Big labor's big betrayal

NY Post ^ | September 06, 2010 | Editorial

[Scanian]

Today New Yorkers, like all Ameri cans, are observing Labor Day -- and many have the day off.

Great. No doubt, they earned it.

But the holiday -- once meant to extol an honorable movement, affirm worker solidarity and celebrate gains won through collective bargaining -- is an ideal time to look at what has become of the labor movement in recent years.

Alas, that doesn't merit celebration.

Take a few of the latest developments.

In Congress, union giveaways -- like the ever-upward minimum wage -- have helped feed a painfully high jobless rate, now stuck near 10 percent.

Union-driven pensions, health-care programs, overtime and other work rules have nearly bankrupted industries (Detroit), threatened the fiscal integrity of state governments (California, New Jersey, New York) and wreaked havoc on entire nations (Greece).

[whitedog57]

And Obama keeps pushing unions as a protected class.

What a scumbag and embarrassment as President.

[Puzzleman]

Excellent article. Thanks for posting it.

[jazzlite]

I have just finished watching Stuart Varney on FOX interview a big Union Representative for WORKERS UNITED, Bruce Raynor, regarding the Union's reporting America to the UN for Human Rights Abuse, meaning that if you do not belong to the Union, then your Human Rights are abused in America. This report puts our great nation, the most free nation for individual rights which has ever existed in the history of mankind in the same human rights category as North Korea, etc. The heads of Unions, who are frequent visitors at the White House, are doing this to us. We are told they had a direct hand in writing the disastrous health care policy which Americans hate, for the purpose of bailouts for themselves. What they have done to us through this UN Report will not fly here but will give fodder to our enemies across the world and will excuse and trivialize true human rights abuses across the world. Folks, the Unions are the human rights abusers, not Americans who want to make their own choices as to whether or not to belong to this gang of thugs who have been the major players in the destruction of our economy. Unions began as a good thing but over many years have been highjacked by the worst among us. Please vote the representatives of these freedom killers out of office in November..Let these traitors take their wares somewhere else..Please see them for what they are...

[maryz]

I saw a column years ago that pointed out that the old union leaders (back when union meant “trade union”), whatever their faults, realized that bankrupting employers wouldn’t do the membership any good. This, of course, seems to have changed, with the public sector unions I would guess. Didn’t it used to be illegal for gov’t workers to organize? When did that change?

[jazzlite]

...”Didn’t it used to be illegal for gov’t workers to organize? When did that change?”...

It changed when government grew too big and there were no term limits for politicians so they could make “government service” a career..The bowing and scraping to the “big money” began and has now encroached upon the very soverignty of the US.

[HiTech RedNeck]

And so now we get unelected, unappointed “para-government.” Lovely!

[Elle Bee]

It was changed by JFK's Executive Order

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[Vaduz]

Papa Joe smiles,winks to mob.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Sounds to me like this is the time for Unions to strike against their employers. Strike your employer, shut down the company then the government gives the company to the union and the shareholders get screwed and the owner gets put in jail or fined.

[Scanian]

Glad you liked the post.

[jazzlite]

That is exactly right!

[reefdiver]

The Union “bubble” popped - lots of folks getting burned. Hooked their horse up to wagon that was overloaded with dead beats.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

      

"People of the same trade seldom meet together even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public or some contrivance to raise prices." - Adam Smith

That quote from Smith is usually cited in reference to businessmen - but it certainly seems to apply to trade unions - in spades.

[maryz]

Thanks — I thought it was probably in the 60s; when I was in grammar school in the the 50s, I remember there was talk of teachers’ unions. One of the kids asked our 5th grade teacher what she thought about it — she was against it (a wonderful woman and a great teacher!).

[Elle Bee]

President Kennedy’s Executive Order 10998, allowing Federal unions, is what opened the door for public sector unions at the state and local level, which is leading to bankruptcy from bloated public sector salaries, benefits, and retirement plans.

Businesses that offered plans like many governments have would go bankrupt. Gov’t entities will, too, eventually, but it will be much more painful.

.

[Vaduz]

The democrats is beat at shell games.