Elena Kagan Supports Forced Union Dues for Politics

Right to Work President Mark Mix sat down with nationally-syndicated radio host Lars Larson to discuss Obama Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan’s support for forcing workers to contribute to union political activism.

Oregon Under Teacher Union’s Thumb

The Oregon teacher’s union, using their forced unionism privileges, spent a remarkable amount of money fighting educational reform.  ”. . .the nation’s two large teachers’ unions and their state affiliates contributed $357 per teacher to elections,” making it the biggest spending teacher’s union in the nation.  The union bosses pumped over $10 million into efforts battling three initiatives including one that would tie pay raises to classroom performance.

After unsuccessfully trying to spend $23 billion for a teacher’s union bailout, Nancy Pelosi and her big labor allies in Congress have attached a smaller bailout – $10 billion – to a war spending bill to pay for our troops in Afghanistan  Putting pork barrel bailout money in a war spending bill is an insult to our troops.

Big Labor White House Insider Flouts Financial Disclosure Rules

BigGovernment.com reports that Big Labor White House insider Patrick Gaspard (SEIU-ACORN) has failed to accurately report his financials on at least two occasions.  Administration officials continue to mock President Obama’s proclaimed high ethical standards:

Has Congressman Darrell Issa’s request that White House Political Director Patrick Gaspard explain his failure to report a $37,000 payment from his previous employer SEIU Local 1199 evolved into a cover-up?    It’s beginning to smell like it! 

Rep. Issa’s request refers to the same Patrick Gaspard who while working for a Soros-SEIU political committee employed convicted felons to go door-to-door.  In fact, that same Soros-SEIU committee received one of the steepest fines in Federal Election Commission history ($750,000) because its leadership, in Machiavellian fashion, chose to ignore federal laws and take the risk of paying fines if caught.  So, ignoring a few pesky public disclosure laws is not as unlikely as it may sound. 

Questions:

  • How did Gaspard work six days in January for SEIU 1199 h while simultaneously working for the “office of the President-Elect” during “January 1-16” of 2009?
  • How did Gaspard earn, in those six days of work for SEIU 1199, “$17,238.56 [of] carried over leave & vacation,” in particular, after apparently having already been paid 2.5 to 4 months vacation pay in 2008?
  • How did Gaspard earn a 9 week severance payout from an employer (SEIU 1199)? According to available SEIU 1199 financial reports (2000-2009), Gaspard was not paid by SEIU 1199 in years 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004. For the year 2001, SEIU 1199 paid Gaspard only $3,723.  It appears that in at least 5 of the 9 years Gaspard was not on the payroll or worked only a week or two. 

An investigation by the House Oversight Committee is warranted.  Unfortunately with (more…)

The liberal media in the Northeast is dominated by The New York Times, The Boston Globe and the Washington Post.  In a period of two weeks, all three have published articles critical of big labor’s power and influence over the political process.  The latest is a Washington Post editorial bemoaning the power and influence of the teacher’s unions in Montgomery, Maryland.  Fact is the article could be written in most counties in the United States but it’s progress, none the less.  If they really wanted reform, they would endorse a National Right to Work law.

In Montgomery County, teachers union has a grip on politics

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, candidates for public office who have received the teachers union’s endorsement ahead of this fall’s Democratic primaries must feel as if they’ve won the lottery. The union, with the help of highly unusual cash “contributions” from some of its anointed candidates, sends out glossy, targeted mailings on their behalf. It places advertisements and yard signs. And it distributes thousands of its “Apple Ballots,” listing endorsed candidates, to voters at polling stations on Election Day.

Now the teachers union, known as the Montgomery County Education Association, is going a step further: It’s organizing a poll and inviting its favorite candidates to append their own questions. If the trend continues, union-backed office-seekers won’t have to bother campaigning at all, or even leaving the house. The MCEA will take care of everything. (more…)

When Big Labor plays with fire, taxpayers get burned

Empire State pupils enrolled in K-12 public schools fell by more than 121,000 over the last 10 years, schools added 14,746 teachers and 8,655 non-teaching professionals to their payrolls

 NRTW President Mark Mix commentary in the Washington Examiner:

July 8, 2010 Near midnight last Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow forced unionism apologists in the U.S. House of Representatives disgracefully amended a “must-pass” war funding bill to include language that is designed to force police officers, firefighters, and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) into “exclusive” union bargaining in every state in the country.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that policies expanding public sector monopoly unionism have played a major role in driving many states to the verge of insolvency. (more…)

Silly Question: Unions Exempt?

Politico is asking “Did Democrats Exempt Unions from the DISCLOSE Act?”  We’re asking “What do you think?”

A Democratic amendment tucked into campaign finance legislation Wednesday night appears to exempt big labor unions from proposed disclosure requirements. The change, inserted by Rep. Bob Brady (D-Pa.), chairman of the committee charged with handling the bill and a key union ally, would also affect other groups funded by members who pay dues of less than $50,000.

U.S. House Release Outlines Big Labor Legislative Paybacks

We all know it is true that congress gives Big Labor legislative gifts and often at the expense of individual worker freedom; however,  rarely do we see a congressional committee provide a modicum of  insight.  But, times may be changing based on this U.S. House Committee’s  press release:

Wednesday, 09 June 2010

House Administration Releases Chart Explaining How the DISCLOSE Act Exempts Unions from Major Campaign Finance Restrictions (more…)