Posted on 12/22/2008 1:20:30 PM PST by St. Louis Conservative
What accounts for the sudden decline in the fortunes of America’s labor unions? Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that labor leaders helped elect the most liberal chief executive in modern times? Even before he’s sworn in, the debates over the automaker bailout and Card Check are making clear that as important as the White House is, you can’t succeed if your policy goals are so unpopular that they have a hard time passing Congress.
We’ve seen how unpopular the UAW bailout is, and blackhedd today explains that the bailout debate may well dominate Barack Obama’s first 100 days. The unions may ultimately get the bailout they’re aiming for, but if they do it’s likely to require tens of thousands of job losses, and it may require Obama to spend a lot of political capital.
It seems that the effort to pass Card Check is running into similar trouble. Specifically, most Democrats seem to recognize that it’s not very popular, and they’re running from a difficult vote. Last week, Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln aired her doubts about Card Check. With a re-election campaign coming up in 2010, she seems uneasy about the prospect of defending a vote to eliminate the secret ballot for union organizing. But if Lincoln’s concern is her re-election bid in 2010, what explains the similar unease about Card Check from her home-state colleague Mark Pryor — who coasted to re-election unchallenged just 6 weeks ago?
(Excerpt) Read more at redstate.com ...
Only the Dems can cook up an Orwellian phrase like that. I guess they thought it sounded better than the "Employee Intimidation Act" or "We'll Kill Your Family if You Don't Vote Our Way Act".
Arkansas is one of the few conservative states that mainly produces yellow dog democrats.
I think you’re going to see a lot more votes change as the strategic situations changed.
Arlen Specter voted for card check knowing that it would lose in the senate. His vote may swing against it if his is the deciding vote. Many conservative democrats should be scared at their reelection prospects if Obama moves too far to the left. Many of the congressional democrats moves have polled incredibly badly in the last 2 years and the fact that George W. Bush is the face of the government is a big reason they haven’t suffered for it.
That will change under Obama.
***What is Card Check?***
You are pressured to sign a union card requesting a secret ballot on unionizing. If over 50% of the employees sign you get to vote to unionize or not.
Many I know signed a card, then voted against unionizing.
With this new “card check” you sign the card and that is all that is needed. No secret vote necessary if over 50% sign.
Signing the card check is not done in secret but in public, namely in front of union thugs or company thugs.
“What is Card Check?”
A few more details.
Currently, union organizers have to get employees to sign a card asking for a vote on whether a company is to be unionized. Once a sufficient number of signatures are collected, the company has to have a vote. At majority of employees must vote for the union. The vote is secret.
The unions don’t like this because they often collect many more than a majority of cards but then lose the election in a landslide. The unions claim that this is unfair since it gives the companies an opportunity to ‘coerce’ the workers into voting agains the union. The unions also say that it is expensive and inefficient. The unions want a new law passed “card check” that would unionize a company once a majority sign the card without a secret ballot.
The problem with “card check” is the opportunities for coercion are abundant. Four or five union guys can show up at your house and refuse to leave until you sign. They can approach your wife at a parking lot and hint rather strongly that it might be a good idea for you to sign up. I’m sure you can imagine other scenarios.
All of these tactics have been reported under the current law and a lot of people will sign the card just to get rid of the union organizers knowing that they will then have the opportunity to vote against the union in private and in secret. Of course, the unions claim that while those tactics may have been used in a “few isolated instances” by “over-eager” unionizers, all of that is in the past and they certainly would “discourage” such activities in the future.
Actually, it is 50% plus 1. Talk about a majority. (NOT)
Total intimidation. The new Union Thugs are "Change to Win" the group involved in the Blago scandal. They are trying to unionize CVS, and so far are getting their heads handed to them, but they have the lawyers on their said. They are suing to force CVS to open in neighborhoods it doesn't want too, and then they'll go in an unionize because the working conditions in those neighborhoods are rotten. It's complete intimidation.
I utterly loathe unions and the PHR (Professional Human Resource) certification I just took, had 22% of it's content dedicated to unions.
RS
QUESTION::::
If arbitration is forced doesn’t that mean that there could be penalties for simply closing rather to even accept the arbitrator’s decision? Someone please elaborate on what a company’s options are when arbitration comes into play. Can a company even throw in the towel and fire everyone and close?
I’m not sure about that. I’d be willing to bet that the unions (who have written this bill, let’s be honest) have built in protections for this contingency.
The ‘rats are simply afraid that people will notice how fascist they are. We just have to get the word out. They know it’s getting out, and they know that they’ll be exposed.
I’ve said all along, to defeat the left, expose the left. Their ideas are abhorrent to normal people, and they can only operate by deception.
Okay, here it is:
company thugs, eh?
Haven’t heard of too many companies sending out Guido the Leg Breaker to influence your union vote.
However, pro-union goons? Yeah, heard of that - alot.
Wal Mart and Tyson Chicken, another non union company. Both with major ties to Hil and Bil. They wouldn’t want to see Obama placed between the rock and the hard place, or would they???
We know he’s not going to abandon Don’t Ask Don’t Tell on day one.
Hard to imagine him actually doing anything of substance any time soon.
This is a person with no substance, no courage, and no principles.
Wal Mart and Tyson Chicken, another non union company. Both with major ties to Hil and Bil. They wouldn’t want to see Obama placed between the rock and the hard place, or would they???
Ugh, don't remind me. The Republicans not even fielding a candidate for a Senate race in a red state? It's hard to get more incompetent than that.
***company thugs, eh?
Haven’t heard of too many companies sending out Guido the Leg Breaker to influence your union vote.***
When men at our company signed cards for a union vote the company sent letters TO THE WIVES forcasting gloom and doom if a union vote was held.
It terrified the wives causing some very pro union men to change sides. Others changed sides because of private individual meetings called by the PLANT MANAGER FROM HELL.
I remember one very pro union man who got called into a private meeting with THE PLANT MANAGER FROM HELL. When he came out fifteen minutes later he was shaking, sweating and swearing that NOTHING was ever going to make him vote union! We could not believe that he caved!
Thirty years later I still have that letter to the wives somewhere here at home.
The union won by one vote.
He very well could have been telling the truth, and THAT’S why the guy came out saying there’s no way that he’d vote for a union.
Unions are nothing but corrupt organizations that drag the economy and enforce stupid policy through thuggish behavior.
They’ve outlived their usefulness.
In other words, small businesses, partnerships, and LLCs will shut their doors before allowing a union in to steal half their profits.
I’ve already heard from two small manufacturers in Ohio that they plan to do just that. They don’t need the money and won’t be extorted to paying another failed corrupt organization when they are already paying taxes to government.
I’ve been physically intimidated by mobbed-up Union thugs - never by employer thugs. Maybe you’ve listened to too many folk songs about the thirties. Did you know that its almost 2009.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.