No, your steadfast Peasant isn't going left-o; I am merely
pointing out that workers in labor unions are breaking loose
from the tight grip of political control and dominance that
their unions have held for many years over them. The unions
feeling the crunch include the SEIU, AFSCME and the teachers'
unions.
Several states are bringing these reforms about. Idaho Gov.
Brad Little recently signed a bill that will end taxpayer for
teachers' unions, most notably the Idaho Education Association.
The legislation is designed to prevent school districts from
collecting dues directly from teachers' paychecks and limit
unions' ability to recruit members during school hours.
Furthermore, it will end the practice of giving teachers
time off for "union activities", such as working on the
campaigns of candidates for office, soliciting union membership,
or joining union protests or promoting advocacy for unions.
The teachers unions' political spending greatly favors Democrats
and don't the left-wingers know it; they know unions can get
their members out to political events and to the polls for
elections on little notice. The reform legislation will stop
school districts from sharing teachers' personal information
unless authorized by the teachers themselves.
Arizona is working on crafting a proposed constitutional
amendment which would do what Idaho's reform legislation
would do; prevent school districts from collecting union
dues through a payroll deduction. The bill must first be
adopted by the Legislature in order to make it onto the
November ballot, would also ban teacher strikes as well as
to require unions to distribute communications (pamphlets
and such) off school property.
In Oklahoma, bills making their way through that state's
legislature would allow school school employees to cancel
their union membership anytime. Unions would also be
prevented from limiting an employee's "right to terminate
his or her membership only during certain dates or by using
specific forms." Additionally, the unions may not force an
employee to "disclose the reason for his or her membership
termination." So union members can resign from their union
at any time, without filling out specific forms or waiting for
specific dates to leave, and don't have to give a reason for
ending their union membership. Sounds quite reasonable.
Why can't union membership be "at-will", just as employment
itself? If someone is no longer happy in a job, then one can
resign. If someone is unhappy with being in their union,
why can't they resign from that?
Florida has gotten into the spirit of reform with a bill which
would require 50% of a union's members to participate in
a recertification election and then a majority of the partici-
pants to vote in favor of recertifying. If they are dissatisfied
with a union and its representation, they can then opt out and
either be non-union or join another union. Freedom of choice
in the workplace. Democracy in action. Unions and Democrats
are supposedly big on these two things; why are they so reluc-
tant to give them to union members? Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)
signed the bill last week.
These state reforms can prevent more states from becoming
like Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and California, where
unions hold such sway that taxpayers in those states are
forced pay ever-increasing taxes to benefit the unions or
to escape to states where the unions' powers are kept in
check, with the effects evident each year on April 15.
And workers will have more freedom in the form of more
control over their jobs and the terms of their union
representation.
MEM
