Unions eye gubernatorial elections for payback

…go ahead…spend those dues!

There are enough people left with sense in this state, until the idiots from Ill come up here.

NOW…. if elections held today, how would it turn out? Im guessing Walker would win the Barret learners now. For the simple fact he has time to work, and its all been working out great.

I hope he gets good support from guys like Ryan in the next election cycle. I am sure a majority of us enjoy taxes staying flat.

You’re missing the point. Private sector unionism is already nearly dead. In a global economy, private companies burdened by the costs and inefficiencies of union contracts simply cannot compete. So, either the union is just a weak arm of management, or the shop is going non-union. The best they will muster is to hold on in a few industries where the “shop floor” is bolted to U.S. soil such as hotels.

But the majority and growing part of unionists in the U.S. are public sector unions, and their fates are entirely dependent on the extent of their political muscle, both in terms of the direct public officials that they are negotiating with, as well as the higher ups who direct the flows of money. So asking them to focus on representing labor against management instead of politics makes no sense. Politics determines everything for them; of course they are going to focus their attention there.

The next move for the Tea Party is to come out and make the case that public unions are inherently immoral. Public servants who work for not for profit agencies that are funded by the tax payers should have no right to engage in collective bargaining and buying off politicians…
… But a grassroots PR campaign to deligitimize the very existence of public sector unions has to begin. Public pensions are one of the main drivers of fiscal insolvency. There a lot of people out there working in the private sector whose ears would perk up if they heard people making a sound argument against the existence of public employee unions.

ardenenoch on December 12, 2012 at 3:50 PM

+100 Yes, a strong moral argument needs to be made. We need to reclaim the moral high ground within the popular culture, and union issues are an easy way to start.

People hate unions. They’ve plucked our pockets, made everything expensive, killed manufacturing and shipped jobs to other countries.
darwin on December 12, 2012 at 1:25 PM

I’m no fan of organized labor but US manufacturing is actually quite robust, as are our exports, but we just have fewer people making things due to productivity gains and automation. A typical auto assembly plant today employs about 2,500 at full capacity. Fifty years ago, that figure would have been 10,000.

Yes, in the 1980s and 1990s we let a lot of our manufacturing base (like machine tools) wither and die, but Americans still manufacture a lot of stuff. The US is typically #1, #2 or #3 in all the major metrics, usually right there with Japan, China and Germany fighting for the top spots.

I’m quite sure that the union movement won’t be taking advice from me, but I’ll offer it anyway. This is exactly the wrong approach for unions to take in the wake of their massive defeats over the last two years

Ed, they are not wise enough to consult you. Let them waste even more of the money they rob from members, don’t hurt me one iota.

Simplified.

Then again, the proponents of SB 5 totally miscalculated just how much the public union establishment was invested in the effort (vis-a-vis out of state unions, super PAC and Democrat groups). Then there were turncoats like Bob Frantz and Bill Cunningham (two conservative radio hosts in Cleveland and Cincy, respectively) who crucified Kasich and the Ohio GOP on a relentless basis.

Cunningham even cut an ad for the Ohio Dems/PEUs, then appeared on LSDNC. This from the guy who originated the “Great American” act Hannity blatently stole from, BTW.

Myron Falwell on December 12, 2012 at 3:54 PM

Wow, I didn’t know that about Cunningham. What a tool.

Ohio’s GOP is deathly afraid to touch RTW right now. The idiots should have pursued this before they tried SB 5. SB 5 might not have even been necessary if RTW had been passed.

Bitter Clinger on December 12, 2012 at 1:54 PM

Simplified.

Then again, the proponents of SB 5 totally miscalculated just how much the public union establishment was invested in the effort (vis-a-vis out of state unions, super PAC and Democrat groups). Then there were turncoats like Bob Frantz and Bill Cunningham (two conservative radio hosts in Cleveland and Cincy, respectively) who crucified Kasich and the Ohio GOP on a relentless basis.

Cunningham even cut an ad for the Ohio Dems/PEUs, then appeared on LSDNC. This from the guy who originated the “Great American” act Hannity blatently stole from, BTW.

Now it’s time for Conservatives to tap into changing facts on the ground, and use it to their advantage. Public workers used to earn less than private sector workers, but they had better benefits and job security. Now there is growing resentment amongst private sector workers over the fact that public workers are now earning much more than they ever earned, and their benefits and job security protections have become downright absurd, especially in this economy.

The next move for the Tea Party is to come out and make the case that public unions are inherently immoral. Public servants who work for not for profit agencies that are funded by the tax payers should have no right to engage in collective bargaining and buying off politicians, who unlike private sector CEOs who are forced to deal with unions, are giving away other people’s money to the special interest groups who put them into office.

At this point, we can’t expect any GOP politicians to get behind such an effort, not even the so called Tea Party darlings. Maybe Rand Paul would, since he’s pretty fearless. But a grassroots PR campaign to deligitimize the very existence of public sector unions has to begin. Public pensions are one of the main drivers of fiscal insolvency. There a lot of people out there working in the private sector whose ears would perk up if they heard people making a sound argument against the existence of public employee unions.

“We will work hard, harness our resources, and peacefully beat the ever lovin’ shiite out of anyone we need to in order to regain what was unlawfully taken from us.”

Bishop on December 12, 2012 at 1:37 PM

You forgot the line Oh Cr..p is this microphone on?

Scott Walker/Rick Snyder 2016

JPeterman on December 12, 2012 at 1:31 PM

Sorry, but Hillary already has the 2016 election all sewn up.

Newt Gingrich told me so.

That is so counter to their essence and reason for being which is self-advancing and self-perpetuating. No, they’re going to run themselves off their own cliff and it won’t be fiscal.

stukinIL4now on December 12, 2012 at 1:46 PM

Unions need an enemy to fire up their base to the point that they are willing to put on brightly colored tees and engage in thuggery on the lawns of state capitals. They have invested a great deal of time and treasure in making that enemy “corporations” and the political equivilent “the GOP.” They have set themselves and the Democrat party as the only thing saving union members from being thrown on the streets. This divisivness is the core element for their being and where they derive their power. They are no sooner going to work with Republicans than Wile E Coyote is going to finally get the Roadrunner.

In short, the thugs beating up people and destroying property in Lansing yesterday would go crazy if suddenly their leadership talked about cooperating with the GOP on finding solutions. Might even beat up some of their own because many of the most devoted are no better than the SA as Hitler was coming to power.

And I would really enjoy another round of Statehouse protests since I was on the giant sandy beach with no water the last time. Yeah, that’d be nice.

If the unions want to stop their losing streak, they need to find ways to work with Republicans as well as Democrats, and offer solutions to public-policy issues that make sense.

This sentence is worthy of and entire story in The Onion. Something along the lines of “NEA admits that some of our members actually do suck at teaching.”

Seriously, I agree with the sentiment but how exactly is organized thuggery supposed to work with Republicans when their leaders are out there talking about civil war because Michigan finally joined the 21st century? Unions traditionally don’t offer solutions they issue demands on threat of strikes.

And they have their own problem in places like Michigan where suddenly they can’t force people to pay them huge amounts of money so they can grease the palms of friendly Democrats. They will have to go on a charm initiative just to keep from losing members. Where and how will they have the time to work with Republicans is problematic at best. They have so aligned themselves with one party, it is hard to see how they walk back what they have done and said because there is now little common ground in which to reach cooperative positions on any issue.

I’m starting to think #1 priority in state level races from now to 2016 should be right-to-work and reigning in public employee unions. Take down the left’s funding (and vote fraud) mechanism. Starve the beast.

petefrt on December 12, 2012 at 1:41 PM

Ohio’s GOP is deathly afraid to touch RTW right now. The idiots should have pursued this before they tried SB 5. SB 5 might not have even been necessary if RTW had been passed.

The reason unions originally got involved in the political process was because doing so would increase their power, and therefore their ability to help their members. By helping union-friendly politicians get elected, they could help union-friendly laws get passed, and prevent union-unfriendly legislation (like Right to Work).

Mohonri on December 12, 2012 at 1:41 PM

Union can no more stay out of politics than gangs can stay out of drug dealing, prostitution, and racket.