The attack on unions has been clearly effective. America's workers who are members of a union declined by 0.5 percentage points in 2012 to a low of 11.3%. In 1983 20.1% of all workers were members of a union and in 2011 11.8% of America's employed were union members. We have not seen union membership rates this low since the Great Depression.
The Wisconsin GOP did an end game against Democrats and passed a bill which destroys union rights to collective bargain. Milwaukee Biz Times:
Republicans in a hastily called state legislative conference committee approved a resolution Wednesday night to revoke the collective bargaining rights for thousands of public employees in Wisconsin, leaving Democrats and thousands of screaming protesters outside the Capitol to cry foul.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) and his brother, Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon) led the committee, which met for less than five minutes and then approved the resolution.
Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) protested that he had not had a chance to even see what was in the resolution before the vote was taken.
“I need to know what was removed. I need to know that,” Barca said.
The public, the media and the Democrats were not allowed to see the resolution before the Republicans voted on it.
“This is clearly a violation of the open meetings law,” Barca yelled, as Scott Fitzgerald called for the vote and struck the gavel to adjourn the meeting.
Barca said state law requires at least 24 hours notice before a conference committee hearing can be convened.
Some Democrats speculated that the committee hearing was a Republican trick to convince at least one of the 14 Democratic Senators into showing up at the Capjtol to protest the conference committee resolution. If one Senator had shown up, the Senate could attain the quorum it would need to approve Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill, and the committee vote would not even be needed.
Congressional Republicans appear to be quietly but methodically executing a plan that would a) avoid a federal bailout of spendthrift states and b) cripple public employee unions by pushing cash-strapped states such as California and Illinois to declare bankruptcy.
How? By denying them Build America bonds.
The most intriguing aspect of President Barack Obama’s tax deal with Republicans is what the compromise fails to include — a provision to continue the Build America Bonds program. BABs now account for more than 20 percent of new debt sold by states and local governments thanks to a federal rebate equal to 35 percent of interest costs on the bonds. The subsidy program ends on Dec. 31. And my Reuters colleagues report that a GOP congressional aide said Republicans “have a very firm line on BABS — we are not going to allow them to be included.”
No surprise since the public pension fund is one of the last hold outs for any sort of retirement, so of course it is a target. On the other hand, California, as well as Illinois refuse to deal with major costs, including their illegal immigration budget busting problems.
Well, I'd say this is a good sign for believing in Democrats. Thanks Wal-Mart for that inside tidbit!
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart
Union leaders are also upset that Chrysler is employing foreign workers in Auburn Hills who were let into the country under immigration rules that allow companies to hire skilled foreigners for jobs that can't be filled with local workers.
"The only reason they're supposed to be here is to do work we can't perform," Hagler said.
Rich Harter, Local 412's second vice president and Unit 1 chairman, said he has begun the process of lodging a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
He said more than 150 contractors are costing the company an estimated $150,000 each annually and there are 30 to 100 so-called H1B workers.
"This isn't right. We've got American workers getting laid off but they're keeping foreigners," he said. He argues it would be cheaper for the company to use UAW members.
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