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Monday, September 04, 2006
Unions Against Democracy
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The fact is, fewer and fewer workers join unions on their own volition these days. The corruption and political activism of union officials is one turnoff. Union featherbedding, uneconomic and wasteful work rules, and the lack of consideration of merit and performance alienate others. Because of this, even though Big Labor resources continue to grow, less than eight percent of private sector workers today belong to a union, while roughly fifteen percent belong to government unions.
Unions respond by insisting on yet one other turnoff:
Union officials now claim that the secret ballot election process for unionization should be banned. Instead, Big Labor is pushing an intimidating organizing scheme wherein workers must say "no" to union organizers face-to-face in a so-called "card check" campaign.
This has government support:
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Congressman George Miller (D-CA) introduced legislation to ban the traditional secret ballot election process outright, and federally mandate "card check" unionization.
Miller is a shameless hypocrite:
Ironically, just five years ago Congressman Miller and 15 other members of congress implored the Mexican government to establish a secret ballot election process in that country because, they wrote, they "are essential to ensure that employees are not intimidated or coerced."
Union imperialism is a far cry from the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states, but mock election is a tactic of both. (At least the unions allow more than one list of candidiates.) What the unions can't get through voluntary agreement they'll try to get by force.
One other element of the union arsenal are forced unionism laws. Compare the National Right to Work Foundation's map of right-to-work states with the two maps on this page - one illustrating the 2004 Economic Freedom Index, the other the 2004 electoral map. Note that the ten least economically free states supported neither Bush nor right-to-work laws. Of the ten freest states, all but New Hampshire, Colorado, and Missouri are right-to-work states, and only New Hampshire went for Kerry. Of the 11th-20th most free states, all went for Bush and only Indiana is forced-unionist.
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