Wisconsin Gov. to Obama: Butt Out

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has taken sharp exception to President Barack Obama's criticism of the Republican Governor's proposed emergency legislation that would limit collective bargaining agreements affecting most public employees. Obama called the plan an "assault" on unions. Walker has said the legislation is made necessary by the state's runaway deficit. The governor told Fox News Friday morning that the President would be well advised to concentrate on budget and deficit problems in Washington, D.C. rather than Madison, Wisconsin.

"I think we're focusing on balancing our budget," Walker said. "It would be wise for the President and others in Washington to focus on balancing their budget, which they are a long ways from doing." The Washington Post reported Friday that the President's "political machine" worked closely with state and national union officials to mobilize thousands of protesters to gather in Madison Thursday and to plan similar demonstrations in other state capitals. As Alex Newman reported at TheNewAmerican.com, police estimated the number of protestors at the Wisconsin capital Thursday at about 25,000, many of whom are believed to have been bussed in from out of state.

"We're not going to be intimidated by people coming in from outside of Wisconsin trying to tell us what we need to do to balance our budget," Walker said. "The bottom line is, we got elected to do a job."

Nine arrests were made and Walker said on Thursday he might have to call out the National Guard to maintain order and keep certain government facilities, including the state prison, functioning, as some of the state employees had apparently walked off the job. Democratic legislators were also missing in action, having fled to Illinois to put off a vote on the governor's proposals.

The legislation Walker is pushing would prohibit pay increases for state employees that exceed the rise in the Consumer Price Index and would ban in state agencies the "union shop," whereby paying dues to a union is a requirement for employment. Many state employees would also be required to contribute more to their pension and health benefit plans. Walker is also pushing for cuts in overall state spending to deal with a deficit of $136.7 million for the current fiscal year, according to a statement released from the governor's office earlier this month.

Obama said blame for the state's budget crisis should not be placed on the state workers. "I think it is very important for us to understand that public employees, they're our neighbors, they're our friends," the President said in an interview with a Wisconsin TV station. "These are folks who are teachers and they're firefighters and they're social workers and they're police officers."

New Hampshire House Passes Right-to-Work Measure, Governor Promises Veto

Posted by LaborUnionReport (Profile)

Tuesday, February 15th at 7:00PM EST 36 Comments

On Tuesday afternoon, the GOP-led House in New Hampshire voted 221-131 to make the Granite State the 23rd state in the nation to outlaw unions’ ability to have workers fired for not paying union dues. The bill to make New Hampshire a Right-to-Work state now moves to the New Hampshire Senate where Republicans enjoy a 19-5 majority. However, before the bill become law it must be signed by the Democratic Governor, John Lynch, who has said he would veto it.

According to Republican Steve Vaillancourt, overriding Democrat Lynch’s expected veto is possible, but it may be difficult:

House Bill 474, better known as the Right To Work bill (”relative to freedom of choice on whether to join a labor union”), will pass the New Hampshire House overwhelmingly this week (either late Tuesday or early Wednesday), but the number to watch is 31.

That’s the number of Republicans who could vote against the bill, and it would still survive Governor John Lynch’s promised veto when it comes back later in the spring.

Here’s how it works, and these numbers are based on all Reps being present for a given vote (something that never happens, of course). With Republican in control 297-102, if 31 Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the bill, the margin would be 266-133, exactly enough to

override a veto. Bearing in mind that Tuesday’s vote was 221-131, according to Vaillancourt’s comments above, overriding a gubernatorial veto is readily within the GOP’s grasp.

The Nation’s Pulse
Michigan a Right to Work State?

By F. Vincent Vernuccio on 7.16.10 @ 6:08AM

Oakland County Sherriff Mike Bouchard, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, called for making Michigan a right to work State in a press release and commercial Wednesday. He pointed out that average right to work states have an 8 percent unemployment rate, compared with Michigan’s rate of 13.8 percent.

Attorney General Mike Cox, who is also seeking the GOP nomination for governor, indicated support for right to work in a Tuesday Gubernatorial debate. “Fourteen right-to-work states have passed us by,” in per-capita personal income, he said. “That’s where our children are going.” He ought to know. As he noted, his oldest daughter moved to right-to-work Tennessee.

So, now that right to work has entered the policy debate for this year’s gubernatorial race, it’s worth asking: What is it and what does it do?

Right to work generally refers to section 14b of the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which allows states to bar union shop collective bargaining agreements in which paying union dues is required for many jobs. In non-right to work states, workers can be forced to join a union or pay dues as a condition of employment. To date, 22 states have adopted right to work laws since Taft-Hartley went into effect in 1947, mostly in the South and West.

Right to work supporters argue that workers should have the freedom to associate with any organization they wish — or not — and that forcing workers to pay dues to unions simply to keep their jobs violates that freedom.

Right to work opponents say that employees of unionized companies benefit from the collective bargaining agreement. Therefore, if a company is unionized, all employees should be required to pay dues to avoid “free riders.”

In reality, dues go not only toward representational expense, but also toward lavish compensation for union officials and political donations to causes and candidates that individual union members individually might not support.

On average, right to work states have fared better than their closed shop neighbors. People know this, and are voting with their feet. According to a recent Cato Institute study, since 1970 the population of right to work states has more than doubled, while the population of closed shop states has increased by only 25.7 percent. And Census data show that 4.7 million Americans moved from closed shop states to right to work states between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2008.

A 2009 Census estimate has Michigan’s population dwindling below 10 million for the first time since 2001. Michigan was third out of 23 states experiencing outmigration, according to the estimate. Only California and New York, both closed shop states, came out ahead of Michigan.

With almost 20 percent of Michigan’s population represented by unions, any candidate who backs right to work is in for a difficult battle.

Candidates targeted by unions can take comfort in a trend emerging this year. After spending $400 million to win Democratic control of Congress and elect Barrack Obama in 2008, unions’ electoral influence has waned in 2010.

Scott Brown and Blanche Lincoln were both targeted by national unions and won, despite unions spending millions to defeat them. After union-supported Bill Halter lost to Lincoln, a White House official was quoted as saying, “Organized labor just flushed $10 million of their members’ money down the toilet on a pointless exercise.”

Candidates can also be encouraged by several polls that point to public dissatisfaction with organized labor. A March 2009 poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports showed only 9 percent of non-union workers wanted to join unions. A February 2010 Pew Research poll revealed only 41 percent of those surveyed had a favorable view of unions, with 42 percent holding unfavorable sentiments.

Jack McHugh, senior legislative analyst at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, wrote in an e-mail, “This shows that RTW has achieved a level of salience that makes high-profile support of it appealing to an anxious candidate looking to break from the pack in a five-way GOP primary election.… Specifically, at least one experienced Michigan politician now thinks that things have been so bad for so long that voters here will reward a candidate who loudly calls for RTW.”

Unions are very powerful in Michigan, so for years right to work has faced a hostile political environment. Today, however, the state’s economic troubles are glaring for all to see, so now is no time for business as usual. Rigid work rules and lavish compensation packages helped bring the Big Three to their knees. Like the Big Three, Michigan cannot carry on as before — and Michiganders know it. If Michigan’s fortunes are to revive, right to work will be a needed first step.

The Missouri Senate is expecting a floor debate on right to work legislation around the March spring break for lawmakers.

Thirty-three years ago, Missouri voters rejected a ballot initiative to eliminate mandatory union membership in closed shops. Right-to-work advocates recently said it inhibited new business activity in Missouri.

“Fifty percent of manufacturers looking to locate will make their decision solely on whether there is a right-to-work state or a union state. And they will look no further at a state that is not right-to-work,” said Senator Jane Cunnhingham, (R) Chesterfield.

Advocates on the general laws committee said the legislation targets the acquisition of New Business by sending the Right-to-Work Bill to the floor. They said there is little threat to the existing union shops.

“This isn’t about whether unions can continue to exist or have membership,” said Sen. Luann Ridgeway, (R) Smithville. “They absolutely can exist. They can have membership.”

Union leaders do not see the political will needed to make the change. They said a coalition of business lobby groups did not include right-to-work in their list of a half a dozen legislative priorities. They targeted workers compensation, unemployment benefits and the minimum wage.

“While we have some differences about how they would go about those alterations, I agree that those issues do need attention,” said Herb Johnson, of Missouri AFL-CIO. “This was not one of those. And I think that says something right there.”

Are you in favor of Missouri becoming a right-to-work state? Sound off in our comment section!

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