Monday, February 19, 2007
Fair Share of Coverage
A roundup of stories and comments featured over the past couple of days concerned the "fair share" legislation being considered in Iowa.
Keep in mind that the calm, reasoned debate we're currently hearing runs very contrary to the statements made by Senator Mike Gronstal late last year on an Iowa Press program:
Critics: Plan would boost unions
Remember, that 12-percent figure includes members of the governmental workforce like teachers, police, fire, etc. Excluding them, the percentage of workers who belong to unions in the private workforce is around 7-percent.
And where is the concern for current union members when they see their hard-earned union dues going to causes they don't support?
During the 2004 elections, the Center for Responsive Politics reports, unions spent at least $61,484,080 in political contributions—87 percent to Democrats, 13 percent to Republicans. That year, according to a CNN exit poll of 13,660 respondents, 61 percent of union members voted for Democrat John Kerry, while 38 percent supported Republican George W. Bush.
We already have a "fair share" law with respect to that kind of tom-foolery, but nobody pays much attention to it. Some union members are even afraid of asking for the right to have a portion of their union dues returned to them based on the Beck Supreme Court decision.
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Keep in mind that the calm, reasoned debate we're currently hearing runs very contrary to the statements made by Senator Mike Gronstal late last year on an Iowa Press program:
Gronstal: WELL, THE CONCEPT IS IF THE THREE OF YOU ARE REPRESENTED BY A GROUP AND YOU DON'T PAY ANYTHING AND THEY PAY, YOU'RE A FREELOADER. YOU'RE GETTING ALONG -- YOU'RE GETTING A FREE RIDE FOR ALL THE SERVICES THAT THEY PROVIDE. YOU'RE A FREELOADER. ASKING YOU TO PAY YOUR FAIR SHARE OF THE DUES -- NOT THE ENTIRE DUES BUT YOUR FAIR SHARE FOR THE BENEFITS YOU RECEIVE --By calling those that choose not to be union members "freeloaders" you don't give me a whole lot of confidence that the legislation is going to be in any way beneficial to them. It smacks of revenge more than anything else...
Critics: Plan would boost unions
In the Quad-Cities, where unions have shrunk but still represent 12 percent of the work force, there are sharply diverging views.See? Revenge...
“It sticks in my craw that there’s people out there getting a free ride,” said Bob Waters, a 47-year-old Davenport worker at Oscar Mayer. Waters is a 20-year member of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
Remember, that 12-percent figure includes members of the governmental workforce like teachers, police, fire, etc. Excluding them, the percentage of workers who belong to unions in the private workforce is around 7-percent.
And where is the concern for current union members when they see their hard-earned union dues going to causes they don't support?
During the 2004 elections, the Center for Responsive Politics reports, unions spent at least $61,484,080 in political contributions—87 percent to Democrats, 13 percent to Republicans. That year, according to a CNN exit poll of 13,660 respondents, 61 percent of union members voted for Democrat John Kerry, while 38 percent supported Republican George W. Bush.
We already have a "fair share" law with respect to that kind of tom-foolery, but nobody pays much attention to it. Some union members are even afraid of asking for the right to have a portion of their union dues returned to them based on the Beck Supreme Court decision.
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