Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Big difference between public and private unions...

You don't vote for or bribe a private employer like you can a government politician. He has to obey or go find a new cushy piece of welfare. A private employer has to fear a loss of money and stock value. Big shots in business get most of their income from stock options and really pay attention to strike threats.

Few, if any small businesses will tolerate a union because their profit margin is too small to take a strike and everybody who works for a living thinks they're worth a small fortune just to show up for a job anyways.

Which simply means do you think government employees are immune?


O’Reilly Tonight: Unions « John Stossel
Tonight Bill O’Reilly wants me to talk about today's NY Times front page story claiming "Majority in Poll Back Employees in Public Sector Unions."

Most people back the unions? I'm not surprised Americans support collective bargaining “rights.” Unless you have really been paying attention, you don't understand what works in the private sector doesn't work in government, where unions bargain with politicians whom they helped elect. People don't know that federal workers can't bargain collectively, that President Carter outlawed that, and that even FDR said: “Collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service.”

Sheldon Richman of the Freeman suggests I say this to Bill: "In the government sphere 'negotiations' are a conspiracy against the taxpayers. Union dues and union political contributions are laundered taxpayer money. And state workers do not pay taxes. They are tax-eaters not tax producers."

“Tax eaters.” I like that.

And of course, the Times distorts the issue. Even the wording --"Employees in the Public Sector"-- is biased. Why not ask about "government" workers?

And the Times poll asks about “taking away collective bargaining rights.” Rights? Why do they call it a right? I’d call it collective-bargaining “power” or “privilege.” It's not a right. But if you call it that, and then use charged words like “taking away,” people vote for the “right.”

What if they'd asked: "Should government workers be forced to join a union and pay dues to that union as a condition of working for the government?" I bet Americans would oppose that.

Something else that's suspicious: 20% of the poll’s respondents claim to come from union households. But only 11.9% of American workers belong to a union. What’s up with that?


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