Monday, March 14, 2011

Michigan Unions Use Astro-Turf Protests to Intimidate Businesses

From the Blaze: This is an old story that just wont go away. That's because the unions are still using their brand of anti-business threats and intimidation. These same union hire people at minimum wage to stand at the polls on election day. The union doesn't pay overt minimum wage or give any benefits. Talk about hypocracy.


Imagine that you are a business owner and the local union demands that you reveal the private payroll data of your 120 non-union employees within a week.  If you choose not to answer this demand, the union will consider you to be obviously “paying substandard wages and benefits.”
In addition to that proclamation from the Union, your customers will be notified by mail that a labor dispute exists between the union and your company and that any job sites where you have contract to perform work will be subjected to protests in the form of ‘bannering’ and the distribution of leaflets.
Got it?
  • The union has targeted a non-union business.
  • They demand that the business allow the union to examine private payroll records, or else.
  • Customers of the business are also targeted with on-site protests with banners and picket lines (often staffed with non-union day labor being paid less than union wages and not afforded health benefits).
This has happened, and in fact is an ongoing story.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, has brought to light the attempted strong-arm tactics of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters in a story by Ken Braun.
Video #1 offers the overview of the story:

Video #2 backs up the charge that the Carpenters Union is using astro-turf tactics, hiring non-union day laborers, paying these workers less than union wages and not offering benefits.

The unions should note that the unemployment rate in Michigan (from where this story originates) is still sitting at 11.3%, almost 2 1/2 points higher than the national average.

According to a statistic quoted in the Mackinac Center piece, more than 78% of the carpenters in Michigan are non-union workers, and the company under attack claims their 120 employees have not complained about wages, benefits or employer treatment. This appears to be nothing more than union bullying.

Recall the Wisconsin 14: Pass It On

It's time to recall the Wisconsin 14 Democrats that held up democracy in order to bully their way past the will of the voters in Wisconsin. Go to www.facebook.com/RecallWI14 . We can play this same game. Send this facebook page to all your friends and blogs. These unions and liberals are playing for keeps. If they win this it will cost us all money. Do you want to dig deeper in your pocket at tax time to give into the unions that are literally destroying our country? Do you want to give those unions that much power over you and you government? We need to get the word out now. This may be in Wisconsin right now but it is coming to a State near you soon.
 
I think these same public sector unions are forgetting that it was the taxpayers that bailed them out with the stimulus bill. They got their money and security when we added to our national debt to secure their jobs,pensions and benefits. These same unions also got an exemption from paying the obamacare "Cadillac tax" like a protected class. We didn't get that special treatment. I'm getting sick of the unions getting treated as a protected elite class of workers. We all must make cuts and pay taxes. The unions are not above that. But in reality they think they are because they own the Democratic Party. And the Democratic Party pays up with our tax dollars.
 
That is why we must limit the collective bargaining of these public sector unions. If we don't they will keep taking from the tax payers.

Bill Kristol on Obama: How Can You Say 'Qaddafi Must Go' and Sit Back and Do Nothing?


Bill Kristol slammed Obama's cowardice and indecisiveness on Libya today:
How can you say "Qaddafi must go" and sit back and do nothing?

This is why no one is listening to Obama and the Democratic Party any more. They say one thing while doing the opposite. Only a total fool would believe what these snake oil salesmen are selling.

It just goes to show you that this president incompotent. He is clueless on what he is doing. That or he is just a lieing POS. You chose.