Wisconsin Unions

This was written by a family friend who is a union member in Wisconsin. It is worth a read and a minute of contemplation.
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It might seem as though citizens are rising up against the government in Wisconsin where unions are fighting for their lives. They say the whole middle class is under siege. The truth is, union membership in this country is just under 12% of the work force. There are 7.6 million union workers in the public sector, including City, State and Federal workers, and 7.1 million in the private sector, so they hardly represent the whole middle class. In fact, we the tax payers pay for public sector workers' salaries and benefits, and the bulk of their union dues go to the DNC to get pro-union democrats elected. The most controversial part of the bill in Wisconsin would be to remove the unions' right to negotiate on those pensions and health care, and while they would be allowed to continue negotiation on wages, the bill would end the automatic deduction of union dues from pay and enforce the annual election of union officials. This would mean a whole lot less tax payer money going to the democrats to pay for political campaigns. Unions contributed nearly half a billion dollars to put democrats in office in 2008. $87 million went to the Obama campaign alone. As a vested union member, that pisses me off.


Democrats outspent republicans in the 2008 presidential race, and yet we’re still being told that the Republican Party is the party of the rich, and that republicans are greedy racists. If we look at liberals and conservatives metaphorically, liberals would be the children and conservatives the adults. The issue in 2011 is fiscal responsibility, and public workers are going to have to grow up and face reality that their exceptional pensions and benefits are out of line with what the rest of America is getting, and they’re financially breaking State and Local governments. Collective bargaining in the private sector has steadily lost power and influence as employers have held out for more reasonable employee contributions to retirement and medical benefits. With unemployment at well over 9%, workers have less leverage and strikes garner little sympathy from the general public. The idea that union contracts guarantee “weekends, 40 hour work weeks and protection against child labor” is inane. Although unions were instrumental in getting laws passed to provide these and other rights to workers, they are State and Federal labor laws separate from collective bargaining contracts. They’ve become “social norms” and pertain to all workers, whether they’re union or not.


Interesting that in Wisconsin teachers walked shoulder to shoulder with socialists and communists. There were communist party members handing out literature at the demonstrations. Teachers ought to feel a bit hijacked by groups that are using them to further their own agenda. Come on people, what the hell are you doing? You’re Americans, remember? You’re free. Why are you allowing yourselves to be used this way? How much of a Gumby have you allowed yourselves to become? Teachers, you’ve allowed your unions to run amok, gradually draining the public coffers. Your passive, and sometimes aggressive acceptance of union demands on your behalf has very likely put at risk your chance for collective bargaining in the future. And it certainly hasn’t helped your public image.

Education is a hot button issue and teachers are taking the heat, to some degree unfairly, for low test scores and a general state of mediocrity in schools. It seems unwise for them to do anything but focus on quality education for our kids, but their unions have one goal and one goal only, and that is to collect revenue from union members and use it to finance politicians who will keep the unions in power. It’s just another left wing minority power grab. The difference this time is that they have a close ally in the White House.