Although fewer than 12% of the 229 Republicans present and voting on the anti-Right to Work, pro-PLA LaTourette Amendment sided with Big Labor, that was enough for union lobbyists to grab a 204-203 victory.
We have alerted readers to the dangers of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) which are convoluted ways to force workers to join a union to get work — even in Right to Work states.
The American.com takes an in-depth look at PLAs “under-the-radar efforts at the local and state level to steer lucrative municipal, county, and school district construction projects to union-only shops, especially in jurisdictions where free labor predominates. These vehicles, known as project labor agreements, impose certain labor-friendly requirements on construction of public buildings. Under such strictures, even non-union workers must pay union dues, while non-union contractors have to contribute to union health and pension plans (even if they already offer their own). In addition, non-union workers must be approved by a union before being dispatched to a job, and only union apprentices can work on PLA projects.
“PLAs, says Eric Christen, executive director of the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction (CFEC), constitute ‘modern day Jim Crow laws that are immoral and have no place in a decent society.’ These agreements, Christen told me, ‘are about raw power being exercised by those in power who favor one group (unions) over another (everyone else).’”
LRCEA is my union, and it is only interested in representing itself. LRCEA is in management’s corner, and does not support the members of the Union. Our Union’s legal counsel arranged for a $6000 per year raise for himself this year and told us to put and shut up and be happy we are not being laid off, even though we asked LRCEA to go to the table with issues benefiting both the worker and the boss, at no additional cost to the boss, but it wasn’t worth LRCEA’s effort.
Unions would be more effective if they knew who they worked for. When members get to vote whether to stay with union or not every three years, then Unions would get the message that they are representing the worker, not pimping them.
LRCEA is my union, and it is only interested in representing itself. LRCEA is in management’s corner, and does not support the members of the Union. Our Union’s legal counsel arranged for a $6000 per year for himself this year and told us to put and shut up and be happy we are not being laid off, even though we asked LRCEA to go to the table with issues benefiting both the worker and the boss, it wasn’t worth LRCEA’s effort.
Unions would be more effective if they knew who they worked for, voting wether to stay with union or not every three years, should encourage them to understand that they are representing the worker, not pimping them.
There are eight (8) of you who posted below. Assuming that you are, in fact, eight people and not some intern at the NRTWC office using goofy aliases, I’ll ask y’all just one question: Exactly what is the one American institution that stands between all of you (and your families) and the Boss’ desire that you all be limited to wages barely sufficient to provide you with barely enough food to be barely strong enough to show up at work each morning? Right! you all got it right! Organized Labor. The Unions. There, you’re welcome.
no person should be forced to join or support any union, period. the unions should not be allowed to particapate in any election outside of their unions. they should not be allowed to contribute monetary or support any candidate outside of their unions on behalf of all union members. no union member should pressure any non-member into joining the union. they may be asked to join after the worker is hired into the company but that is as far as it should go. any union member should be able to terminate their union membership for any reason at any time with no pressure from union members as to their action. any person terminating their union participation cannot be “blackballed” for their termination from the union and anyone pressuring the person risk losing employment immediately. i believe a person should have the right to work without any particapation in the union. any non union person should be paid the same as a union member performing the same work. all unions should be made to disclose all spending and salaries of union bosses from the top down to include keeping all supporting documents to cover spending/accounting for all money contributed from members right down to the very cent. union members should know where their contributions are going all the time and can be reviewed at any time from contributing members and a quarterly spending document published for review by members. all supporting documents must include points of contact and telephone numbers of vendors supplying work or supplies. union bosses should not lavisly spend off the backs of the union member. internal guidelines must be established within unions to keep all union members from unnecessary/lavish spending. these unions must be brought under control!!
I believe there should be a LAW against employers, both public and private, from automaticly deducting union dues from employees pay checks. If union member want such a service let them do it through their own bank accounts, as a voluntary deduction like automatic bill paying.
Union bosses know, members have absolutely no choice but to be part of the political party that supports Democrats by 99% . Let them do their own accounting and collecting!!!!
This is the type of info that helps!! Now I know what to watch for,And where to place my next vote.Thank you !!
since the introduction of the various federal agencies like OSHA and fair labor laws, unions have become nothing but parasites…a “host” can support only so many parasites and remain relatively healthy…too many will eventually kill the host…and the host is getting very ill.
Willard,
Thanks for the laugh! Architects, engineers, and inspectors ensure that buildings are built to code. They don’t need your help!
Everyone knows that union employees don’t go on strike for higher quality. They strike for more money and less work.
Willard – that’s why we’re constantly seeing union workers smoking dope and drinking alcohol while on breaks and at lunch. Get real, union workers clearly don’t care and are not afraid of losing their jobs do to “contracts.”
How insulting is it to every no union worker is it to say that union workers take more pride and achieve a higher standard of work. It’s baseless, arrogant and totally ridiculous. I’d love to see Willard prove it with independent data. The same goes for safety. I’ve worked for 40 years in both union and nonunion facilities and at this point the safest three operations I’ve worked in were all non-union. These goofy arguments and the union’s inappropriate use of funds is why private sector union membership is less than 7%. Only a true socialist would consider being forced to join an organization against your will to be appropriate in America.
No, one should be forced to abide by any Union to Work. No Employer should have to Contribute to a Union to Perform a Service.
I have not heard this Addressed, but I used to be an Employee of the Department of Justice and we Let a Bid for a Building Construction Project. One of my Brother-In-Laws worked for the Company that won the Bid. Of course at Family Gathering we casually talked about the Project. I found out that while working on the Federal Project my Brother-In-Law was paid Substantially more in Wages. Curious I checked with our Procurement People and they confirmed what I had been told and offered that they tell the Contractor the Minimum Amount per Hour to be Paid (Prevailing Union Wages) for various Disciplines and to ensure it is done they Audit the Contractors Books.