Power to the Workers!

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 have more freedom in the form of more control

over their jobs and the terms of their union representation.

MEM