Mar 15th 2011, 0:35:17
The anti-employee union is crying because they're being put back into their place. Give me a break. The day that unions start being pro-employee again, instead of just pro-union, is the day I'll start taking them seriously again. People seriously need employment and jacking up the cost of employing people can price companies into Mexico, China, India or even just out of business.
Regardless of motives, the Wisconsin Republicans did the right thing and more states will follow. The question that I would pose to Democrats and pro-union forces is, "How badly do you want to lose?" The unions will have to yield significant ground or people will escalate the retaliation against them. People cut breaks to reasonable people and organizations. The Unions aren't being particularly reasonable right now and so their opponents are retaliating more than they otherwise would.
I want to add some more points to my initial post here:
Tennessee has a non-union state employee association (The Tennessee State Employee Association). This association doesn't have the rights of a union, but it advocates on behalf of state employees. They advocate both to state officials and to the citizens of Tennessee. More than just their advocacy is their commitment to serving as partner for Tennessee and to help the state keep well-qualified employees and to keep them happy in safe working conditions. They play a role in determining how terminations are decided and the appeals processes that terminated employees can thereafter utilize.
Through their efforts and because no one can really run roughshod over any other stakeholder, Tennessee is able to have a relatively civil and cordial discussion about its budget. Governor Bill Haslam even included a 1.6% pay raise for state employees at a time when the state is trying to save money and cut costs. Granted, this is after three years in which state employees received no raise, so everyone kind of knew it was coming. That being said, a Republican Governor proposed a pay raise without prompting and without being called to task by the opposition.
The point of this digression is that when the power distribution among stakeholders is balanced appropriately then government can be civil and we can actually have a reasonable discussion. Domineering power is addictive, so I can't blame unions and the left for wanting to keep the power that they have unfortunately gained.
Regardless of motives, the Wisconsin Republicans did the right thing and more states will follow. The question that I would pose to Democrats and pro-union forces is, "How badly do you want to lose?" The unions will have to yield significant ground or people will escalate the retaliation against them. People cut breaks to reasonable people and organizations. The Unions aren't being particularly reasonable right now and so their opponents are retaliating more than they otherwise would.
I want to add some more points to my initial post here:
Tennessee has a non-union state employee association (The Tennessee State Employee Association). This association doesn't have the rights of a union, but it advocates on behalf of state employees. They advocate both to state officials and to the citizens of Tennessee. More than just their advocacy is their commitment to serving as partner for Tennessee and to help the state keep well-qualified employees and to keep them happy in safe working conditions. They play a role in determining how terminations are decided and the appeals processes that terminated employees can thereafter utilize.
Through their efforts and because no one can really run roughshod over any other stakeholder, Tennessee is able to have a relatively civil and cordial discussion about its budget. Governor Bill Haslam even included a 1.6% pay raise for state employees at a time when the state is trying to save money and cut costs. Granted, this is after three years in which state employees received no raise, so everyone kind of knew it was coming. That being said, a Republican Governor proposed a pay raise without prompting and without being called to task by the opposition.
The point of this digression is that when the power distribution among stakeholders is balanced appropriately then government can be civil and we can actually have a reasonable discussion. Domineering power is addictive, so I can't blame unions and the left for wanting to keep the power that they have unfortunately gained.
-Angel1