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Jan

4

Union Giving

January 4, 2006 |

We really don’t have anything against the idea of union labor. However, we strongly dislike instances where the right to consent among individuals and organizations is revoked by government edict. Unions are a big winner in that department, with laws passed forcing employers to deal with them no matter what, while allowing strong armed tactics to be used on workers who would rather not join (even in the face of right to work (by not joining the union) laws), and then forcing them to pay large dues.

Recently a battle took place on the Federal level that forces unions to disclose their spending activity as it relates to dues from their members. (Visit the Department of Labor Disclosure site here.) Of course, unions fought this tooth and nail. Reports the WSJ:

“Union officials claim that they favored such transparency all along, but the truth is they fought the new rules hard in both Congress and the courts. Originally, the AFL-CIO said detailed disclosures were too expensive, citing compliance costs in excess of $1 billion. The final bill turned out to be $54,000, or half of what the unions spent on litigation fighting the new requirements. When Secretary Chao refused to back down, the unions took her to court, and lost.”

The WSJ piece focuses specifically on the National Education Association (a more innocuous name than what it is in reality: the largest national teachers union). The disclosure shows vast amounts of spending for socialist / collectivist minded organizations, which should come as no surprise given that’s the philosophy behind our unions’ current form. On the flip side, the list also includes other contributions of members’ hard worked wages to issues and organizations that have nothing to do with pro labor causes.

As the WSJ concludes, “It’s well understood that the NEA is an arm of the Democratic National Committee. (Or is it the other way around?) But we wonder if the union’s rank-and-file stand in unity behind this laundry list of left-to-liberal recipients of money that comes out of their pockets.”


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