Free Republic

2010 might be remembered as the year that the edifice of public sector unions began to crumble. Before the 1960s, government workers were generally not allowed to unionize. After all, they work for a monopoly that has no profit margin and thus no reason to oppose their ever expanding benefits at the People's expense. In fact, as Democrats have found, they are much better off giving these unions everything they want in return for lockstep support for the Democrats in money, volunteers and votes. What changed in 2010? First, it became clear that those states that were pro-public union were...

New rules expected from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) are causing massive heartburn for Big Labor and fueling a new backroom push in Congress for a taxpayer bailout of underwater union pensions. With nine Republican co-sponsors of the House bill, Big Labor is pushing for passage during a lame duck session after the November elections. ........ A bill introduced by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.), and a bill from Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) in the House, would for the first time put taxpayers on the hook for these underwater union pension plans. ........ Moody’s Investors Service estimates a whopping $167...

A teachers union told the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday it should have the right to spend workers' money for political purposes without their permission -- even if they aren't union members. The case involves about 3,000 Washington state teachers and other education employees who have chosen not to join the 80,000-member Washington Education Association. Because the nonunion workers are in the bargaining unit and thus represented by the union, they are charged a fee for labor negotiations that affect them. Washington state in 1992 adopted a campaign-finance law that requires labor unions to annually ask members whether part of their...