Posted by
RedHispanic on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 1:44:40 PM
I just received this via email. Today, House Democrats are
attempting to nullify state and local right-to-work laws, and force unionization
on hundreds of thousands of public sector employees.
Beyond the serious policy
questions raised about the policy itself, this legislation (H.R. 980) also
raises serious states' rights issues.
Rep. Eric Cantor stands in strong
opposition to H.R. 980. Here's his quote:
"In Virginia, the law would
overturn the state's public sector prohibition on monopolized union bargaining.
At stake are crucial worker incentives like merit-based promotions and pay
raises - the cornerstones of a thriving and productive workforce. And Congress'
unprecedented and dangerous reach into local labor relations wouldn't be cheap.
The law could potentially cost state and local taxpayers millions of extra
dollars - additional costs they now deem unnecessary." (my bold)
Here are some
links:
Also:
H.R. 980 would grant the Federal
Labor Relations Authority oversight of the labor-management laws of public
safety workers in every political subdivision in the country, stripping states
and localities of the right to govern themselves.
The National Right to Work
Committee says that H.R. 980 "would force monopoly bargaining on every
policeman, firefighter, and emergency medial technician in the country, putting
them under the monopoly control of union bosses."
The National Institute for Labor
Relations Research wrote:
"Hundreds of thousands of policemen, firemen, and
paramedics who up to now have been free under state law to negotiate on their
own behalf would be stripped of that freedom by H.R.
980."
For the history buffs out there:
Even President Franklin D.
Roosevelt wrote in 1937, "All government employees should recognize that
collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into public
service."