I received a letter yesterday from Seantor Jim Risch addressing upcoming legislation that will give big labor even more political power over our lives. It brought back some troubling memories for me as to what we experienced in Washington State after the 2004 governors election. Dino Rossi the Republican candidate, won the first and second recount count.
Gregoir, the Democrat candidate, was required to pay for the third recount if one was requested. She had no problem raising additional funds from the state’s largest public-employee union, from a tribal-gambling group, and from the state’s main teachers union. Major national political groups were more than generous with their contributions. Surprisingly, on the 3rd recount votes for Gregoir were “found” , ones that had never been counted and those were added, giving the Democrat the win with a few hundred votes. Note, ACORN was a big help to Gregoir’s recount and there was a lot of speculation at the time that she not the legitimate winner.
When Gregoire (D) won, so did her union donors! Within 2 years after be appointed Governor, Gregoire agreed to raises for all state workers. Thousands of workers got double-digit pay increases, including some exceeding 25 percent. Have you ever received a 25% pay raise? Not only did she pay back those who contributed millions of dollars ( which was more than the millions she received during her campaign), but it also got her re-elected for a 2nd term.
“There’s a quo for every quid with this administration,” said Tom McCabe, head of the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) and one of Gregoire’s biggest critics. “The tribes were paid off handsomely, as were the unions.”
This is old news but we need to learn from history. Currently the Obama administration power grows in part due to Unions, and it appears that he is getting ready to start giving them their payback. Please read the letter below and recognize this is just one more area that needs attention to try and slow down the liberal take over of our government. I am aware that this is a fund-raising letter however I’m reprinting because I felt there was valuable and important information we should all be aware of when it comes to union takeover.
Reprint with permission from National Right to Work Foundation.
Letter from Seantor Jim Risch, August 7, 2009
Big Labor exploited its forced-dues power to place a union partisan in the White House and sweep its handpicked candidates to victory at almost every level.
The union bosses are in the strongest position in a generation, and now they’re demanding payback. Quite frankly, it’s gotten real ugly real quick. That’s why I’m writing you this urgent letter.
In a matter of weeks, Big Labor will try to ram through legislation that will tighten the union bosses’ noose around America’s economy and workforce, including the Card Check Instant Organizing bill, the Pushbutton Strike bill, and the Police and Firefighter Forced Unionism bill.
These forced unionism power grabs will amount to a new Wagner Act, which plunged America into a deeper Depression in the mid- 1930s. President Barack Obama will almost certainly sign these draconian laws in a heartbeat if they get to his desk. He has made no bones about it, saying: “I owe those unions.”
Union bosses are hastily drafting plans to help Obama pack the federal judiciary with Big Labor cronies, along with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Labor Department, and many other federal agencies.
Make no mistake — Americans face a major union push for higher taxes, more government spending on wasteful projects, more economy-wrecking regulations on entrepreneurs, and — most of all — more forced unionism.
The fact is that compulsory unionism harms all Americans, not just the millions of employees forced to support unwanted unions or be fired from their jobs.
Union officials have extraordinary coercive privileges, under a system of federal and many state laws, to force employees to accept unwanted “representation” and pay union dues.
Big Labor now brings in an estimated $20 Billion in annual revenue, a large chunk from dues money that workers are forced to pay to keep their jobs.
It is forced unionism that sustains the power of union officials like the ALF-CIO’s John Sweeney to push a radical political agenda. Union officials know this and devote vast amounts of their resources to maintaining that power.
Patriotic Americans like you must take action right now to counter Big Labor’s new found power. But time is short.
In the wake of Big Labor’s sweep, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is the only nationwide legal organization focused on reining in Big Labor’s government-granted forced unionism power — the engine that drives the far left political machine.
That’s why I’m writing to you today.
The National Right to Work Foundation is one of my favorite groups because it is so effective. Its attorneys have gone toe to toe with union lawyers at the US Supreme Court 14 times, to say nothing of literally thousands of other cases.
They seek out cases that have the potential to establish new precedents increasing individual workers’ rights and curbing union abuse.
The reason they can fight and wine these battles is because the Foundation enjoys a broad base of support from thousands of Americans like you who understand the importance of what the Foundation has achieved in the courts.
Their Supreme Court litigation program has dramatically expanded the rights of workers forced to pay union dues or who face other abuses of compulsory unionism .. High Court victories like Hudson, Abood, Ellis, Lehnert, Beckm, Miller and Davenport are just the beginning.
And they’re the only nationwide legal organization protecting 22 state Right to Work laws across America — crucial laws that ensure no one is forced to join or pay dues to a union boss just to get or keep a job.
Right to Work laws are despised by Big Labor because they end their ability to seize compulsory union dues to play politics. That’s why Foundation attorneys must be ready with lawsuits to stop all assaults by Governors and other politicians seeking to undermine them by Executive Orders and legal loopholes.
The fact is that, in the dangerous days that lie just ahead, the National Right to Work Foundation’s legal program will be the last line of defense against union officials and the sweeping new powers for which they lust.
Please take a moment right now to rush your most generous, tax-deductible contribution to the Foundation today so that it can respond immediately to Big Labor’s imminent power grabs. Donations are accepted through our www.nrtw.org website. Information of
the various ways to contribute, including how to donate online, to the Foundation is available at http://www.nrtw.org/en/support.
There is no time to delay.
All across America in the months ahead, employee free choice will be under assault by ever more dangerous union boss power grabs that could strike a devastating blow to our economy and our freedoms.
With your help, the Foundation must gird for battle right now and be ready to:
Prosecute union activists who illegally seize and spend forced-dues money to lobby Congress and state legislatures for bigger government, higher taxes, or more forced unionism privileges.
Protect popular state Right to Work Laws that make union affiliation voluntary in 22 states. Union bosses are mounting end runs around these laws, and now they may try to wipe them completely off the map by repealing Section 14 (b) of the Taft-Hartley Act.
Expose Big Labor’s misdeeds. Every time Foundation attorneys file charges against union bosses for breaking the law, misappropriating union dues, or instigating violence against independent workers, the Foundation hammers the union bosses in the press for their ugly abuses.
It is absolutely crucial to our country’s future that the Foundation steps up its legal counterattack, especially its precedent-setting legal program that shapes the law through the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
Even though the union bosses will begin immediately placing their cronies on the federal bench, they will not be able to dramatically change the character of the court system or the U.S. Supreme Court for some time.
That’s why the Foundation’s legal program is so important — particularly now. It’s vital to make a full court press right now to get cases before the High Court before it’s packed with President Obama’s union stooges.
The Foundation must be ready for anything, and it needs to get its quick response team working right away. With your help, Foundation attorneys will be able to take aggressive action immediately against Big Labor’s forced unionism power grabs.
The union bosses hope people like you will do nothing, so Big Labor can radically reshape America.
They are DEAD WRONG.
Sincerely, James Risch (R-ID) United States Senator
P.S. Big Labor’s nationwide sweep puts the union bosses in the strongest position in a generation. Now they’re demanding payback from the White House and Congress they elected.
P.P.S. A generous Foundation supporter has agreed to match your gift dollar for dollar! That means your contribution will be doubled.
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Thanks much for this awesome entry.