Labor Day has become Government Day

[bigbern53]

Labor Day Has Become Government Day
This Labor Day marks a milestone in the history of the U.S. union movement. It is the first Labor Day on which a majority of union members in United States work for the government. In January the Department of Labor reported that union membership in government has overtaken that in the private sector. Three times as many union members work in the Post Office as in the entire domestic auto industry. The face of the union movement is not a worker on the assembly line but a clerk at the DMV.

This is a dramatic shift for the union movement. The early trade unionists did not believe that unions had a place in government. They believed the purpose of unions was to redistribute business profits from owners to workers ... and the government makes no profits. Not until the 1960s did unionizing government employees become widespread. Now government employees make up 52 percent of all union members.

So what? Why should Americans care if unions are now dominated by workers who get their paychecks from governments, instead of workers who get their paychecks from private firms? There’s one simple reason: private firms face competition; governments don’t.

Collective bargaining, the anti-trust exemption at the heart the labor movement's power, was created to help workers seize their "fair share" of business profits. But if a union ends up extracting a contract from a private firm that eats up too much of the profits, then that firm will be unable to reinvest those resources and will lose out to competitors. But when a union extracts a generous contract from a government, there is no check on that spending. Instead of being forced out by more efficient competitors, the government just raises taxes.

The shift from private to public sector has fundamentally changed organized labor's priorities. Unions used to support policies that would help their private sector employers grow. But now that they are largely dependent on the government, the only growth that unions are interested in is the growth of government. So unions push for tax increases across the country. Consider recent union activism:

• Illinois. Unions want state lawmakers to increase the state income tax from 3 percent to 5 percent and to expand the sales tax to cover some services. In April 2010 they organized rallies of government workers outside the state capitol shouting “Raise my taxes! Raise my taxes! Raise my taxes!” At that rally, a government union member was caught on camera chanting “Where’s the money?” and “Give up the bucks!”
• Montana. The Montana teachers union openly sees itself as a supporter of tax and spend politics. Its President boasts, “Were it not for us almost any one of the … anti-tax and spend ballot issues proposed in the last 25 years would have passed.”
• New Mexico. Unions lobbied the state’s legislature to raise taxes to deal with its budget deficit. The union got its wish, but it was not the wealthy that paid – the legislature imposed a 2 percent sales tax on food.
• Washington State. Washington State has no income tax, and unions want to change that. They have placed an initiative on the November ballot creating a state income tax and are among the top donors to the campaign to pass it.

[xpac]

The reason the majority of union workers are govt employees are because of policies started by your hero Ronnie Reagan that gave businesses the right to bust unions. Unions give workers a voice and a chance for a fair wage that they deserve. Keep watching the Fox News you conservative moron.

[Stoney]

The reason the majority of union workers are govt employees are because of policies started by your hero Ronnie Reagan that gave businesses the right to bust unions. Unions give workers a voice and a chance for a fair wage that they deserve. Keep watching the Fox News you conservative moron.

Oddly enough, the states with unionized government jobs are in the worst shape. That's Ronnies fault? Keep on believe that liberal policies are good for the working man. This recession was caused by liberal/progressive policies.

[Starkravinloon]

The reason the majority of union workers are govt employees are because of policies started by your hero Ronnie Reagan that gave businesses the right to bust unions. Unions give workers a voice and a chance for a fair wage that they deserve. Keep watching the Fox News you conservative moron.

So Clinton and Barry are trying to pay Reagan back for what you say he done? That's real constructive politics..No wonder we have a 9.6% unemployment rate..It's all about politics and the unions..Now I get it...

[slavenomore]

Labor Day Has Become Government Day
This Labor Day marks a milestone in the history of the U.S. union movement. It is the first Labor Day on which a majority of union members in United States work for the government. In January the Department of Labor reported that union membership in government has overtaken that in the private sector. Three times as many union members work in the Post Office as in the entire domestic auto industry. The face of the union movement is not a worker on the assembly line but a clerk at the DMV.

This is a dramatic shift for the union movement. The early trade unionists did not believe that unions had a place in government. They believed the purpose of unions was to redistribute business profits from owners to workers ... and the government makes no profits. Not until the 1960s did unionizing government employees become widespread. Now government employees make up 52 percent of all union members.

So what? Why should Americans care if unions are now dominated by workers who get their paychecks from governments, instead of workers who get their paychecks from private firms? There’s one simple reason: private firms face competition; governments don’t.

Collective bargaining, the anti-trust exemption at the heart the labor movement's power, was created to help workers seize their "fair share" of business profits. But if a union ends up extracting a contract from a private firm that eats up too much of the profits, then that firm will be unable to reinvest those resources and will lose out to competitors. But when a union extracts a generous contract from a government, there is no check on that spending. Instead of being forced out by more efficient competitors, the government just raises taxes.

The shift from private to public sector has fundamentally changed organized labor's priorities. Unions used to support policies that would help their private sector employers grow. But now that they are largely dependent on the government, the only growth that unions are interested in is the growth of government. So unions push for tax increases across the country. Consider recent union activism:

• Illinois. Unions want state lawmakers to increase the state income tax from 3 percent to 5 percent and to expand the sales tax to cover some services. In April 2010 they organized rallies of government workers outside the state capitol shouting “Raise my taxes! Raise my taxes! Raise my taxes!” At that rally, a government union member was caught on camera chanting “Where’s the money?” and “Give up the bucks!”
• Montana. The Montana teachers union openly sees itself as a supporter of tax and spend politics. Its President boasts, “Were it not for us almost any one of the … anti-tax and spend ballot issues proposed in the last 25 years would have passed.”
• New Mexico. Unions lobbied the state’s legislature to raise taxes to deal with its budget deficit. The union got its wish, but it was not the wealthy that paid – the legislature imposed a 2 percent sales tax on food.
• Washington State. Washington State has no income tax, and unions want to change that. They have placed an initiative on the November ballot creating a state income tax and are among the top donors to the campaign to pass it.

So who gets the 'credit' for this union bashing story? Do they have what it takes between the legs top put their name on it? The link? The author? I really think it's funny how now, all of the sudden, everybody just notices that their are gov't union jobs out there..Jealousy is what drives the anger at it..Now those who hurl the insults must compete a little more so they attack others..
Those gov't union jobs are good jobs...and my hunch is that most of the people whining about them gov't jobs would take a job in their field if it was a union gov't job in about a half of a second.......Would ya like me to help ya get ya one, Mr. bigbern53? If I could have ya one with better pay for doing what you're doing and a gravy gov't pension,, by the end of the week, would ya take it bigbern?
You'd probably take it and work it till your way past retirement age.

I question the credibility of this story cause it starts out saying that this is the first year that gov't jobs are more than private sector union jobs...I do not believe that this is the fist year of that..It's probably been like that for awhile.....Did this come from a blogger or a factually reported story? I think the facts are wrong from the get-go.

[bigbern53]

QUOTE=slavenomore;13646]So who gets the 'credit' for this union bashing story? Do they have what it takes between the legs top put their name on it? The link? The author? I really think it's funny how now, all of the sudden, everybody just notices that their are gov't union jobs out there..Jealousy is what drives the anger at it..Now those who hurl the insults must compete a little more so they attack others..
Those gov't union jobs are good jobs...and my hunch is that most of the people whining about them gov't jobs would take a job in their field if it was a union gov't job in about a half of a second.......Would ya like me to help ya get ya one, Mr. bigbern53? If I could have ya one with better pay for doing what you're doing and a gravy gov't pension,, by the end of the week, would ya take it bigbern?
You'd probably take it and work it till your way past retirement age.

I question the credibility of this story cause it starts out saying that this is the first year that gov't jobs are more than private sector union jobs...I do not believe that this is the fist year of that..It's probably been like that for awhile.....Did this come from a blogger or a factually reported story? I think the facts are wrong from the get-go.[/QUOTE]

I think that you should go back and read the article again, I am a union person also, I have enjoyed union wages, and benifits. Have you ever wondered what happened to the trucking industry, why hasn't the unions stayed up with organizing. this article was e-mailed to me from The Heritage Foundation here is the link Morning Bell: Labor Day Has Become Government Day | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

[slavenomore]

QUOTE=slavenomore;13646]So who gets the 'credit' for this union bashing story? Do they have what it takes between the legs top put their name on it? The link? The author? I really think it's funny how now, all of the sudden, everybody just notices that their are gov't union jobs out there..Jealousy is what drives the anger at it..Now those who hurl the insults must compete a little more so they attack others..
Those gov't union jobs are good jobs...and my hunch is that most of the people whining about them gov't jobs would take a job in their field if it was a union gov't job in about a half of a second.......Would ya like me to help ya get ya one, Mr. bigbern53? If I could have ya one with better pay for doing what you're doing and a gravy gov't pension,, by the end of the week, would ya take it bigbern?
You'd probably take it and work it till your way past retirement age.

I question the credibility of this story cause it starts out saying that this is the first year that gov't jobs are more than private sector union jobs...I do not believe that this is the fist year of that..It's probably been like that for awhile.....Did this come from a blogger or a factually reported story? I think the facts are wrong from the get-go.

I think that you should go back and read the article again, I am a union person also, I have enjoyed union wages, and benifits. Have you ever wondered what happened to the trucking industry, why hasn't the unions stayed up with organizing. this article was e-mailed to me from The Heritage Foundation here is the link Morning Bell: Labor Day Has Become Government Day | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.[/QUOTE]

The Heritage Foundation is an anti-union think-tank....They loved deregulation and if ya search for deregulation in that site you'll find it...alll the way back to the 80's....and that destroyed the ability to organise..And I'm sure they favor right-to-work laws too. They do not like unions. The Coors family is heavily involved with them and so is Steve Forbes...all anti-union.

[Starkravinloon]

I think that you should go back and read the article again, I am a union person also, I have enjoyed union wages, and benifits. Have you ever wondered what happened to the trucking industry, why hasn't the unions stayed up with organizing. this article was e-mailed to me from The Heritage Foundation here is the link Morning Bell: Labor Day Has Become Government Day | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

The Heritage Foundation is an anti-union think-tank....They loved deregulation and if ya search for deregulation in that site you'll find it...alll the way back to the 80's....and that destroyed the ability to organise..And I'm sure they favor right-to-work laws too. They do not like unions. The Coors family is heavily involved with them and so is Steve Forbes...all anti-union.[/QUOTE]

Then Carter,Clinton and Barry must be the President, V.President and Secr.of State of the Heritage Foundation.....Carter signed it..Clinton enforced it...Barry supports it...

[ldgarrit]

Calling the Heritage Foundation anti-union is like calling pro-abortion types anti-life. I think that it's not so much that the Heritage Foundation is anti-union as it is pro-business. And that's not the same thing.

[Ranger309]

The reason the majority of union workers are govt employees are because of policies started by your hero Ronnie Reagan that gave businesses the right to bust unions. Unions give workers a voice and a chance for a fair wage that they deserve. Keep watching the Fox News you conservative moron.

Yeah, I gotta disagree with lots of people I like here.

Reagan was NO hero. He messed up CA real good, then he moved to DC where he gave us 8 years and 4 years of poppy bush's new world order in Iraq.

All I can say is: "Hows that working out for you, America"?

Frakking public unions are more powerful then private unions and now the next Gov. of CA., Meg Whitless wants to put people on welfare to work. Work doing what exactly?

They will be working for the state government here, that's what!. Man, I cant wait to get out of Dodge City, CA and leave this state to the buzzards like this eBay b***h from hell.