It’s All About the Dues Money!

I have repeatedly stressed the fact that today’s big labor bosses care little about the rank and file membership and are only interested in the dues money they can collect to line their own pockets and use for political persuasion. This has surfaced more the past several weeks and is worth highlighting as we approach the 2014 Mid-Term Elections.

First, almost a year ago, my company began negotiations with the UAW after they won a secret ballot election at a plant we clean in the south. Kudos to the UAW for honoring the secret ballot election process, after their request for a Neutrality Agreement was politely declined. Negotiations were scheduled and, after brief introductions at the first meeting, the UAW negotiators made the point they had researched my company and did not wish to engage in any animosity during the negotiations. A point to which we concurred.

Immediately following, the local president requested “good wages and benefits” for the members. Knowing the prior company had been organized by the UAW, our attorney presented a copy and asked if the wages and benefits in that agreement were acceptable. Upon receiving confirmation from them that they were, I politely made the observation that our company’s wages and benefits were comparable or better to which they agreed. When asked if they had any other demands the other negotiator requested a recognition paragraph, recognizing the UAW as the exclusive representative of the employees. We agreed to this, as they did win the election.

At that point we presented two requests. The first was that a paragraph be inserted underneath the recognition agreement explaining that the state of Tennessee had a “Right-To-Work” law and that the employees could opt out of paying union dues if they so desired. The negotiator look surprised, squirmed in his seat, and said “What else?” I explained we would not agree to a “Check Off” clause, which requires the company to deduct union dues from the employees’ paychecks and send it to the union. The eyes of the negotiator and the local’s president became as wide as saucers. The negotiator responded, “I have my marching orders that has to be in the contract.” I stated that the company would not accept such a provision as it presented potential liability, and that we were not going to be the union’s accounting firm. The negotiator closed his notebook and they both stood up and said they would schedule another meeting in the future. To date we have not met with them again. Obviously, it is all about the money. Furthermore, despite the length of time since our last meeting, the employees are happy!

A second incident involved the Operating Engineers Union Local 324 in Michigan. Evidently, the RTW law that became effective about one year ago is not setting well with them as they have announced publishing a Quarterly “Freeloaders” List  of those who opt-out of union membership, including the name and place of employment of those persons. Proof once again that big labor has no interest in the rights and welfare of American workers, but only in “union power” and the money that makes it happen — “Dues” from members’ paychecks! Interestingly, the Operating Engineers Union in Northwest Indiana filed suit to have RTW in Indiana found unconstitutional, under the theory that it forces them to represent people who do not pay dues. The case is currently pending with the Indiana Supreme Court.

The third story revolves around “forced unionization” and dues collection from home health care workers in several states across the country, notably including those in the U.S. Supreme court case Harris vs. Quinn currently being reviewed. This case stems from the SEIU attempting to force unionize Home Health Care Workers in the state of Illinois regardless of whether they are interested or not in joining the union.   Apparently, Illinois law allows the SEIU to organize family members and owners of home health care organizations based on the premise that the people providing care receive reimbursement through Medicaid or Medicare. It is apparent that the SEIU is nervous about losing the pending SCOTUS decision as they are now trying to force unionize home health care workers in California, who were merely paying union dues to the SEIU without being formal members of the union (see Are SEIU Union Bosses in a Panic after SCOTUS heard Harris v. Quinn? Looks Like it.). The SEIU obviously only cares about the money as they were absconding it from home health care workers without providing any representation or benefit in exchange.

Next, in a display of Big Whopper Economics, unions now believe the reason employees in fast food restaurants don’t get paid more is because the franchisees don’t have a decision- making voice in pricing of products which determines employee wages and benefits. Big labor’s solution is that the franchisees should rebel against the corporations like McDonalds and organize their own union to deal with corporations for decision-making capabilities. Sounds like another big labor attempt at organizing more people for the sake of money!

Finally, the United Steel Workers want to organize college football players at Northwestern University. Kain Colter, the quarterback at Northwestern University, has been hoodwinked into trying to organize college athletes, saying the NCAA is a dictatorship and the athletes have no control over compensation or safety (see College athletes take step toward forming union). He conveniently forgets that he received a free college education and other benefits worth well over $30,000/year, as well as future support by the college in finding employment. This is obviously another desperate ploy by the Gasping Dinosaurs  to increase membership roles and increase the sacred cow “membership dues” to line their own pockets and use to gain political power.

It would appear that these acts of desperation occurring all at once are mere coincidence, however, the fact that the country is fast approaching the 2014 Mid-Term Elections, with polls showing potential loss of the U.S. Senate by Democrats and Republicans maintaining the U.S. House majority, big labor bosses can foresee ultimate extinction descending rapidly. Why else would they be “The elephant in the political spending room” while accusing people like the Koch Bothers of dominating political contributions, when big labor contributes 15 times what the Koch Brothers do (see Letter: What does the left hate the Koch brothers so much)? Simply put, it is all about future dues money to line their own pockets and continue political power!

UAW Cries Foul at Moment of Reckoning

Friday, February 14, 2014 must have felt more like a “Friday the 13th” to the UAW An aggressive campaign supported by the powerful I.G. Metall German Union, Volkswagen corporate offices in Germany, and reminiscent of the SEIU’s Death by a Thousand Cuts campaign against my company and our employees, was defeated as Volkswagen Workers in Chattanooga Reject Auto Workers Union!

Facing its day of reckoning, the UAW Asks Labor Board to Weigh New Vote at Tennessee VW Plant. The UAW is crying foul, asserting that comments made by a Tennessee Republican Senator,  Caused Workers to Vote Against the UAW. Senator Bob Corker publicly stated that the UAW was in “a death spiral,” and suggested that Volkswagen would move future work to other plants instead of Chattanooga if the union prevailed. Hypocritically, the UAW made no mention of the fact that on the day of the election, its “Defender In Chief,” President Obama, blasted Corker and other local conservatives for “interfering.” The President Stated in an Address that everyone was in favor of the UAW representing Volkswagen except for local politicians who were more concerned about German shareholders than American workers.

One would think if the UAW wanted to challenge the election results, surely it must consider that President Obama’s comments would carry more weight than Senator Corker, and that both comments are Outside the Jurisdiction of the NLRA and Subsequently the NLRB’s Power. Ironically, according to sources close to the election, Senator Corker’s remarks and President Obama’s counter comments came after 1,200 of the approximate 1,300 VW employees had already voted, obviously having no effect on the outcome of the election. However, desperate people do desperate things, and there is little doubt that the UAW is Becoming Desperate. The truth is, this is just another failed attempt in The Long History of the UAW’s Failed Southern Strategy.

That fact that this was another attempt at forced unionization is clear, as the UAW would never have engaged the German union and Volkswagon Germany, or pressured Volkswagen in Chattanooga into signing a Neutrality Agreement unless they were concerned that they did not have enough employee votes to win. Unnamed sources have reported that a large percentage of the election cards from employees coerced by the UAW were actually signed by vendor employees in an attempt to over-inflate employee interest!

Furthermore, this was not the typical Neutrality Agreement often utilized by big labor in the United States, this was the UAW Neutrality Agreement. It does not demand the secret ballot election be bypassed in favor of Card Check, but actually repetitively asserts that a secret ballot election would occur under the supervision of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In fact, it seemed to be over emphasized to distract employees and others from the real intent which was an Ambush Election (see NLRB Flexes Muscles). The agreement was signed around February 2, 2014 under protest from the VW Plant Manager, who intentionally scribbled his name so as to remain anonymous. It required election dates of February 12, 13, and 14, providing management and employees a mere 10 days to evaluate and prepare. This  compared to the normal 42-day period, as stipulated in the National Labor Relations Act.  Simultaneously, the UAW was provided an office in the plant, while 20 UAW organizers roamed the plant in black shirts coercing the workers to join the union with promise of much higher pay rates, similar to “Legacy Wages” offered in UAW organized facilities throughout Michigan.

Volkswagen employees, determined not to be intimidated, hired persuaders to assist them in combatting the UAW tactics. They established their own website, www.no2uaw.com, to counter the coercion and educate fellow employees. This group of employees did a tremendous job of putting videos, t-shirts and fliers together to expose typical UAW propaganda and misinformation, as chronicled in Unprecedented Union Corruption, and it was instrumental in carrying the election for the Volkswagen employees. Exploring this website and watching the videos is well worth one’s time to understand how these brave employees banded together to stave off the UAW’s “Quickie Election”.

Even more concerning, in this UAW Neutrality Agreement, there is language that appears to allow the UAW, with consent from Volkswagen, to circumvent the year cooling off period until organizing and another election can be undertaken. In discussion with people close to the situation, there is concern that this would allow the UAW to use Death by a Thousand Cuts tactics to force Volkswagen into signing a traditional Neutrality Agreement and achieve forced unionization of the employees through Card Check! It is evident that the UAW, facing its moment of reckoning, has no intention of allowing the employees’ desire to remain non-union get in its way of establishing Volkswagen as its Southern Union Foothold in the Right-to-Work State of Tennessee. The UAW Gasping Dinosaurs understand that organizing foreign automakers in the South is its only hope of survival.

SEIU Exposed in Ft. Lauderdale with Help from “The Devil at Our Doorstep”

This past week, Florida Watchdog reporter Marianela Toledo wrote a superb article exposing the propaganda and tactics utilized by the SEIU in conducting a campaign to organize workers at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport (see SEIU moves to organize Fort Lauderdale airport workers). I previously became acquainted with Marianela when I took interest in a prior article of hers, Labor unions have some wild ideas about ‘work’.  I sent Marianela an e-mail praising her fortitude and the quality of her work.  Thereafter, she sent me an email requesting a discussion of my personal experiences. We spoke on the telephone and I explained to her my thoughts on the SEIU’s true motives, and the strategies they used in their organizing tactics to accomplish these motives.

I also sent Marianela a copy of my book, The Devil at Our Doorstep, in hopes that it would provide insight into the SEIU’s efforts and to provide context as to that which she and the residents of Broward County were witnessing. Marianela performed her own investigation into the SEIU’s actions with respect to workers at the Fort Lauderdale Airport based on what she was able to learn about the SEIU. Her investigation exposed the SEIU tactics, and misrepresentation made by its local SEIU business manager. The investigation found that the SEIU had coerced some of the employees into filing claims with the Department of Transportation and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, including claims that employees were made to clean up urine, blood and vomit without proper safety equipment such as gloves or masks and employees were not adequately trained to properly clean potentially hazardous waste.

While Marianela did not receive a response from OSHA or the DOL, the Department of Transportation released a statement that “the [SEIU’s] allegations regarding the insufficiency of training by Complainants are not supported by the evidence, see the DOT’s Response. Further, the DOT found, “The Complaint is misleading and meritless. The Enforcement Office has, therefore, determined that any further investigation into the Complainants’ allegations is unjustified and unnecessary.” Despite the DOT’s findings, the SEIU’s spokesman, Allen, in typical SEIU fashion, said in response to the DOT’s letter that, “We didn’t do anything malicious or misleading with the information that we got.”

To Mr. Allen, I say “Balderdash!”  The SEIU actions were straight out of their playbook.  They did what they always do, and then misrepresent themselves afterward! The scenario played out above is similar to tactics used against my company – as chronicled in The Devil at Our Doorstep – when the SEIU filed a complaint in Cincinnati, Ohio that our employees at a local college were forced to dispose of human body parts in bags every night, despite the fact it was not a medical school and cadavers were not present! OSHA dismissed the SEIU’s complaint in that matter, as well.

Marianela concluded her article with excerpts from our interview combined with stories from my book, which was highlighted in the article. Additionally, she tied the SEIU tactics described in my book to the U.S. Supreme Court case involving Martin Mulhall., Mr. Mulhall, an employee of  Mardi Gras, became so incensed at the Unite Here union’s bullying tactics, that he filed a suit against the union that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court and was supported in an amicus brief by my first book The Devil at My Doorstep, as chronicled in “The Devil at My Doorstep” Introduced to the Supreme Court.

Interestingly enough, no one has mentioned whether the SEIU is demanding these contractors sign a Neutrality Agreement, which eliminates the secret ballot election process and reverts to Card Check. However, one has to surmise that the Death by a Thousand Cuts tactics revealed by Marianela and rejected by the DOT are intended to force the contractors to do just as the SEIU tried to do to my company.

Marianela wrote a great article and we need more journalists like her to throw out their political bent, stand up for American freedoms and expose the true bullies in America. Marianela was very kind and supportive in her review of my book The Devil at Our Doorstep. In fact her comments in a follow-up e-mail were: “Once again, thank you for your time, and the book. I enjoyed reading it, and appreciate your words in the dedication.”

Honestly, I had to go back and reread the dedication, and when I did it brought tears to my eyes. Yes, I am somewhat prejudice because it is my book, but it speaks to what is happening in America today under this Administration, supported by the big labor Gasping Dinosaurs. It is truly time for all Americans to find intestinal fortitude and stand up and punch the bullies in the nose to Restore America’s Prosperity before all is lost!

NLRB Flexes Muscles

After a period of relative quiet, a recent flurry of rulemaking initiatives by the the National Labor Relations Board evidences the Obama Administration’s intent on satisfying its big labor buddies leading up to the crucial 2014 mid-term elections. The following briefs illustrate the President’s desperation to satisfy big labor demands  so that he and the Democratic party can count on their financial and ground game support this November (see Labor Unions: Stagnant Membership Shows Need for Labor Law Modernization).

Ambush Election Rules

The NLRB originally adopted this rule in 2011,  but the D.C. Circuit Court rejected the rule on procedural grounds, finding that the NLRB had improperly issued the rule because they did not have a quorum. Member Brian Hayes was active in office, but did not vote on passage of the rule).  Initially, the NLRB appealed the Circuit Court’s decision.  In December 2013, however, the Board requested that the court dismiss the appeal.   It was generally presumed by those following the NLRB that the reason for doing this was to clear the slate and “start over.” It appears that’s what is being done. On February 6, 2014, the NLRB issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking reissuing their proposed “Ambush Election” rules in substantially the same form as the 2011 proposal.

Among other things, the rulemaking: (i) narrows the scope of pre-election hearings (wont consider campaign irregularities, eligibility to vote, etc.), (ii) shortens the timeframe prior to election, and (iii) gives the Board discretion over whether to hear post-election disputes (whether they would be heard at all).

The underlying goal of this rule is to achieve Card Check  under the guise of an election process. In effect, big labor would indoctrinate employees through misinformation, propaganda and intimidation months ahead of petitioning for an election. Employers, under the new rule, would theoretically then have as little as 10 days to reverse the indoctrination, which based on my experience is almost impossible! This is just another step towards Card Check through Regulation vs. Legislation! Please read Obama’s NLRB deals big labor a winning hand: part 1 and National Labor Relations Board Pauses from Election Rules Amendments.

Revision of Arbitration Rules

The board is considering a proposal of radical NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin to change the way the Board considers the decisions of arbitrators in labor matters under the NLRA. In essence, in a situation in which an employer and a union or employee had agreed to utilize an arbitrator to resolve disputes, the NLRB would be empowered to disregard the arbitrator’s decision if it disagreed with it. This would permit labor unions to have “two bites of the apple” (as used by former NLRB Board Member Ronald Meisburg, to challenge employer action.  Part of the Employee Free Choice Act (see EFCA Through the Backdoor) a.k.a. Card Check this rulemaking would basically tilt the collective bargaining negotiations process heavily in favor of big labor. In reality it is a part of the process to enact Card Check through Regulation vs. Legislation! As the President said he has a pen and a phone and he will act on his own. Obviously, he is also delegating this authority to his appointees like Richard Griffin. Please read NLRB Invites Input On Arbitration Award Deferral Standard.

Micro-Unions

Richard Griffin and his radical pro-union teammates are also intent on establishing “Micro-Unions.” Griffin recently commented that NLRB guidance on micro-unions is forth coming.  The concept of “micro-unions” is an NLRB creation, stemming from its decision in the Specialty Healthcare case. It is nothing more than a ploy to allow unions to establish a foothold in a business with a small segment of employees then turn it into full-scale unionization of all employees within the company (see NLRB General Counsel: Guidance on Micro-Unions is Coming). This particular rule shows just how desperate the administration and big labors Gasping Dinosaurs really are to rebuild dwindling membership.

Basically this all boils down to two things, money and political power. Both the President and the labor bosses need big labor to rebuild its membership so they can enjoy their lavish life styles and maintain political power. It has nothing to do with helping employees or the citizens of this great country the United States of America, the last great hope for the world! America, We are at War! Armageddon is at Hand! Please wake up!!

Reprised – U.S. Supreme Court: An Opportunity to Protect Fundamental Freedoms

The U.S. Supreme Court failed the American people by dismissing a recent case involving the Neutrality Agreement, but has an opportunity to redeem itself and reign in Obama’s lawlessness by agreeing with the U.S. District Court that Obama’s recess appointees to the NLRB were unconstitutional!  The case was heard yesterday (see SCOTUS begins hearing on recess appointments), and initial impressions are that the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the District Court’s decision (see Supreme Court Likely to Rein In President’s Recess Appointments Power. This would be a terrible blow to President Obama’s agenda of paybacks and favors to his big labor buddies!

Please read the details on both cases in the previous blog, listed below.

The U. S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases in the next year which will determine whether persons will be protected in their exercise of the fundamental right to either choose whether to engage in union representation or to abstain from such representation, and to make such decision absent intimidation from either the union or their employer via the secret ballot election — the same process we use to elect our local, state and federal government officials. Interestingly, both cases stem from the President’s attempt to provide political payback to his allies in Big Labor through the Rogue NLRB.

In the first case, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide if the President acted unconstitutionally when he made several recess appointments to the agency charged with oversight of labor-management disputes, the National Labor Relations Board. The lower courts,  U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of , and the U.S. Third Court of Appeals both found the appointments unconstitutional (see Supreme Court to Consider Obama Recess Appointments and Appeals Court Nixed Obama’s Recess Appointments). This case not only has important implications concerning the further shredding of our constitution  by the Obama Administration, but also Obama’s lawlessness in bypassing other branches of our government, and ignoring the tenant of the separation of powers of the branches of government, to further his own socialistic goals by appointing his own radical people without review and agreement by the legislative branch. In the case of the NLRB, his appointees’ seek to reach the Administration’s objective of achieving Card Check through Regulation vs. Legislation! Simply put, the goal is to eliminate employees rights to a secret ballot election and replace it with Card Check as the means for employees to determine if they wish union representation. If you listened to the Administration’s and Big Labor’s rhetoric, what could be more simple and fair? Unfortunately, it is a process of coercion and intimidation as chronicled in The Devil at Our Doorstep. A process aptly named Death by a Thousand Cuts, which forces employers and employees to capitulate and be subjected to the terms of the so called Neutrality Agreement through ruthless Corporate Campaigns! An agreement that is hardly neutral and subjects both the employees and the employer to Big Labor’s Persuasion of Power!

The first case, however, is just the Tip of the Iceberg. The other involves a question of the validity of Big Labor’s sacred cow, the aforementioned Neutrality Agreement (see BNA – Supreme Court Agrees to Review LMRA Case Invovling Section 302, Neutrality Agreement). To appreciate this case and its relevance, one must understand why this agreement is so important to the Big Labor Gasping Dinosaurs. As documented in previous blogs, unions have been on a steady decline since 1947 when Congress, following more than a decade of union corruption, passed the Taft-Hartley Act. Of the many important provisions of the Act, perhaps none was more so than the guarantee of the secret ballot election which, for all intents and purposes, eliminated Card Check!  Since its peak prior to passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, union membership has dropped from approximately 35-40% of the workforce to a low of 11.3% today. Statistics gathered by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, included a drop of approximately 400,000 members in the last year alone. Big Labor, realizing its imminent demise, understands it must reinstate Card Check to survive and is relying on the President and his Rogue NLRB to allow them to exploit a little known and hidden clause in the Taft-Hartley Act that allows unions and employers to mutually agree to representation through Card Check. Unfortunately, it is very rarely an agreement achieved through mutual consent. It is predominantly achieved by Big Labor through outright intimidation of employers and employees. What is interesting about this particular case is that it has been brought by an employee disgusted with the intimidation and the fact he believes his rights to a secret ballot election and protection of privacy have been violated!

One thing certain about these cases is that the justices of the Supreme Court will receive a tremendous amount of pressure from the Administration and its Big Labor buddies to overturn the decisions of the lower courts. The Gasping Dinosaurs, already headed toward extinction, understand all to well that if these decisions are upheld it will be the end of Big Labor as we know it in this country (see If ruling goes Against Labor Union, Organizing Could Get Even Harder). Additionally, the President and his party know all to well they need Big Labor’s financial and ground support to continue to win elections, as well as increase their grip on and expand an already oversized government.

Even more frightening for the future of the United States is what could occur if these decisions are overturned. If they are, this President will feel empowered to continue to appoint radical people to high positions, not just in the NLRB, but all areas of government. He will work to implement regulations that will allow the use of coercion and intimidation by the government and its henchmen to erode our rights, move the country towards socialism and potentially perpetuate the President’s Rule by Fiat! If they can eliminate the secret ballot election for union recognition and trample on the constitution to appoint government officials how long will it be before they expand these programs to every corner of the government? Can you imagine no secret ballot elections to determine our government officials and instead all being appointed by the President?  These are landmark cases that, if overturned, could be the ultimate downfall of this great nation!

Big Labor Feels the Pressure

Now that two cases concerning forced unionism have made it to the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket (see “The Devil at My Doorstep” Introduced to the Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court: An Opportunity to Protect Fundamental Freedoms), it appears big labor’s Gasping Dinosaurs are becoming even more desperate in their attempts to avoid extinction. Events transpiring in the past several weeks make it  apparent that Big Labor is doing everything it can to rapidly add membership in anticipation the Supreme Court will find  the use of the coercive practice of “Corporate Campaigns” to violate the National Labor Relations Act. These “campaigns” consist of the use of intimidating methods designed to coerce employers into signing a Neutrality Agreement, by which they agree to accept “Card Check,”  or the use of signed cards as evidence of their employees desire for union representation in lieu of secret ballot elections. Card Check allows big labor to force unionize a companies employees almost overnight, which is critical to resuscitating falling union membership!

One of the pending cases involves the question of whether the President’s recess appointees to the National Labor Relations Board, all of whom are very pro-union and trying to change governing regulations to enhance big labor Corporate Campaigns, were correctly and constitutionally appointed. The second case questions whether the use of Neutrality Agreements in the context of a corporate campaign, provides an impermissible benefit to labor unions, in violation of Section 302 of the Act. If the U.S. Supreme Court finds against labor’s position, the effect would be to virtually eliminate big labor’s ability to rely on their “bread and butter” — Corporate Campaigns  and the resulting Neutrality Agreement. Loss of this means of forced unionism could very likely result in the extinction in unions as structured today. Apparently the big labor bosses anticipate a negative ruling as they are out in force utilizing Corporate Campaigns to unionize as many employees as possible. The following cases are illustrative.

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, the UAW has been conducting a campaign at the Volkswagen plant.  Thankfully, the VW employees have seen the light and are taking action as seen in VW Workers at TN Plant Allege Misleading UAW Tactics and Chattanooga VW Workers Begin Antiunion Petition. Additionally, there were the recent UAW tactics at an auto plant in Kokomo, Indiana, chronicled in Unprecedented Union Corruption, that apparently cost eleven full time positions in the plant. All due to the fact the UAW would not allow a non-union company to be successful, and the fact it added a additional 25 employees. Apparently it does not bother the UAW that eleven people in the pant lost their jobs, as it has a net increase of 14 dues paying members, which was the ultimate objective!

The UAW really displayed its desperation as it enlisted employees and others to call the NAACP to join its cause to force unionize employees at a Nissan Plant in Canton, Mississippi. The charges, expressed in the article Why the NAACP Joined a Mississippi Union Battle, are eerily similar to the same charges my company faced when confronted by the Interfaith Workers Justice Group and their support of the SEIU. These charges were all found to be untrue and were dismissed. Of course, in the context of a corporate campaign, big labor does not care about the truth or falsity of the charges they bring. They care only that the charges serve the purpose of pressuring the employer, “the ends justify the means.”

The SEIU continues its efforts to rally fast food and other service workers using the government shutdown as a stage for False Protests and disorder, as I discussed in Desperate Dinosaurs Show True Colors on Labor Day. Additionally, the SEIU teamed up with the AFL-CIO to host Camino Americano: March for Immigration Reform. Immigration reform is a number one priority for the SEIU and AFL-CIO since both organize service workers and they envision large Corporate Campaigns to force unionize these new workers. Evidently, the President got the message, because in a speech over the weekend he mentioned that the budget and debt ceiling issues needed to be resolved so they can move on to bigger things like immigration reform and jobs. Finally, from the home of Harry Reid in Las Vegas, Nevada comes news of  “union bosses gone wild.” Apparently, the Culinary Union took offense to one casino that has remained union-free, and are using the typical “Death by a Thousand Cuts” approach against the casino and its guests!

All of these scenarios are supported and approved by our “fearless” Commander-In-Chief, who has no respect for American freedoms, America’s free market system or our Constitution. It is high time that the tricameral division of powers, wisely instituted by our founders, steps to the forefront and puts the President and his big labor henchmen in their place to restore American freedoms! Hopefully, the Supreme Court aided by “The Devil at My Doorstep” will put pressure on big labor and issue a favorable decision to protect all Americans from these bullies!

U.S. Supreme Court: An Opportunity to Protect Fundamental Freedoms

The U. S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases in the next year which will determine whether persons will be protected in their exercise of the fundamental right to either choose whether to engage in union representation or to abstain from such representation, and to make such decision absent intimidation from either the union or their employer via the secret ballot election — the same process we use to elect our local, state and federal government officials. Interestingly, both cases stem from the President’s attempt to provide political payback to his allies in Big Labor through the Rogue NLRB.

In the first case, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide if the President acted unconstitutionally when he made several recess appointments to the agency charged with oversight of labor-management disputes, the National Labor Relations Board. The lower courts,  U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of , and the U.S. Third Court of Appeals both found the appointments unconstitutional (see Supreme Court to Consider Obama Recess Appointments and Appeals Court Nixed Obama’s Recess Appointments). This case not only has important implications concerning the further shredding of our constitution  by the Obama Administration, but also Obama’s lawlessness in bypassing other branches of our government, and ignoring the tenant of the separation of powers of the branches of government, to further his own socialistic goals by appointing his own radical people without review and agreement by the legislative branch. In the case of the NLRB, his appointees’ seek to reach the Administration’s objective of achieving Card Check through Regulation vs. Legislation! Simply put, the goal is to eliminate employees rights to a secret ballot election and replace it with Card Check as the means for employees to determine if they wish union representation. If you listened to the Administration’s and Big Labor’s rhetoric, what could be more simple and fair? Unfortunately, it is a process of coercion and intimidation as chronicled in The Devil at Our Doorstep. A process aptly named Death by a Thousand Cuts, which forces employers and employees to capitulate and be subjected to the terms of the so called Neutrality Agreement through ruthless Corporate Campaigns! An agreement that is hardly neutral and subjects both the employees and the employer to Big Labor’s Persuasion of Power!

The first case, however, is just the Tip of the Iceberg. The other involves a question of the validity of Big Labor’s sacred cow, the aforementioned Neutrality Agreement (see BNA – Supreme Court Agrees to Review LMRA Case Invovling Section 302, Neutrality Agreement). To appreciate this case and its relevance, one must understand why this agreement is so important to the Big Labor Gasping Dinosaurs. As documented in previous blogs, unions have been on a steady decline since 1947 when Congress, following more than a decade of union corruption, passed the Taft-Hartley Act. Of the many important provisions of the Act, perhaps none was more so than the guarantee of the secret ballot election which, for all intents and purposes, eliminated Card Check!  Since its peak prior to passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, union membership has dropped from approximately 35-40% of the workforce to a low of 11.3% today. Statistics gathered by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, included a drop of approximately 400,000 members in the last year alone. Big Labor, realizing its imminent demise, understands it must reinstate Card Check to survive and is relying on the President and his Rogue NLRB to allow them to exploit a little known and hidden clause in the Taft-Hartley Act that allows unions and employers to mutually agree to representation through Card Check. Unfortunately, it is very rarely an agreement achieved through mutual consent. It is predominantly achieved by Big Labor through outright intimidation of employers and employees. What is interesting about this particular case is that it has been brought by an employee disgusted with the intimidation and the fact he believes his rights to a secret ballot election and protection of privacy have been violated!

One thing certain about these cases is that the justices of the Supreme Court will receive a tremendous amount of pressure from the Administration and its Big Labor buddies to overturn the decisions of the lower courts. The Gasping Dinosaurs, already headed toward extinction, understand all to well that if these decisions are upheld it will be the end of Big Labor as we know it in this country (see If ruling goes Against Labor Union, Organizing Could Get Even Harder). Additionally, the President and his party know all to well they need Big Labor’s financial and ground support to continue to win elections, as well as increase their grip on and expand an already oversized government.

Even more frightening for the future of the United States is what could occur if these decisions are overturned. If they are, this President will feel empowered to continue to appoint radical people to high positions, not just in the NLRB, but all areas of government. He will work to implement regulations that will allow the use of coercion and intimidation by the government and its henchmen to erode our rights, move the country towards socialism and potentially perpetuate the President’s Rule by Fiat! If they can eliminate the secret ballot election for union recognition and trample on the constitution to appoint government officials how long will it be before they expand these programs to every corner of the government? Can you imagine no secret ballot elections to determine our government officials and instead all being appointed by the President?  These are landmark cases that, if overturned, could be the ultimate downfall of this great nation!

Putting “Teeth” in Right-To-Work

Having been involved in the passage of Right-To-Work legislation in Indiana and Michigan, I can attest to the tireless efforts of these grassroots movements – by local businesses in Indiana and concerned United Auto Worker employees in Michigan – to achieve the goal of protecting worker freedoms. Statistical data shows that the implementation of a Right-To-Work law is positive, as such states see statistical growth in both population and jobs. Some have suggested that a Right-To-Work law’s importance is in the guarantee of the freedom of choice and the assurance of a lack of intimidation in the organizing process, but it appears this may not be accurate.

A recent article by Diana Furchtgott-Roth of The Manhattan Institute, suggests not.  Ms. Furchtgott-Roth points out that RTW states not only have the highest employment growth over the last 4-5 years, but they also have the highest growth rate for union membership! The statistics she presented were absolutely astonishing, but few people have picked up on the significance and logic behind the union growth in these states. The truly frightening  part is the number of cases recorded, since Card Check is virtually unregulated and therefore untraceable.

“Why Union Growth: According to data from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), in 38% of all union recognitions in 2009, the latest year for which data is available, unions bypassed secret ballot elections and instead used card checks to unionize employees. Specifically, the NLRB reports that unions won 794 single-union representation elections. During that period, the NLRB recorded 485 notices of card check union recognition.”

Unfortunately, Big Labor’s “Gasping Dinosaurs” are a resourceful lot. Their political contributions have bought them the support of President Obama and his Administration, who has, in turn, appointed a Rogue NLRB. The NLRB is currently lead by heavily pro-union favored board members, many of whom were unconstitutionally appointed by the President (see Appeals Court Nixed Obama’s Recess Appointments). The result of this support is that Big Labor bosses see RTW states as a shining new opportunity to rebuild its declining  membership. The Gasping Dinosaurs understand that with the support of the indebted President and pro-labor support from the NLRB, they can achieve membership without an election through Card Check by utilizing their insidious campaigns of “Death by a Thousand Cuts.”

Once they have infiltrated the masses, Big Labor can then use the same type tactics against the newly forced unionized employees to ensure that they don’t exercise their right not to pay dues (or in some cases, belong to the union) under RTW laws. This can be accomplished by making sure that the uneducated are not advised of these rights, or by the specific targeting of persons who choose not to pay dues.  This can be accomplished because, unions are legally allowed to broadcast a list of those individuals who choose not to pay dues (see Worker’s Allege Improper Collection of Union Dues).

This raises concern, as it is unclear how the “dues-paying” union membership will choose to use this list. Membership who view non-payers as “freeloaders,” may be inclined to use unlawful force, threats, and/or intimidation in an attempt to alter a non-member’s decision. Unfortunately, most members ultimately cave, as employees subject to such intimidation have few options.  While this type of activity is unlawful, the sole oversight of these actions belongs with the National Labor Relations Board, a partisan governmental “agency” whose devotion to labor unions is well-documented and unquestioned. The process is timely, difficult to understand, and expensive – as it generally includes the involvement of an attorney to represent ones interest. With little oversight, Big Labor can continue to grow its membership in RTW states through a combination of employee and employer intimidation, with no government regulation to hinder its actions.

Although RTW has been a Godsend for many states, employees and employers, RTW laws need more “teeth” in order to truly protect employees and employers from ruthless forced unionization tactics. The following changes would eliminate the “behind the scenes” intimidation and allow for fair representation in union elections. Additionally, these changes would impose collective bargaining restrictions that would allow members to make decisions free of coercion as to whether they wished to remain part of the bargaining unit.

1. Reinstate Secret Ballot Elections: Uphold the long standing belief in allowing people to vote their conscience through a “Secret Ballot Election” by inserting language that  requires all union representation be achieved by secret ballot conducted under the auspices of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Currently Indiana State Senator Jim Banks has introduced such an Amendment to the Indiana state constitution and Virginia has already passed such a law (see New Employee Privacy and Union Voting Rights Laws in Virginia Go Into Effect July 2013).

• Eliminate Check Off Clauses: Such clauses in collective bargaining agreements require unionized employers and government entities to deduct union dues from members paychecks and forward them to the union. These clauses are utilized by Big Labor through intimidation to force employees to remain part of the bargaining unit in RTW states. Unions should be required to be their own accountants and collect dues directly from the employees without third party involvement. In essence members would then have the ability to decide, just like in the free market, if the services/products they are receiving are worth paying for directly. This is no different than a person paying when satisfied for legal, real estate, investing, or other services/ products. It only makes sense, but is often a non-starter for Big Labor in contract negotiations (see Teachers Silenced by Teachers Union).

• Eliminate Monopoly Representation and Outlaw Neutrality Agreements: In The Devil at Our Doorstep, I presented the following as the first two points in my “Ten-Point Plan to Battle Big Labor.”

a) Replace the current union monopoly representation with a secret ballot election every three years, so unions have to justify their actions to the employees. Unions must obtain written consent from every dues paying member before using money on anything other than collective bargaining activities.

b) Institute a new regulation that outlaws neutrality-type agreements, which allow card check in lieu of secret ballot elections.

• Rewrite State Extortion and Blackmail Laws: James Sherk of The Heritage Foundation accurately proposed that we should modify state extortion and blackmail laws to include unions, which are currently not implicated under labor law. This would prohibit pressure campaigns which are designed to force an employer to surrender, rather than trying to persuade the employees to unionize.

Leveling the Playing Field through these changes and passing a National Right-To-Work Law are necessary steps to improve the economy and continue to create jobs absent the threat of Big Labor intimidation! It is imperative for this great country and the freedom of its citizens that new “teeth” are introduced to support and assure the success of the recently passed Right-To-Work laws.

OSHA Opens New Door For Big Labor

Last week, OSHA joined the ranks of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in furthering the Obama Administration’s push to implement “card check” as pay back for Big Labor’s political contributions and ground game support during the past two Presidential Elections (see past blog, Card Check through Regulation vs. Legislation).

OSHA’s latest published “Interpretation Letter,” permitting non-union employees to utilize union reps as their representatives during an OSHA inspection is absolutely frightening (see ALERT – L&E_OSHA Interpretation Letter Non-Union Employees Representative)! Just as frightening, is that this interpretation has not been widely reported by the mainstream media!

Perhaps the silence is the result of the media’s view that the provisions contained in the “interpretation letter” amount to nothing more than harmless, common sense provisions designed to assist employees who feel exposed to potential unsafe working conditions. On the surface this would seem reasonable. However, this provision has been part of OSHA regulations for years. Never before has it been interpreted to allow non-union employees to utilize a third-party union to act as their representative.

So, why now? Despite the Administration’s best attempts, Big Labor continues to lose hundreds of thousands of members as they have lost all relevance and no longer deliver a product of value.  This action by the Obama Administration through its Chief Safety Regulator opens a huge opportunity for unions to enter non-union facilities under the auspices of government approval, and to begin organizing the employees. The unions have become enabled with recent Rogue NLRB decisions allowing unionization of small groups of employees, or “micro-units” within an employers business.  These actions are nothing but blatant Administration attempts to provide Big Labor the opportunity to get its foot in the door of non-union facilities where they previously had no chance to organize the workforce!

During the SEIU’s Corporate Campaigns against my company (EMS), the SEIU actually utilized this tactic in order to defame and intimidate the company into signing a Neutrality Agreement thus eliminating the secret ballot election and imposing Card Check, as chronicled in The Devil at Our Doorstep. The SEIU was, ultimately, unsuccessful.   However, had these two decisions been in place at the time, the SEIU might very well have been successful in organizing a small unit of employees within EMS’s workforce.  The union would simply have to convince, by any means necessary, a couple of employees to join the union cause. They would then allege “safety violations” to OSHA. would then likely appear for an inspection, generally encompassing not just the complained of activities, but any potential safety concern, no matter how large or small.  This, of course, poses substantial risk, both financially and to the reputation of the targeted company.

The SEIU took these actions against EMS in Cincinnati and Indianapolis. If the SEIU would have been allowed to represent these misguided employees the outcome most likely would have been much different then related in the following excerpt from The Devil at Our Doorstep and the SEIU would have had even more access to our employees as their representative.

“When I believed the war could not become more bizarre, it did. Without warning, SEIU filed an OSHA complaint in Cincinnati against EMS. This government agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, establishes and enforces protective standards designed to prevent work-related injury, illnesses, and death. 

The complaint charged that EMS employees were forced to carry human body parts out in bags at a Cincinnati university, that there were hazardous chemicals and dust in the bio lab, and that people were getting nosebleeds from the poor conditions. Then SEIU sent out handbills and letters alleging that EMS was being investigated for OSHA violations at the university. The word “investigated” had its obvious repercussions, a crafty move by the union. Predictably, when the truth was revealed, it became known that the lab in question was a regular biology lab anyone in college might use. There was no dust found and no hazardous materials of any kind. Animal parts from dissections existed, but no EMS employees touched or disposed of them. Human body parts were nonexistent, a figment of some SEIU organizer’s imagination.

The university’s own investigation confirmed these facts, and its independent report was forwarded to OSHA, who promptly dismissed the charges. Regardless, SEIU had used an inflammatory allegation to file trumped-up charges against EMS to defame our company and the university.”

By taking these actions, the union accomplished their first objective – get in the door and commence the pressure against the targeted company.  The stage is then set for the union to achieve Card Check by simply offering to have the charges withdrawn if the company would simply sign the Neutrality Agreement.  As a practical matter, this would eliminate the secret ballot election. The union would no longer have concern about whether or not they would be voted in by the employees.  Overnight the company would be unionized!

What makes the timing of the OSHA interpretation so questionable is the fact that the President’s recent recess appointees to the NLRB have been found unconstitutional and all of their decisions over the past year have been placed on hold until constitutional appointees can be made and the decisions revisited (see National Labor Relations Board or NBLR – National Big Labor Resuscitation and Tip of the Iceberg). These decisions were extremely pro-labor and designed to allow Big Labor to bypass Corporate Campaigns and achieve Card Check! Obviously, the President had to act swiftly in order to provide his Big Labor buddies with a new avenue to wage ruthless Death by a Thousand Cuts campaigns and utilize their Persuasion of Power to force unionize employees. Once again, it begs the question When Will the Main Stream Media Wake Up?

Big Labor Bosses Fear Employee Incentives

Control.  It is the most pressing priority for the leadership of Big Labor. They need to control the masses, and in order to do that they most control the terms of employment, and they must control the benefits of employment. For this reason, the Big Labor bosses oppose employee incentive raises. They create discord and jealousy,  and thus, the union’s ability to control its membership.  But such incentives also create ambition, initiative, and increased productivity.  While important to the the employer, these traits are potentially damaging to the union. Complacency, mediocrity and sameness benefit the union,  as the results are that it takes more employees to produce the end product, translating into more union members and more union dues, which is the ultimate objective.

As has been documented in previous blogs, unions have been on a steady decline since 1947 when Congress, following more than a decade of union corruption,passed the Taft-Hartley Act. Of the many important provisions of the Act, perhaps none was more so than the guarantee of the secret ballot election which,  for all intents and purposes, eliminated Card Check!  Since its peak, union membership has dropped from approximately 35-40% of the workforce to a low of 11.3% today. Per statistics gathered by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, included amongst this trending decrease is a drop of approximately 400,000 members in the last year alone.

It is no surprise then that the Big Labor bosses are opposed to any initiatives that would, in their minds, result in decreased membership and would eliminate traditional union “selling points.”  Characterization of ambition and incentive has often been that such persons are “being taken advantage of” or “overworked,” and that such companies are “sweat shops.” These traditional arguments, however, do not necessarily reflect the truth of the modern work environment, and the protections of our modern laws.  At one time unions served an important purpose in defending employee rights. However, Big Labor has fallen victim to the money, lifestyle and political power realized from increased union membership, and has lost their way and forgot their responsibility was to serve the membership and not vice-versa! Their greed, inability or resistance to compete in a free market society, and the advent of government agencies such as the NLRB, EEOC, and DOL unions in effect became obsolete.

Facing extinction, Big Labor’s Gasping Dinosaurs have yet to face reality and change its model to one that truly benefits productive employees and its membership in general. Instead they continue to attempt to impose their outdated and ineffective tactics of control, intimidation, coercion, and misinformation in a frantic effort to survive. Instead, they continue to wish to return to the days of Card Check where they force unionize employees then keep them under their thumbs by negotiating oppressive contracts that control employee rights instead of expanding them. They firmly believe this outdated approach is their only means of rebuilding their once vast empire!

Unfortunately for American employees, Big Labor does not realize time has passed them by; and that the United States is a republic not a socialistic country where people are controlled and herded like sheep. Hence Big Labor’s propensity to control and promote sameness at every juncture, and to prevent businesses from doing the right thing by rewarding productive employees through incentive programs, which drives American Exceptionalism  by rewarding those who are the most productive, safe, innovative, and cost-effective team players. This philosophy is illustrated by Big Labor bosses like Andy Stern (see The Drama Queen is at it Again), who were never successful in the free market, because they lacked the exact attributes they strive to suppress. They admittedly only became successful when they became part of an environment where they could use the Persuasion of Power  over employees and employers to achieve their goals. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumpka summed it up succinctly in a speech this past week when the bellicose mouthpiece of the AFL-CIO, confirmed the Big Labor survival doctrine: “forget the workers – focus on politics!” This statement tells you everything you need to know about Big Labor’s agenda and why we need Congress to pass laws to allow employers and government agencies restrained by outdated collective bargaining agreements to incentivize employees and  reverse The Decline of American Exceptionalism!