“The Employee Free Choice Act” IS BACK AGAIN!Scorpions & Beavers on the River of Hard Economic TimesBy Carolyn CormeyWe have all heard the one about the fire approaching the water’s edge and the Scorpion asking the beaver for a ride over to the other side of the river. The Beaver answers, “Why would I want to do that, you would sting me and I would drown!” “That makes no sense at all because I would die too!” said the Scorpion. The Scorpion and the Beaver discuss logic and method AND the Beaver decides to carry the Scorpion to the other side. About half way across the river, the Scorpion stings the Beaver sentencing them both to certain death. With his last breath, the Beaver asks the Scorpion “WHY?” The Scorpion simply answered, because it’s my nature. Well, here we are! Look around, the fire is at the water’s edge. There are a lot of scorpions and few beavers. With high winds and whitecaps on the river, the ride looks dangerous. The “Card Check Bill” is Baaaaaaack! “It is time those big, bad corporations and businesses stopped taking advantage,” unions tell us in their ads. “It is time we all join unions in riding the backs of corporations and business out of the economic fire, over the River of Economic Hard Times and into the “Promise Land” of higher wages, more benefits, retirement and health plans!” All we have to do to get started on this wonderful, mystical, magical journey is to “encourage” our US Congressmen and US Senators to pass HR-1409, the “Employee Free Choice Act,” also known as “The Card-Check Bill.” What a GREAT NAME for a new law! It’s got the words “Free” and “Choice” in the title, EVERYBODY loves these words. What’s not to trust about a title with these great words in them!!!! THE BIG DISCONNECT: In the land of Oz on Planet DC, there seems to be some sort of a disconnect we are supposed to buy into AND not make the connection that for many years unions have been riding the backs of our US Automobile Companies, currently drowning in the River of Hard Economic Times. These unions have been extremely reluctant, slow to make any concessions to wages, raises, and benefit packages OR to enlarge or modify job descriptions. They seem willing to suck the life out of our US Auto Companies in the gamble that our US Senators and US Congressmen will throw more bailout money at them so that unions can have their cake and eat it too! This has heavily contributed to the current condition of our US Automobile industry, causing them to be inefficient and noncompetitive to the foreign-owned automobile manufacturers with factories in our country who pay good wages but are not unionized. Apparently, because this has all worked out so well, our US Senators and US Congressmen now plan to ram through a Bill “The Employee Free Choice Act,” stacking the deck in favor of Unions to bring them forcibly back into the work places of almost every Corporation and Business (large and small)! What air are they breathing on Planet DC? In these days and times, when Corporations and Business need to become more efficient and cost-effective to keep their doors open in order to employ workers - does it make any sense at all that unionizing work places will help this? Will union limitations and restrictions on the job descriptions of what individual workers can and cannot do (pick up a broom but not change a light bulb) AND wishful thinking (but unrealistic) demands for benefit packages companies cannot currently afford, help corporations and businesses survive OR shut their doors? What in the world are our Legislators thinking about? Until this Card-Check Bill passes, employees have the right to a secret ballot in bringing in or kicking out Unions. When this right was given to them by Congress, almost immediately employees voted Unions out of most workplaces AND the Union Leaders lost the power and influence they have continuously tried to regain. Unions liked it better when employees did not have the right to a secret ballot. A union rep would take a card to the workplace or home of an employee. On the card would be some choices, including choices to invite, keep or kick out union control in their work place. The employee would check off his or her choices on the card, under the watchful eye of the union rep who would hand carry the card back AND the card was considered the “vote” of the employee. THIS BECAME INTIMIDATION! Those of us who are old enough remember these times of union corruption (Jimmy Hoffa). The “Employee Free Choice Act” takes away the secret ballot and returns “Card-Check” no matter WHAT the Union Ads say to the contrary. One disgruntled co-worker in your workplace, who wants to cause trouble – can make a call to the labor board, making the unsubstantiated claim that he or she “feels” that most of the workers your workplace would be interested in being unionized AND this starts a terrifying, intimidating process that is totally stacked in the favor of unions! Unions and the “Promise Land” Unions can point to their major success - which is the unionization of government workers in the Post Office, the Social Security Offices, the Medicare Offices, the Passport Offices, other government service offices! Most of us have experienced the high level of these unionized workers who are highly motivated to provide efficient, effective service to us when we are standing in the long lines at under-manned windows, watching groups of employees talking together in the background while we stand and wait. Apparently, these are workers whose union job descriptions do not include working the closed windows to move lines faster! Hey, Unionization is working out GREAT for government workers! Great pay with built-in raises, great health plan, great retirement benefits AND with their unions, they will not drown as they cross over the River of Hard Economic Times. Government has a huge Life Saver that can be continuously filled with more tax dollars, increased service fees AND government can always just print more and more money to inflate it! Ready, Aim, FIRE! Do our US Congressmen and US Senators REMEMBER THAT CORPORATIONS AND BUSINESSES MUST SURVIVE to pay taxes AND employ workers who will be able to pay taxes so that Congressmen, Senators and unionized government workers can all be paid and get their benefits AND the money we have borrowed, printed (and printed) can be made good AND so that our government remains in place????? On June 26th, 2007 “The Employee Free Choice Act of 2007,” failed on a straight party-line vote (Democrats for and Republicans against) because at that time, Democrats did not have enough votes to pass it. They do now and to show their determination, 222 Democrat Congressmen have put their names on the “Employee Free Choice Act of 2009.” (In 2008, Senator Bill Nelson voted to pass this Card-Check Bill and Senator Mel Martinez voted against it.) On Planet DC, the “Card-Check” is simply a political issue, paying back union leaders who delivered for them in working election issues. To those of us living in the real world of the United States of America, this bill is not a Republican or Democrat issue, it is a survival issue because if corporations and businesses shut their doors, there are no jobs!. Call your Senators and Congressman to ask them about this and ask them to explain why it is a good thing to take away the right to a secret ballot from employees. FAX and call your Congressmen and Senators TODAY! This Bill is currently being considered www.contactingthecongress.org
|