Thursday, February 01, 2007
Freeloaders Beware!
Now you see it...now you don't.
Now that the minimum wage bill in Iowa is signed and done with, Democrats want to take away some of what they gave you by going too far in my view.
Yes, they may have a majority...and somewhat a mandate for some things...but I think they are going to be taken to the woodshed by voters for this...
Fair share issue heats up at the Statehouse
In fact, some current union members don't always find it fun and peachy-keen that their hard-earned dues always seem to go to support Democrats and their causes...despite the fact that roughly 20 to 40-percent of union members vote Republican (Source: AFL-CIO numbers).
And many union members aren't all that informed of the Beck decision which allows them to withold the portion of their dues going to causes they don't support. The unions don't want to tell them about their rights (or lie about the percentage that goes to Dems and causes)...and often stonewall efforts by individual members who make a claim under Beck.
As Thomas Jefferson said, "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves in is sinful and tyrannical." Political contributions, like unionism itself, should be a matter of individual choice.
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Now that the minimum wage bill in Iowa is signed and done with, Democrats want to take away some of what they gave you by going too far in my view.
Yes, they may have a majority...and somewhat a mandate for some things...but I think they are going to be taken to the woodshed by voters for this...
Fair share issue heats up at the Statehouse
DES MOINES --- Unions and business groups are going head-to-head with lobbying efforts for and against "fair share" legislation that would require non-union members to pay if they benefit from union services.Good question. I'd ask the same thing about union dues always seeming to go toward support for Democrats and liberal causes that a lot of members don't support. (see below)
John Campbell, a lobbyist for the United Steelworkers of America, argues Iowa workers should pay for the salary increases and benefits negotiated for them by unions as well as the union's costs of representing them in grievances.
"It's just a matter of economic equity and fairness. Should you get something for nothing? Why should we spend our resources, our efforts and our time to defend someone who doesn't pay for that service?" Campbell said.
Under the current proposal, Senate Study Bill 1120, public employees who are not union employees but whose workplaces are covered by collective bargaining agreements would see automatic payroll deductions for "fair share" fees.Calling something "fair share" and it being "fair" are two different things. Who's going to decide the "fair price" for non-union workers to pay? Who's going to decide just what an employee is receiving in benefits that they otherwise wouldn't without a union representing some of the workers? Our crazy court system...that's who.
Private-sector employees who work at unionized workplaces would have to authorize the payroll deduction. But signing off on that deduction could be a condition of employment if it is part of the negotiated contract between the employer and the union.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said the chances of the bill passing the Senate are 50-50.It was Sen. Mike Gronstal on the Iowa Press program last year that called non-union workers, "freeloaders"...so he's a little more invested in wanting this passed than he lets on...
"It could go either way," he said.
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 --I honestly don't think this is going to go anywhere. Most common sense freeloaders like me aren't going to take it too kindly at the ballot box next time when we find out we're being forced to pay money to a union we don't belong to.
In fact, some current union members don't always find it fun and peachy-keen that their hard-earned dues always seem to go to support Democrats and their causes...despite the fact that roughly 20 to 40-percent of union members vote Republican (Source: AFL-CIO numbers).
And many union members aren't all that informed of the Beck decision which allows them to withold the portion of their dues going to causes they don't support. The unions don't want to tell them about their rights (or lie about the percentage that goes to Dems and causes)...and often stonewall efforts by individual members who make a claim under Beck.
Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, takes a more tempered view. Dotzler supports fair share legislation, although he does have some concerns with the current proposal.It's not the economy that will go in the tank...it's going to be support for Democrats that go in the tank if this is passed.
He argues the impact on Iowans will be negligible if the legislation is passed.
"The predictions that Iowa's economy is going to go in the tank are so far off," Dotzler said.
As Thomas Jefferson said, "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves in is sinful and tyrannical." Political contributions, like unionism itself, should be a matter of individual choice.
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