(photo Associated Press)
the more they stay the same. I think Arlen Specter has learned a valuable lesson. He learned that calling himself a Democrat hasn't improved his ability to negotiate a compromise on the Employee Free Choice Act or Card Check. I just have to wonder how long it will be before Specter caves and just votes for the bill as is and solidifies the grip of the unions in this country? Card Check ends the right to a private ballot. This enables union organizers, who certainly have an interest in the outcome of any vote as they collect a percentage of employees' income in dues, to more directly coerce or threaten employees. Union organizers can visit employees' homes and could refuse to leave until a card is signed, not to mention the possibility of fraudulent signatures. Card Check also requires binding arbitration if the parties fail to agree on an initial union contract. Arbitration isn't a discussion or a chance to reach a compromise. The decision of the arbitrator is final and imposes a contract on both parties for two years. This destroys the right of employees to bargain with their employer. It just slaps a contract in place and both parties have to live with the results.
The unions tout this bill as necessary to save the middle class. They claim that the corporations deny people the right to join unions, that they coerce and control their employees. Because unions are so much less coercive? Locally, Ohio's AK Steel employees were out of work for a year. They couldn't get other jobs if they wanted their AK jobs back through the union. People lost their homes because the union organizers stuck to their demands and AK Steel argued that it needed to cut positions and benefits to remain profitable in the current market. If a company starts losing profits due to union demands, does it really benefit the employees for the unions to keep pushing and push the company out of business altogether? How much fault do the unions bear for the problems America's car industry is facing? The economy of this country is changing and union membership is declining. Card check is a thinly veiled attempt to swing the balance back in the union's favor. Card check as it stands replaces the corporate bully that the unions claim controls the system, with the union bully.
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3 comments:
I have been saying this for so long about unions. I had to fight to get out of our union here at work when I was promoted to middle management. I wanted no part of it. It took me over 3 years for the union to finally release me from their grasp.
Now that BHO is turning GM over to the UAW, does the union engage in collective bargaining with itself?? Amazing, when the inmates run the asylum. How long before this group of incompetents take down Obama Motors? I give them 2 hours to decimate what is left of the once great GM.
GM wasn't destroyed by the UAW, it was destroyed by their own management team, global economics, and competition. They simply did not have the will, or the desire to react appropriately to shifts in the market.
Will the UAW do better? I am not sure that they could make it much worse, but either way it puts them in a bad spot. If GM goes under it will reflect on the union poorly, and if they manage a turnaround, it will increase their credibility in the market.
Despite your comments about Obama, he played this masterfully. With a small investment he kept an entire manufacturing sector from collapsing, and gave the unions enough rope to hang themselves.
Peace.
Rick Beagle
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