In an interview with Megyn Kelly of Fox News, Mike Langyel, president of the Milwaukee (Wis.) Teachers' Education Association, refused to answer when she asked if he condoned teachers who obtained fraudulent medical excuses in order not to work but to demonstrate in Madison against a bill that would require state employees, "in the face of a $137 million budget deficit…to contribute 5.8% of their incomes towards their pensions and 12.6% towards health insurance…[Governor] Walker also wants to limit the power of public-employee unions to negotiate contracts and work rules—something that 24 states already limit or ban," as John Fund of the Wall Street Journal explains.
Mr. Langyel repeatedly refused to answer Ms. Kelly's question, instead saying that Gov. Walker was trying to prevent the unions from improving the schools by not "letting them get together at the bargaining table." Please. As if the teachers unions give a shit about students or education. The decline in education in the U.S. has corresponded with the rising influence of teacher unions. Mr. Langyel clearly is afraid that unions will lose the ability to control the State of Wisconsin, and that if Walker succeeds in Wisconsin, other states will follow suit.
If unions believe they promote the good of the public as well as their members, and if they believe that workers want to join unions, why do they fight tooth and nail against any transparency? Why do they not want secret ballots when trying to unionize a company or institution? Because union goons can threaten retaliation against employees who vote against unionization if the vote is public. Why do they fear recertification annually--as Gov. Walker proposes--by a majority vote of all union members? Probably because the union could lose recertification, of course.
Wisconsin, historically the most pro-union state and a union shop state (where one cannot be hired by a unionized company unless one joins the union, and can remain employed only so long as one is a union member), deducts union dues from its employees' paychecks and gives the money to the union bosses, who then dole it out to political candidates who will support unions and big government. If that ends, as proposed, how many of the union members might not pay the $700 to $1,000 annual union dues? Whence will come the money to support pro-union and pro-government-spending candidates for public office?
Unions are a major problem in the U.S. Their influence has contributed greatly to big government and government debt and has prevented needed reforms both on state and national levels. Every state would do well to break the unwarranted and detrimental power and influence of unions by following Wisconsin's lead, and also by becoming right-to-work states which allow employees to decide for themselves whether to join a union.
On the national level, the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (Card Check bill) would eliminate unionization votes by secret ballot and require employees to vote by signing a card in public. This would give unions the balance of power they need to unionize all companies. Obama and the Democratic Party desperately want Congress to pass this bill because it would increase union membership and therefore the money that flows from union members to union bosses and then to Democratic candidates. Card Check should be defeated, and we should question the constitutional authority for Congress to pass such legislation.
It's time we cut the influence of unions down to an appropriate size. It's offensive to listen to and watch spoiled, self-serving, public-be-damned union bosses and members on fraudulent sick leave demonstrating, defiling the state capitol building and shouting condemnation of the Wisconsin governor, who is doing the job that the Wisconsin electorate mandated.
Mr. Langyel repeatedly refused to answer Ms. Kelly's question, instead saying that Gov. Walker was trying to prevent the unions from improving the schools by not "letting them get together at the bargaining table." Please. As if the teachers unions give a shit about students or education. The decline in education in the U.S. has corresponded with the rising influence of teacher unions. Mr. Langyel clearly is afraid that unions will lose the ability to control the State of Wisconsin, and that if Walker succeeds in Wisconsin, other states will follow suit.
If unions believe they promote the good of the public as well as their members, and if they believe that workers want to join unions, why do they fight tooth and nail against any transparency? Why do they not want secret ballots when trying to unionize a company or institution? Because union goons can threaten retaliation against employees who vote against unionization if the vote is public. Why do they fear recertification annually--as Gov. Walker proposes--by a majority vote of all union members? Probably because the union could lose recertification, of course.
Wisconsin, historically the most pro-union state and a union shop state (where one cannot be hired by a unionized company unless one joins the union, and can remain employed only so long as one is a union member), deducts union dues from its employees' paychecks and gives the money to the union bosses, who then dole it out to political candidates who will support unions and big government. If that ends, as proposed, how many of the union members might not pay the $700 to $1,000 annual union dues? Whence will come the money to support pro-union and pro-government-spending candidates for public office?
Unions are a major problem in the U.S. Their influence has contributed greatly to big government and government debt and has prevented needed reforms both on state and national levels. Every state would do well to break the unwarranted and detrimental power and influence of unions by following Wisconsin's lead, and also by becoming right-to-work states which allow employees to decide for themselves whether to join a union.
On the national level, the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (Card Check bill) would eliminate unionization votes by secret ballot and require employees to vote by signing a card in public. This would give unions the balance of power they need to unionize all companies. Obama and the Democratic Party desperately want Congress to pass this bill because it would increase union membership and therefore the money that flows from union members to union bosses and then to Democratic candidates. Card Check should be defeated, and we should question the constitutional authority for Congress to pass such legislation.
It's time we cut the influence of unions down to an appropriate size. It's offensive to listen to and watch spoiled, self-serving, public-be-damned union bosses and members on fraudulent sick leave demonstrating, defiling the state capitol building and shouting condemnation of the Wisconsin governor, who is doing the job that the Wisconsin electorate mandated.
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