Labor Law from Thin Air

Robert Verbruggen describes the recent efforts by the National Labor Relations Board to punish Boeing for building a facility in a Right to Work state as “pulling labor law out of thin air” and he is right:

Last week, the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel — acting at the behest of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union — filed a complaint against Boeing. According to the complaint, the company decided to locate a new production line for the Dreamliner 787 airplane in South Carolina (a right-to-work state) instead of Washington (a state in which unions are powerful and strikes have cost Boeing billions of dollars) out of anti-union bias. Should the general counsel convince the board that Boeing violated the law, the company could be forced to operate the line in Washington.

Thus far, the conservative response has held that it is ridiculous for the federal government to tell a business where to expand its operations. Itis ridiculous. It’s also unprecedented. But thanks to the fact that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is poorly written, as well as the fact that the board and the courts haven’t made the law much clearer via interpretation, this move actually has a chance of holding up.

NEA “We are at War”

No, the union bosses at the National Education Association are not talking about America bombing Libya but rather their declaration of war against politicians and taxpayers who question their ability to use the taxpayer spigot to fund their radical agenda. That’s why they are seeking to double their political budget through confiscatory union dues.

Not Intimidated

Click image to contact Gov. Daniels.

Attention Mitch Daniels!   You may be able to find the courage and principles you lost in Maine.

That’s because Maine Gov. Paul LePage said Saturday he would push forcefully ahead with right-to-work legislation in his state, even if it means a Wisconsin-style fight with unions.

LePage is a leader who is not intimidated by threats and is willing to stand on principle for the right value and ideals — even if it means upsetting the Big Labor apple cart.

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Wisconsin Close to Repealing Monopoly Bargaining

Wisconsin is on the verge of repealing most of it’s public sector monopoly bargaining provisions.

S.B. 11 would also make it illegal to force most Wisconsin public sector workers to join a union or pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment.

Of course, these workers would still have the right to join or support a labor union, but  it would be each individual employee’s decision to make.

Unfortunately, the bill does not give the Right to Work to Wisconsin’s public safety employees.  S.B. 11 would be significantly strengthened by an amendment to give Wisconsin’s first responders the same basic rights as the rest of the public sector workforce.

Nevertheless, this is an important first step towards economic freedom and fiscal responsibility in Wisconsin, and I encourage any readers in Wisconsin to contact their legislators, urging them to support it.

In state after state, as Big Labor increases its monopoly bargaining powers, costs skyrocket while quality of service declines, and, ultimately, Big Labor becomes the most powerful force in state politics.

Wasteful work rules, job featherbedding and more work disruptions guarantee all citizens of Wisconsin pay more taxes but get less from their dollars in return.

No American should be required to join a labor union just to keep a job, and no Wisconsinite should be compelled to pay dues to an organization he or she does not believe in.

And no private entity such as a union should have so much unchallenged power over the public purse.

Naturally, the government unions are apoplectic.  The tantrum they’re throwing demonstrates beyond words just how necessary this reform is.

Great Source for Nationwide & State Election Results

Go to the National Right To Work Committee’s Election Page for local and national detailed elections results.  Browse by Senate Races, House Races, and Statewide Races. 

To see results in your state, click on a State from the drop-down menu: 

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New 2010 Survey Union Member Attitudes

AFSCME Union Boss kisses Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but fifty percent (50%) of union members support replacing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with someone else and only thirty percent (30%) want her to remain Speaker.

From the National Right To Work Foundation’s press release (11/1/2010):

A nationwide poll of private and government sector union members demonstrates the stunning disconnects between union members and the union bosses who claim to represent them. The National Right To Work Foundation commissioned pollster Frank Luntz to conduct this scientific survey.

Eighty percent (80%) of union members support the Right To Work principle that union membership and dues payment should be voluntary and not required as a condition of employment. Nearly ninety percent (90%) of union employees surveyed favored more union hierarchy disclosure and accountability.

Sixty percent (60%) of union members oppose their union bosses’ political spending on the 2010 midterm elections, and they view it as a wasteful use of their union dues to pour money into campaigns to protect incumbent Democrat politicians in Washington, D.C.

Nearly sixty percent (60%) of union members would rather have money spent working with employers to create new and better jobs than on Big Labor’s 2010 political spending spree – led by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union bosses’ $87.5 million “incumbent protection program.”  In fact, a majority of union members believe that union boss political spending should be used to “throw the bums out.”  Fifty percent (50%) support replacing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with someone else and only thirty percent (30%) want her to remain Speaker.

If allowed a secret ballot election, fifty-nine percent (59%) of union membership would actually vote to replace their own “union leadership.”

“As top union officials are pouring an estimated one billion dollars into re-electing Democrats into Congress, a large majority of union members actually oppose the union bosses’ political agenda” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “That’s why it comes to no surprise that union members would like to replace their own union leadership, and overwhelmingly support the Right to Work principle for all of America’s workers.”

For more, read the 2010 National Right To Work Foundation – Frank Luntz Union Member Attitude Survey.

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The October 2010 issue of The National Right To Work Committee Newsletter is available for download in an Adobe pdf format for your convenience to read and share. It is the Committee’s official newsletter publication that provides an excellent monthly overview of the battle against forced unionism.

October’s issue contains the following headlines:

Right to Work Poised to Gain Senate Strength – Survey Results in, Committee Members Put Heat on the Candidates

Committee’s Goal: Pro-Right to Work Congress – Survey Presses Candidates to Pledge to Roll Back Forced Unionism

Forced Unionism vs. Private Health Insurance – Big Labor Bastions See Steep Decline in Job-Based Benefits

Pennsylvania Worker Fights Union-Only PLAs – Obama Executive Order Denies Union-Free Workers a ‘Fair Shake’

Right to Work Close to Securing Historic Win – Voters Reject Pro-Union Monopoly Politicians in Alaska, Delaware

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Forced Unionism By Fiat

The President says he is fighting to turn the economy around and create jobs, yet it seems like the only jobs he is willing to create is for union organizers.  After meeting with a Fairfax, Virginia, family to sell his economic message, the president was asked about his support for the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill.  His response:  he will keep “fighting” for it in the Senate. More critically, the president is working to implement the legislation without a vote, but through executive power, agencies and regulation.
 
Is it any wonder the president can’t get the economy rolling again?