View of Unions ‘Plummeted’ Since 07
by Bret JacobsonAccording to Pew, “Favorable views of labor unions have plummeted since 2007, amid growing public skepticism about unions’ purpose and power.”
(click here for more polls on union officials)
One hates to surmise, but it seems probable such a shift comes from such little things as crippling the Big 3, pushing card check on working Americans, cutting disgusting deals to exempt their members from a new tax on healthcare plans, pimping ACORN, and just being all-around-un-swell guys.
One also hates to draw a correlation/causation line, but didn’t something interesting happen in 2008 that would have raised the profile of union bosses to a point where more people would see their antics? Yes, there was something in 08 …
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
96 Comments
Unions need to be limited by law to cover only workers in the general work place facilities. No more of this national organization of unions like SEIU and the Teamsters. When they are allowed to get this big they are no longer about the working person. They are about dictatorship and are a threat to national security.
When you can have SEIU thugs bussed in to take part in a townhall meeting in Florida only to block out true constituents and intimidate them when they speak up is an outrage.
BTW…Congressmen Kathy Castor, BiH YB!!!
"Yes, there was something in 08"
Something big happened in '08. Barrack Hussein Obama was elected, and the UNIONS have been in decline. Everything is relevant. His rise to power has been the kiss of death, to the UNIONS, to politicians in NJ, MA and VA. It was even the kiss of death for the Olympics in Copenhagen, and again for the Copenhagen Global Warming "Hoax". Anything that touches the sleeve of the Emperors garment turns bad.
Just watch the Health Care Theatre tomorrow…………
and the most amazing stat is this:
The largest growth in union membership is NOT the AFL-CIO, or the Teamsters- but the GOVERNMENT unions.
Like SEIU.
Maybe that's why the average salary of a government apparatchik is $70,000, while the average for a working stiff is STILL $40,000- as it was five years ago.
Nothing like unionizing government appointed patronage jobs…
Unions that control our public sector jobs and manufacturing industries must be broken up in order for the US to survive. America is waking up to the truth. I hope it's not to late.
Unions have seen their day and glory. Now the only help they offer is money in the pockets of the Union Bosses. Now that abuses in the work place are nonexistent, their purpose has run its course. Now they have come to a place where they are running the industries they support into the ground, i.e. automakers, etc. With their excessive retirement plans, wages, and medical plans they have worked themselves right out of the competitive market place.
The American people are also clearly seeing the corruption of the Unions with the special relationship they have with this current President….Andy Stern's comes to mind, the most popular visitor to the White House. I know this administration thinks were are a bunch of idiots, but they have another thing coming this fall. For many of those who followed the Pied Piper in 2008, they have awoken from the spell and see the nightmare we are staring down of the excesses we will have to account for.
I can see the place for Unions in industries where there is a strict danger to their employees to help ensure the safety of the workforce. However, there is NO REASON for public employees to need union representation. I may be convinced with exceptions for police and firefighters since they are in harms way everyday but the bottom line is that the usual bureaucrat does not need to make sure their employer is harming their health, other than a little stress once in a while.
February 24, 2010
To the Editor:
Submarines have always fascinated me. Their role in the last century cannot be overstated. From the simple man powered submarines of the civil war to the USS Nautilus’s journey under the North Pole to the modern submarines that form a critical part of the US nuclear deterrent. As over engineered as these ships are, when a torpedo hits, decisions have to be made to save the ship. Sometimes those decisions have to be made under extreme stress, and the result of the orders leads to the death of fellow crew mates. As one space fills with water, pulling the ship inexorably to the bottom, a sailor in the dry space must close the hatch to save the ship.
The United States is analogous to a submarine wounded by enemy action. Instead of an enemy firing a torpedo, we, via all of our poor political leadership have fired one upon ourselves. The political classes collective record, how ever well intentioned, has lead us here, through massive spending, borrowing, and making promises to citizens that cannot be met. Character at a point of pressure is the most important asset a leader, officer, or soldier possesses. Why? Because sometimes it is necessary to close the hatch to save the ship. The question to my mind is which party possesses the capacity to do that now.
While the collusion of both parties are to blame for our sinking ship. It is the Republican party that is desperately trying to close the hatch and save the ship. The Republican party is standing against three pieces of legislation that will forever resign this nation to a continual decline and eventual ruin. The first is commonly understood to be “health care,” this legislation will forever alter a citizens relationship to their government. If it passes medical attention will become a right that must be met by force of law. As the saying goes, if you want to make something expensive, make it free. The failure of this solution to meeting the medical needs of people is deeply felt by those who lost loved ones because the English or the Canadian governments denied vital care. Liberal Democrats have another scheme to launch on the American people this one is called “Cap and Trade” – essentially this nightmare would allow the federal government to tax a citizen when they drive, breath or turn on the light switch. Kirsten Gillibrand has personally advocated for it in the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, I assume Senator Gillibrand expects that by creating the next Wall Street scam will lead to voluminous campaign contributions on the back of the American taxpayer. Finally, there is “Card Check,” this gem would eliminate the secret ballot from the process by which a business goes from being a non-union to a union shop. Thus, the Union leadership would be in a position to put massive pressure on those who voted “no.” Republicans have stood, and are standing against all of this – in fact on the “Cap and Trade” front Republicans have earned bipartisan opposition to it.
All the while the water is rushing into our ship and the choice must be made in nine months; will the citizens of this great nation choose to stand with the leadership of the liberal democratic party, that is trying to keep the hatch open, so we all go down, or will the American people choose to stand with the Republican party, that is trying to close the hatch? I have confidence that the American people are ready to not only support the Republican party, but help close the hatch and save the ship. America is ready to sacrifice all but our liberty and our economic freedom – this has, and will always be true, and has happened in the past, it is “We The People” leading the charge. Right now the only organized political party that has the capacity to close the hatch is the Republican party.
Faithfully Yours,
They still scare the crap out of me. Look at what is happening in Greece. They burrow in like a tick, and the public unions, who have nothing to fear from any quarter, go on strike and shut everything down to stop any common sense reform. This year more than 50% of union membership in US is in public sector. Don't count these folks out – they can still do massive, lasting damage.
Unions have been in decline for a long time. After the election of '08, as well as our ongoing financial difficulties, they are much more difficult to ignore. A trend that is likely to get even worse as time passes and problems multiply …
Andy Stern's the most popular guest at the White House….hmmmm, who would have guessed that SEIU was the largest growing union?
I could do the math on that one!
Under NO circumstances should unions be allowed in the government sector! They should be outlawed in the private sector as well!! Their time has come and gone!!!
I'll bring my popcorn…f
If you want to see what the future holds for America's unions, take a look at Greece on TV today.
When all those entitlements go dry, there are going to by some very unhappy union members…
It is simply amazing though very predictable, that this chart almost exactly correlates to Oblamer's job approval chart. Hmmmm, could there be a link???
"where there is a strict danger to their employees to help ensure the safety"
that's what we're paying OSHA for. no need to give taxpayers, consumers, businesses and their employees a redundant screwing.
Very long, but very right on. Crash Dive!!
Yeah, but it'll all be ok when stern is named to obama's deficit panel. I'm sure he'll use that persuasion of power for the good of the country.
interesting, and reasonably accurate, analogy.
so, you think Stern will help Barry with a deficit? Not shrinking it, one supposes…
Did you just post a survey from an anti-union advocacy group?
I still remember when Reagan decided to fire the air traffic controllers. One day we'll have leadership that has the backbone to break up the public union power bloc.
Let's see – one of the oldest civilizations….suddenly there is a problem after implementing the Globalist nightmare of the European Union. Let's blame the unions….what?
Do you have a problem with any group organizing, or just those who work for a living?
When have we ever seen barry do anything that was meant to enrich the country or shrink the deficit? No matter what he does it's always meant to achieve the opposite.
Take a look at the compensation recieved by union leaders. Is it in line with the wages of their members? Do the leaders have the same personal concerns as those of their renk and file? Oh, I forgot, they do not have to disclose that kind of information anymore!
Jimmy Hoffa at his worst would look like sister Theresa by comparison to Stern and the other scum.
U.A.W. = U Ain't Workin'
Just people who use their union membership as a trump card for outrageous wages they don't deserve.
It will all be okay for Stern's in his pocket, and O's…the rest of us will be scrapping out a very meager existence…..as they shove this economy right into the ground….
I think pole dancers should have stiffer representation.
U Always Whine……….
U Almost Won……..
The private sector is where is at….I am tired of paying the wages of government employees above what the prevailing wages are in the private sector.
Due to the lefty's (your ilk) of this world we are heading for an economic collapse that will make the great depression look like a pimple….so have fun with that!
What Obama does isn't meant to do the opposite,
It's exactly what he has planned. DESTROY AMERICA!!!
Lets all pray
Once the union stranglehold on wage negotiation is finally broken, labor costs in this country can come back to realistic levels. There is no way that the government SEIU janitor or a UAW forklift driver should be making more than my husband whose mere word could intiate a multi-national product recall in his company. That doesn't mean I endorse paying the janitor or the forklift driver dirt. I think if labor prices depressed to more realistic levels along with some other, sensible things like some targetted deregulation and tax reform, that you'd see the jobs come back to this country. I have to believe that companies would prefer to work with the American workforce than those of other, poorly developed countries, but it just isn't economically feasible.
[...] » View of Unions ‘Plummeted’ Since 07 – Big Government “According to Pew, “Favorable views of labor unions have plummeted since 2007, amid growing public skepticism about unions’ purpose and power.” One hates to surmise, but it seems probable such a shift comes from such little things as crippling the Big 3, pushing card check on working Americans, cutting disgusting deals to exempt their members from a new tax on healthcare plans, pimping ACORN, and just being all-around-un-swell guys.” [...]
However, there is NO REASON for public employees to need union representation.
$ure, there are million$ of rea$on$ for public employee$ to join an extortion racket….er I mean Union.
U.A.W. = Unemployed Auto Workers
Do the Golman Sachs execs "deserve" multi-million dollar bonuses?
Millions to elect and shortages in the pension funds? Private jets, custom made suits, expensive cigars. and baronial living styles? Why do people fall for this crap?
I personaly don,t place public sector emplyees in the category of 'those who work for a living'.
There are sufficient workplace protection laws in this country that cover everything from environmental safety, to child labor, to a 40-hour work week. Unions date from a time before these things were in place. Now they only serve as a basis for extorting employers, eliminating competitive wages, and holding the public hostage. They protect the mediocre and penalize the efficient. The time for unions is over; we need leadership like Reagan that will step up to break the backs of these corrupt, profiteering thugs.
I am tired of paying the wages of government employees above what the prevailing wages are in the private sector.
You don't – why do you refuse to listen to facts?
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/blackwa...
Blackwater Merc[enaries] Make More than Petraeus
Unions are currently the biggest impediment to progress (second only to the Obamunists who control Congress and the Administration).
HCN3-Thats a subject that's puzzled me for years. We are in 100% agreement.
The only difference is that the Greeks won't be blaming Bush for all their troubles for the next several decades, unlike the Obamunists.
You can tell when the Obamunists pray.
Five times a day they shout:
and then they kneel towards Washington, D.C..
He also called the undefeated Univ of Kentucky basketball team to wish them luck on reaching Number 1 in the polls… a few hours before they lost their first game
Here's a union nightmare story for you. In the final days of his term as mayor, our now US Senator Mark Begich signed union contracts with the IBEW that any non-union electrical contractor doing work for the Municipality of Anchorage will be required to pay into the IBEW pension plan for the duration of their contract. The city assembly approved this contract because, you guessed it, 6 of our assembly members recieve IBEW pensions! Legalized extortion, unreal!
With favors like this, I'm not so worried about private corporations making campaign donations to candidates.
I admit I am uneducated about the history of Unions, but it seems to me they we created to ensure that the working class was treated fairly when compared to workers in similar non-union companies and industries. I believe that they have outlived their purpose as now, they do not fight for equality, but for superiority. By strong-arming people and buying off our politicians, they get laws passed that penalize non-union companies, instead of providing a level playing field. And the Union workers suffer too, as the dues that should go towards their benefits, instead line the pockets of union officers and politicians.
I remember a few decades ago the unions had this big "look for the union label" media campaign. The campaign promoted union companies. If I remember correctly the campaign failed, sales dropped with those companies.
I've read comments posted here about SEIU, UAW, firefighters, police, janitors, etc. I believe the unions doing the most damage in this country are the ones representing teachers. They directly influence our future, our children. Check out the story about the school administrator in R.I. who fired all of a schools teachers this morning because their union wouldn't agree to some concesions to improve the education of the kids. Their terminations are effective at the end of the school year, after which they may reapply for a job. I'm assuming it would be a non-union job. Regretably, I think this story is far from over.
What does that last sentence have to do with anything?
Imagine how employment numbers and the economy would skyrocket if unions ceased to exist!
Yeah, then the CEOs can replace every single American with a foreign worker.
The problem is like a speck of sand on a beach compared to our corrupt financial systems – Goldman Sachs, Geithner, Bernanke, etc…
I think that's the most egregious part of the whole thing. These poor rank and file union members feel that the union protects them from "the suits" that they seldom realize the real crooks are their own union bosses. Some of these dudes are nothing short of thugs!
I'm curious, what do you fine more offensive – Americans donating to American politicians or foreigners buying off our politicians?
Hey, every day these people go to work in an environment where paper cuts and carpal tunnel syndrome are a clear and present danger! Have a heart, man!
/sarc
I'm a contractor for th GOVT. and see it all day long. They need people like me to actually get anything done! The $$$ ain't bad either!
Bring in the clowns (Lawyers) to fix this miscarriage of justice. Dig up Johnny Cochrane and recruit the "Dream Team". The teachers unions don't want pay for performance because then their members would have to perform!
Sorry to say this, but……Do vote Democrat… because with this…"GOVT' work…..
you are starting to sound like a welfare recipient.
Does anyone else try to mess w/ unions whenever they get the chance?
Complain to mgmt about their workers, etc.?
So would that be George Soros paying off Obama, Andy Sterns, Rahm Emmanuel?
We all know you hate the wars Dhass, trouble is your man in the White House is no better than GW.
Dupree, you know enough about unions to say exactly what is wrong with them! Thumbs up for you!
Postal worker are you? How about the DMV? You obviously don't understand the free market principles….something this country hasn't had in years. So I understand your confusion…..
America has finally awakened to the main factor in the American economy killing – now obozo is doing all he can to prop unions up to finish the job of killing American freedoms and the American way of life
Why not? Most CEOs based upon their worth to their company are actually quite underpaid, and doling out bonuses all hinges upon the owners and their prerogative.
Case in point, when Jim Kilts took over as CEO of Gillette in '01, they were in a freefall. Within 4 years, Gillette's maket value increased by $11.3 billion, and when they were purchased by Procter and Gamble in January '05, their value increased by 5.7 billion more. Kilts' salary over that time: $17.5 million, which doesn't even hold a candle to the richest athlete. Granted he did receive a $153 million compensation from the merger, but even that is only 1.5% of his total value to the company.
It may seem odd to see such money as a salary, but 99% of the time they earn it.
Union is already planning a lawsuit. Don't they understand that there is no money – no even for them?
Anyone who does not think that this country will be facing the same headaches and strikes as is currently going on in Greece and France is only kidding themselves. Wait until the States and local Governments try cutting the pensions, or when the tell the unions that there will be no more "defined benefit" pensions.
I liked the Obozo name given in Jack Kennedy's blog.
And now the flute playing piper is the "Pooed Piper".
Labor unions have indeed survived beyond their usefulness…and it is time for them to go away to somewhere like Haiti…they would thrive there for 30-40 years. I can picture Andrew Stern standing atop the rubble with his megahorn, lording over all of the former card-carrying USA government workers telling them that HE will rebuild!
[...] View of Unions ‘Plummeted’ Since 07 – Big Government “According to Pew, “Favorable views of labor unions have plummeted since 2007, amid growing public skepticism about unions’ purpose and power.” One hates to surmise, …Tags: 07Read More» View of Unions ‘Plummeted’ Since 07 – Big Government. [...]
What have the Haitians done to you to have you call down such wrath on them? JK! Very amusing….
I can hear the claxon…I wonder if the rats on this sinking ship will ever wake up…most likely not.
You must be a capitalist pig like me, Dan?
Yes, because I think aid should be under the discretion of people who want to give it to people (no qualms with charity, I am actually quite active in Catholic charities myself), not forced.
That and the only way I believe people can learn is through experience and personal accountability.
Nothin. They need help. I hear that "Andy the Stern" wears a pinkie ring and is a sign to player homo's that he likes the game. Creates a whole new definition to the "Pooed Piper". lol
Considering the democrats cant even get out of their own way, I wouldnt say they really 'control' anything.
and hasselhoff, unions have nothing to do with hiring foreigners. We have laws in place that require verification of citizenship. Yeah, I know, illegals are everywhere in certain labor pools, but major companies like auto manufacturers, etc, are going to check their people to make sure they're citizens. The function of unions is obsolete. Period.
Indeed!
Or the kiss of death to the American Economy in 2011, which is the most likely!
Unions were brought to America by the Irish mob! You do know that, right? The Irish Jesuits got here with the 2nd Pilgrims coming to America! It worked, lets see what happens next?
We need them to remind the American people that we are AMERICA and not Venezuela. Unfortunately, we forget that once in awhile and at times REPUBs forget that as well.
I knew that before the election and supported Ron Paul anyway.
That I doubt…
I wonder where I fit in this graph, having known that unions are useless for over 30 years….
and the most amazing stat is this:
The largest growth in union membership is NOT the AFL-CIO, or the Teamsters- but the GOVERNMENT unions.
Like SEIU.
Maybe that's why the average salary of a government apparatchik is $70,000, while the average for a working stiff is STILL $40,000- as it was five years ago.
Nothing like unionizing government appointed patronage jobs…
Just one look at Andy Stern says it all.
Just one comment from him seconds the motion.
"No need for public employees to need unions"???? What…. HCN3
Then what do we the Democrat Party for??????
It means that in addition to being a Marxist, Stern is also a homo. Its a great combo and they deserve one another, both are perversions.
Huh…noone else got that one….
It's ironic that you say that when it is the Democrats who have been supporting illegal immigration at every chance they get by blocking all meaningful efforts to stop the flow and deport them.
Thus, it's the Democrats who have been giving American jobs to foreigners.
When I was a teenager working at a job 42 years ago, union thugs killed a union member who refused to go out on strike.
They shot him in his living room in front of his wife and five daughters, to send a message to the other union members who didn't want to strike.
Have you ever heard the story of Anti-Midas? He loved cr*p. He loved to make it, give it to his friends, play in it, and so on. He wanted it to be everywhere. His fairy God-mother (named Bruce) gave him his wish – "Everything you touch will turn to cr*p!". He was so thrilled, he ran around touching everything – most major banks, the U.S. Dollar, the Healthcare system, GM, Chrysler, all U.S. foreign relationships, the Constitution, his dog, the office of the presidency itself, freedom in America, etc. He tried touching Global Warming, but it was already 100% cr*p, so no change. He touched his dinner, and now there was chocolate colored Arugula, but he gobbled it up anyway. He touched his wife, but there was no clearly visible change. If you are waiting for him to repent and regret having turned everything to cr*p, I'm sorry to disappoint you – he was thrilled with the CHANGE, which he had HOPED for all of his life.
In November 2009, 52% of the American voters put a ballot to the side of America's head, and pulled the trigger. O-BAM-a! And the wonderful experiment, the first country to ever be based on freedom, liberty and capitalism, was dead and starting to rot. Communists and Socialists all over the world danced and sang with joy.
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
You must be logged in to post a comment.