Union walk-outs don't have the same meaning now
Unions used to mean something. They're still marginally useful, but like Obstructionists, their power has waned. Unlike Obstructionists, some of the union people are fed up with partisan politics, and they walked out on the "friends of the little people" who fly to the Democrat convention in private jets, and arrive at the appointed gathering in a limousine. For the unionists who blindly support Democrats, these perks are paid for by deductions from their members' salaries. Republican supporters arrive at their conventions in the same fashion, with one basic difference: they own the jets and limousines. Producers are by and large conservatives, and they know how to make things happen without government subsidies. They haven't paid for those luxuries with the wages of some poor working stiff; they earned the money and bought their toys. I'm not talking about the embezzling corporate crooks like Ken Lay, either. I'm talking about the corporate types who are fountainheads, providing jobs for millions, and products that make America the envy of the world. In a land where freedom includes the right to look for a better job if you feel you're being "exploited", there is less and less need for a power bloc to "guard the rights of the workers".
What follows is guest commentary by a security manager at a large industrial facility that is "a union shop." He deals with union members, and their occasional arrogance, on a daily basis. I asked him recently about the "union stuff" that happened this week. His take on "organized labor" is much more acute and timely than mine, so I yield the floor to the distinguished gentleman from Iowa:
Their membership is dropping off like flies in a cold snap. The reason "They are getting tired of the unions spending their money on politics."
I told one union guy this morning why. "The unions used to control the Democratic Party. Now the Democratic Party controls the unions and are making the unions pay for the privilege." Their members want the unions to spend their dues on benefits and other related projects. AFL-CIO spent $53 million out right in their attempt to defeat President Bush. That is not counting roughly double what they contributed to "527" organizations. That is a lot of retirement they squandered against the wishes of roughly 39% of the local membership here alone.
They are losing their membership which, in the case of the Teamsters, is their political power. Lose membership they lose money. Lose the money and lose the influence not to mention the voting blocks they represent. If they want to maintain their hegemony they have to actually represent their people or, as the so-called leadership here has found out, they will have no people to represent. They have been insulting the intelligence of their members for years. It took 9/11 and John Kerry to expose the hypocrisy. The AFL-CIO has lost the trust and the Teamsters are cutting their losses.
What follows is guest commentary by a security manager at a large industrial facility that is "a union shop." He deals with union members, and their occasional arrogance, on a daily basis. I asked him recently about the "union stuff" that happened this week. His take on "organized labor" is much more acute and timely than mine, so I yield the floor to the distinguished gentleman from Iowa:
Their membership is dropping off like flies in a cold snap. The reason "They are getting tired of the unions spending their money on politics."
I told one union guy this morning why. "The unions used to control the Democratic Party. Now the Democratic Party controls the unions and are making the unions pay for the privilege." Their members want the unions to spend their dues on benefits and other related projects. AFL-CIO spent $53 million out right in their attempt to defeat President Bush. That is not counting roughly double what they contributed to "527" organizations. That is a lot of retirement they squandered against the wishes of roughly 39% of the local membership here alone.
They are losing their membership which, in the case of the Teamsters, is their political power. Lose membership they lose money. Lose the money and lose the influence not to mention the voting blocks they represent. If they want to maintain their hegemony they have to actually represent their people or, as the so-called leadership here has found out, they will have no people to represent. They have been insulting the intelligence of their members for years. It took 9/11 and John Kerry to expose the hypocrisy. The AFL-CIO has lost the trust and the Teamsters are cutting their losses.
posted by Robert at 1:12 PM
9 Comments:
Excellent article on this topic:
There's a Reason Union Membership Is Plummeting
I'll second that.
I am a past local chairman and local president of a very large international union. Being one of the largest locals, I was on the national negotiating committee, and the national "case screening" committee, and made half a dozen trips a year to New York, Washington D.C., etc. As a Republican Conservative, I saw MANY things that unions did for Dems, that had they been done for Repubs would have been considered a criminal act!
I also was treated differently because of my political beliefs. (imagine that!)
I made the mistake of believing that the members would respect me for representing them ALL regardless of their politics. I found most Dems don't respect anything but their ideas.
I also got tired of representing the same people that if I had them for employees, would fire them too. These people are also the fastest to "turn" on you, and tell others how worthless you are.
Needless to say, I don't miss the job one bit. I actually sleep pretty well knowing that two of my biggest critics now hold the local chairman and local president jobs.
I still wonder if they remember the times they were a thorn in my side when others are "sticking" it to them? ;-)
I have supervised unionized Michigan state employees for twenty years. I have noticed several of them "opting out" of the union in the past few years. This means that, while they must continue to pay a portion of their regular union dues, they are electing not to be covered by the union in any other way. Since this union has the contract it is their way or the highway, yet they still get to collect the highway toll, even if you refuse to travel on it. The fact that these people are atkiong this step speaks volumes about their satisfaction with the union. Some of these folks are even Democrats!
They are tired of their money going for political causes which have never benefited them. They are tired of the unions going to bat for the troublemakers and malcontents but only mentioning the good workers as examples to get the others off the hook (example: one employee has never committed a single infraction in twenty years but makes a mistake that involves discipline. The supervisor takes this into account and does not hold that employee accountable. Another employee is constantly in trouble, has a few years in and commits the same infraction. The union goes to bat for that employee, citing the good employee's lack of discipline and says that all employees must be treated in the same manner. Management must relent and let the bad employee off on the charge-no good dead goes unpunished. Result: poorer performance by all and disgruntled attitudes.). Uncontrollable spiral!
The Unions need to go down to Mexico and unionize the factories down there. China could sure use some, too. If the Unions really believed in their cause,they would at least attempt this. Their cause has always had a definate Communist leaning. So , why wouldn't the Chicoms be happy to have unions.oh, I forgot ,the Peop;e own the businesses so how can the People strike against the People?
That was always the real plan of the unions. The People (Unions) were to take over the plants and factories and run them.
Howie,
I choose to call these "Republican Defications" all over the conservative base.
Unions
nearly an oxymoron
sub government
take your money
get fat on the lemmings,
and erf ya dernt feel
like living up to the
Contract YOU signed to get the padded job
SO WHAT?
go sleep
read a porn
spend 6 hours in 'da chitter
ergghhhh!!!!!!!
I belong to a union because they take the $$$ out of my check no matter what. I could opt out and have that $$$ go somewhere else, but I figure on the off chance some student tries to cause trouble for me, CTA will at least provide a lawyer to defend me.
And we just got our dues raised so CTA could fight Arnold. That really frosts me.
Your point about lawsuits rings true to me,CalGirl, in that I retired from the same profession but in a different state. Never had a problems, but there are some mighty greedy screws loose out there in John Q Publicland, and parenting is not the same as it once was when I began teaching.
Unfortunately, many of our dues dollars advocated for some who were a disgrace to the profession and who were rightly reprimanded by the administration. Jeopardizing the learning and achievement and even safety of our young charges was insupportable to me.
Our state association's PAC rallied around some of the worst losers at election time. I knew to vote the opposite. (After all, the union could not go into the voting booth with me.)
Now that I am recently retired, I have opted out of membership. The final straw was the propaganda supportive of Kerry. I continue to get letters from both PSEA and the DNC, which make me laugh heartily before I discard them. "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I am free at last."
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