Free Republic

Michael Hiltzik infers in his column Sunday that Proposition 32 is a big lie -- because it prohibits both corporations and labor unions such as the California Teachers Assn. from extracting involuntary political contributions from the paychecks of workers. Hiltzik argues that its prohibition of corporate deductions is of minor impact, but that union political fund-raising will be crippled. He is amazingly untroubled by the fact that taking such payroll deductions for political purposes without consent is patently immoral. Why should a worker have some of his forced union dues spent on candidates or causes that he doesn't agree with?...

(CNNMoney) -- Federal workers' jobs will be under fire if Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan win November's election. Both Romney and Ryan have made it clear that they think federal workers are one reason the nation's deficit is too high, and have talked about shrinking payrolls and cutting benefits. Unions, in particular, say they're concerned about Ryan, saying he has a record of "undermining" federal workers. Federal workers' pay has been frozen at 2010 levels, a move President Obama supported to save $60 billion from deficits over ten years. If Obama wins in November, the pay freeze is expected to...

El Monte Police Chief Thomas Armstrong oversaw a modestly sized department, with 120 officers But when Armstrong stepped down last year, he was paid nearly $430,000 The payday was possible thanks to a clause in Armstrong's contract that allowed him to accrue unlimited sick and vacation hours and sell them back to the city at the end of his career. By the time he retired at age 56, Armstrong cashed out for roughly $200,000. And he's not alone. Similar payouts have been made in city governments across the state. Those employees include Roy Campos, Downey's former police chief, who was...

I’ve been a strong union advocate all my life. For many decades, union support has been able to accomplish many wonderful things for working people, including a living wage. But times have changed; in many cases, unions have not, particularly with public service unions.

Despite objections from the mayors of California's ten largest cities, the Assembly last week approved Assembly Bill 1692 by Fremont Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski. The bill will make it harder for cities to seek bankruptcy protection. It reneges on a carefully crafted compromise measure approved just six months ago that requires financially beleaguered cities to enter into good-faith negotiations with their creditors—including most significantly, public employee unions—before filing for bankruptcy protection. Stockton was in the midst of that mediation when the bill to undo it began moving in the Legislature. Just how bad are things in Stockton? Well how's this for...

Public-employee unions in Wisconsin have experienced a dramatic drop in membership -- by more than half for the second-biggest union -- since a law championed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker sharply curtailed their ability to bargain over wages and working conditions. Now with Mr. Walker facing a recall vote Tuesday, voters will decide whether his policies in the centrist state should continue -- or whether they have gone too far. The election could mark a pivot point for organized labor. Mr. Walker's ouster would derail the political career of a rising Republican star and send a warning to other elected...

By the end of today we will know which Democrat will be running against Gov. Scott Walker in the June 5 recall election, and if the polls are right it will be Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Barrett’s campaign will shift into high gear, and for the next month we will be bombarded with campaign ads addressing assorted issues carefully chosen to distract us from the most important issue: Barrett’s promise to “use any vehicle I can” to reinstate collective bargaining privileges to public unions. But Barrett also promises to “reunite” Wisconsin. Now let’s think about that. Do you believe Wisconsinites...

Whenever we write about the compensation of county firefighters (the current average is about $175,000), someone chimes in that it’s unfair to add pension contributions to the total. Adding money that firefighters won’t see until they retire is misleading, they contend, making it look like they take home much more than they actually do. The truth is, according to a new book by former Clark County Manager Thom Reilly, too little focus has been put on the hidden costs of pensions. So little, Reilly says, that pension expenses soon may bankrupt many governmental bodies across the country if something isn’t...

What’s the old adage? How can you can tell when a politician is lying? His lips move. Gov. Jerry Brown, who in an earlier incarnation insisted he detested the idea of more taxes, now says Californians must tax themselves even more. Why is that? It’s for the children, the governor assures us. What cold-hearted person would be against a few billion more in taxes when it’s for the children? The trouble is, not even that much is true...

Considering the state of this state and the condition of the world, the so-called "Public Employees Bill of Rights Act" might be mistaken for satire. The problem is, Assembly Bill 1655, is serious. It aims to give unionized California government workers "more workplace discipline protections and first dibs on state government work," as the Sacramento Bee put it...

A Las Vegas attorney will launch a legal and political effort this week aimed at establishing and funding a parallel state budget, beyond the reach of the Legislature and governor. Kermitt Waters seeks to place on the November ballot a proposed constitutional amendment calling for a sweeping overhaul of Nevada’s tax system — abolishing property taxes on single-family homes among other things while identifying and allocating new tax revenue. Waters said last week his proposal is borne of frustration with the status quo in Carson City. The state’s 63 lawmakers represent the powerful interests who fund their campaigns, he said,...

“All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations.” - Franklin Delano Roosevelt In an email conversation leaked this past week by the left-leaning advocacy group Progress Michigan, Mackinac Center senior legislative analyst and CapCon commentator Jack McHugh wrote, “Our goal is (to) outlaw government collective bargaining...

Public unions threaten democracy which is why the left supports public unions. All public unions should lose their collective bargaining status. While public servants should be allowed to form associations and while individual public servants should be allowed to get involved in politics to the degree that such involvement doesn’t pose as a conflict of interest as it relates to their public function, public unions per-se should be disbanded. Such a measure would lead to a better, a more efficient, and a more honest government. The idea that public servants, paid out of taxpayer funds and conducting public functions, should...

Public unions threaten democracy which is why the left supports public unions. All public unions should lose their collective bargaining status. While public servants should be allowed to form associations and while individual public servants should be allowed to get involved in politics to the degree that such involvement doesn’t pose as a conflict of interest as it relates to their public function, public unions per-se should be disbanded. Such a measure would lead to a better, a more efficient, and a more honest government. The idea that public servants, paid out of taxpayer funds and conducting public functions, should...

For some reason the 1986 Bangles song "Walk Like an Egyptian" comes to mind, especially the line of "all the cops at the donut shop".

A compensation system based on additional academic credit and experience makes sense only if those factors are actually related to classroom effectiveness. They aren't. Two decades of empirical research in education have confirmed at least one fact that just about everyone already knew: There are good teachers and bad teachers. The wide variation in teacher quality suggests that some teachers deserve higher salaries than others, and indeed today's public school systems have a tiered system of rigid salary ladders in which teachers are given extra compensation for factors commonly thought to be related to effectiveness. In a new study soon...

Here’s the latest on who makes what from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (whose workers, we’ll point out here, happen to be public employees): Workers in the private sector made an average of $28.13 per hour in total compensation in June (wages contributed $19.81 to that, and benefits added $8.32)While state and local government workers made an average of $40.40 per hour (wages were $26.41, and benefits, $13.99). Of course, the amount one earns is a function of the skills and education one possesses. Our colleague Jan Norman tells you a bit more about the breakdown by job type here.It is often argued that many state and local government workers...

This summer, something remarkable happened: 45,000 Verizon workers went on strike, and no one — save a few customers dealing with service interruptions — much cared. The communications behemoth wanted more than 100 concessions on health care, pensions, sick days and outsourcing. Unions representing the workers said Verizon sought to void 50 years of collective-bargaining gains for middle-class workers, despite posting a 2.8% jump in revenue in the second quarter, up to $27.5 billion. Thirteen days later, those on strike went back to work on good faith, the company guaranteeing nothing other than continued talks. It’s an indictment of how...

Should public sector unions be curbed? Is it time to end the ability of governmental employees to form unions? Raymond La Jeunesse, Jr., vice president and legal director of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, believes so. La Jeunesse, who has more than 40 years experience helping employees litigate against compulsory unionism - including arguing four cases