I believe this site has a policy that says, when you use someones work you should give them credit. Since Mr. Deegan failed to do so, I will provide it for you.
http://www.ecouncil.org/rtw.htm
It's a biased source, but I guess you wouldn't find anti-union propaganda here:
http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/unions/
Deegan said:
The top Ten privileges of Union scumbags
Wow.. I've been involved with the union, on both sides of the fence, since the early 70's. I've known and know many, many union members and although I'm sure you can find some that fit that discription, as well as you could from non-union members, the vast majority are decent, good, law abiding American citizens. They are deacons in the church, volunteer firefighters, members of the PTO, help repair the elderly's homes, donate their time and money to local charities, etc., etc.
They just want to make a livable wage, provide for their family, send their kids to college, save a little for retirement, just live a quiet, respectable life.
Deegan said:
Privilege #1: Exemption from prosecution for union violence.
The most egregious example of organized labor’s special privileges and immunities is the 1973 United States v. Enmons decision. In it, the United States Supreme Court held that union violence is exempted from the Hobbs Act, which makes it a federal crime to obstruct interstate commerce by robbery or extortion. As a result, thousands of incidents of violent assaults (directed mostly against workers) by union militants have gone unpunished. Meanwhile, many states also restrict the authority of law enforcement to enforce laws during strikes.
Do you really think the SCOTUS would grant anyone or any group an exemption from violence? This decision said that THIS CASE does not fall under the Hobbs Act. It even mentions that the accused are liable to criminal law. I'm not familiar with any state that would
restrict the authority of law enforcement to enforce laws during strikes.
Deegan said:
Privilege #2: Exemption from anti-monopoly laws.
The Clayton Act of 1914 exempts unions from anti-monopoly laws, enabling union officials to forcibly drive out independent or alternative employee bargaining groups.
The Clayton Act of 1914 says the labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce. The union membership would have to vote out an exsisting bargaining group to establish a different one.
Deegan said:
Privilege #3: Power to force employees to accept unwanted union representation.
Monopoly bargaining, or “exclusive representation,” which is embedded in most of the country’s labor relations statutes, enables union officials to act as the exclusive bargaining agents of all employees at a unionized workplace, thereby depriving employees of the right to make their own employment contracts. For example, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, the Federal Labor Relations Act (FLRA) of 1978, and the Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926 prohibit employees from negotiating their own contracts with their employers or choosing their own workplace representatives.
A union can only represent a group of employees IF the MAJORITY votes for them to do so.
The NLRA, FLRA and RLA spell out the rights of EMPLOYERS and EMPLOYEES.
Deegan said:
Privilege #4: Power to collect forced union dues.
Unlike other private organizations, unions can compel individuals to support them financially. In 28 states under the NLRA (those that have not passed Right to Work laws), all states under the RLA, on “exclusive federal enclaves,” and in many states under public sector labor relations acts, employees may be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment, even if they reject union affiliation.
Employees in those states only have to pay the part of union dues that deal directly with the collective bargaining activities of the union (their wages and benefits). I think there are about 23 states that have a 'right to work' law and in those states, the employee does not have to pay union dues, but the union still has to represent them and they receive all negotiated benefits. They are called 'free riders'.
Deegan said:
Privilege #5: Unlimited, undisclosed electioneering.
The Federal Election Campaign Act exempts unions from its limits on campaign contributions and expenditures, as well as some of its reporting requirements. Union bigwigs can spend unlimited amounts on communications to members and their families in support of, or opposition to, candidates for federal office, and they need not report these expenditures if they successfully claim that union publications are primarily devoted to other subjects. For years, the politically active National Education Association (NEA) teacher union has gotten away with claiming zero political expenditures on its IRS tax forms!
In my state, unions are treated like corporations in the way they can make campaign donations (ask Tom DeLay).
Deegan said:
Privilege #6: Ability to strong-arm employers into negotiations.
Unlike all other parties in the economic marketplace, union officials can compel employers to bargain with them. The NLRA, FLRA, and RLA make it illegal for employers to resist a union’s collective bargaining efforts and difficult for them to counter aggressive and deceptive campaigns waged by union organizers.
Strong-arm?? This gives employees the right to collective bargaining, by a majority vote.
Difficult for them to counter aggressive and deceptive campaigns waged by union organizers?
Ask Wal-mart how difficult it is...LOL
Deegan said:
Privilege #7: Right to trespass on an employer’s private property.
The Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 (and state anti-injunction acts) give union activists immunity from injunctions against trespass on an employer’s property.
The Norris-LaGuardia Act limits the power of federal courts in labor disputes (i.e. injunctions).This act gave labor unions the right to organize, strike, and use other forms of leverage against management without the interference of the federal court.
It also made illegal the common practice of requiring new employees to sign pledges not to join a union as a pre-condition of employment. So-called “yellow dog” contracts had been a common tool used by management to hinder the growth of labor unions.
Deegan said:
Privilege #8: Ability of strikers to keep jobs despite refusing to work.
Unlike other employees, unionized employees in the private sector have the right to strike; that is, to refuse to work while keeping their job. In some cases, it is illegal for employers to hire replacement workers, even to avert bankruptcy. Meanwhile, union officials demonize replacement workers as “scabs” to set them up for retaliation.
The union has a right to strike...duh.
'In some cases, it is illegal for employers to hire replacement workers'
In some cases it is not.
Deegan said:
Privilege #9: Union-only cartels on construction projects.
Under so-called project labor agreements, governments (local, state, or federal) award contracts for construction on major projects such as highways, airports, and stadiums exclusively to unionized firms. Such practices effectively lock-out qualified contractors and employees who refuse to submit to exclusive union bargaining, forced union dues, and wasteful union work rules. So far, just three states have outlawed these discriminatory and costly union-only pacts.
I haven't had any dealings with this situation, so I can't comment.
I will say this though, in my experience, the company I worked for would hire non-union contractors for routine, everyday, mundane work, but for specialized, technical maintenance work, union contractors everytime. They were better trained, they knew what to do without having to hold their hand, didn't have the re-works. For those types of jobs they were more cost efficient in the long run.
Deegan said:
Privilege #10: Government funding of forced unionism.
On top of all of the special powers and immunities granted to organized labor, politicians even pour taxpayer money straight into union coffers. Union groups receive upwards of $160 million annually in direct federal grants. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In 2001, the federal Department of Labor doled out $148 million for “international labor programs” overwhelmingly controlled by an AFL-CIO front group. Federal bureaucrats spend approximately $2.6 billion per year on “job training programs” that, under the Workforce Investment Act, must be administered by boards filled with union officials. Union bosses also benefit from a plethora of state and local government giveaways.
Each year, U.S. taxpayers subsidize U.S. businesses to the tune of almost $125 billion
http://www.citizen.org/congress/welfare/index.cfm
