It appears Big Labor will stop at nothing to impose card check forced unionism on American workers and job-providers. Public opposition from energized Right to Work supporters and other concerned Americans to the draconian card check bill -- which eliminates the secret ballot in workplace unionization drives, opens up workers to intimidating "home visits," and allows government bureaucrats to impose contracts on workers -- has thus far stalled the legislation in the Senate.
On Tuesday, in what may have been a test vote on card check, the Senate rejected an attempt to move President Obama's nomination of radical union lawyer Craig Becker to a seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the quasi-judicial agency that administers federal labor law. Becker's writings indicated a willingness to impose the card check forced unionism mechanism through NLRB rules, without even a Congressional vote.
But despite this setback union officials aren't giving up on card check, and neither are the forced unionism proponents in the Obama Administration. The Daily Caller reports that White House staffers are considering a new executive order that could effectively require all federal contractors to submit their workers to coercive card check campaigns:
Critics say the proposals would heavily favor unionized companies and significantly increase the cost and amount of time needed to award contracts. Estimates have the potential cost increase at 20 percent, adding about $100 billion a year to the federal budget.
“Making contracting decisions based on political or ideological litmus tests will waste taxpayer dollars and limit economic growth at a time when we can least afford to do so. The administration’s new rules amount to a backdoor attempt at card check. The last thing our small businesses need is to be saddled with new rules that effectively say ‘unionize or die,’” said John Hart, communications director for Senator Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican. Coburn and four other Senate Republicans sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag last week asking for a briefing on the proposals; they have yet to receive a response.
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Now the administration is facing increasing pressure to go around Congress and implement pro-labor policies via executive order. The Service Employees International Union, one of the groups lobbying the White House to adopt the new labor policies, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
No surprises here: SEIU czar Andy Stern was the most frequest visitor to the White House in Obama's first year.
Comments
Not returning your ballot card won't work...
In Michigan, 40,000 PRIVATE child care workers were sent ballots, 5,000 returned them, 35,000 didn't. The 5,000 that returned the ballots got their way and now all 40,000 are in the union. The State collects/keeps the dues's...
Contact the State and/or union - No returned calls, don't like it, too bad that what "Hope & Change" were all about...
OUR ORWELLIAN GOVERNMENT
HOME VISITS, MANDATORY WHATEVER,SPY CAMS, IMPOSED COMMITMENT OF CIVILIANS ENFORCED BY UNION BOSSES, GOVERNMENTAL CONTROLS AND OVERSIGHTS, BOOTS ON YOUR NECK ! DOES THIS ALL SOUND TOO FAMILIAR!IT SHOULD IF YOU READ "1984". GOVERNMENT IS TOO BIG AND TOO POWERFUL AND IT'S NOT OUR GOVERNMENT...IT USE TO BE BACK WHEN I WAS A KID. MY FATHER DIED A FEW YEARS AGO. HE SAW THE RETURNING VETS OF WW I, THE GREAT DEPRESSION,WW II, KOREA, VIETNAM AND ON AND ON. HE SAID TO ME A FEW WEEKS BEFORE HE DIED THAT THIS WASN'T THE AMERICA THAT HE KNEW AND FOUGHT FOR IN WW II. HE SAID HE WAS VERY AFRAID OF OUR GOVERNMENT AND WHAT IT WAS UP TO. A MAN WHO FOUGHT IN WAR AND SAW PEOPLE DIE IS AFRAID OF "OUR" GOVERNMENT ! WHAT KIND OF NATION DO WE HAVE NOW ? WHAT KIND OF NATION DO WE LEAVE FOR OUR CHILDREN ? PLEASE READ "F.E.M.A.'S EXECUTIVE ORDERS" AND "THE CONSTITUTIONAL FREE ZONE" A.S.A.P ! IT WILL ONLY TAKE 1/2 HOUR OF YOUR TIME TO DO SO. IT WON'T BE TOO LONG FROM NOW AND YOU'LL HEAR THE BOOTS COMING FOR YOU LATE AT NIGHT....KICKING ON YOUR DOOR AND YOU'LL BE HAULED OFF INTO THE NIGHT NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN!"WHEN THE RABBIT SCREAMS THE FOX COMES RUNNING....BUT NOT TO HELP"!
This appears to be one
This appears to be one strategy used by unions. It happened to Home Care workers in L.A. who were unionized by the same method. Providers who did not want to join the union didn't mail back their responses then were told "the majority voted to be unionized". They could not get out of it.
why..
I know that in my case, if the vote is not via ballot and private.. I will as a US Citizen ignore any cardbasd effort and intemidation by union thugs.
Note that my right to have a job (union or not) is more important than any union effort.
And since its easy to bypass unions in the IT world, I have yet to have any problems doing so.
Btw, Ive been in IT for 33 years and only been a programmer for 10 of that, and never 'officially' a manager, while i have been project leader/team leader.
stimulus bill
HOW MUCH OF THE STIMULUS IS GOING TO UNION JOBS??IE;WILL NUKE POWER PLANT IN GA. BE UNION ONLY?
right to work
as far as I'm concerened all Federal projects or federally funded projects should be awarded to ALL americans . To hand those type of projects to a selected small unqualified collective bargaining group does make a mockery of their proprtion in the workforce as a whole. Lets not forget--- collective bargaining is very un-american as its an aqssembly of individuals incapable to negotiate for themself and as a result hampers our global competitivenes--- this country was made by individual risktakers and not by slow moving bears sitting at factory backgates
Nuke Plant in Georgia
The question is - will it be an exclusive labor union site?
If the Obamtrons have their way, the answer, sadly, will be YES.
Stimulus going to union jobs
You can be sure that the nuclear power plants on the east coast WILL be union jobs! No other reason Obama would want a nuclear plant. Wonder what the environmentalists that want to stop everything are saying now?
Union jobs
Amazing, the level of ignorance and jealousy. Union jobs pay better and have better benefits. Union workers, especially in the construction trades, are highly competent and whose work is demonstrably better. (See the Florida Highway construction experiment were they used non-union labor because it was cheaper only to find out that the work was so poor that it resulted in greater than union costs because of the frequency and early nature of the repairs required for safe roadways.) Communities with a strong union component have higher general wages and lower tax rates for non-union workers becuase union wages trickle up in goods and services purchased, in taxes paid and in neighborhoods maintained.
SO, to put it simply. The extremist are those people who, despite about 100 years after the unions have become a constructive part of economic and social life, still cannot adjust to that fact. Get used to the idea that unchecked corporate power is not the will of the people, and this recession has shown us just how important it is to have checks and balances against "patrons" like you. This is a fraud and your arguments are either based on outright falsehoods or stupidity. What's your problem, profits are not high enough? Good money and health care and retirement funds should be reserved for owners, top management and bought and paid-for whores like your consulting firm.
Union Jobs
It's been my experience that the real reason people join the union is that the unions have gotten so strong that there is no other way to get hired.
I can't understand why people can't see the upward spiral the unions have forced this country into.
Unions demand higher wages and benefits from the manufacturers. Those costs of production have to be paid for, so the producers pass the cost on to the consumers. Those people demand more pay in order to maintain their life style, the spiral continues being passed on and on. So producers in order to stay competitive export their production to those places with lower wages. Take a look at the plate in the drivers side door frame on your favorite Ford F 150. MADE IN MEXICO!
Thanks unions we can no longer make products that anyone can afford to buy! We'll soon be a bankrupt nation since we no longer are able to build anything anyone wants enough to pay the price we are forced to charge by the corrupt unions. Now they want ballots that they can see who voted against them, yeah sure, now they know exactly who to knee cap.
Why do you think our elections are by secret ballot, if not to protect the population from coercion?
It's time people, to wake up and see where the Pied Piper ( Obama and the unions ) are leading us.
If you are a small farmer or landscape contractor, can you afford to buy a tractor made in the USA or are you forced to buy one made in India, China, Korea, or some other third world country by sweat shop labor, and with none of the production control that we came to expect of those things made in the USA.
Start thinking with your brain, rather than your emotions, there is no free lunch, it has to be paid for by someone, ultimately by YOU!
Card Check = No Free Choice
If a person wishes to be a part of the union, that is their right NOT obligation to do so. These union cronies who wish to make all people unionized will only hurt America. Think about it, Russia has lived by the principles of the union. All people get paid the same whether they work or not. That makes for a very unproductive society. America became wealthy by paying people what they are worth. If there is a shortage in a sector then the wages go up. If everyone is unionized and payed the same (or nearly so) there is no incentive to change jobs or careers. Indeed there isn't even an incentive to do anything more than show up to collect your paycheck (note that I did not say anything about doing any actual work).
As far as union construction members getting paid more. That is sort of true. Depending on the industry as to how much (if any). Most construction unions work in industrial construction which tends to require more highly skilled labor, tends to be more dangerous, and requires frequent travel and job changes. All of these demand higher wages. I have been a part of two construction unions and was not terribly impressed. I never saw such theft and backstabbing against each other. Not to mention they will be the first to buy Chinese and other foreign products while screaming the loudest about the need to buy American. And the unions will be the first to violate codes (safety and otherwise), even those they were instramental in establishing.
I have worked on both sides of the fence. The difference in attitude between non-union and union construction trades is quite significant. As to the approximate skill, non-union craftsmen who are paid approximately the same as the union member will be equally skilled. Don't delude yourself, there are many union 'craftsmen' who aren't fit to breath much less be considered a craftsman.
My dad who was a union member most of his life had not seen more than a dollar increase in wages in a decade and had crappy health insurance (that he had to pay for). His non-union counterparts were actually paid more in many instances and had better health care. And my dad is a highly skilled mechanic, only his brother is better from what I have seen (union or non-union). They both would be better off in a non-union outfit.
Oh, and the non-union folks will be the first to buy American and won't tend to rob from each other. Union members tend to be very militant and like to demand that everyone be in the union like them. Demand, sounds like Nazies, Communists, Fasciscts, and Dictators. Unionists generally don't believe in freedom of choice. FREEDOM is not a part of the typical union members dialect. As far as the opinion that unions build things better. Since when do I have to have something built to YOUR standard? Or you don't believe in freedom of choice?
Card check is you forcing me to live by your standards not mine. Perhaps I should force you to live by my standards...hmmm, fair, right? If you can force me to live the way you want me to, then I have the right to make you live the way I do.
As far as the Florida highway, I now work as an Engineer for a construction materials testing firm. I can assure you the poor road has more to do with poor quality control, poor materials, and probably poor engineering. All of these are the incumbant upon the public agency who oversaw the project to make sure the standards were up to par. It had less to do with it being built by union or a non-unionized outfit. Keep in mind that Honda builds some of the highest quality vehicles in the world at a reasonable price, and they are not unionized. American auto makers are all unionized and are hardly high quality. To say unionism is synonymous with quality does not stand up to scrutiny.
Unions
Oh come on David. I used to be in a [union] in PA, the only way anyone there could get work was by paying the BA 10% of your gross. Then the best jobs would go only to his buddies. Needless to say I didn't get many jobs. I told him that was not the way to do business. No one, and I mean, no one in that crooked outfit would even look into that situation. It was, and for all I know still is, the worst way to work. I do know that is how many of the unions work in PA. You still think it is a better way to go? You can not be that dumb to think this will make our country better. How are you going to keep up the idea that union workers get paid the $30 or $40 an hour while some damned filthy Mexican will do the same job for $ 4.00 an hour? Some where down the line this country is going to have to wake up.
I would like to know what
I would like to know what union you are in because the one I was in certianly did not look out for my best interest, the retirement and health care they talk about, if I wanted it I had to pay for it and for that I paid 1% of ny gross earnings plus $20 a month to a union that did not care about my welfare just my dues being paid.
Union Jobs
David,
I appreciate your position here & agree with you on a point or 2 here. The rationale behind this is nice & all but.......
How many union jobs have been lost due to the high costs of doing business in the steel industry, auto industry? Now there is this push to have card check so the other bosses, union bosses can stuff their pockets, pay for their special wants, retirements, the alleged "better" benefits packages. Both parties are such hypocrites it is disgusting. Both doing things in the best interest of the people. Sure, I despise card check, but as well despise all of the double standard crap as well. I agree, I believe I would rather have a "skilled" person build the house, bridge, road, hospital, Nuke plant. This does not mean it has to be a "unionized" person. Give me a frickin break!
At any rate, I will rant when I can to my so called representatives to not vote in this & any other BS that some SH wants to impose on me & my family. Even though I know the fricken SFB in the white house will just use an executive order because of SEIU wants it & his buddies from Chicago will get even more money & power.
All us "Americans" better fricken wake up fast or just become robots for whoever has the power.
Again, give me a break about the "union" thing. Why should I have to "pay" to get these perks? Good God! This will never end it appears.
I'm out.
Union Jobs
David,
I also worked in a union job when I first moved to Texas. The people that got the better jobs paid the shop steward in addition to their regular dues. If you didn't pay him, more than 50% of the time you sat all day at the hall like some goofball thinking that he would eventually call your name. That only happened when he had to absolutely fill some positions on a job.
I used to hear him and his cronies brag about how they would intimidate people into going union on a job or how they would shut the fxxxing job down if it didn't go union. This idea of it can't be built correctly unless it is built the union way is just a crock of crap. That just means the thieving union bosses are lining their pockets with stolen money from the hyper inflated costs. If a man had enough money for the steward he got the work not because he was any more skilled or qualified than a non-union worker.
Obama is a lackey for the unions and does what he is told. Pushing this card check crap is another fine example of his arrogance and the union workers ignorance. What better benefits? Let's see now, how many times has the AFLCIO stolen the worker's retirement funds and used them for their personal gains?
Unions had their day in the early 1900s. Now they help drive the jobs over seas with their ridiculous demands. This is not the America I grew up in........WAKE UP PEOPLE YOUR FREEDOM IS BEING STOLEN RIGTH IN FRONT OF YOU!
http://www.profiles.yahoo.com/e_plurilbus_unum
I am awaiting Spring, when i do lanscaping for myself. It's a under-the-table venture, and i work cheap and the job is done right. On occassion i'll take a neighbor with me(adult or child), and i'll give 'em five bucks for an hours work.