Unions/Wisconsin

Read this elsewhere on the net:

"Now I have some shocking news. Until my retirement in December of 2011, I was an IBEW union member for 34 years. I was also a union steward for the last 6 years.

It’s not union membership that is the real problem. The union members are being used as tools for the corrupt communist leaderships. Some understand this, some don’t. Involuntary use of part of our dues goes to political causes beyond our control and regardless of our individual desires. It is money that is funneled away for uses other than collective bargaining of contracts. This is where all the bad money goes in unions. People who object enough could become ‘agency fee payers’. These people paid the core dues used for collective bargaining, but not the money used for political causes. They also lost their vote, including for contracts. The method of collection of this political money could have been changed by Federal law, by any legislature willing to do the job. There was a time when contributions to political causes was voluntary and solicited. Examination of this part is a whole dissertation alone.

Dues checkoff is just a form of dues collection that defers responsibility for it to the employer. Some employers charge each union member an administration fee for it. My union had dues checkoff. It was voluntary, and the company charged an administration fee. Wisconsin could have done that. Or, one could do what I did. I wrote a check and mailed it to the union. Dues checkoff was an administrative issue. Membership rolls fell in public-employee unions in Wisconsin because membership and dues are now voluntary. It is not specifically because of dues checkoff. The article is mistaken, or at least poorly written.

Contracts for wages, benefits, and working conditions are made everyday, in and out of unions. Unions can help a small voice be heard. Union benefits have spilled over to nonunion jobs over the last century. Every boat, union and nonunion, rose as a result. Everyone’s boat is sinking now. That started before our present recession. Unions arose because of corrupt abusive companies. The unions became a corruption themselves. Union members and organizations have shot themselves in the foot/head over and over. The goal of a union and company should be win-win for each other. Neither companies nor unions are altruistic intrinsically. All these darn people keep getting in the way.

My union knew full well my conservative beliefs and voting record. They still accepted me as steward, and I was good at it. I didn’t put up with shit from the company or the members. It was a thankless job, and sometimes no one likes the results of your work on either side.

The people in public sector unions serve only as tools for forces to leverage power over our governments. Public sector jobs already have legal protections that union and nonunion jobs in the private sector do not. There is virtually no legitimate reason for public sector unionism.

Governor Walker is a good man. May victory in Wisconsin come to other States and the Nation. May his spirit and willingness to work with others also follow. We will all be better for it. IMHO

I’m still dancing"

[h=1]Wisconsin to unions: Drop dead[/h]
Let’s be crystal clear on one point: There wouldn’t have been a recall election in Wisconsin yesterday if organized labor in the Badger State hadn’t lusted to overturn the results of the 2010 general election.
And organized labor in the Badger State got stomped flat.
This has huge significance for those states and localities long held in thrall by public-employee unions and the now-busted myth that they speak for the people.
So no wonder that the White House was quick to declare even before the polls closed that yesterday’s outcome would have no impact on November’s presidential contest.
AP
Scott Walker


Dream on.
Indeed, Republican Gov. Scott Walker survived what appeared to be a last-minute pack-the-polls efforts in Democratic bastions like Milwaukee and Madison, the state capital.
The reason is clear enough: Walker promised to cut taxes, reduce a staggeringly high deficit and rein in outsized public-employee benefits. And he delivered for the people of Wisconsin.
Yesterday, the people delivered for him.
The result was clear — and it came in what by all accounts was a record-high voter turnout. In short, a renewal of the mandate Walker won when he was first elected in 2010.
Even union members appear grateful for Walker’s reforms — fleeing union membership in droves once Walker eliminated mandatory dues checkoffs.
Which is probably why the reforms themselves seemed lost in the race — as Democrats focused instead on the Tea Party and Walker’s alleged extremism on unrelated issues.
In the end, it simply didn’t work.
Walker’s historic win can only embolden other trailblazing Republican governors, like New Jersey’s Chris Christie — and hopefully encourage other pols who have been fearful of labor’s backlash.
Turns out the unions’ roar was little more than a pussycat’s meow.

i see you've resorted to responding to your own unoriginal copy and paste threads. cute.

pathetic, but cute.

UncleBuck said:

i see you've resorted to responding to your own unoriginal copy and paste threads. cute.

pathetic, but cute.

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What's the big deal with "copy and paste", it's a lot more informative and intelligent than anything YOU have ever said. Besides, if it's so lame, then why did you feel compelled to reply?

Mr Neutron said:

What's the big deal with "copy and paste"...

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it's the mark of a bleating dullard, especially when done ad nauseam.

Mr Neutron said:

Besides, if it's so lame, then why did you feel compelled to reply?

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to mock the bleating, unoriginal, copy and paste king.

and why weren't douchebag GOP bleaters emphasizing what a message was sent when ohio overturned their union busting bill?

where were you guys then? i mean, ohio is much more important than wisconsin with respect to electoral votes.

lol, hypocrisy. it's so fucking obvious it hurts.

California pension cuts may have ripple effect
By ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 6, 2012 8:15 PM EDT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Decisive victories for ballot proposals cutting retirement benefits for government workers in two of the largest cities in the U.S. emboldened advocates seeking to curb pensions in state capitols and city halls across the nation.

The voter responses in San Diego and San Jose were stinging setbacks for public employee unions, which also came up short on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's recall victory in Wisconsin.

"The message is that if elected officials and public employee unions do not responsibly deal with this issue, voters will take things into their own hands," said Thom Reilly, former chief executive of Clark County, Nev., now a professor of social work at San Diego State University. "We could see more draconian measures from citizens."

In San Diego, two-thirds of voters favored the pension reduction plan. And the landslide was even greater in San Jose, where 70 percent were in favor.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, a chief backer, said he was surprised by the margin of victory and considered it a statement that voters won't tolerate benefits that are more generous than those they receive working at private companies.

"It just shows the frustration people have with pension benefits that are out of control and taking away from city services," he said in an interview Wednesday.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, a Democrat who called the overhaul his highest priority, said he expects other governments to follow their lead.

"Mayors across the country are very interested. We're at the leading edge but we're not alone," he said.

Opponents say the measures deprive workers of benefits they were counting on when they got hired. Some workers decided against potentially more lucrative jobs with private companies, figuring their retirement was relatively safe.

Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 in Illinois, said the California referendums reflect a "race to the bottom" to erode government benefits by putting them on par with the private sector.

"This is part of a national effort to reduce retirement security for public employees, and it's very unfortunate," said Bayer, who represents about 70,000 government workers in Illinois.

The California votes came as legislators pursuing cuts to balance budgets have increasingly turned their attention to public pensions.

Rhode Island lawmakers last year backed away from promises to state and municipal workers, saying the move would save billions that the state could no longer afford to spend. And New York lawmakers in March approved less generous benefits for new hires.

California Republican leaders seized on this week's votes to try to revive Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown's attempt to reduce retirement benefits for new and current government workers. Brown called the referendums "a powerful wake-up call."

Labor unions in San Diego and San Jose — the nation's eighth- and 10th-largest cities — have launched potentially lengthy court challenges. The San Jose Police Officers Association filed a lawsuit in state court Wednesday, saying the measure violates vested rights.

Mike Zucchet, general manager of the San Diego Municipal Employees Association, said the union decided long ago against mounting a vigorous campaign to sway public opinion, instead saving its resources for a court battle. The vote didn't surprise him.

"It seemed like something of a lost cause, electorally at least," he said.

The plans are unusual because they address pensions for current employees — not just new hires.

San Diego's imposes a six-year freeze on pay levels used to determine pension benefits unless a two-thirds majority of the City Council votes to override it. It also puts new hires, except for police officers, into 401(k)-style plans.

Under San Jose's measure, current workers have to pay up to 16 percent of their salaries to keep their retirement plan or accept more modest benefits. New hires would get less generous benefits.

San Diego's independent budget analyst estimated savings of nearly $1 billion over 30 years. Reed estimates San Jose's plan will save up to $180 million a year.

Supporters in both cities relied on a simple pitch: Benefits beyond what most voters receive working at private companies are draining city coffers.

San Diego's payments to the city's retirement fund soared from $43 million in 1999 to $231.2 million this year, equal to 20 percent of the city's general fund budget, which pays for day-to-day operations.

As the pension payments grew, San Diego's 1.3 million residents saw roads deteriorate and libraries cut hours. For a while, some fire stations had to share engines and trucks. The city has cut its workforce 14 percent since 2005.

San Jose's pension payments jumped from $73 million in 2001 to $245 million this year, equal to 27 percent of its general fund budget. Voters there approved construction bonds at the beginning of the last decade, but four new libraries and a police station have never opened because the city cannot afford to operate them. The city of 960,000 cut its workforce 27 percent over the last 10 years.

San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio staked his mayoral bid on the pension measure, using fiery rhetoric to criticize public employee unions. He advanced to a November runoff in Tuesday's election.

"San Diego is showing the way," DeMaio said Wednesday. "The question is whether other jurisdictions have the political backbone to get the job done."

———

Associated Press writer Judy Lin in Sacramento, Calif., contributed to this report.

Original Article can be found at:
http://www.centurylink.net/news/read.php?id=18962058&ps=931&cat=&cps=0&lang=en

UncleBuck said:

i see you've resorted to responding to your own unoriginal copy and paste threads. cute.

pathetic, but cute.

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Do you really thing anyone gives a crap what you have to say... Funny I didnt see you whinning about copy/paster when your buddy copy/pasted an ignorant video... You arse clowns were high fiving and singing cum-bay-ah, Now go play in the street with the rest of the trash.