Unions war against GOP backfires on them
Image via WikipediaFor years, unions have waged war on the GOP, pouring hundred of millions of dollars each election cycle into defeating Republicans at the polls. It worked well for the unions so long as Democrats controlled most state houses and governors' offices, but with the 2010 election producing huge gains for Republicans, the chickens are coming home to roost.Unions worry that if dues are not automatically deducted from paychecks workers may not pay up. Of course, the government has the same feeling about taxes.
In Wisconsin, new Gov. Scott Walker wants teachers in the state to start contributing to their pensions and pay a larger share of their health-insurance costs to help close a $3.6 billion budget deficit. But he also wants to rein in the power of the unions by limiting their collective-bargaining rights and the state's obligation to collect union dues.
A similar battle is being waged in Ohio, where GOP Gov. John Kasich is facing an $8 billion deficit but also wants to limit public-employee unions' power. In Wisconsin and Indiana, which also has a public-employee bill pending, Democratic lawmakers have fled the state in order to avoid having to vote on legislation that would limit union power. Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators -- teachers as well as Democratic operatives -- have crowded the state capitols in noisy protest.
But the issue goes far beyond these states. Last year, public-employee union members outnumbered those in the private sector for the first time in US history. While union membership has declined to a historic low -- less than 12 percent of workers overall belong to unions -- public employee union membership has been steadily growing. Public employee unions are now the driving force in the labor movement and represent 36 percent of all public employees in the nation.
What is unique and dangerous about public-employee unions is that they, in essence, elect their own bosses. Public employee unions put up big money to elect Democratic mayors, state legislators and governors. They then turn around and demand larger pensions, expensive health care and hefty pay raises from the people they've elected to public office. For decades, it worked -- which is how states like Wisconsin, Ohio, California, New York, New Jersey and others have gotten into such fiscal trouble.
Public employees receive a staggering 45 percent more, on average, in wages and benefits than comparable private-sector workers. Public employees pay less for their health care and receive far more generous pensions, often without making contributions to them. Teachers, who are among the most heavily unionized public employees, also have tenure rights -- which make it difficult, if not impossible, to remove incompetent or under performing teachers.
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These unions have made a classic mistake. They did not hedge their bets on the Democrats and when they lost, they were left naked when the Republicans won the elections. Their corrupt bet with the Democrats has been exposed and the taxpayers realize that the bet was being paid with their money.
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