Unions

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Business - Communism - Craig Becker - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Government - Jobs - Liberals - President - Socialism - Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Appointee Has Attacked Worker’s Right Group

April 1, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Mark Hemingway of the Washington Examiner had another piece on Obama’s appointee to the National Labor Relations Board, union hack Craig Becker. Hemingway wrote about Becker’s past articles ripping the worker’s rights group National Right to Work and wondered if Becker could be fair to them now that he’s in a position to adjudicate between them and big labor?

One does not hold out much hope for Becker to be fair, though.

Hemingway reminds us that the NRW is involved in a lot of worker’s disputes with labor and Becker has attacked them mercilessly in past opinion pieces and appearances. Apparently he’s called them the “anti-union fringe” and are “ideologically driven” (as if Becker isn’t??).
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Obama’s Appointee Has Attacked Worker’s Right Group”

Budget - Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

PROillinois: New Pension Plan Idea Debuts

March 30, 2010 by

MADIGAN PENSION BRIDGE NOT FAR ENOUGH

PROillinois New Grassroots Campaign to Unshackle Local Governments From Unfunded State Pension Mandates

(March 30 – Northbrook, IL) Runaway government employee pension costs is the hot topic, with average taxpayers and the press starting to take notice of this looming public finance disaster. A more dramatic, yet simple pension reform effort known as “the PROillinois plan” is gaining momentum, and is being promoted by a grassroots group of Illinois residents and local government leaders who want to put an end, once and for all, to the unworkable Springfield practice of dictating to local governments the retirement benefits paid to local government employees.
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PROillinois: New Pension Plan Idea Debuts”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - EFCA - Government - Jobs - Liberals - NLRB - President - Warner Todd Huston

Union Hack Becker Gets Recess Appointment

March 29, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

President Obama is determined to misuse his office to payoff unions and to that end he has given union goon Craig Becker a recess appointment as the head of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the agency tasked with implementing fair and responsible federal rules to govern labor and employers.

The U.S. Chamber of commerce has slammed Obama’s appointment of union hack Becker to such an important position. The Chamber was disgusted by Obama’s actions. According to The Hill the Chamber slammed the decision because it “‘disregards the Senate’s bipartisan rejection’ of Becker and ‘contradicts the president’s claim to change the tone in Washington,’ said Randel K. Johnson, the chamber’s senior vice president of Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits.”

“This is the first time since 1993 that the Chamber has opposed a nominee to the NLRB,” Johnson said. “The Chamber’s opposition is based on Mr. Becker’s prolific writings, which suggest a radical view of labor law that flies in the face of established precedent and case law and is far outside the mainstream.”

Now unions can likely expect Becker to re-write NLRB rules to allow the things that unions want to get implemented even though Congress has in a bi-partisan manner refused to do so thus far. Obama is, in other words, warping our process, subverting Congress, and using back doors to get his radical, left-wing agenda passed above the desires of the people’s representatives and the will of the voters.
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Union Hack Becker Gets Recess Appointment”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Jobs - Liberals - Pat Brady - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - SEIU - Socialism - State Government - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Fox News Chicago Digging Deeper on Illinois Pension Mess

March 26, 2010 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

My friend Lennie Jarratt was featured on Fox News Chicago last night. The subject was the $85 billion dollar deficit that the Illinois finds its public employee pensions confronted with. Fox News reports that every Illinois citizen would have to fork over $6,600 to instantly solve the problem. And what has caused this problem? Unions.

Lennie has some great lines in this piece and he’s right on. He is right that education in America has become “legalized theft.” Here are some of his main points:

  • Getting a public sector job is like hitting the lottery
  • The way schools levy is legal theft
  • We have the highest property taxes in the Midwest
  • Nearly all of the top 50 public sector pensions in IL are educators
  • Killing jobs and forcing people to leave the state further cutting state revenue
  • Within 4-6 years most public sector retirees are making more than when working

Illinois isn’t the only state in this union-made morass. Nearly every state in the union is in this mess.
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Fox News Chicago Digging Deeper on Illinois Pension Mess”

ACORN - Barack Obama - California - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Illinois - Law - Liberals - Louisiana - New York - SEIU - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

ACORN’s Tangled Branches

March 25, 2010 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

News is all over the country that the often criminal group the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is dead, folding its tent, kaput. All this is because, as Politico puts it, of a “conservative assault that never prompted any prosecutions.”

But let us not get our hopes up that ACORN is defeated. It isn’t. In fact, most of the groups that huddled under ACORN’s left-wing are just changing their names and moving on with all the same people involved as if nothing ever happened. And this isn’t anything new. The fact is, ACORN activists have always hid behind dozens of false front organizations and corporate identities to disguise their criminal network.

In California, for instance, one of the ACORN affiliates is changing its name to “Californians for Community Empowerment” and one of the New York offices will now be known as “New York Communities for Change.” But all the same people that ran these former ACORN offices in these states are still there, no change has been made but the name.

We also saw the shady groups connected with ACORN but not named ACORN just last year during the Doug Hoffman, New York 23 arc. There an ACORN affiliate had created a fake political party in order to funnel cash to the Democrat running in that race. One of the organizations hip-deep in that election was a political group called the Working Families Party. Of course, the WFP is more-or-less a front for ACORN in New York and no political party at all.
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ACORN’s Tangled Branches”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - GOP - Government - Jobs - New Jersey - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

New Jersey’s Gov. Taking on Unions

March 25, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Barbara Hollingsworth of the Washington Examiner has a piece celebrating the efforts of New Jersey’s new Governor Chris Christie in his effort to take on the state’s over indulged public employees unions.

Christie has taken on one of the worst budgets in the country and the task ahead of him will be difficult in every way imaginable. Unfortunately, the former Governor, John Corzine, made matters worse by negotiating a deal that will prevent Christie from furloughing state workers until 2011.

But Christie is forging ahead making the cuts he can.
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New Jersey’s Gov. Taking on Unions”

Budget - Business - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Socialism - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Cato Study: Unions Violate Freedom

March 23, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Cato Institute has issued its latest Tax and Budget bulletin, this one centered on public-sector unions. The essence of the report is that public employee unions violate freedom, make government more expensive and inefficient, and the incestuous relationship between unions and politicians takes away power from the voters.

While labor unions do play a diminishing role in the private sector, the study points out that they play are playing an increasingly larger role in government these days through their “vigorous lobbying efforts.” I’d add that they are also playing a larger role due to the personal greed of our politicians who are the happy recipients of large amounts of the campaign donations that unions typically provide, as well.

And it’s all bad for government finds Cato. “Collective bargaining is a misguided labor policy,” the report says, “because it violates civil liberties and gives unions excessive power to block needed reforms.”

To fix this evil, Cato recommends that collective bargaining in the public sector be banned.
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Cato Study: Unions Violate Freedom”

Barack Obama - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Pensions - President - Public Employees Unions - Stimulus - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Obama Forcing Gov’t Costs to Rise With Union Sop

March 22, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here we are in an economic downturn and Barack Obama is forcing government costs to rise. The Detroit News has noticed it, too, with a recent editorial on Obama’s absurd “responsible contractor” rule on vendors that contract with the federal government.

This new rule would force all vendors that contract with the government to exist under union rules, union pay scales, and union pensions, whether they belong to a union or not. Even entities that are not unionized will be forced to observe union rules if this plan is implemented.
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Obama Forcing Gov’t Costs to Rise With Union Sop”

ACORN - Barack Obama - Budget - Campaign Finance - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Media - Media Bias - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Lord of the Rings Updated for 2010, The Dark Lord ACORN Lives

March 20, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The last book of the famous Lord of the Rings Trilogy is ripe for some updating, so here’s a proposal to that end. The Dark Lord Sauron is a perfect evil villain, of course. He’s shadowy, unseen, hard to grasp, but pervasive and the personification of oppression and evil. But his name needs to be updated and so does his downfall in order to reflect today’s sensibilities.

So, instead of being named Lord Sauron, his new name will be the Dark Lord ACORN. See, the evil still works but it’s updated, ya know?

Now we all know that in the original final book of LOTR, The Return of the King, the Dark Lord and his forces are beaten by the combined forces of the good people of Middle Earth. Evil is vanquished and all live forever after in love and harmony. The age of magic does pass, but a new idyllic age of man dawns.

Well, poppycock says I. We all know that evil isn’t so easily vanquished, don’t we? We need to rewrite the demise of the evil Lord ACORN to one more befitting of reality.
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Lord of the Rings Updated for 2010, The Dark Lord ACORN Lives”

Budget - California - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Jobs - Liberals - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

California’s Brown Tells Unions to ‘Attack’ His GOP Opponent

March 19, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

You couldn’t get any better proof that unions are little else but hatchet men for the Democrat Party than Jerry Brown’s recent visit to a labor group meeting in California this week.

At a meeting of the Laborers’ International Union of North America in Sacramento, Brown gave marching orders to the unions in his race for the Democratic nomination for California Governor. He wanted them to “attack” the GOP for him.

“We’re going to attack whenever we can, but I’d rather have you attack. I’d rather be the nice guy in this race. We’ll leave [the attacks] to … the Democratic Party and others.”

That’s a pretty cynical campaign, isn’t it? Brown hopes to unleash the “attack” dogs of the unions in his favor, but expects to stand clear of the mud flying so as to appear untarnished… yet HE’S the guy that ordered the mud to fly in the first place?

Jerry Brown may think the voters are stupid but let’s hope they disabuse him of that notion.
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California’s Brown Tells Unions to ‘Attack’ His GOP Opponent”

Budget - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Liberals - Oregon - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Firefighters Union ‘Sticks it’ to the City of Portland

March 17, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Oregonian has a disheartening story proving once again why public employees unions should be outlawed.

Here we have a case of a criminal fireman who ripped off the city through a false claim of being injured and unable to work, he admits his guilt and doesn’t press the city for more benefits, yet the union DOES take the city to court to get undeserved benefits for this layabout fireman!

For 12 years fireman Tom Hurley ripped off the city of Portland’s fireman’s disability fund by receiving monthly checks of $3,200 at the taxpayer’s expense despite that he really wasn’t disabled. In fact, he took the city’s money and put himself through cooking school and then went to work in the food service industry. All paid for by the taxpayers.

And when the city finally wised up and cut him off from the honey pot, even Hurley didn’t appeal the decision. He just shrugged his shoulders and moved forward with his new career as a chef.

But the union would have none of this “end of benefits” business. No, the union wouldn’t move on. The union took the City of Portland to court to force the city to keep paying this former fireman scam artist. The union wants the city to pay this layabout fireman $103,000 in “lost” disability payments.

The city is claiming it wants to “go to war” over this whole thing. Let’s hope they do and let’s hope they win. This union ripoff of the taxpayers is unconscionable.
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Firefighters Union ‘Sticks it’ to the City of Portland”

Budget - California - Campaign Finance - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Free Trade - Government - House of Representatives - Liberals - Lobbyists - Media - Media Bias - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - SEIU - Senate - Socialism - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Unions Top the $1 Billion Club in California Political Spending

March 11, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The California Teachers Association spent $211,849,298 on lobbying and political spending to get its way in California in 2009. Along with the CTA, the Calif. State Council of Service Employees and 13 other organizations spent a total of one billion dollars on political lobbying of the State House at Sacramento. All of these special interests have helped push California to the brink of insolvency.

But, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission, the two unions mentioned above far and away top the spending of the other top lobbying spenders in California. The next closest in spending was the Big Pharma clocking in at $104,912,997 on its political spending with various and sundry Indian casino groups whose spending was in the less than $85,000,000 range.

Commission Chairman Ross Johnson said in a press release, “This tsunami of special interest spending drowns out the voices of average voters and intimidates political opponents and elected officials alike.”
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Unions Top the $1 Billion Club in California Political Spending”

Budget - Capitalism - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Jobs - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Socialism - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

The Coming Union Pension Plan Collapse

March 8, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

At the blog YidWithLid.blogspot.com Sammy Benoit has posted an interesting piece about the mess befalling so many failing union pension funds across the nation. The post includes a very useful chart that shows the trouble in which some of the largest union pension funds find themselves.

The upshot is that these pensions are on the verge of total collapse which will leave millions of retiring union members and those already retired bereft of the pensions that they had assumed would carry them into their golden years.

The list is extremely scary. This is a disaster for many people. But what is the solution? Naturally the unions are hoping that government is the solution. But the problem with a government bailout is that should a bailout happen the unions will not learn the important lesson that they should learn from the necessary collapse, necessary to reign in their excess. Sadly, many will be hurt by this reigning in of unions, but these same members should never have allowed their unions to get so out of hand in the first place!

So, courtesy of YidWithLid…
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The Coming Union Pension Plan Collapse”

Anti-Americanism - Business - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Media - Michigan - Public Employees Unions - Rights - SEIU - Socialism - Teachers Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Unions Support This Detroit Socialist

March 7, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The left is constantly attempting to wave its hand dismissively at our claims that they are socialists and communists. They claim they are true blue Americans and we are lying about them. Unions are one of the biggest perpetrators of this misinformation.

Well, it appears that in Detroit unions came out in support of a goof ball that claimed himself to be a socialist. They all stood in the Michigan cold saying their “yeas” as he spoke about getting a free university degree, and as he touted a socialist “right” to food and their own house.

Here we see members of the AFT and the SEIU nodding in appreciation of this socialist’s ideas. They stood by his side as he pronounced these socialist “principles.”

Anyone that tells you that unions aren’t socialists and communists needs to explain why unions came out in support of this un-American nut in Detroit.
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Unions Support This Detroit Socialist”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Lobbyists - Media - President - Public Employees Unions - SEIU - Socialism - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Gov’t Employees Now Make More Than Private Sector Workers

March 7, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The news we have been warning you about is in. Government workers on average exceed the pay scale of those in private industry. The unsustainable situation is here. It is now clear that Bill Clinton was a bit premature when he said that the “era of big government is over.” Sadly he didn’t count on the era of big Obama to come.

One word explains why this upside down situation has come to fruition: unions.

USA Today is reporting that “the number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession.” The paper finds that workers at the high end of the salary scale are well represented in government. I’d say overly represented.
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Gov’t Employees Now Make More Than Private Sector Workers”

Andy Stern - Barack Obama - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Jobs - Liberals - Lobbyists - Media - President - SEIU - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

More On Stern’s Appointment to Deficit Reduction Panel

March 7, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Ed Barnes of FoxNews has a nice recap on Barack Obama’s appointment of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Chief Andy Stern to his deficit reduction panel.

Barnes tells us that Obama’s appointment of Stern set off a “round of criticism.” That’s putting it mildly.

President Obama’s decision to appoint his close political ally, union leader Andrew Stern, to the newly created National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has set off a firestorm of criticism from business and conservative groups who charge he is a political radical who should be investigated for failure to register as a lobbyist.

The failure to register as a lobbyist charge is over the fact that Stern was one of the most frequent visitors to the White House but never registered as a lobbyist to legally cover his visits. Whatever the case is concerning the legality of Stern’s constant visits to the Obama White House, those that criticize this appointment couldn’t be more right.
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More On Stern’s Appointment to Deficit Reduction Panel”

Barack Obama - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Jobs - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - Pensions - President - Public Employees Unions - SEIU - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Three Current Union Stories

March 5, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Shuffling through the web I see a few current stories that might be of interest to union watchers everywhere…

Pennsylvanians awoke today to a tale from Investor’s Business Daily headlined, “Specter Tells Business He’ll Back Pro-Union Card Check.”

Apparently Benedict Arlen is a yes vote for cloture on the pro-union card check legislation. Not much of a surprise as he’s been very pro-union since his sudden switch to the Democrat Party last year.
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Three Current Union Stories”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democracy - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Free Trade - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Media - President - Public Employees Unions - Regulation - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

AP: Unions Stymied Under Obama?

March 1, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Associated Press posted a story lamenting that Big Labor has failed so far to get Obama to heel by their commands. Big Labor has said “jump” and Obama has but skipped. The article is correct, though, that Big Labor has failed in its two biggest goals: socialist healthcare and card check. At least, they’ve failed so far.

A third failure has also been forced upon Big Labor. As a result of newly seated Republican Senator Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts, Big Labor was not able to install Craig Becker as the head of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Becker was Big Labor’s back up plan in case Congress didn’t pass the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), or the card check bill. Being a former Big Labor lawyer and activist, labor groups expected that if installed as NLRB chief Becker would change rules, alter processes, and invent systems that would implement card check through the back door instead of through actual legislation.
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AP: Unions Stymied Under Obama?”

Andy Stern - Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

SEIU Prez Andy Stern Appointed to Federal Deficit Commission?

February 27, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

President Obama has today appointed Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern to the federal deficit-reduction commission. And I say, why not? After all union thugs like Stern are one of the root causes of federal deficits so he should know all about them.

Unfortunately, though, Stern only knows how to make deficits worse and knows precisely nothing about cutting them.

Obama also appointed several other big, big campaign donors to this so-called deficit cutting commission, Ann Fudge (over $36,000 donated) and Alice Rivlin (over $47,000).

Of course this is a joke. But the joke is on all of us. As this poseur of a president sits stroking his chin and telling America “let me be clear,” and “make no mistake” that he’s all about fixing things, he hands out plum after plum to his pals on the extreme left.
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SEIU Prez Andy Stern Appointed to Federal Deficit Commission?”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Elections - Free Trade - GOP - Government - Health - Jobs - Liberals - Public Employees Unions - Republicans - SEIU - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston - Washington

Washington State’s SEIU Bought Republican

February 26, 2010 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

On February 24, Moe Lane posted a short piece alerting one and all to the fact that one of the Republican candidates for Washington State’s 3rd Congressional District is a favorite of the hard-core lefties in the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) — one of Obama’s favorite Big Labors cohorts. Mr. Lane, though, was sure that Jaime Herrera “regrets that endorsement now.” Unfortunately, I am not so sanguine because Herrera has been far more compliant with Big Labor’s goals than is evident from what Lane might have thought was a mere wayward endorsement.

There is a reason, it appears, that the SEIU endorsed Herrera. As a Republican she seems to be far more one of them than one of us at least as far as Big Labor’s needs go!

Moe Lane cited the Clark County Politics blog on the SEIU’s endorsement, but if you don’t want to believe the CCPblog — admittedly a right leaning site — here is a Progressive Voters Guide for Washington and here is the Voters Guide for Equal Rights Washington, both left-wing groups that show SEIU support for Herrera. On top of that here is SEIU Local 1199 NW’s endorsement page which also announces its endorsement of Herrera.

But, let’s address that possible “regret” that Mr. Lane so casually extends to Ms Harrera. Could Lane be right, could it be that Herrera was just by happenstance on the receiving end of an SEIU endorsement and now wishes it never happened? Was it all just an unfortunate incident? I have to say that after looking up some of her votes over the last few years, I must conclude that Herrera was given the thumbs up by the SEIU for a reason. Jaime Herrera was quite a friend to Big Labor.
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Washington State’s SEIU Bought Republican”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - California - Capitalism - Economy/Finances - Elections - Free Trade - Jobs - Media - Public Employees Unions - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Public Employees Unions Destroying California

February 21, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Mark Tapscot echoes our current theme here on the blog by reporting that California is once again in a disastrous budget shortfall and one of the biggest reason that this is so is the undue power of the recalcitrant public employees unions. Tapscot says that California cannot get out of its mess because, “the unions refuse to consider relaxing their death grip on California’s rapidly shrinking legion of tax payers.”

Tapscot thinks that California is coming to realize that the unions are going to have to be confronted in order to solve the spiraling budget woes, but I am doubtful. Looking at the mess from the outside would certainly cause one to draw such a conclusion, but inside the legislature at Sacramento one sees no hint that the unions are becoming the bad guys as they should be.

Still, I hope that Tapscot is right and the California can finally lead the country in a good thing by breaking the public employees unions and, hope of hopes, eliminating them.

And why are these unions so dangerous? Tapscot’s conclusion is a refrain we’ve been touting for years.

It’s not only that public sector unions are driving many state and local governments into fiscal insolvency by forcing them to accept contracts providing compensation benefits that far exceed those in the private sector for comparable work and that cannot be paid for without crippling tax increases.

We agree, of course.

Add this report to the mounting number of individuals coming to the same conclusion we came to here on the blog.
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Public Employees Unions Destroying California”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Democracy - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Liberals - Media - Public Employees Unions - Socialism - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Kaus: Unions Are Crippling Obama

February 20, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Lefty website Slate.com’s Mickey Kaus is another one of those left of center folks that are realizing that unions are killing Obama. Of course, I’d go one farther and say that unions are killing America, but Kaus is only worried about helping Obama. Regardless, he’s right that unions are a dangerous impediment.

Kaus finds that the Davis-Bacon wage regulations made a joke of President Obama’s weatherization scheme, a plan that was supposed to bring jobs through his stimulus package. Because of these union-tied wage regulations, the weatherization projects that the stimulus tried to fund were so over priced and took so long to hammer out that few projects have ended up being undertaken. Yet, weatherization projects that have proceeded free of the Davis-Bacon regulations went smoothly.

As a result, the Department of Energy apparently weatherized only 22,000 homes under the program. Another pre-existing program, which doesn’t have to comply with Davis-Bacon, appears to have weatherized about 100,000 homes, if my math is right.

Kaus notes that unions caused this mess as the government spent most of the year trying to figure out how to implement the Davis-Bacon rules. (Kaus’ bold)

Instead, a year was wasted on mindless, union-demanded bureaucratic attempts to disingenuously replicate the labor market. Did Obama not know this would happen when he allowed the stimulus to be Davis-Baconized, or did he not care? [Update–Choice #3: He knows and cares, but is too weak to stand up to the unions.]

In any case, what we see here is yet another lefty that is grasping that unions are bad for us all. Mark this as another in our continuing chronicle proving that unions need to be eliminated.
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Kaus: Unions Are Crippling Obama”

Budget - Business - Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - Illinois - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - SEIU - State Government - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Pension Failure in Illinois Worst in Country

February 19, 2010 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

According to the Pew Center on the States, Illinois’ public employee’s pension system is in the worst shape of all states. The Associated Press reported that pensions in Illinois are underfunded and over promised.

Illinois was rated the most troubled pension system during the study period, with a 54 percent funding level and a total liability of more than $54 billion.

Proof once again that public employee unions are antithetical to good government. The reasons these pensions are in such poor shape are twofold. One is that they are far, far too generous (fault: unions) and two is that even when the money does go into these accounts the state legislature raids the funds for general usage (fault: politicians). Both reasons are failures of government.

What this state needs to do first thing is to start a two tiered system. Since the pensions are protected by law, we need to accept that we are saddled with current pensions. But any new employee and all employees not yet vested should have their undeserved benefits massively cut.

The state should also look to offer as many buyouts at lower costs as it can. Early retirements might help the bottom line, too.

But taking care that future benefits are not so undeservedly high is the most important thing here.
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Pension Failure in Illinois Worst in Country”

ACORN - Alabama - Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Campaign Finance - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Liberals - Policy - Socialism - Stimulus - Warner Todd Huston

Union Admits Buying Politician, Wants $ Back

February 18, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

When an average citizen donates money to a politician it is usually because that citizen believes in the politician and wants to help him have the war chest to conduct a campaign. Unions like to pretend that they donate to politicians out of the goodness of their hearts, just like common citizens do. Everyone knows, though, that they are merely making an attempt to buy them. A union in Alabama has as much as admitted that they were trying to buy a politician, but when he didn’t dance to their tune, these union folks demanded their contributions back.

Al Henley, secretary-treasurer of the Alabama AFL-CIO, seems to be a mite miffed with Alabama Representative Parker Griffith. You’ll recall that Griffith was the one-time Democrat who jumped the sinking Donkey ship and became a Republican late last year.

Apparently while he was a Democrat the AFL-CIO had no problem giving him campaign money. Now that he’s a Republican, though, the union has taken sudden umbrage at Griffith’s voting record. “Parker Griffith, we feel you have swindled us,” Henley said at a recent rally in Hunstville, Alabama.
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Union Admits Buying Politician, Wants $ Back”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Liberals - Rhode Island - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Warner Todd Huston

All Administrators and Teachers at Rhode Island School Fired

February 16, 2010 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

I don’t expect this to stick. I fully expect some left-wing, paid off judge to come to the aid of these union thugs. But… in Central Falls, Rhode Island School Superintendent Frances Gallo has fired an entire high school’s worth of teachers and administrators over a labor dispute.

Central Falls High School is situated in one of the poorest sections of Rhode Island yet the teachers there make between $72 and $78 thousand per year, far above the mean income of the area. The school is also performing dismally.

So, Superintendent Gallo told teachers that they would have to work perhaps twenty-five minutes more per day and help tutor the students. Naturally the un-caring teachers union refused — proving once again that education and the kids are not of interest to a union.

The union wouldn’t budge so Super Gallo just fired them all. Now THAT is some funny stuff right there! Good for Super Gallo.
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All Administrators and Teachers at Rhode Island School Fired”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democracy - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Status of Obama’s PLA Order

February 14, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

CNSNews did a story today giving an update on Obama’s Executive Order number 13502 requiring all federal construction projects to operate under Project Labor Agreements (PLAs). Thus far the EO has been stymied by the commission that Obama set up to handle the initiative.

A PLA is a contract agreement that would force union rules, union dues, and union control of any construction project that the federal government undertakes. The PLA rules would even descend upon any non-union labor hired for the work meaning that employees would be forced to pay dues even if they do not belong to a union.

This PLA requirement is only another Obama payoff to unions and the construction industry says that PLAs will make any federal project go over budget, take longer to complete making the projects needlessly expensive.
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Status of Obama’s PLA Order”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Government - Jobs - President - Public Employees Unions - Regulation - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

CNBC Slams Obama’s ‘Unholy Alliance’

February 11, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well, CNBC’s Media and Technology Editor, Dennis Kneale, is only the latest to jump my little “Unions are Antithetical to Good Government” bandwagon. Kneale slams Obama’s “unholy alliance” with Big Labor and proclaims it a danger to the country. He couldn’t be more right.

Here is the article: “Obama’s Unholy Union-With Unions”

Here are a few choice quotes:

  • It is an unholy union. It’s bad for business, bad for the economy, bad for our country. Worse, for reasons I’ll explain in a moment, this alliance could lead to bigger government at all levels, which will require higher taxes on everyone (not just the top 5 percent of earners, those grossing $155,000 or more, who already pay 60 percent of federal income tax).
  • Let’s be blunt about it: Unions hurt profits, and that hurts stock prices. The typical union salary is 20 percent to 30 percent higher than the pay for a comparable job in a non-union shop, BLS data show.
  • The unions’ expansion into all levels of government already is having a pernicious impact. Today the average government job pays MORE than the average pay in the private sector.
  • On which side of the bargaining table does President Obama sit — with the union workers, in fat government bureaucracies and old ailing industries, who helped him get elected? Or with the Real Majority — the rest of the people he was elected to represent?
  • My fear is that the answer is all too obvious, and it isn’t the right one.

Now if only I could get them all to pinpoint me as the mastermind of this mantra! I couldda been a contender. Ha, ha.
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CNBC Slams Obama’s ‘Unholy Alliance’”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - Senate - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

NLRB Nominee Stymied

February 10, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Two Democrats joined newly seated Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown Tuesday to uphold the Republican-led filibuster against President Obama’s nomination of Craig Becker to head the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The Democrats that joined the filibuster were Blanche Lincoln (D, Ark.) and Ben Nelson (D, Neb.). Both are thought to face losing their seats in the upcoming 2010 elections over the many left-wing votes they’ve recently cast.

The GOP is against the elevation of Becker to the NLRB Chair because his past statements show that he’ll take the position with a Big Labor agenda firmly in mind.

“Mr. Becker’s previous statements strongly indicate that he would take an aggressive personal agenda to the NLRB, and that he would pursue a personal agenda there, rather than that of the administration,” Senator Nelson said.

The final vote was 52-33, falling short of the 60 that Becker needed to sail out of committee and toward an open vote.
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NLRB Nominee Stymied”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Free Trade - Jobs - Liberals - Maryland - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Maryland’s Toxic Teachers Union

February 10, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

We all know the drill, right? Unions curry favor with compliant politicians, the unions then donate campaign cash to them hoping for political favors later down the line. Yes, that’s the drill… unless you are the Montgomery County, Maryland teachers union. See, in that case candidates are expected to pay the union for its favors, not the other way ’round, apparently.

As the Washington Post says, this upside down relationship “distorts and perverts the political process.” Folks, if even the left-wing Washington Post understands that unions are bad for our democracy, you have to know things have gotten horribly out of hand.

In some unusually harsh language, the WP takes after these union thugs big time:
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Maryland’s Toxic Teachers Union”