Largest Union Decides to Bolt AFL-CIO

AP ^ | July 24, 2005 | RON FOURNIER

[txnativegop]

Hopefully this is only the first step towards destroying all unions. Once, long ago, unions might have a had a legitimate purpose, but no longer. Good Riddance!

[Neanderthal]

"Once, long ago, unions might have a had a legitimate purpose, but no longer."

There was never a legitimate purpose.

[Doohickey]

Gerald McEntee, president of a government employees' union with more than 1 million members, accused his boycotting colleagues of aiding labor's political foes. "The only people who happy about this are President Bush and his crowd," he said.

So many things wrong with this sentence it's hard to decide where to start.

[mmercier]

Soon "organized" labor under the AFL-CIO will be only government employees unions. The laborers are so mobbed up they may as well be considered government employees.

After the rat party finally melts down at the polls, they and what remains of "organized" labor will form the base of the American Labour party.

[DUMBGRUNT]

The predator-prey relationship is important in maintaining balance in the system.
Also the Chinese are going to be pissed, when no one is left to buy their crap.

[Tacis]

Understand completely. These unions would extort cash from members and the leaders, after skimming some for their own selfs, would turn the balanabce over to the AFL-CIO for delivery to the dems. But, the AFL-CIO leaders would skim some of the cash for their own selfs before turning it over to the DNC leaders who would skim a little off the top for their own selfs and for "black" projects.

These unions believe they can turn over more extorted cash to the DNC directly without the AFL-CIO. The answer clearly is to double union dues!!

[ReadyNow]

Well, at least we have the honorable, high-principled National Education Association to lead the labor movement in the 21st century, showing everyone what quality work is inspired by union membership.

[The Brush]

""Today will be remembered as a rebirth of union strength in America," coalition chairwoman Anna Burger said.

If she was my daughter, I would have named her Anita Burger.
My real name is Ivan Awfulitch

[telebob]

I'm glad to see this happen. I'm a past chapter president of an SEIU local. This was back in the days when the SEIU was a nuts and bolts, bread and butter union, before they decided that 'social justice' trumped the interests of the members.

They ran off the old time business reps about 13 years ago and replaced them with a bunch of commie fellow travelers. If you want a union obsessed with gay rights, benefits for illegal aliens, reparations and all the rest of the left's touch stones, the SEIU is your kind of place. They are now in a very friendly relationship with ANSWER and the anti-war left.

BTW, these articles seldom mention it, but Sweeney is the past president of SEIU. Stern learned all his double dealing from him. Hopefully they will destroy each other.

[EagleUSA]

Hopefully this is only the first step towards destroying all unions.
-----
Let us hope so. They have become simply vehicles of corporate extortion, run by thugs for thugs. And as long as corporate America panders to them the more we will suffer -- just look at GM just for openers...

[topher]

Some of these unions have been blindly supporting the Democrats and the AFL-CIO -- putting millions into campaigns.

They have been on the losing end too long -- I hope the Republicans and President Bush tries to help them, and help their union. The Democrats have not been helping them in the past -- only hurting them...

[dr_who_2]

I don't think unions are entirely bad, but I hope this brings the country a lot closer to a time when the Democrat party and its powerful Left-wing coalition will become extinct. If there's a political party that the country certainly doesn't need right now (besides Communists, Social Democrats, and Nazis), it's the Democrats.

[Archon of the East]

Excellent post telebob! You are dead spot on and then some. The SEIU is a Communist organization plain, simple and a matter of fact. George Meany would have kicked the snot out of these pinkos. Not that Unions have always been on the right side of things but they had always been loyal Americans.

[oldironsides]

Maybe some of the men and women saw the deals made by Sweeny and Mccauliffe with Global Crossings. They jumped ship and made money while pension funds were left in it and it screwed over the members. The union leaders need a
wake up call, lower perks and pay. The membership needs to
give the union an enema. Flush the crap out ASAP.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

When the AFL-CIO formed 50 years ago, union membership was at its zenith with one of every three private-sector workers belonging to a labor group. Now, less than 8 percent of private-sector workers are unionized.

Ok here is the bottom line. Young Americans do not like joining Unions. They don't like being told what to do by anyone but they will accept it from the guy who hands them their paycheck. They will not accept it from some dude that wants them to pay protection money.

That is why Union membership is shrinking and partly why manufacturing jobs are going away. When you are unable to hire young workers because you can only hire Union members and over half your work force is on the shady side of fifty you know that you are looking at a serious problem in the making.

This is also why unions are not against immigration illegal or otherwise. That is where their new members are coming from.

[Mrs. Shawnlaw]

The GM brake replacement parts I bought at AutoZone for my Pontiac GrandAm had stenciled across the box in huge letters MADE IN CHINA.

[Semi Civil Servant]

"Once, long ago, unions might have a had a legitimate purpose, but no longer."

--- txnativegop

There was never a legitimate purpose.

--- Neanderthal

These kids might have disagreed:

[bill1952]

Glad to see that you made it out.
I was involved in the CWA before they had to answer to the International party on everything.

Basically, International=Socialist Agenda to change America from Capitalism, and every national union that answers to an International party has to toe the line.

Or, as I used to say:

"I used to be a union democrat when they were the party of the working man."

"Now they are the party of the man who doesn't work."

[bill1952]

A common misconception is that unions changed those things, rather than riding the wave of change.

Those things were changed by socially active Americans from all walks of life who didn't care one whit for union thuggery. - Not that all unions were crooks, but that's the way it went.