From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

The National Labor Relations Board has further evidenced its pro-union advocacy by attempting to prevent Boeing from opening a manufacturing facility in South Carolina, a right-to-work state.
Having endured numerous strikes against its manufacturing facility in Washington, including a 58 day strike in 2008 that cost the company $1.8 billion, Boeing management decided to build its new 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina. The proposed new facility would generate 1,000 new jobs and bring a $2 billion investment to the state..
The NLRB, however, filed a complaint against Boeing, alleging that Boeing is attempting to violate labor law in retaliation for past strikes against the company. The Board wants Boeing to stay in Washington. It’s no surprise that the International Association of Machinists District 571, which represents Boeing workers, declared the ruling “a victory for all American workers.”
Yet, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called it “one of the worst cases of unelected bureaucrats doing the bidding of special interest groups that I’ve ever seen.”
The NLRB is effectively attempting to abrogate the rights of Corporate America by eliminating its ability to decide where it wants to do business. It is also sabotaging the economic viability of twenty-two right-to-work states, which have been providing more new jobs than states which cater to unions and their often extortionate demands.

787 Dreamliner · Boeing · cabot institute · corporate america · District 571 · Dreamliner · IAM · International Association of Machinists · Labor Relations · Lindsey Graham · National Labor Relations Board · nlrb · Republican · Right to Work · South Carolina · states · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · strikes · Washington

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

While the news media has been focusing on public sector unions in Wisconsin and Ohio, the Obama administration has quietly encouraged the unionization of 45,000 airport screeners.
The Transportation Security Administrator, John Pistole, a pro-union advocate, has been lauded by federal unions, who have wanted to unionize airport screeners for many years.
This is an extraordinary development in light of the anti-public-union sentiment that has swept the county in the last few months.
As the Obama Administration and Democratic legislators gear up for the 2012 elections, they will surely enlist the vast armies of unionized workers to deliver their election victories. As we get closer and closer to 2012, we can expect to see ever-increasing pro-union directives emanating from the White House.

2012 · American people · cabot institute · congressional · Democratic Party · Democrats · economy · elections · government · Labor Relations · municpalities · nationally · presidential · public sector · senatorial · state · states · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · Unions · White House · workers

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

Throughout the country, public sector unions are campaigning for higher taxes as a means to prevent government cutbacks. From Oregon to New York and states in between, unions are waging ferocious fights to prevent states from balancing budgets by cutting expenses.

Unions, such as SEIU and AFSCME, are spending extraordinary sums to promote higher taxes as a means to prevent cutbacks that they feel will result in fewer members, lower amounts from union dues, and less money to spend on political campaigns.

In Oregon, the Oregon Education Association and the SEIU spent millions of dollars to pass ballot initiatives that ultimately raised business and income taxes by approximately $727 million.

In Arizona, unions were behind an effort that increased sales taxes from 5.6% to 6.6%, thus helping to raise one billion dollars.

In New York, the United Teachers union spent $750,000 to prevent the state from capping some of the highest real estate taxes in the nation. In fact, real estate taxes in New York State are so high that many middle class families and small businesses have left the state.

And so it goes from state to state, but it doesn’t stop there. It exists nationally as well. Unions give more money than do any other entities to the national Democratic party. And the purpose of their giving is no different from their state-by-state donations: generous donations to congressional, senatorial, and presidential campaigns require a payback, And that payback is legislation that will increase wages and benefits for public sector workers by raising taxes. Public sector unions benefit; public sector workers benefit. And the American people, their states and corporations foot the bill. The American people, who are not members of public sector unions, are the victims of a vicious cycle of union-government-union actions that are increasingly injurious to the health of the American economy.

AFSCME · American people · cabot institute · congressional · Democratic Party · Democrats · economy · government · Labor Relations · municpalities · nationally · presidential · public sector · SEIU · senatorial · state · states · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · Unions · workers

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

While the private sector has lost 8-million jobs since 2008, the public sector has added 590,000 jobs during that same period. In addition, federal employees, on average, receive twice the salary and benefits that comparable private sector employees receive.

Public sector unions and congress are the keys that unlocked this Pandora’s box of economic irrationality. Imagine a circle comprising public sector unions, public sector employees, and Democratic members of congress. Each benefits the other. Democratic representatives vote to increase the wages and benefits of public sector employees, and their unions provide the necessary funds for re-election campaigns. Once re-elected, those representatives vote for higher wages and increased benefits for the union members who contributed to their election victories. And so it goes, on and on.

The result, of course, is ever higher deficits, spiraling into the stratosphere of economic irrationality.

And the disaster is not just confined to the federal deficit. The disease has infected state and municipal budgets across the country as well. According to recent estimates, state and city governments have inflated employee benefit liabilities in excess of $3-trillon!

Now with the NLRB firmly in the hands of pro-union ideologues, an agenda is coming into focus of an effort to increase the wages and benefits of private sector employees to match those of government employees. And the NLRB will attempt to do so by making private sector unions, such as the AFL-CIO and SEIU, as powerful as their public sector counterparts. It isn’t enough that public sector unions have egregiously contributed to the possible bankruptcy of governments, their private sector counterparts now want to inject that same virus into the body of Corporate America.

afl-cio · bankruptcy · cabot institute · cities · corporate america · debts · defaults · deficits · employees · employers · ideologues · Labor Relations · managment · municipalities · NLRB. pro-union · private sector · public sector · SEIU · states · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · Unions

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

Congress finally killed a bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had wanted the lame duck congress to pass. It was named the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2010. The bill would have required that all states and cities ensure that collective bargaining rights be given to police and fire fighters’ unions.
One can only imagine how nearly bankrupt states from California to New York would have dealt with striking police and fire fighters demanding increased salaries and benefits when those state can barely keep up with present payroll pressures. Never mind the six-figure pensions that have become commonplace amongst retired public sector workers.
The Cato Institute recently disseminated a position paper averring that public-sector unions are pushing for higher pay and increased government spending “with little restraint” and “don’t care if the cost of government services goes up because the burden is borne by someone else.”
Of course, there is also the problem of who would protect citizenry and their property if police and firefighters all called in sick because they were unhappy with the results of collective bargaining. Chaos would reign supreme, and anarchy would become the disorder of the day.
The public sector employee unions had believed that their numbers, which are so important in local elections, would force the government to pass a collective bargaining bill that would benefit them. They are now sorely disappointed; however, tax payers can now breathe a sigh of relief and hopefully look forward to a series of commonsense acts by the new congress taking office January.

AStephen Cabot · cabot institute · Cato Institute · cities · collective bargaining · fire fighters · Harry Reid · Labor Relations · municipalities · police · Public Safety Employer Employee Cooperation Act 2010 · public sector · Senate Majority leader · states · Steve Cabot · Unions · workers

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

The fight to pass card check legislation has stalled in congress, much to the anger and dismay of organized labor. It, therefore, turned its efforts to individual states, such as Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Oregon, which have passed card check legislation, permitting union organizers to bypass secret ballot elections and increase union membership. More than ten states have now passed legislation permitting the use of card checks. The use of card checks invites union intimidation, harassment, and coercion, not just to employees, but also to their families.

In response to the actions taken by those ten states, four other states have proposed legislation to maintain secret ballot elections. The four states are Arizona, South Carolina, Utah, and South Dakota. To ensure that workers cannot be coerced by union organizers into signing cards declaring they want to be represented by unions, North Dakota, for example, is proposing an amendment to its state constitution that in union elections “the fundamental right of the individual to vote by secret ballot election be protected.”

Unions and their pro-union political allies fail to admit that unionization has been a disaster for their states. Over the last ten years, pro-union governors have witnessed their states’ employment decrease by 2.8%. Right-to-work states, however, have enjoyed a 3.7% increase in employment over the same period!

card check · card checks · congress · democratic · Democrats · governors · labor legislation · law · legislation · organized labor · organizers · pro-union · states · states rights · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · Unions

From the desk of Stephen Cabot:

Many important conservative leaders have organized to have congress reject the mis-named “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act.” The bill was designed to force state and municipal public safety workers to be represented by unions, regardless of whether the workers want such representation. Firefighters, police, and EMT workers who had quit unions or had refused to join unions, in accordance with the bill are denied freedom to negotiate their own contracts.
The bill puts the unelected Federal Labor Relations Authority in the position of determining what’s right and what’s wrong in each state’s labor relations with public safety workers, thus abrogating state authority to deal with its own employees. Under the bill, the best interests of states are decided by the FLRA.
The passage of the bill, promoted by unions, was designed to drive up membership in public sector unions and significantly increase their ability to wage pro-union political campaigns.
Among the eminent conservatives who have organized to reject the legislation are Edwin Meese III, Grover Norquist, Susan Carleson, Duane Parde, Dr. Herbert London, David Keene, Gary Bauer, Richard Viguerie, J. Kenneth Blackwell, Brent Bozell, and Alfred Regnery, among various other luminaries.

cabot institute · collective bargaining · congress · conservatives · Federal Labor Relaitons Authority · FLRA · Labor Relations · management · municipalities · organized labor · public safety · states · stephen cabot · Steve Cabot · Unions · workers