I can't say that is true over salaries, given government normally pays a per month salary, but the incomes will rise when workers no longer pay dues. Dues amount to double taxes.
I believe that they should be held to the same standards as professional lobbyists are held to with the freedom to spend their money as they deem fit. If they want to donate monies to politicians who support organized labors goals, then I'm fine with that. why would you consider donating monies to someone who is out to hurt you? I think not.
Instead of paying a union and hoping the causes they support are the same causes you would support, why couldn't a person simply donate directly to a political party, or a politician, or a cause....
47 percent of Americans are just what you fear most; Freeloaders. True they spend on fuels that are taxed at two levels, spend on a utility that pays part of the bills for the government, and other fringe expenses, we have almost half of America now on the freeloader status.
It should be illegal for unions to engage in negotiations for salaries and benefits for public employees, but not association. I have a problem with politicians offering pensions for votes when the pensions don't come crashing down on taxpayers until after the politician is dead or retired.
When i was then a member of local #34, Piledrivers ... I was offended at how the union bosses ran what in my mind was a corrupt operation. They forced us to agree to a less than optimum settlement where the contractors wanted to pay us more and not less. We took less. I was seething at the union bosses.
Okay.........now it makes sense. Currently only 17% pay dues? That part confuses me. This legislation is about making dues optional. It sounds like the majority don't pay dues, thus making it already optional. What changes? What's to say the 17% that are paying won't continue to pay, seeing how they aren't required to now? I think we're working with an incomplete picture here...........unless your union stretches across both closed shops and right to work states and that's a national composite.
17% are what's called fair share fee payers. They are currently required to pay a portion of the dues amount to cover collective bargaining and representation. Janus will allow all of them to pay nothing while still getting all the benefits.
Well you know a hell of a lot more than I do about this and your situation. Best of luck to you and the missus.
One recommendation I would make would be it's not necessary to pay union dues..........however fair is fair. If they are not paying then they are not represented by the union. That's a change to the laws that will need addressing.
I agree, the notion of public sector unions baffles me. I can appreciate the need to protect workers from abuse by profit-seeking employers, but the government isn't in pursuit of profits. Public sector employers gain importance and influence based in large measure on their payroll; more workers means bigger budgets and this reflects on the importance and power of the government employer. Public sector employers are also very accommodating to their employees, functionaries, bureaucrats, teachers, police officers, housing inspectors, post office workers, all have great working conditions, their workplaces and equipment are guaranteed to comply with the highest occupational safety standards, they're guaranteed the requisite breaks, time off, paid vacations, leaves of absence, any overtime -naturally, this is all in the budget and the bigger the budget the more important the employer. Moreover, it is practically impossible to fire the public sector worker, they've got their "grievance procedures", but ultimately we find even teachers caught fondling the genitals of their charges kept on the payroll and racist police officers murdering innocent citizens drawing their salaries while on "administartive leave". Public sector employees are also lousy workers, not responsive to the public, if you go to any post office, DMV, public utility, any municipal, state or federal agency, the first thing you'll notice is a long line of unfortunates waiting for whatever bureaucrat's attention, and when your number is finally called, you'll be astounded at the amount of time it takes you to obtain, renew, replace or modify whatever you went there for. These funnctionaries couldn't hold a job in the private sector, they're surly, incompetent and couldn't care less what you think of their performance.
So, in a way, a percentage of union members will become like America's welfare class -- benefiting from the work of the collective, while contributing nothing....?
that's what my local union does; our bylaws prohibit the use of any union monies towards an political party or purpose; instead we have a voluntary PAC fund in which monies are used to support politicians who support organized labor
And being forced to pay a third party to be able to work would be called extortion in any other context.
The time will come when we heed the advice of FDR, George Meany, and Mayor LaGuardia and put an end to government worker unions.
