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Individual liberty anywhere is a threat to the Progressive-Collectivist Cause everywhere.
Proposals to make paying for union benefits in Maine voluntary will draw a sharp battle line between workers and employers. The ensuing debate will not be resolved easily.(from bangordailynews.com)Two proposals that will come before the Legislature would end the practice of deducting from employee paychecks a portion of union dues, even if the employee does not join the union. One bill, LD 309, would exempt public sector employees from having a fee subtracted from their paychecks. Those who fall under this category include teachers, police officers and full-time firefighters, those working for the university and community college systems and state employees. Three other proposals covering the private sector will be merged into one bill.
Rep. Tom Winsor, R-Norway, sponsor of LD 309, is a former state employee, and his wife worked for the state for about 35 years. Seeing a mandatory deduction never sat well with him, he said. The argument for the mandatory deduction is that employees who work under union-negotiated contracts — with the pay and benefits that come with them — ought to contribute a fair portion of the cost of hammering out that contract.
But Rep. Winsor argues that unions ought to work to persuade nonmembers to join — perhaps by offering more services or by reaching out to nonmembers to learn what they want in new contracts. “I really do believe in collective bargaining,” he said, “but membership should be voluntary.”
He also asserts that unions have lost their way, failing to understand that their members are in partnership with their employers — to turn a profit in the private sector, and to provide quality services efficiently in the public sector.
On both counts, Rep. Winsor is correct.
As the union-controlled National Labor Relations Board continues its job-killing push to unionize America’s workplace—including deciding whether to break-up and unionize company employees by classification—Republican Congressman Tom Price (GA) has introduced an amendment to completely defund the NLRB through the end of FY 2011.(from biggovernment.com)
[via Labor Relations Today]
The House continues its consideration of H.R. 1, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act for FY2011. This bill, if passed, will make appropriations for the continuing operation of the various federal government agencies through September 30, 2011. As reported by The Hill several hundred additional amendments have recently been introduced, which are taking up considerable time in the debate.
Among the amendments introduced is C.R. 578, introduced by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), to defund the National Labor Relations Board, as follows:At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out and implement the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.)Given the current anti-business and anti-worker tenor of the NLRB, its declining caseload, as well as the blatant shilling the current NLRB is doing at the behest of union bosses, a defunding of this union-corrupted agency would be a welcome step to making it easier for America’s job creators to create jobs.
Knowing that they are going to get hit more often in the media, you might think that Republicans would put extra time and effort into developing a knockout message. In reality, however, Republicans seem to invest much less time and thought into getting their political message across than is done by the Democrats.(from jewishworldreview.com)First of all, Democrats develop words and phrases that they all use, so that the public hears those same words and phrases over and over again, until they sink in. Republicans have nothing to match the Democrats' catch phrases like "social justice" or "tax cuts for the rich."
When have you ever known the Republicans to be that coordinated?Not only do Republicans fail to take the initiative when it comes to political rhetoric, they are not very good at counter-punching when they are hit.
How often have you heard "tax cuts for the rich" from Democrats-- without the Republicans saying anything to counter the implication that they are just looking out for a relatively few wealthy people, while millions of other people are losing their jobs and their homes?
The facts are all on the Republicans' side. But, unless someone articulates those facts, they will be like the proverbial tree that falls in an empty forest.
"Some of what I've heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions." - President Barack Hussein ObamaHT: The Union News.Class struggle(in Marxist ideology) the conflict of interests between the workers and the ruling class in a capitalist society, regarded as inevitably violent.
Class struggle(in Marxist ideology) the conflict of interests between the workers and the ruling class in a capitalist society, regarded as inevitably violent.