Wisconsin Big Labor Fraud

On February 3, 2012, By NRTW Committee Staff

Union-label Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (left) is a bitter political foe of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s. Nevertheless, Mr. Barrett admits the governor’s Big Labor-detested Act 10 has helped his city get control over its budget. Credit: AP

Big Labor militants, who submitted 1 million names demanding a recall of Gov. Scott Walker, included the name of a person four times. The man, according to Media Trackers, says he never signed the petition.

Wisconsin watchdog Citizens for Responsible Government in Racine  reported that Racine native Jeff Demet’s name was found four times on the petition to recall Republican State Senator Van Wanggaard. Finding the same signature four times is bad enough, but when Demet was contacted about the four signatures, he claims he never signed the Wanggaard recall petition at all!

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Posted in: Economic Impact of Unionization, Economics, Government Grants to Unions, Intimidation Tactics, Legislation, Public Employees, Teacher Unions, Wisconsin
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Indiana Gov. Daniels: Right to Work Working Already

On February 3, 2012, By NRTW Committee Staff

In an interview with Politico, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels touted the benefits of the newly enacted Right to Work law saying his phones were “ringing off the hook with companies wanting to come to the state since he signed the measure.”

“Indiana has by every reckoning the 5th or 6th best business climate in the country, and now it gets a little better,” said Daniels on Fox News. “The phone began literally ringing yesterday afternoon with companies wanting to come to our state.”

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Posted in: Economic Development in RTW States, Economic Impact of Unionization, Economics, Indiana, Legislation, Right to Work, Right To Work States, State Right To Work
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Reform on the Agenda in Arizona

On February 2, 2012, By NRTW Committee Staff

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who captivated the fighting to protect Arizona’s border, is taking on government labor union bosses in an effort to stabilize the state budget.  Her reforms would prevent “rubber room” situations where government employees cannot be fired for malfeasance thanks to union rules.  In addition, Brewer wants to end the cycle of corruption that exists between big labor due’s money funding politicians who then bargain with the same union over salary and benefits.

We will keep you up to date but on thing we do know, Gov. Brewer is not one to back down from a fight.

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Posted in: Arizona, Economics, Education, Government Grants to Unions, Legislation, Political Activity, Public Employees, Teacher Unions
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As a matter of by-any-means-necessary expediency, Big Labor has long embraced “the necessity for coercion”

On February 1, 2012, By NRTW Committee Staff

Jeff Jacoby, a columnist for The Boston Globe, blasts Big Labor’s “shameless pretext” for fighting without abandon against Right To Work Freedom:

SOON — PERHAPS AS EARLY AS TODAY — Gov. Mitch Daniels will sign legislation making Indiana the nation’s 23rd right-to-work state. Labor unions angrily oppose the change, but their opposition has no legitimate or principled basis.

State right-to-work laws, authorized by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, are not anti-union. They are pro-choice: They protect workers from being forced to join or pay fees to a labor union as a condition of keeping a job. In non-right-to-work states, employees who work in a “union shop” are compelled to fork over part of each paycheck to a labor organization — even if they want nothing to do with unions, let alone to be represented by one. Laws like the one Indiana is poised to enact simply make union support voluntary. Hoosiers can’t be required to kick back part of their wages to the Republican Party or the Methodist Church or the Animal Liberation Front; the new measure will ensure that they don’t have to give a cut of everything they earn to labor unions, either.

Most Americans regard compulsory unionism as unconscionable. In a new Rasmussen survey, 74 percent of likely voters say non-union workers should not have to pay dues against their will. Once upon a time, labor movement giants like Samuel Gompers, a founder of the American Federation of Labor, agreed. “I want to urge devotion to the fundamentals of human liberty — the principles of voluntarism,” declared Gompers in his last speech to the AFL in 1924. “No lasting gain has ever come from compulsion.” Those words can be seen chiseled on Gompers’s memorial in Washington, DC.

So as a matter of by-any-means-necessary expediency, it is easy to understand why Big Labor long ago embraced what liberal scholar Robert Reich (who served as Bill Clinton’s secretary of labor) dubbed “the necessity for coercion.” In order “to maintain themselves,” Reich said in 1985, “unions have got to have some ability to strap their members to the mast.” Or, as Don Corleone might have put it, to make them an offer they can’t refuse.

But is there any ethical reason — any honorable basis — for the union shop? (more…)

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Posted in: Government Grants to Unions, Indiana, Intimidation Tactics, Monopoly Bargaining, Right to Work, Right To Work States, Section 14-B Taft-Hartley, State Right To Work, State RTW, Union Membership
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Indiana Passes Right To Work — National Right to Work Committee Statement

On February 1, 2012, By NRTW Committee Staff

Indianapolis, Indiana – Today, Mark Mix, President of the 2.6 million-member National Right to Work Committee, praised the Indiana House and Senate for passage of the Indiana Right to Work Law.

Mr. Mix said, “This is a great day for Indiana’s workers and taxpayers.

“After a ten-year struggle involving hundreds of thousands of mobilized Hoosiers, Indiana will finally be able to enjoy all the benefits of a Right to Work law,” said Mr. Mix.

“Today, the Indiana Senate passed the Right to Work Bill by a vote of 28 to 22. The bill has already passed the House, so it now goes straight to Governor Daniels, who has vowed to sign it, making Indiana America’s 23rd Right to Work state,” continued Mix.

Mr. Mix continued, “The Right to Work Law will free nearly 200,000 Hoosiers who have been forced to pay tribute to a union boss for the privilege of getting up everyday and going to work so they can provide for their families.”

Proponents of the bill expect that passage of the Right to Work law will provide significant economic benefits for Indiana and Indiana workers.

For the past decade, non-agricultural employment in Right to Work states grew twice as fast compared to that in non-Right to Work states like Indiana, according to data from the Department of Labor.

“On the job front,” said Mr. Mix, “virtually every site selection consultant on record has testified that as many as half of their clients will not even consider expanding or relocating to non-Right to Work states.”

Governor Daniels experienced this problem firsthand, reporting recently that when Volkswagen was looking to build a production facility in America, he was unable to get the company to even return his phone calls.

Volkswagen ended up choosing to open its new facility in the Right to Work state of Tennessee.

Today’s action makes Indiana the first Right to Work state in the Manufacturing Belt, and supporters say it will give Hoosiers a significant advantage over all of its neighbors and the rest of the 27 non-Right to Work states.

“Besides enjoying an influx of new jobs, Right to Work states also enjoy higher personal income,” said Mr. Mix.

In particular, Mr. Mix drew attention to a study by Dr. Barry Poulson, a past president of the North American Economics and Finance Association and also a professor of economics at the University of Colorado, who compared household incomes in 133 metropolitan areas in Right to Work states with those of 158 metropolitan areas in non-Right to Work states.

“Among other results, he found that the average real income for households in Right to Work state metro areas, when all else was equal, was $4,258 more than non-Right to Work state metro areas,” said Mr. Mix. (more…)

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Posted in: Economics, Indiana, Intimidation Tactics, Legislation, NRTWC Press Release, Right to Work, Right To Work States, State Right To Work, State RTW
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ERA would require employees to reaffirm unions every 3 years

On January 31, 2012, By NRTW Committee Staff

Most employees working under a union contract have never voted to be organized by a union.  Sen. Hatch and Rep. Scott want to fix that wit the Employee Rights Act.  From the Washington Times:

In an effort to loosen labor’s grip on workers, two GOP lawmakers want legislation that would require workers to re-affirm the existence of their unions with new votes every three years.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Rep. Tim Scott of South Carolina are pushing the Employee Rights Act that also would place limits on strikes, how fast a union can organize and how membership fees may be used to support political candidates. The bill has yet to receive a committee hearing in either chamber.

Few workers – less than 10 percent of union members – vote to organize. Instead, most workers join an existing union as a condition of employment.

This bill, however, would give workers a chance to voice their opinions. Union officials would be up for re-election every three years. At that time, employees could decide whether to keep or eliminate their union.

“My goal is to make sure that employees of a company make the decision on joining unions,” Mr. Scott said. “This just gives them an opportunity to say, ‘Yes, I want to be a part of the union.’” (more…)

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Posted in: Exclusive Representation, Government Grants to Unions, Legislation, Organizing, South Carolina, Utah
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Indiana Right To Work Update: Final Vote on Wednesday!

On January 30, 2012, By NRTW Committee Staff

Indiana Senate committee moved the House Right To Work legislation out of committee and to the Senate Floor for a vote on Wednesday.  If passed in the Senate, Gov. Mitch Daniels could sign Indiana’s Right To Work bill into law before the day is over.

From the Indystar.com:

Gov. Mitch Daniels says he’ll sign into law a controversial labor law “as soon as it comes to me.”

That could be Wednesday, after a final vote on the so-called “right to work” legislation is taken in the Indiana Senate.

A Senate committee cleared the way for that vote on today, voting 6-1 to approve the bill and send it to the full Senate.

Under the “right to work” legislation, companies and unions could no longer negotiate a contract that requires non-members of the union to pay fees for representation.

 

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Posted in: Indiana, Legislation, Right to Work, Right To Work States, State Right To Work, State RTW
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Right to Work President Applauds House Passage of Indiana Right to Work Bill

On January 25, 2012, By NRTW Committee Staff

Hoosier state residents will soon enjoy more robust economic growth, workplace freedom

Indianapolis, Indiana – Today, Mark Mix, President of the 2.6 million-member National Right to Work Committee, praised the Indiana House and Senate for passage of the Indiana Right to Work Law this afternoon.

Mr. Mix said, “This is a great day for Indiana’s workers and taxpayers.

“After a ten-year struggle involving hundreds of thousands of mobilized Hoosiers, Indiana will finally be able to enjoy all the benefits of a Right to Work law,” said Mr. Mix.

“Today, the Indiana House passed the Right to Work bill by a vote of 54 to 44.  Because the Senate passed an identical bill on Monday and Governor Daniels is on record in favor of the bill, it now seems certain that after the Senate approves the House bill, Indiana will become America’s 23rd Right to Work State,” continued Mix.

Mr. Mix continued, “The Right to Work Law will free nearly 200,000 Hoosiers who have been forced to pay tribute to a union boss for the privilege of getting up everyday and going to work so they can provide for their families.”

Proponents of the bill expect that passage of the Right to Work law will provide significant economic benefits for Indiana and Indiana workers.

For the past decade, non-agricultural employment in Right to Work states grew twice as fast compared to that in non-Right to Work states like Indiana, according to data from the Department of Labor.

“On the job front,” said Mr. Mix, “virtually every site selection consultant on record has testified that as many as half of their clients will not even consider expanding or relocating to non-Right to Work states.”

Governor Daniels experienced this problem firsthand, reporting recently that when Volkswagen was looking to build a production facility in America, he was unable to get the company to even return his phone calls.

Volkswagen ended up choosing to open its new facility in the Right to Work state of Tennessee.

Today’s action will make Indiana the first Right to Work state in the Manufacturing Belt, and supporters say it will give Hoosiers a significant advantage over all of its neighbors and the rest of the 27 non-Right to Work states.

“Besides enjoying an influx of new jobs, Right to Work states also enjoy higher personal income,” said Mr. Mix.

In particular, Mr. Mix drew attention to a study by Dr. Barry Poulson, a former president of the North American Economics and Finance Association and a professor of economics at the University of Colorado, who compared household incomes in 133 metropolitan areas in Right to Work states with those of 158 metropolitan areas in non-Right to Work states.

“Among other results, he found that the average real income for households in Right to Work state metro areas, when all else was equal, was $4,258 more than non-Right to Work state metro areas,” said Mr. Mix.

Mr. Mix concluded, “I want to take a moment to thank Governor Daniels, House Speaker Bosma, Senate President Long, the bill sponsors Jerry Torr and Carlin Yoder, and the men and women of the Indiana Legislature who stood up for the rights of the individual worker and voted to pass Right to Work.

“But most of all, I want to thank the thousands of dedicated Hoosiers who have stood up over the years to demand passage of the Indiana Right to Work Law.”

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 The National Right to Work Committee, established in 1955, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, single-purpose citizens’ organization dedicated to the principle that all Americans must have the right to join a union if they choose to, but none should ever be forced to affiliate with a union in order to get or keep a job.  Its web address is www.nrtwc.org.

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Posted in: Indiana, Legislation, Right to Work, Right To Work States, State Right To Work, State RTW
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