Congress is poised to sock it to taxpayers again. This spring, the U.S. House and Senate are on the verge of rubber-stamping a new federal mandate ensuring that public-sector union bosses get monopoly-bargaining privileges over additional hundreds of thousands of state and local public-safety employees. Kildee-Gregg Would Pave Way For Dragooning All State, Local Employees Into Unions This federal mandate (H.R.413 and S.1611), respectively introduced in the House and Senate by Big Labor Congressman Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) and Big Labor-appeasing Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), goes by an innocent-sounding moniker, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act." But this label mocks the reality that the legislation would incite conflict between government agencies and employees and hurt taxpayers. H.R.413/S.1611 would institute a federal mandate foisting union "exclusive representation" (monopoly bargaining) on state and local police, firefighters, and other public-safety employees nationwide.
Big Labor's Congress vs. State, Local Taxpayers

Big Labor's Congress vs. State, Local Taxpayers

Monopoly-Bargaining Mandate Would Bust Budgets Across Nation (Source: April 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Over the course of the past few decades, public servants, especially state and local government employees, have become Big Labor's bread and butter. By 2009, union officials wielded monopoly-bargaining power over 7.5 million state and local employees, nearly 43% of all such employees nationwide, compared to just 8% of private-sector workers. Moreover, for many years now, Big Labor featherbedding and counterproductive work rules have sharply increased real taxpayer costs for compensation of state and local government employees. In fact, from 1998 to 2008 alone, taxpayers' aggregate real costs for compensation of state and local government employees soared at a rate nearly 50% faster than the total real growth of private-sector employee compensation! And now, incredibly, the Big Labor Congress is poised to sock it to taxpayers again. This spring, the U.S. House and Senate are on the verge of rubber-stamping a new federal mandate ensuring that public-sector union bosses get monopoly-bargaining privileges over additional hundreds of thousands of state and local public-safety employees. Kildee-Gregg Would Pave Way For Dragooning All State, Local Employees Into Unions This federal mandate (H.R.413 and S.1611), respectively introduced in the House and Senate by Big Labor Congressman Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) and Big Labor-appeasing Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), goes by an innocent-sounding moniker, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act." But this label mocks the reality that the legislation would incite conflict between government agencies and employees and hurt taxpayers. H.R.413/S.1611 would institute a federal mandate foisting union "exclusive representation" (monopoly bargaining) on state and local police, firefighters, and other public-safety employees nationwide.
'Decade of Decline' in Private-Sector Jobs

'Decade of Decline' in Private-Sector Jobs

Forced-Unionism State Employment Down by 1.9 Million Since 1999 (Source: April 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Recently, millions of Americans have been 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. This marks the first time since the Great Depression that an entire decade has gone by with negative net growth in private-sector employment across the U.S. However, some of the 50 states have fared far better than others over the past 10 years. And a review of how each state's job market performed suggests that the U.S. Congress could dramatically improve America's employment prospects for the next decade by adopting one simple change in federal labor policy. Private-Sector Employment in Right to Work States up by 1.5 Million Since 1999 Current federal labor law authorizes and promotes the payment of compulsory union dues and fees as a condition of getting or keeping a job. Under pro-forced unionism provisions in the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the 1951 amendments to the Railway Labor Act (RLA), an estimated 6.6 million private-sector employees must pay dues or fees to their Big Labor monopoly-bargaining agent, or face termination from their jobs. At the same time, thanks to many years of vigilant efforts by freedom-loving Americans, federal labor law continues explicitly to recognize states' option to protect employees from forced union dues and fees by adopting Right to Work laws. Currently, 22 states have Right to Work laws on the books prohibiting the firing of employees simply for exercising their right to refuse to join or bankroll an unwanted union. A huge majority of the 22 Right to Work states actually experienced net gains in private-sector employment from 1999 through 2009. Overall, private-sector employment in Right to Work states is up by roughly 1.5 million since 1999. Meanwhile, the 28 forced-unionism states collectively endured a "lost decade" in employment growth far more bleak than that of the nation as a whole. In these states, private-sector employment is down by 1.9 million since 1999.
'Decade of Decline' in Private-Sector Jobs

'Decade of Decline' in Private-Sector Jobs

Forced-Unionism State Employment Down by 1.9 Million Since 1999 (Source: April 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Recently, millions of Americans have been 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. This marks the first time since the Great Depression that an entire decade has gone by with negative net growth in private-sector employment across the U.S. However, some of the 50 states have fared far better than others over the past 10 years. And a review of how each state's job market performed suggests that the U.S. Congress could dramatically improve America's employment prospects for the next decade by adopting one simple change in federal labor policy. Private-Sector Employment in Right to Work States up by 1.5 Million Since 1999 Current federal labor law authorizes and promotes the payment of compulsory union dues and fees as a condition of getting or keeping a job. Under pro-forced unionism provisions in the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the 1951 amendments to the Railway Labor Act (RLA), an estimated 6.6 million private-sector employees must pay dues or fees to their Big Labor monopoly-bargaining agent, or face termination from their jobs. At the same time, thanks to many years of vigilant efforts by freedom-loving Americans, federal labor law continues explicitly to recognize states' option to protect employees from forced union dues and fees by adopting Right to Work laws. Currently, 22 states have Right to Work laws on the books prohibiting the firing of employees simply for exercising their right to refuse to join or bankroll an unwanted union. A huge majority of the 22 Right to Work states actually experienced net gains in private-sector employment from 1999 through 2009. Overall, private-sector employment in Right to Work states is up by roughly 1.5 million since 1999. Meanwhile, the 28 forced-unionism states collectively endured a "lost decade" in employment growth far more bleak than that of the nation as a whole. In these states, private-sector employment is down by 1.9 million since 1999.