More payoffs and special favors from the Democrats in the Legislature to their patrons in the public employee unions.
Union members get pay raises before non-members
Rep. Helen Sommers, who serves as chairwoman of the House budget committee, said the delay was a reward for unionized workersIndeed.
SSB5659 gives unions "paid family leave"
HB 2079, which would circumvent the pending U.S. Supreme Court case and allow unions to use non-member fees for political contributions without permission (with an emergency clause!), had its Senate committee hearing yesterday. Senate Republicans and Attorney General McKenna oppose the bill. The EFF's Mike Reitz testified in committee.
Senate Democrats tried to eliminate secret union certification ballots, with a "card check" bill, SB5772, (similar to the one pushed by U.S. House Democrats). Fortunately, Senate Republicans killed it.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at March 23, 2007 11:26 AM | Email ThisNow where is WIZ & Cato???
Posted by: Army Medic/Vet on March 23, 2007 11:37 AMIt cost something like $9,000,000 to program the computers, and cost the non-union workers $7,000,000 in delayed pay raises.
So, the leftists running the show cost us $2,000,000... just because they could.
Scum.
Posted by: Hinton on March 23, 2007 12:05 PMThanks. ncw
Posted by: ncwood on March 23, 2007 12:21 PM"Senate democrats tried to eliminate secret union certification ballots...fortunately, Senate Rs killed it." GOOD!!!
Have the democrats no shame about the way they are running roughshod over the people of this state??? They are not even TRYING to cover up how in bed they are with the Big Labor bosses!
Posted by: Michele on March 23, 2007 12:40 PM"I don't really understand the purpose of injecting yourself into this hearing at this point" (At 33:20 in the hearing.)
http://www.tvw.org/MediaPlayer/Archived/WME.cfm?EVNum=2007030168&TYPE=A
Is that you Mike? Why should the Democrats care about unconstitutional laws? They know conservatives will only talk about the corruption, but take no real action to expose it. If the EFF really wanted to expose and eliminate corruption in state government, it could do so within a week. You know what I am talking about.
Posted by: Don on March 23, 2007 01:33 PMWe are in a war. Who is to blame???
We are....for sitting back & allowing the erosion to reach this point.
Time to fight back. Takes courage & committment....which is sorely lacking in the Washington Republican Party.
Sometimes Stefan, your most inoccuous link is the most damning.
Call out the corruptors. If it ain't in the MSM, it can be on the blog as the Ten Most Corrupt, etc. etc..
Posted by: swatter on March 23, 2007 02:56 PMAnd WHO pays "family leave" when small business owners must take time off????? (answer, nobody! Therefore, unions should not, either). I wish democrats would actually understand that you can't keep heaping on and heaping on and expect anyone to pull the cart for much longer!
Posted by: Michele on March 23, 2007 04:10 PMIf I worked for the state government, I would NEVER join the union. I'd quite the job first. The union does so little for all the dues it collects that I don't see why anyone working for the state would ever join of their own free will.
The Legislators should be ashamed of themselves. They have sold their souls to the devils, otherwise known as unions.
Posted by: Clean House on March 23, 2007 09:21 PMOne of these days, those of you who support pumping a little life into the moribund Republican Party in this state will realize that unions are not your enemy. Feel free to disagree with what we do and who we support, but when you prattle on about Big Labor Bosses™ and unions being "devils" and such, you lose whatever momentum your righteous indignation may have built up.
Think about it. Although a strong majority of union members are left-leaning, do you really think 70% of them are? Then why do 70% of them vote Democratic these days? Discuss.
Quite a few union members are conservative. They, like you, are distrustful of government. They, like you, don't like paying high taxes (except for things they really care about). They, like you, just want to have some job security, make good pay and benefits, play by the rules, and lead a middle-class life. You know, do an honest day's work and be able to afford a decent life, a family, a trip to the doctor when you need to, etc.
These could be card-carrying Republicans, voting for YOU, supporting YOUR agenda on all sorts of issues, showing up at YOUR rallies and events, drinking YOUR Kool-Aid, etc. But with very few exceptions, they are not. And I'm convinced that the biggest reason why has nothing to do with where you stand on the issues.
It's because you insult their intelligence.
You're going to find this next sentence difficult to swallow. Most union members like their union. In fact, the majority are proud of their union. I know, I know... this runs contrary to what you've learned from your uncle who hates unions, your blogging buddy who hated his union, or perhaps even your own personal experience at a union job. But try to remember that this "evidence" of what unions are like is incidental.
Real live surveys of union members asking them about their own unions paint a different picture. The vast majority of them feel fortunate to have a job with a union contract to protect their pay, benefits and jobs security. Who wouldn't? Certainly no corporate executive in his or her right mind would work without a contract.
Union members also vote for their leaders. I know. Uncle Joe said only one guy gets to run all the time. Or your blogging buddy says it's all rigged. Or maybe YOU ran for elected office at a union and lost (which proves it's rigged given your clearly superior intellect). Again, try to set all those stories aside for just a second.
Your union has an elected union leader that you voted for. Even if you didn't vote for him or her, they are still the President of your union, and likely to be someone you know personally who worked a job similar to you at your company.
Now when some nutty blogger, or staffer at a right-wing think-tank, or a newspaper business columnist, or a politician running for office tells you that your union's president is a thug, or evil, or might even be the "devil" himself, are you ever going to listen to a word spoken (or typed) by that person again? When you or some other union-hater starts spewing about Commies and Socialists and lazy union workers and fill-in-the-blank (you guys are much better at this than I am), I bet you get a lot of nods and agreement among the already-converted Republicans and conservatives you hang around with. But try to remember, it seems your exclusive little club is getting more and more exclusive with every election.
(I'm finally getting to my point, those of you who made it this far without your heads exploding. And here it is.)
You are never going to get ANYWHERE politically, by alienating people who agree with you on your issues. That 15-20% of independents you are trying to reach are regular working folks. Some are union members and many others wish they could be (a majority of Americans say they would join a union today if they could). They don't think unions are evil.
Disagree with the position their union has taken. Disagree with the candidate they have endorsed. Disagree with some bill their union supports in Olympia. But do not insult their union, because you are insulting them.
Just trying to help...
Posted by: Labor Goon on March 23, 2007 10:42 PMWhy then are unions pushing for open vote elections, non-secret ballots.
Why did unions force state workers under threat of firing to join the union.
Why did the largest union in the State SEIU, host Castro in 2000 at a conference? I am sure you'd love the Cuban standard of living.
Why are unions trying unionize foster parents legislatively rather than by going to foster parents and asking for a vote?
Hope you like that kool-aid.
Posted by: JCM on March 24, 2007 08:03 AMMost non-union workers know that if they don't go above and beyond the work they are supposed to do, they won't be getting the same merit increase as somone who does.
Most non-union workers know they don't have a contract to keep their job security, so they have to keep their skills updated and show their employer constantly how valuable they are, or else they might be replaced.
I'm not worried about losing my job, because I know my skills are valuable in the marketplace, and I constantly show my employer why they made a good choice in hiring me. And I have no desire to join a union.
Supporting unions supports mediocrity.
Posted by: Palouse on March 24, 2007 08:36 AMI was a shop stewart, union man for 10 years and retired. Ran as a Republican for State Representative and lead by 20% (polling) three weeks before the election. The Union Bosses said this can not be, he is a Republican! They doubled their phone banks during those final three weeks. I lost by a little over 2%. At the exit poll voters who said they voted for the D was because they got calls from the unions that I was against the laborors of my district.
Tell me the union thugs didn't change minds with lies. I know they have changed my mind about unions.
I think for most Conservative Union Members the thought of taking on their Unions Political stand is overwhelming. The Union has there money, Union supports nearly 100% Dems....it's simply easier for Union Members to 'go along" and not "rock the boat" out of fear of reprisal.
That said, I agree with Union Goon, that the Republican hot anti-labor rhetoric has cost the R's many votes. It needs to be toned down and much more SPECIFIC.
For example, I think it would be helpful for R's to call out the Union Bosses BY NAME. Too much generalizing about "unions". The Unions encompass the members who are not the problem....it is the bosses. If you believe that, call them out by name.
Robby Stern and the rest of the goons.
Call them out by name!!
i hear constant claims about how everyone wants to be in a union. Oh, really? If WalMart and Starbucks are so bad, how come the unions can't manage to organize them.
you're all a bunch of f'ing commies and thugs.
Posted by: eric on March 25, 2007 08:29 AM