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Sarah's message to the union members

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
The union-led school closures and demonstrations in Madison have left most ordinary Americans shaking their heads in disbelief. Months ago, I penned a message to my fellow union brothers and sisters when I found myself on the receiving end of union boss Richard Trumka’s wrath. Yesterday’s demonstrations reminded me of the full-page ads taken out against me when I put my foot down in dealing with union demands while I served as governor. My message then and now to good union brothers and sisters is that you have another option. You don’t have to kowtow to the union bosses who are not looking out for you, but instead are using you. You can join millions of other union members in a commonsense movement to help fight for the right causes in our great country – for budgets that share the burden in a truly fair way and for commonsense reforms that take power away from vested interests like union bosses and big business lobby groups, and put it back where it belongs – with “We the People.”

Here we are still struggling to get out of a deep recession and coping with high unemployment, record deficits, rapidly rising food prices, and a host of other economic problems; and Wisconsin union bosses want union members out in the streets demanding that taxpayers foot the bill for unsustainable benefits packages. I am a friend to hard working union members and to teachers. I come from a family of teachers; my grandparents, parents, brother, sister, aunt, and other relatives worked, or still work, in education. My own children attend public schools. I greatly admire good teachers and will always speak up in defense of the teaching profession. But Wisconsin teacher unions do themselves no favor by closing down classrooms and abandoning children’s needs in protest against the sort of belt-tightening that people everywhere are going through. Union brothers and sisters: this is the wrong fight at the wrong time. Solidarity doesn’t mean making Wisconsin taxpayers pay for benefits that are not sustainable and affordable at a time when many of these taxpayers struggle to hold on to their own jobs and homes. Real solidarity means everyone being willing to sacrifice and carry our share of the burden. It does no one any favors to dismiss the sacrifices others have already had to make—in wage cuts, unpaid vacations, and even job losses—to weather our economic storm.

Hard working, patriot, and selfless union brothers and sisters: please don’t be taken in by the union bosses. At the end of day, they’re not fighting for your pension or health care plan or even for the sustainability of Wisconsin’s education budget. They’re fighting to protect their own powerful privileges and their own political clout. The agenda for too many union bosses is a big government agenda that only serves the union bosses themselves – not union members, not union families, and certainly not the larger community. Everybody else is just there to foot the bill; and if that bill eventually takes the form of thousands of teachers and other public sectors workers losing their jobs because the state of Wisconsin can no longer afford to keep them on the payroll, that’s a risk the union bosses are willing to take as long as their positions are secure. Union brothers and sisters: you are better than this and you deserve better. Don’t be lead astray.

One final word of warning to my fellow Americans: back in 2009, I warned about what would happen if states accepted short-term unsustainable debt-ridden “Stimulus Package” funds. Accepting those funds allowed states to grow government, increase already unsustainable levels of spending, kick the can down the road on reforming entitlements, and create public expectations that they would continue financing these new mandates once the federal funds ran out. States were not in a position to grow government and take on new financial commitments then, and now the chickens have come home to roost. As goes Wisconsin today, so goes the country tomorrow.

- Sarah Palin
 

Tam

Well-known member
Sarah is absolutely correct the Unions are not out to help their members they are out to protect their POWER OVER THE WI. GOVERNMENT If they loose power in WI they will have a long hard fight to hold control in the rest of the States and they fear that fight. They and their puppet Obama are going to pull out all the stops to put the WI Governor in his place so the rest of the Governors learn their Place one way or another. This is going to be every interesting when it is New York and California and their Dem Governors try take on the Public sector Unions to rein in spending and cut their budgets. As both Brown and Chomo have said they are going to cut spending and not raise taxes just like Walker promised and is doing in WI.

It will also be interesting tomorrow when the pro government rallies hit Madison to back up Walker. Will the bused in union thugs show their true colors and cause a riot or will they back off and leave Wisconsin Business to Wisconsin CITIZENS.
 

Steve

Well-known member
thousands of teachers and other public sectors workers losing their jobs because the state of Wisconsin can no longer afford to keep them on the payroll, that’s a risk the union bosses are willing to take as long as their positions are secure.

I guess when the average salary of a union worker pales in comparison to the union officials, it is wise to protect the top earners.. (sarcasm) :?
 

Whitewing

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
Do you guys think every union is bad? If so have you personally been in a union?

Personally I think they've outlived their usefulness and now merely artifically inflate the cost of goods of services. Back when childhood labor was allowed to flourish and dangerous and substandard working conditions were the norm, they helped bring needed changes in labor laws. Today? Not so much IMHO.

Having said all that, I'd like to hear your views on just what unions do today to help produce better products and lower costs for the average consumer.
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Whitewing said:
CattleArmy said:
Do you guys think every union is bad? If so have you personally been in a union?

Personally I think they've outlived their usefulness and now merely artifically inflate the cost of goods of services. Back when childhood labor was allowed to flourish and dangerous and substandard working conditions were the norm, they helped bring needed changes in labor laws. Today? Not so much IMHO.

Having said all that, I'd like to hear your views on just what unions do today to help produce better products and lower costs for the average consumer.

Isn't the job of a union to work for the workers?


Positive is the way the union steps in to make sure workers get raises and that the benefits package that goes with their job is up to par. The union also will help get workers out of a pinch.

Having said that the union also helps ensure that some bad workers are still working. They also recognize senority. Which in turn when layoffs come they keep by senority instead of by the quality of work people put out. This in my opinion is a large negative of unions. The other being the fact that they help crappy workers keep their job.

As far as thinking every union officer is paid the big bucks. That certainly isn't the way it is at the local level. Where getting back a months dues can be the payment. That's not big bucks. Notice I said local.
 

Whitewing

Well-known member
So in a nutshell, unions seem to do little to help the company produce better products at a better cost to its clients. In fact, by forcing the company to keep substandard employees employed via seniority, etc, they may actually put the company at a competitive disadavantage to non-union shops.

Yeah, I concur that they work for the union workers.
 

Tam

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
Do you guys think every union is bad? If so have you personally been in a union?


If a union puts their greed for power over the good of their members then they are bad. If they are using union due to support issues and candidates their members oppose then they are bad. If they use their power to bankrupt a company/government and the results are their members hitting the unemployment line then they are useless. And from the history most Unions have this seems to be a re-occuring threme.

NOW can you tell us if Unions are so great at looking out for their members why their influence is waning in the US in all sectors except Government employees?

Unions prospered in the years immediately following World War II, but in later years, as the number of workers employed in the traditional manufacturing industries has declined, union membership has dropped. Employers, facing mounting challenges from low-wage, foreign competitors, have begun seeking greater flexibility in their employment policies, making more use of temporary and part-time employees and putting less emphasis on pay and benefit plans designed to cultivate long-term relationships with employees. They also have fought union organizing campaigns and strikes more aggressively. Politicians, once reluctant to buck union power, have passed legislation that cut further into the unions' base. Meanwhile, many younger, skilled workers have come to see unions as anachronisms that restrict their independence. Only in sectors that essentially function as monopolies -- such as government and public schools -- have unions continued to make gains.


Influence waning in sectors as young workers see them as a problem big surprise. :wink:

I guess we now know why the Unions are fighting so hard to maintain control over the government employees, it is their last strong hold. And I can understand why they need unions as who else would protect them when they decide to walk off their jobs and bi*ch about having to pay a little into their own medical insurance and Pensions when their employer is broke. :roll:

OH I forgot the worst part If unions use their power to protect a child molester employed as a teacher they are disgusting and should be held responsible for every damaged child that sick person touches.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
Do you guys think every union is bad? If so have you personally been in a union?

Nope, not all unions.

but some have become too political and do their members more harm than good by leading them down the wrong path.

Take demonizing the corporations as an example. They promote excessive taxation of corporate profits, but rely on corporate profits to fund their pension funds.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Clarus Research Group

64% of American people think state workers should NOT be able to join labor unions.

29% say that government employees should be represented by unions that bargain for higher pay, benefits and pensions.

Republicans and independents strongly oppose unionization for government employee.

10% of Republicans and 23% of independents support the right of public employees to be represented by unions.

49% of Democrats think they should be able to unionize.

42% in Northeastern states support public workers in unions.

24% in Southern states support public workers in unions..
 

Steve

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
If so have you personally been in a union?

yes, four separate unions, I was a shop steward and even had my membership revoked..

but in all four, while I had to pay full dues, I was never entitled to the full benefits of union membership..

my first union experience, we were a contractor (for the union).. but under the contract we had to sign up and pay dues.. they went on strike, but still obligated the firm I worked for to uphold our contract... then despite our refusal to cross the picket line and deliver to the mill, we were targeted,. after shooting at us to get us away from our equipment they torched hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment.. they destroyed a good man and his business.. he never recovered.. I was young and was able to join the military.. but I will never forget.. never take a union contract..

then after I retired from the military I was offered a part time supervisor job.. had to join the union closed shop. and pay dues.. as a part time employee they filed grievances when ever I went over twenty eight hours. which was often as their (privileged full time) members often called out drunk..

then I got me a part time government job..(average 63.5 hours a week for five years) as a shop steward for our branch, I read the contract and found that the prior shop steward and the other union leadership had been screwing the workers out of their contracted rights.. on the local level we had 28 areas we could negotiate our contract. (breaks, vacation times, hours ect.) and I was able to negotiate a better local agreement that made many of the employees work life better, (except one) and the end result is they revoked my membership.. and I think they set a record in filing grievances against me.

and as a member of a local electrical workers union I was privileged to have tires slashed and equipment trashed.. all because I didn't have a union bumper sticker on my truck, so I was fair game.
 

Steve

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
As far as thinking every union officer is paid the big bucks. That certainly isn't the way it is at the local level. Where getting back a months dues can be the payment. That's not big bucks. Notice I said local.

the pay is a small stipend at the local level.. it only increases substantially once the union becomes the full time job.. ( the basic rule of thumb is if the working stiff is still working he is still getting stiffed ).


as a shop steward, the extra pay was $180 a month plus a free dinner before the monthly meeting and free drinks afterward..

I often skipped the meal and drinks.. nothing worse then a bunch of people sitting around bitching about how cheap their bosses are while treating the waitstaff like crap and then stiffing them on a tip..

as for the $180.. not one person in our local knew the job came with a stipend until I told them.. I donated the money for us (the whole shop) to have Christmas parties and other get togetherness..
 

hopalong

Well-known member
Steve your union experience is much like mine, greed and corruption filled

While I feel that at one time unions were a good thing for the workers, but now NO! they have out lived, out priced the American worker causing too much out sourcing of labor to happen, leading to more unemployment, and higher prices and shoddy workmanship.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
My dad was a life-long union member, Operating Engineers.

He stuck up for the unions through thick and thin...until..

he was a foreman in Alaska on building roads. He actually was
one of the guys that built the pioneer roads in Alaska that they
took the heavy equipment in on. I think he spent at least 15 years
up there and he said that things sure changed. He always thought
he got better workers from hiring through the union, but that
really changed. The last few years they sent him very poor
operators. He was pretty saddened by that, as it went against
everything he believed about belonging to the union. He was
deeply disappointed. He truly belived that UNION meant quality
workers.
 

Steve

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
Steve your experience with a union is so different then what I've been exposed to. Possibly the difference is smaller local union?

I would honestly say at the local level it is much different then when a strike is involved, or when you start seeing what crap goes on starting just above the local level.

I am still a strong supporter of local unions.. at the local level almost any worker can see who the slug is and not support their inactivity and constant drain on the company.. be it another employee or a bad manager.

it is the closed shop and the higher ups who need to be gotten rid of.. and who I am so against.. (that and all the money they spend in elections going against my beliefs)..
 

Tam

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
CattleArmy said:
Do you guys think every union is bad? If so have you personally been in a union?

I was in a union for 9 years. What do you want to know?

Well lets hear it did the union you belonged to better your life and those of your union members? OR did they pad their pockets with your union dues and make your employers life a living hell by driving up input cost to the point his product was way over priced and unable to be sold at a profit? Did they allow the employer to fire bad workers or did they protect them at the cost of his productivity?
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Faster horses said:
My dad was a life-long union member, Operating Engineers.

He stuck up for the unions through thick and thin...until..

he was a foreman in Alaska on building roads. He actually was
one of the guys that built the pioneer roads in Alaska that they
took the heavy equipment in on. I think he spent at least 15 years
up there and he said that things sure changed. He always thought
he got better workers from hiring through the union, but that
really changed. The last few years they sent him very poor
operators. He was pretty saddened by that, as it went against
everything he believed about belonging to the union. He was
deeply disappointed. He truly belived that UNION meant quality
workers.

Not sure the years you are talking about FH, but I can guess.



If you graphed the worker quality along side entitlement usage in the US, I bet they would correspond quite nicely. quality down, usage up

Sense of entitlement is a contagious desease, it seems

edited to add: unions and entitlements are both for the "collective good" are they not?

good for making everybody the same at an average level, IMO
 

I Luv Herfrds

Well-known member
FH that is the same Union both my Dad and myself belonged to.
He crossed a picket line because he had a wife and 3 kids to support. He had tires slashed. My mom got harrassed for going in to pick up his pay check. Some guy jumped on the hood of her car, luckily none of us kids were with her or those guys who have been hurting bad. Dad would have busted them hard.
He never forgot that.
Only once in the 3 years I was there did I ever once hear about a strike. It was settled before it came to that. I can't remember what it was about.
I know what your dad was saying about bad employees. The last news letter I got concerned that. One member brought up the fact that a person operating a piece of equipment was stoned.
Since I had left I don't know what happened in that case.
The Union I remember helped you find a job when you were out of work.
The medical insurance that was done through the hour bank was the best. I had no complaints.
my dues I paid out of my own pocket were $50 a month.
when some of these Unions care more about politics and how much power they can get the worker gets left by the wayside.
If these teachers wised up thay would realize it.
 
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