Public Union Debacle Educating America About Unions

by | Jan 20, 2011 | Labor Relations Ink

One of the most promising side effects of the discourse related to the contribution of public employee unions to various state and municipal budget crises is the growing public awareness of the harmful impact most unions have on their “host” companies, in this case government entities. As many Governors are announcing moratoriums on collective bargaining agreements and proposing public pension fund reform, more private sector employees are waking up to the realities of the destructive nature of union collective bargaining agreements. As the New York Times reported, “Faced with growing budget deficits and restive taxpayers, elected officials from Maine to Alabama, Ohio to Arizona, are pushing new legislation to limit the power of labor unions, particularly those representing government workers, in collective bargaining and politics.” Big Labor has recognized the threat. Stewart Acuff, head of the Utility Workers Union of American, commented, “This is a very serious effort… to cripple the American labor movement and remove it as a serious force in American life.” Big Labor plans to counter with a PR campaign designed to boost the image of government employees. Naomi Walker, director of state government relations at the AFL-CIO, said unions plan to use phone banks, public rallies, and stepped-up lobbying efforts in at least a dozen state legislatures to attempt to polish the tarnished image of public union employees. The AFL-CIO isn’t the only union player engaged. SEIU’s strategy is to use the Tea Party as a foil to promote Big Labor and Big Government as the answer to the nation’s economic woes. “It’s no secret there’s a crisis here and labor’s been put in a tough bind,” said SEIU spokeswoman Inga Skippings. “We are looking at everything we can do to address this in a bigger way.” Big Labor’s overreaching into the public sector as their ranks of private sector membership dwindled seems to have led them into quicksand.

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