Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Time for changes in Michigan by my friend Brian Pannebecker
While another Labor Day holiday was observed, most Michigan residents are watching passively as businesses and their accompanying jobs leave the state in droves. Unfortunately, we have stood by and watched as more than three-quarters of a million jobs disappeared from Michigan over the last decade alone.
It's time to start doing something different.
I suggest two things; Our elected legislators in Lansing need to seriously look at passing right-to-work legislation that would allow the workers of this state to compete with workers of other states by having the choice of whether or not to join a union when they are hired by a union-represented business.
Secondly, we need to dramatically reform the business tax structure in our state. The failed "Michigan Business Tax", which replaced the reviled "Single Business Tax", needs to be scrapped and replaced with a simpler, fairer business tax that will attract businesses to Michigan, not drive them away.
Only by taking these types of bold steps will Michigan again be able to compete with more business friendly states, let alone the rest of the global economy.
Brian Pannebecker
UAW member Local 228
Shelby Township
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Michigans Economy Is In The Tank Because We Are Still In The 1960s While Most Other States Have Moved On And Adapted To Economy Not Dependant On One Sourse Of Jobs.
ReplyDeletePoliticans Have Taxed Jobs Out Of This State Which Inturn We Have Lost Many Residence Who Do The Common Sense Thing MOVE To Where Jobs Are.
The Day Of The 30 Dollar A Hour Job Is Probablly Gone With Full Bennies. Private Sector Does Not Make Profit (Dirty Word) To Some ,Job Creation Does Occurr Its Sadly In Mexico Japan And China.
Unless State Becomes Private Sector Friendly Those Unemployment Checks May As Pelosi Said Be The Only Job Creation We See Here!
NAFTA Will Have To Be Addressed By Politicans The Sooner The Better. One Way Economics(Trade) Benifit OUR Country How?
Right to work is nothin more than welfare for anti-union ideologues.
ReplyDeletecheck out the majority decision in General Motors Corp., 373 U.S. 734 (1963)
http://supreme.justia.com/us/373/734/case.html
and COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS v. BECK, 487 U.S. 735 (1988)
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=487&invol=735
and please feel free to enforce your Beck rights and quit the union.
Joe they have to quit their job not quit the union. Right?
ReplyDeleteHey Joe We Have Welfare For Other Causes In Fact Auto Bail Outs Could Be Discribed As Welfare It Kept Union Jobs. Just Depends What Side Of The Coin Your Ideaology Is On.
ReplyDeleteUnemployment Bennys Could Also Be Described As Welfgare In A Wat But Pelosi Says It Could Also Be A Created Job Thingy Once Again It Depends What Side Of The Coin Your Ideaology Is On.
Card Check Is Next And That Will Help Who Else Other Than Unions Attempting To Create More Union Members?
Michigan Cannot Recover Either In Its Public Sector If Jobs Go Else Where As Do Citizens Who Must Work. This State Is Not Changing With The Times And Will Continue Looking At All States Passing Them By. Right To Work vs NO Work Is Bad Why?
Brian, you make me laugh. A union member calling for Michigan to be a right-to-work state.
ReplyDeleteYou would be making half the money you do now and you would have no health care benefits and no retirement were it not for your membership in the UAW.
You are a hypocrite of monumental proportions.
You ought to be thanking god for the fact that you have that union job and the benefits it has provided to you and your family.
Is brian retarded? This would destroy the unions. I'd rather see the Big Three destroyed before the UAW. If brian doesn't like it then he needs to quit.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you back Bruce. But I must say god has nothing to do with it. The union did it all for him.
ReplyDeleteBruce did you have anything to do with the tea party scam? If you did, great job,too bad it didn't work like the republican Green party scam.
ReplyDeleteBruce You Did Forget One Thingy With All The Bennies And Pay! Consumers, If They Dont Buy Rest Of What You Say Is Moot Just Like You. Are Consumers Spending Now?
ReplyDeleteAssonomus Seeing Big Three Destroyed Before Union. Brilliant Just For My Own Info If Big Three Goes Under Whom Will Be Paying Union Workers Their Pays And Bennies Ooops! Just Brilliant! Your Not Bruce Are Ya?
Al, you are a moron. If there is not middle class, there are no customers for the car companies.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. companies are finally building cars people want, but if there are people earning good wages to buy them, what good will it do?
Right to work is a failed economic policy and a scam.
FYI, I was not involved in the tea party in any way whatsoever. I thought it was a bad idea, poorly executed.
Not as bad as the Republican party paying to have signatures gathered to put Ralph Nader on the ballot to split Democratic votes, however.
Brian is a typical Republican. He got his union wages and bennies, but he doesn't want future generations to enjoy the same standard of living he's enjoyed because his union bargained on his behalf.
Bruce didn't buy a Honda or Toyota? Why is it always the libs that buy foreign and then blame the Republicans? I hate people like you that talk out their asses about supporting the UAW and then buy foreign cars. When it comes to "want future generations to enjoy the same standard of living he's enjoyed because his union bargained on his behalf." Why is it that new hires only make $14.50 an hr? God you are stupid Bruce!
ReplyDeleteMoron Bruce Explain To Me In All Your Wisdom How There Can Be A Middle Class With Out Jobs? What A Paper Mache Head You Are.
ReplyDeleteRight To Work Is Bad But Big Three Has Done So Well With Unions.
Auto Companies And Unions Screwed Up Auto Industry Here And If It Happens Again Companies Will Not Survive.
Slick Willey Signed NAFTA After It Was Passed So Both Parties Got Us To Where Were At And The Same Old Answers To Get Us Back Are Not Going To Work. Unless NAFTA Is Resinded All Jobs In This Country Will Be In Danger.
Without Strong Private Sector(Rich People) Whos Left To Provide JOBS?
Bruce You Hiring Any Of Your Friend Hiring? Case Closed What A Moron!
Anyone who is paying attention knows that things have to change dramatically here in Michigan.
ReplyDeleteWe need to compete with other states for jobs, and to do that we need to be an attractive place for businesses to locate. Therefore, we need to reduce and simplify business taxes, and force unions to agree to more cost-effective solutions to provide medical benefits and retirement plans to the employees they represent.
Portable 401k "defined contribution" retirement plans with a match from the company, instead of lifetime, high legacy cost "defined-benefit" pension plans would be a good place to start !
Chris, unlike the lies that Brian posted in his letter the ability to quit the union without losing your job in a union shop exists. Its commonly referred to as your Beck Rights, from Beck vs. Communication Workers that went before the Supreme court. He could be a non-member tomorrow but he's chiceknshit.
ReplyDeleteAl, your side is against welfare right? i mean that's what we always hear about the right, that they don't believe in entitlements. But in reality you do. The right believes in free riders within a closed shop.
Money for nothing and you benefits for free. as the song goes..
here straight off the UAW webpage
ReplyDeletehttp://www.uaw.org/story/union-security-agreements-2
Brian, you could quit, Chris you didn't have to join and CP could quit too. But they won't.
Wow Bruce, this was not a well thought out comment.
ReplyDelete"You would be making half the money you do now and you would have no health care benefits and no retirement were it not for your membership in the UAW."
So you can predict the future?
I make the same amount of money as my union counterpart, I have healthcare bennies and a retirement account, but I am not in a union.
Another plus, I pay no dues to some thieving hacks claiming to represent me with in the company I work for.
Unions have out lived their usefulness and are nothing but an anchor on business.
Joe when I was in the UAW they told me that I had to pay my union dues and be part of the union. I wonder why they would tell me that if it was a lie? I know a lot of UAW workers that are $14 hr new hires that have asked to not be in the union and they were told that they had to be in the union because only union members could work in the plants. That doesn't make any sense unless they are lieing and no one is making them any wiser. I wonder what would happen if all those new hires found out that they didn't have to pay dues to the union?
ReplyDeleteJoe I Beleive That Any Citizens Should Be Able To Work Any Where They Chose Without Fear Of Any Outside Influence Including Unions.It Can Hardly Be Called A Entitlement To Employees That Have Mouths To Feed And Bills To Pay. "Join The Union Or You Dont Work Here" Hardly Sounds Like Entitlement To Me, Its A Choice Thing To Me. I Know Alot Of Citizens Working In Non Union Shops That Have NO Problem Making Fair Wage.
ReplyDeleteMy Problem With Unions Is Not The Membership But The Leadership Who Uses Large Amounts Of Workers Dues To Strengthen Their Power Which In Long Term Does Effect Private Sector And Jobs.
No Private Sector Business Is Spending ANY Of Their On Hand Cash Now Cause They Have NO Idea What This Regimes Next Move Will Be And How Much Their Policies Will Cost Them. Unions Are Part Of This Regime And Where Are Those Jobs. You Would Think With The Influence The Unions Have With This Regime "Jobs" Would Have Been #1 On This Regimes To Do List.
In The Last Few Days All Of A Sudden Regime Is Out Wanting Billions More(Stimulus 2) To Lazer In On Jobs. Its A Crime This Lazering Took So Long To Begin And The ONLY Reason Its Taking Place Now Is Mid Terms And Even You Know That.
Union security agreements
ReplyDeleteNotice to persons covered by union security agreements regulated under the National Labor Relations Act
The UAW, like other unions, spends the vast majority of its funds on collective-bargaining-related activity, as well as some amounts for political lobbying, community services, citizenship fund activities, international affairs, organizing, charitable donations, publications advancing the union’s political positions, certain litigation and other matters. Under the Supreme Court decision in CWA v. Beck, nonunion members who pay money to the union under union security agreements, may file objections to nonrepresentational-related expenditures of the money they pay under such agreements. (Such agreements, including those that the UAW is a party to, may be and are applied by the UAW only to require as a condition of employment that covered employees “tender the periodic dues and initiation fees uniformly required as a condition of acquiring or retaining membership” in the union. This means that at any time you may decline membership in the union and be a nonmember agency-fee payer. In addition, if you do so, you are eligible to submit an objection to the UAW under Beck as described below.)
To comply with the Beck decision, the UAW honors objections by nonmembers of the union covered by National Labor Relations Act union security agreements who notify in writing the Agency Fee Payer Objection Administration-Private Sector, International Union, UAW, 8000 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48214 of their objection. Objections may be filed at any time but must be renewed each year. Objectors will be charged only for expenditures related to representational activities. All nonmembers who file such an objection will receive the UAW’s Report of Expenditures Incurred in Providing Collective Bargaining Related Services for Fiscal Year 2009. This Report provides the basis for the amount which will be charged to Objectors for the period from Aug. 1, 2010, to July 31, 2011. The report arrives at this amount by an analysis of the UAW’s 2009 expenditures which provides a detailed allocation of those expenditures between the 75.64 percent of such expenditures which are related to the UAW’s representational activities, and from which the amount charged Objectors is derived, and the 24.36 percent of such expenditures which are not or may not be so related.
Any challenge by an Objector to the calculations in the Report or any challenge by an Objector claiming the Report does not properly determine what portion of the UAW’s expenditures were expended on matters unrelated to representational matters will be referred to an impartial decision maker appointed by the American Arbitration Association under its Rules for Impartial Determination of Union Fees. Such challenges by Objectors to the Report must be made in writing, and must be addressed to Agency Fee Payer Objection Administration-Private Sector, International Union, UAW, 8000 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48214. For arbitration this year, such challenges to the FY 2009 Report must be received by the UAW on or before Oct. 6, 2010, except for challenges by Objectors who have already received a FY 2009 report, who have been notified of the deadline applicable to them.
I wonder what the difference between a nonunion and a union memeber is? Do you know???
ReplyDeleteOff subjest: The Fealk's that work and pay taxes.would like to let you know about an event on 9/12...God Bless America. Does Bruce have his SEIU BUS ticket to Washington for 10/2/10???, OH THAT IS RIGHT HE HAS NO JOB,,,HEHEHEHE
ReplyDeleteIf you are unable to get to Washington for 9/12. you may want to attend this. I know that most of you are from Macomb county, but it could be a nice road trip. Free Admission ~ All Welcome ~ Family Friendly
When: September 12, 2010
2 p.m. - 5p.m.
Where: Hoffman Farms
2521 Rose Center Road
Highland, MI
Hosted by Bob Hoffman and the Family of Hoffman Farms
(and a slew of Patriot volunteers!)
Activities:
Fife and Drums and Revolutionary War era re-enactments
Musical Ensemble
Hear Judge Michael Warren and other luminaries speak about what patriotism
means to them
There will be great picnic food for sale
Ice Cream and Cake
Lots of fun for the children
Inflatable play structure
Pony rides
Historical crafts with Ben Franklin
Face Painting
***This event will take place rain or shine***
Bring lawn chairs to ensure comfortable seating
(responseready@gmail.com)
This is not a partisan political event. Patriot Week is observed by all Patriots. TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!
Al, there not only have to be good jobs, there have to be good paying, middle-class wage jobs, not Wal-mart wage jobs. There have to be jobs that pay a good enough wage for consumers to purchase the good and services that grow our economy, like cars.
ReplyDeleteSomeone making $8/hr. cannot afford a $30 or 40,000 car.
We cannot continue to give all the power to the greedy corporations. In order to have a viable middle class, there has to be a sharing of power between the workers and the owners of the corporations, hence a union that bargains for fair wages and benefits for the workers.
Right-to-work puts all the power in the hands of the CEO's and we know what happens when that is the situation, the largest income disparity in history between workers and managers.
Bruce Lets Have Redistribution Of Wealth As You Seem To Think Would Be A Good Thing. Now All Our Equal Same Income Same House Same Car 2 Kids.
ReplyDeleteWe Will All Have Equal Jobs Making Same Amount Of Income. My Question Is Whats Missing Bruce? I Will Tell Ya. The Person That Signs The Pay Checks. Ooops Were All Poor. Great System You Got There!
Al, as usual, you are trying to put words in my mouth. I never said anything about everyone earning the same amount, but a CEO does not deserve to make 400 times what the average worker at a company makes.
ReplyDeleteI never said anything about doing away with corporations and their executives, but what you seem to be advocating is workers making minimum wage, while corporate executives make multi million dollar salaries with huge bonuses on top of that.
You are advocating the Chinese communist style of business where workers work for a pittance, have no benefits to provide for the security of their families and no chance at a secure retirement.
I don't that that's what most Americans want.
Anonymous, I actually will be in D.C. for the One Nation Together Rally, and I'll make you a bet there are more than the 87,000 people Beck managed to bring out with a year's worth of promotion on the Tea Party Network, Fox Noise.
ReplyDeleteMark, even though you don't belong to a union, you owe your union-level wage to your union brothers and sisters.
ReplyDeleteThe reason for your union-level wage is that your employer has to compete for people like you by paying union wages.
If there were not union bargaining agreements, you could be sure that you would not be making the wage you are.
Maybe instead of giving the unions your middle finger, you should say thank you.
Bruce you should be able to get at least a million people at that event. You have all the unions, the MSM and you have had 6 months to do it. Your event will not be a grass roots movement but a special interest left wing fear fest. I can't wait to see what happens at that event. I'm sure they will leave the event as clean and arrest free as the grass roots Tea Party. hahahaha. If there isn't a million union memembers and other socialist there then your rally will have been a compleat failure.
ReplyDeleteAnon that does sound fun and family friendly as well. Thanks for the invite. I wonder if children will be safe in DC at the union rally?
ReplyDeleteWow, Bruce, so "My" hard work, contribution and worthiness to the company I work for was thanks to Unions and not because they see "Me" as a good employee asset who helps them to be a stronger company overall and that my vast background that I bring with "me" is a good value for them.
ReplyDeletePlease, you've been at this too long and brainwashed in to this mindset that its Unions and NOT the individual work ethic is what drives compensation and benefits.
Thanks for the insult... NOT
Bruce the real estaments for the Beck rally were over 300,000 or more. I'm sure the pictures will look the same for both rallies but you on the left will say you had over 2 million people there. Just counting the buses alone there were over 200,000 people at the Beck rally. No wonder why nop one believe you or the MSM. You can't tell the truth. I do wish you and your union buddies well and safty at your event. I wish I could go. I could use a good laugh. Just look at the pictures on this blog to see what the crowed will look like. Tin foil hats,spitting,bullhorns and vitrial. And when they leave the rally it will look like WWIII just like Obamapocolyps did. But you libs and unions don't pick up for yourselves because that is below you. That I will bet money on.
ReplyDeleteChris, official estimates for Beck's rally were only 87,000, not 300,000.
ReplyDeleteBeck didn't come anywhere close to 300,000. That was what his permit said he could have had, but it didn't work out.
The unions are the grassroots, Chris. They are the real working people in this country, people that work hard and the way that the middle class in this country was forged, with the blood of people who fought for better working conditions, better wages, better benefits.
The Tea Party is funded by a couple of billionaires laughing their asses off at the stupidity of the Tea Partiers doing their bidding for them in the halls of Congress so they can pollute our environment more, pillage tax payer dollars in the form of subsidies, all with Republicans that they have bought and paid for.
Bruce Beck Rally Had 87.000 Citizens! Fuzzy Math Bruce! I Cant Wait To See With All The Rest Of The Conservatives How This Crowd Reacts. Betcha See More Police Presence And ACTION Then At Becks Rally. Its In Lefts Nature To Get Out Of Control Just Is!
ReplyDeleteIndependant Citizens Will Be Watching Also And With Only About 20% Of Popualation Being Liberal Dont Think Left Will Be Picking Up Those Swing Votes.
Bruce, please site your source for 87K and don't tell me the park service because they don't do that anymore. 87K comes from MSNBC, that is a direct quote.
ReplyDeleteComparing 1963 and this past August pictures, in 1963 the Park service est 200K+ for MLK rally. And the crowds where eerily similar in size.
And please site your source for "The Tea Party Patriots" funding? I love to see that. LOL
Bruce have you looked at the bank accounts to just the UAW alone? What about SEIU? The union is already organized so how can you call them grassroots? Put down that medical marijuana browny and rethink your "grassroots" post again.
ReplyDeleteMark makes a good point,who are those billionares funding the Tea Party? Is it Soros? Oops he's yours. Is this one of those "I know you are but what am I" left wing tactics?
ReplyDeleteThe billionaires are the Koch Brothers who contribute to Americans for Prosperity.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/who-is-americans-for-prosperit.html
http://blog.reidreport.com/2010/08/the-koch-brothers-the-2010-election-and-the-return-of-the-john-birch-society/
There's more, but even you should get the message that the Tea Party has been funded by a couple of oil company executives who inherited their wealth and they are out to get Obama and try to enhance their personal wealth while doing so.
Here's a source for the 87,000 figure for Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6631660-glenn-beck-restoring-honor-rally-87000-in-attendance/content/62446534-tea-party-supporters-claim-their-spots-for-tomorrow-s-restoring-honor-rally-in-front-of-the-lincoln-memorial-in-washington
http://www.wisepolitics.com/restoring-honor-rally-attendance100000-for-glenn-beck-rally-1749.html
http://www.examiner.com/christian-tv-in-national/glenn-beck-restoring-honor-rally-attendance-cbs-says-87-000-attended-beck-fans-say-more
http://www.newsopi.com/us/glenn-beck-rally-attendance-87000-restoring-honor-on-8-28-rally/3906/
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/glenn-becks-political-restoring-honor-rally-turns-political/story?id=11500623&page=2
Hopefully those are enough different sources that you will see that Beck has lied to you all along.
Bruce Getting Off Your Non Issue About Attendence The Only Real Numbers That Will Matter Take Place On November 2nd Beteween 7:00am And 8:00pm At The Polls. At That Point Size Of Crowds Will Be Irrelavant And Citizens Votes Will Be There To See And Lefty Blogs Will Be Stuck With True Figures, Wonder How They Will Spin That? Bruce November Is Going To Be A Great Time. Its Going To Take More Than One Election Cycle But Citizens Are Not Going To Put Up With Politicans Who Continue To Put Their Political Ideaology Before Citizens And Country. Those Days Are Over!
ReplyDeleteAl, so I guess you are conceding Beck didn't have more than 100,000 people at his "Restore the Honor" rally.
ReplyDeleteAs for November 2 and turnout, I think it's not going to be what you hope it will be for Republicans/Tea party at the polls.
People are finally waking up to the fact that voting Republican is NOT in their economic interest and the President has FINALLY realized that he will not get any Republican votes on anything, including things that Republicans used to be for.
bfealk, the left have over 132 billionaire organizations and all you have are two brothers? Are you stupid or just crazy?
ReplyDeletehttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H_rVDlsennM/THl-2XsjK9I/AAAAAAAAW1U/4ZtmNqsg65Y/s1600/capt.fe35cc139c514e8885c1cf10a6200d8e-fe35cc139c514e8885c1cf10a6200d8e-0.jpg
ReplyDeleteAug 2010 rally
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H_rVDlsennM/THmEK39PDXI/AAAAAAAAW1k/olKGb_5dd54/s1600/civil_rights_march_washington-400x399.jpg
Aug 1963 rally
Pretty amazing how both crowds are in fact quite similar in size.
So go tell those other links to stop smoking whatever they are smoking.
200K at least, Bruce
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all
Melissa Cohlmia” Americans for Prosperity is “an independent organization”
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity
And this from the liberal liars “April 9, 2009 article on ThinkProgress.org, Lee Fang reports that the principal organizers of Tea Party events are Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Works, which it described as two "lobbyist-run think tanks" that are "well funded" and that provide the logistics and organizing for the Tea Party movement from coast to coast”
That’s complete false, Freedom Works is a Partner!
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/who-is-americans-for-prosperit.html
This has nothing about the Tea Party Patriots.
Matter of fact, Bruce, Americans for Prosperity has nothing to do with the Tea Party Patriots… The Organization that is the ‘Tea Party’.
Freedom Works is a “Partner”… not a sponsor.
I suggest you learn more about the Tea Party Patriots.
http://www.teapartypatriots.org/ and scroll down to “Tea Party Patriot Groups” and look at them ALL, in every state in the union.
This (now no longer a grassroots, be a political force to be recon with) Organization stand for:
Less Government
Responsible spending
Free Markets
Personal liberty
Even if Americans for Prosperity was funding the Tea Party Patriots, and they do hold the same value as they do…ARE YOU SAY THOSE VALUES ARE BAD?
If so, as expected, you're all socialist, and Americans have woken up and will not stand for the Socialization of America.
This is one of the top 5 reason the Dems are in a huge predicament for the upcoming elections and, as I see it, the Dems are done in this country for the foreseeable future.
Bruce I Conceded NOTHING Just Thought You Have Beat That Horse To Death. You Are Not Going To Use Common Sense As Usual So Why Should I Debate With A Rock!
ReplyDeleteBruce Gotta Love That Crisp Fall Air In November And Your Going To Need It To Catch Your Breath! Your Regime Had So Much Going In Its Favor Until It Showed Its Real Ideaology And Now Bruce POOF All Gone!
Note To Liberals Make SURE You Send The Leader Of The Regime Out To Stump For Your Canadates PLEASE!