The Fruits of Labor's Split - v.1
By Pat Cleary Posted in User Blogs — Comments (13) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
It's been almost a month since the strains of "Solidarity Forever" (or was it, "Breaking Up is Hard to Do"?) faded from the Chicago air as the last delegates from the newly-split AFL-CIO left town. At the time everyone wondered, "What does it all mean?" For us in the business community we said at the time it didn't mean much, and we're sticking to our guns on that one. However, for labor, what it all means is starting to take shape, and it ain't pretty.
In the midst of this whole imbroglio, we posted a thing called, "The Tyranny of Article XX". Article XX is the section of the AFL-CIO Constitution that basically bars one union from raiding (or stealing) the members of another union. One of the things Sweeney had going for him was the fealty of weaker unions, who enjoyed the protection of Article XX against those like the SEIU who would dare to organize. Indeed, it proved an effective shield for him, enabling him to hang on, if barely -- and weakly. Well, the first effects of the post-Article XX world are starting to be felt.
In California, there is a huge local of home health care workers, some 60,000 in all, many of whom are currently represented by AFSCME, one of the unions that stayed with Sweeney. This has been described by one insider as a "crummy" local that AFSCME should have addressed long ago. However, they let it drift and for their sins they have won what is for all intents and purposes a raid from the SEIU. California is an SEIU stronghold and they have filed a bunch of decertification petitions against this AFSCME-represented unit. AFSCME is spending sizable sums to fend off this raid and -- until a month ago -- was claiming sanctuary under Article XX and pleading its case before the AFL-CIO bureaucracy. However, once the SEIU and the rest of the Change to Win folks split, all hell broke loose.
Of course, the wrinkle in all this was that the SEIU and the Change to Win'ers are supposed to be focusing their efforts on organizing the un-organized, not on organizing those who are already organized by another union.
If this is a preview of what's to come, things could get very ugly very quickly. Both the SEIU and AFSCME are behemoths in terms of resources and budgets. If they decide to slug it out over this huge California local, it will drain them both of valuable resources which at least the SEIU promised to spend elsewhere. Insiders expect that AFSCME President Gerry McEntee won't take this sitting down, but will strike back with equal force, further draining labor's coffers on an internecine war.
Ah, how proud John Sweeney must be over what his stubborn intransigence has wrought. We're left to wonder: can the locusts, frogs and boils be far behind...?<
I'm here in California. I work for county government, which is civil service. But we are also forced to belong to SEIU, or at least pay their "administration" fee, which for me is $1100 a year. This November, we have a proposal on the ballot to require all public unions to get written permission from any union member before spending any of our dues money on politics. The state unions are in a panic because they know it will likely pass. They are doing everything they can to demonize Schwarzenegger right now, so that when he throws his weight behind this it won't matter. But when this thing passes, it will kill union money in this state. At least half of us will not sign the consent. And I will be waiting to see just how much my dues go down. Have fun watching. It's going to be quite a fight.
Keep us up to date on that referendum (and the other ones).
It seems like the perfect CA wedge ballot. It is very reformist, anti-special interest, and helps Republicans if it passes. Well done to the groups who got it on the ballot. It may save Schwarzeneggers job and push CA back within reach for statewide offices. Cutting out union money and making the seats more competitive would be a boon for Republicans in CA.
Chop that off and the Democrat truly ceases to exist .. Ever wonder why the Democrats are so pro-Union .. It isnt because they are pro worker, its because the unions spend millions of dollars to get democrat candidates elected.. As of 2003, 97% of Union money spent on politics was on Democrat candidates or Democrat issues ..
John Sweeney is a self admitted SOCIALIST, John Sweeney belongs to the DSA, the Democrat Socialist Alliance. John Sweeney cares more about political causes and moving the country to socialism then he does to making working conditions better for american workers.
The Country needs to move toward a volunteer union system instead of forced fees system.
Did you know that the Unions have "veto" power over the Democrat agenda.. Did you know that the union paid political directors and operatives are loaned to campaigns at the federal, state and local levels to make sure the UNION AGENDA gets pushed ?
This proposition was once brought up before and the union spent $500,000 to defeat and I fear they will do it again.. If the power of the union goes back to the people, the Democrat party is FINISHED.
Michael
www.GOPUSA.com
that's all. If they do that this time, they're DOA. This is going to be a multi-million dollar battle. And if (or when) Schwarzenegger lends his "above partisan" political backing to the good government measure, it will garner even more than the 60+% support it is starting with.
I had an article a while ago on the reform proposals, leadership and California politics. Republicans are on a small wave right now and it could make the state competitive again if they get these popular, pro-reform initiatives on the ballots and passed.
is that most people just aren't that big into unions now. It seems for the most part that the usefulness of unions have run their course-ie they had a lot to do with improving working conditions back when working conditions sucked, but at this point unions seem to be more about legalized extortion than anything else.
Remember, this is a special election in California. There are 5 or 6 things on the ballot. A few of them are: the "paycheck protection" one regarding the union dues. There's one that will require parental notification before minors get abortions. One will require new teachers to work 5 years for tenure instead of the current two years. Another will allow the governor to cut spending at will during the year if we are short on money, as well as a spending cap similar to Colorado's. And then another will call to redraw boundaries for legislative districts. All of these were put on the ballot by signatures. The legislature would not touch any of them. The result, in my opinion, is going to be a massive turnout of Republicans and other conservative voters to pass them all. The Dems are going crazy because they can read the polls and these things are ahead. They are trying desperately to get Arnold to call off the election, which he will not do. Democratic-leaning voters usually have very poor turnout in special elections, especially poor and less educated voters. Heh.
how a referendem-electorate as conservative as California's can co-exist with its liberal elected-official electorate?
The registration difference in CA is declining as I noted in an earlier article.
I just noticed this graphic showing where growth in the country has happened from 2000-2003. In CA, it is all in the inland (Republican) areas while the coastal (Democratic) areas are either stagnating or shrinking (like San Francisco proper).
Those two dynamics along with a popular socially moderate Republican GOV could bring California back into swing mode. We need to keep up Hispanic support and stick with good government issues for a bit, especially the redistricting and the paycheck protection type of referendums. A real TABOR like CA for would a great project that could reinvigorate the conservative movement in CA that hasn't had a major success since the property taxes were capped. Throw in a major school choice effort and we should be able to win over enough independents to be a viable second party in the state.
That's my rosy view.
It's not just the Unions. All of the Democratic Party constituencies are fracturing. In fact, the Democratic Party itself is dividing like an amoeba into radical and moderate factions. The moderate DLC was Clinton's child and vehicle to the presidency, but the sinister radicals have the DNC (Dean), the money (Soros), the entertainment media (Streisand, Michael Moron), and the leftist blogs (Daily Kurse).
Old Media is losing readers and revenue. Periodically, Old Media gets a wake-up call (such as the January Iraqi elections, when far left domestic and international newspapers actually wrote editorials asking if George Bush was right all along, before they all went back to sleep again). But how long will the NYT persist in its anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-Kansas editorial policies in the face of declining profits and prestige?
After the Ward Churchill and Larry Summers fiascos, academia is keeping a low profile, but Conservative Groups are growing on many campuses.
The Republican vote increased in every ethic grouping in the 2004 elections.
And the fortunes of the Democrats continue to decline, fueled by Elite arrogance, Liberal illogic, and hatred for America and its values.
It may be time to consider what a post-Democratic world will look like.
I'm in the UAW, full time, making decent money and my full monthly dues are 35. 100 for just administrative is insane!
Labor unions are rapidly becoming yet another new species in the ever-growing collection of political dinosaurs on the left. Like the democrats, unions are stuck in an earlier world view. The union's myopic support of left-wing candidates and mugging of it's members to support these candidates has brought it to the verge of civil war.
Just like the Democratic leadership's uncontrollable urges to act and talk like it's still 1968, union leadership is still acting like it's 1935, where socialism, extremism, and thuggery were the order of the day. More enlightened union members are trying to lead the flock out of the wilderness, but the old-guard apparently would rather destroy the labor movement than face the economic realities of the 21st century.
There is a place for unions in today's world, but to have to accept that times have changed and they need to adapt or become extinct.
Civil War within the unions is just a fun spectacle. Wonder who will be the first to break out the cement shoes.