Unions...Again

Well, that bastion of Americana, Chicago, was the sight of a minor victory this past week for us anti-union types. They passed a bill that would link teacher tenure to....wait for it...

performance!

Can you hear the collective, scandalized, liberal gasp as they watch their padded job security go up in the smoke of poor test scores and graduating seniors who can't read?

Wait. Only half of all students in Chicago actually graduate...Never mind.

However, as I read to the end of the Wall Street Journal article, I began to get suspicious. Rahm Emanuel applauded the bill? Hold on a card-checkin' minute. Oh. There it was near the bottom. Teachers unions are already planning a trailer bill. Can anything good come out of Chicago?

But Chicago is not alone. The union thuggery continued on a national scale as the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against Boeing because the company wants to move part of its business--and 1,000 jobs--from Washington to South Carolina.

First, Boeing's side: As South Carolina is a right-to-work state, and Washington is not, the guys over at Boeing thought maybe the best way to grow their business and their profits was to get the union out of the way. Silly CEO's. You didn't think the point of business was profitability, did you?

Make me laugh.

Now, NLRB's side: As South Carolina is a right-to-work state, and Washington is not, the labor flunkies determined that it would be villainous of Boeing and hard on the workers in South Carolina because the workers in South Carolina could not be pressed into a union.

Ummm....

How about the fact that this is a Constitutional Republic which is supposed to guarantee its citizens the freedom of association? And freedom of association also implies freedom from association. To be pressed into a union association, therefore, is unconstitutional. How about the fact that our economic prosperity has been built upon the capitalist approach to free markets? And a free market demands the freedom of private businesses to move about the country? How about common sense, and the fact that no business can resist an employee of integrity, good work ethic, and profitable output?

And that is what keeps the NLRB awake at night...that some laborer somewhere out there is advancing by the merit of his work, getting promoted, and earning raises without the help of Big Labor.

Is anyone but NLRB crying in their beer over this?

'Cause I know I'm not.

But this little NLRB temper tantrum begs the question...If unions are so desirable to the American worker, why must the American worker be compelled--in 28 states--to join?

Because the American labor force is not stupid, that's why. They know intuitively what the studies are now showing to be fact: that, according to the Wall Street Journal, right-to-work states generate $2,760 larger per-person increases. And wages rise faster in states that don't require union membership. The American worker also knows concretely--when he sees garnished union dues on his pay stub--that union membership is not a good deal. And he asks himself just what it is he is getting for this fee. And he can't think of one blessed answer.

Would it be overly astute to respond here...DUH! ... ?

Stupid unions.

Where is Elaine Chao when you need her?