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OPINION

Why Public Employee Unions Are No Friend of What's Right

mid western state politics inclusive of labor gubernatorial and state senate of the legislature

Then-Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., hands a pen to Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, of the Wisconsin State Senate,  during a ceremonial bill signing outside his office at the Wisconsin State Capitol - March 11, 2011 - Madison, Wisconsin. At the time, angry pro-union activists continued to demonstrate at the Wisconsin State Capitol. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Michael Reagan By with Michael R. Shannon Tuesday, 17 September 2024 10:27 AM EDT Current | Bio | Archive

Government employee unions are a conspiracy against the taxpayer organized by politicians and leftists.

Politicians, using taxpayer dollars, "negotiate" with government employee unions.

The result is the politicians trade tax-dollars for votes, and taxpayers are forced to foot the bill. That’s why public employee unions work hand-in-glove with big government politicians to expand the size of government and the size of the government workforce.

More government workers — and we use that term loosely — mean more votes and larger campaign contributions from the public sector unions.

That’s why these unions regularly endorse, contribute to and vote for Democrat politicians. The party of spending, big government and "leftism."

It's an unholy confederacy which has "gifted" us impossible to fire government “time-servers” and unresponsive, incompetent, and expensive government.

Even President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) could see what government employee unions threatened and he opposed federal collective bargaining.

You can thank President John F. Kennedy (JFK) for lifting the ban.

Nothing has been done on the federal level by our comb–over conservatives to fight back or restrict public sector unions.

Fmr. Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., took the first steps to rein in public sector unions at the state level. And assuredly, it was a colossal battle. Parenthetically, probably why our fight–free, comb–over conservatives have avoiding doing anything on the federal level.

In 2011 Walker signed Wisconsin's Act 10.

I was designed to roll back the power of public sector unions.

Angry left-adherents, numbering some 100,000 inundated the Wisconsin capital to protest the law. Additionally, Walker then found himself having to survive a recall vote.

But . . . the result was more than worth the fight.

According to WLRN (NPR/PBS Miami), "After the 2011 bill was signed into law by Republican Governor Scott Walker, the amount (sic) of workers represented by unions in Wisconsin dropped dramatically.

"Between 1989 and 2011, a larger percent of Wisconsin workers were represented by unions than the national average.

"Ever since 2012, the state has dropped well below the national average, according to a study done by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"The former union stronghold state has seen the largest drop of union membership in the nation since 2000, in large part due to Act 10."

Specifically, Act 10 required an annual recertification vote for unions, eliminated payroll union dues deductions and limited bargaining to wages.

Laura Dresser, a labor economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told WLRN, "Overall, the impact has been that Wisconsin public sector unions have been perpetually put on the back foot, struggling to survive and to stay relevant in political decision making, said Dresser. "Public sector unions were deeply undermined and became much less relevant inside work sites and inside the state political discussion."

Now Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., has followed Wisconsin’s lead, expanding the precedent.

WLRN analyzed what Florida has done and those on the media left aren’t the least bit happy. "More than 63,000 public employees across Florida have had their labor unions fully decertified and shuttered by the state since a sweeping anti-union law went into effect last year, WLRN has found.

"A total of 54 public sector unions have been legally terminated explicitly because they do not meet requirements of the new law, according to state filings."

And there is more good news: "The staggering blow to labor in Florida has quietly impacted workers’ ability to collectively bargain in every corner of the state.

"Everyone from municipal employees of the small city of Defuniak Springs in the Florida Panhandle to custodial staff and adjunct professors at large state universities and Orlando airport workers have lost their union representation."

Florida’s law requires a public sector union to have at least 60% of dues-paying membership to maintain the union’s certification, and the ability to represent workers.

The Florida Bill, like Wisconsin’s, also bans automatic paycheck deduction of dues. This means the union has to make the case to members, on an individual basis.

Greedy, left-wing public sector union, numbering 54, being abolished is good news for Sunshine State taxpayers and Sunshine State government.

The leftists crying about the disappearance of unions that didn’t much interest the potential members of the unions want to make you believe the unions were on the front lines battling exploitative corporations, fatally dangerous working conditions and penny–pinching wages.

Think miners in 19th century West Virginia or steelworkers in Pennsylvania with a soundtrack featuring "Joe Hill."

Getting down to specifics, eventually even the regime-left-stenographers had to admit, "Most affected employees perform core public sector jobs like teaching in schools, doing clerical work for state and local government, repairing engines and machinery for government agencies, answering 911 calls at call centers, and working at city parks."

In other words, most of the labor was indoor work with no heavy lifting.

  • Make no mistake.
  • This isn’t a fight about downtrodden workers.
  • It’s a battle over the size of government and leftist politicians buying left endorsements, left votes, and left campaign contributions with your tax dollars.

Wisconsin’s original law and the Florida follow-on are giant victories for conservatives and taxpayers. More red states should follow this lead, and fast.

Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.

Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.

© Mike Reagan


Reagan
Politicians trade tax-dollars for votes, and taxpayers are forced to foot the bill. That’s why public employee unions work hand-in-glove with big government politicians to expand the size of government and the size of the government workforce.
dues, recertification, vote
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2024-27-17
Tuesday, 17 September 2024 10:27 AM
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