Government School: Not About The School Part

Because mandatory government-provided education camps for young people is all about teaching the young people, the UNION teachers in Tacoma, Washington went on strike. They have left 28,000+ students out of class for over a week now, because they don't want merit-based staffing policies, and do want smaller class sizes that the schools can't afford.

The UNION is striking even though a judge has declared the strike illegal and ordered the teachers back to work. Because it's all about the children UNION.

Unions: Hope Springs Eternal

It is said that the recent passage of a bill restricting to less-outrageous terms the privilege of government unions to engage in collective bargaining will be a spark to ignite the flame of worker unity which will burn away the ickyness of the Republicans and their hatred of the working man.* That is, the unions are going to energize their members and other fellow travelers, and they will finally show the mean-ol' conservatives who's who and on which side the bread ought to be buttered.

They are going to follow up acting like spoiled children and doing millions of dollars of damage to government buildings, by doing it harder. I hope this will indeed be a spark: to ignite the outrage of the general (almost entirely NON-union) public, who will finally wake up to, and resent, the double-average salary-plus-generous benefits packages the government union worker receives.

Unions: keep up protesting. You may be your own undoing if the People really catch on to the sweet bargain you already have . . . and take it away!

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*Yes, this is a contender for Longest Sentence of the Year Award. It probably won't win though, as the award is handed out by the leadership of the International Brotherhood of Literary Workers and Farm Tractor Mechanics local 137, and I let my dues lapse last year . . .

Wisconsin Unions and Democrat Elected Heroes

Surprising no-one, the Senators in Wisconsin who refuse to show up to work, are campaign-funded by unions

And perhaps surprising some, the reduced benefits on which those Senators refuse to vote are more generous than the benefits granted to unionized federal employees under President Obama

ETA: hat tip: Instapundit

Teacher's Unions: Negotiating For The Benefit Of ______

Wisconsin's unionized school teachers are "sick" in such numbers that the schools are being closed down. The teachers are basically on strike, because the Governor is trying to make it so the only thing they can bargain for collectively is wages. They will also have the option to stop paying union dues. To a union in 2011 USA, this is unacceptable. They are massing around the capitol, with high school students who don't know what's going on, protesting these changes. They are NOT in school, educating the school children.

The teacher's unions: it's all about the children. Right.

Dumb News Roundup 12/04/2010

People with not only no right to vote for Congressmen, but no right even to be in our country, are protesting that they should be allowed to be citizens because . . . well, it sounds like a good idea or something. You know, because, like, I totally want to be a citizen! You should just give in because, like, I'm sort of an American too, you know!

A trade deal has been reached with a country that produces higher-quality cars for less money than the USA does, and this is somehow supposed to boost sales of American cars there. Ahem. I can get why people here buy Korean cars. I fail to see why anyone in Korea would buy an American car.

Spanish air traffic controllers go on strike because they are told they will only be making 10x the national average salary vs. 20x, will have to make up for times they miss their regular working shifts, and may have to go see a doctor when they call in "sick" to get out of work. The military was called in and most of the ATCs are back to work. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this industry is nationalized, and they are whinging about submitting to something more like national-normal conditions while they suck down pay from the pockets of the citizenry. They should be glad for what they do get, but that's now how government unions roll.

How Not To Vote

If it's not enough for you to realize that the horrific oil spill response/cleanup fiasco in the Gulf was on the Democrats' watch, maybe you will scroll down to the bottom of this post. In bankrupted-by-unions California, the unions are crying that taxed-to-the-hilt citizens are not paying enough taxes to support the unions. Mish points out that they have done the people of California a great service in providing a handy guide of who to vote AGAINST next Tuesday.

California Pension Promises "May" Need To Be Reduced.

You may have heard recently that (depending on how you add it up) the United States owes more money than there is in the world. Well, that's nothing, we can always print more right? Consider now the state of the State of California, where a few public union pension plans have a little problem. The vote-buying by the idiot politicians in California got a bit out of hand, and by 2012 their pension promises add up to 550% of the total tax revenues for the entire State.

No roads
No schools
No police/fire/EMT services
No libraries

ALL of the money that is anticipated to be brought in, is not enough to make a dent in public union benefit promises. Perhaps the promises will have to be revised a little? Certainly the unions will see the wisdom in this, and not protest/riot/strike like they currently are doing in Greece and France, right?

Right?

Brad Sherman Wants Your Money . . . for Labor Union Dues.

In 1947 we got a law that says a worker can't be fired if he refuses to pay union dues. 22 States in the Union now have "right-to-work" laws.

Brad Sherman, Democrat congressman from California, thinks you should be able to be forced to pay union dues or be fired. The bill he introduced is H.R. 6384, officially titled " To repeal a limitation in the Labor-Management Relations Act regarding requirements for labor organization membership as a condition of employment."

It's to protect the worker you see. If you could get by with less money in your pay check, maybe the boss would want to pay everyone in the union less, also. If you can get by with less, you are risking their salaries, so you get fired. Because shut up, that's why. Never mind you don't want to be in a union. Never mind all the common themes that are repeated every time some union thug wants to organize you workers shake you down for dues.

The text of the bill has not been released for your consumption. Not only are you too stupid to want to join a union, you don't get to see the text of the bill he wants to use to take away your choice not to.

Money From Your Wallet Straight To "Teachers'"

There was recently a survey done of Texas school teachers, by their union. SURPRISE it found that Texas teachers are underpaid and want a raise. A couple of days ago, local teachers were talking to the people responsible for setting up the upcoming budget for the City of Austin. This is my shocked face: the teachers said they want a raise. It would be just fine with them if you lost $120 a year from your own wallet - $10 a month you would use to feed your own children - or if services were cut somewhere else, to provide the teachers with a raise.

Leave aside for the moment that, in a place where you have 20 people standing in line for every position that opens, NOBODY should get a raise. Leave aside for the moment that AISD is top-heavy and could have a raise with no difficulty on their current budget if they would lay off some mid-level administrators. No, my opinion is that you should not be surprised to see a proposed property tax rate increase to pay for teachers' raises.

Why?

Because less is never an option. It doesn't matter that your budget is also being cut back. When it comes time to write the government's operating budget, "they only answer more, more more." Due to my diligent searching, I was able to find a photo of the representative for the Austin teachers' association: Click here.

Contact Your Senator!

If you think it is a good thing that your State and Cuonty and City are bankrupt due to outrageous pay and benefits packages for public sector unions, disregard the following.

If you would like to force public sector employees into unions, whether they would like to be unionized or not -even if unionization is a worse deal for the individual policeman or fireman- disregard the following.

If you would like to see the federal government impose union rules on States (and individuals), even though these are strictly local contracts which have nothing at all to do with national governance or regulation, disregard the following.

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Attention all patriots and advocates for less-intrusive government: please contact your Sentors and tell them that you are Opposed to S.1611, the intentionally-misnamed "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act"

More Of What's Wrong? That's What's Needed!

In some communities, small and large, the wages and benefits for Police and Fire departments are eating half to 70% of the budget. Those benefits were generally agreed to by cities which were sitting across the table from UNIONized police negotiators. In yet another industry we see the strange attitude of the modern union: "Pay our dues and if you lose your job, blame your boss and not the union rules that made him want to fire you." Small towns have started to disband their police forces and rely on (cheaper, retirement-obligation free) contracts with Sherrif's associations.

So, at a time when it is increasingly obvious that unionized public safety organizations are a huge part of the problem, what does Harry Reid want? NATIONAL Union Rules. You think it's hard to fire a bad cop now, wait until the local union is based in D.C.! Think negotiations for pay are tough? Think time-off rules are ridiculous? This is one of the worst ideas possible. Election 2010 can't come soon enough.

It's All About The Children The Money The Agenda

Let's review, shall we?

Government school teachers unions hate the idea of giving people the alternative of removing their children from government schools. This removes money (and therefore power) from the union. They are very quick to say that taking children out of public schools is worse for the children in a dozen different ways, so let's review, shall we?

The school voucher system in the District of Columbia:
Increases graduation rates: check
Hurts nobody: check
Costs only a third of what government education costs: check
Makes Sasha and Maliya go to school with the children of poor people: check

Being cancelled despite how great it works: check.

Why? Follow the (Democrat Union thug) money. The future of these children and the nation as a whole be damned, we're just not going to let these childrens' federal school dollars out of the teachers union dues-paying teachers' classrooms, and that's that!

Congratulations to 2010 PEY Winner!

Saturday Night Live stopped being funny for me quite some time ago. Every once in a while, they still manage to hit one out of the park. For those of you who have been increasingly irked at the behavior of unions everywhere and especially public sector unions, I present:

Mish Presents:

Saturday Night Live Presents:

The 2010 Public Employee of the Year Award ceremony!

The Clue Bat Begins Its Swing Toward Unions

You know it's getting bad* when the Chief of Staff of the Mayor of one of the largest cities in the country is saying things like:

"Unions have priced themselves out of a job."

*bad for unions. Good for everyone else, including the membership of the unions, who pay taxes to support their own and other excessive union compensation packages.

Recess Appointments: The Difference:

President Bush made recess appointments to fill vacant seats at the head of Federal agencies because the Democrats would not allow his candidates an up-or-down vote. The Democrats knew the Senate would approve the nominees, as they tended to be generally well-qualified.

President Obama has made several appointments of TERRIBLY bad candidates, and when they come up, they are granted an up/down vote and some go down in flames. If they don't come up, it tends to be because they withdraw themselves from nomination, because their communist/humanist/downright criminal insanity comes to light. Because they wouldn't be approved, Obama wields the blunt instrument of recess appointments, once again skirting the will of the people as expressed by their elected representatives.

The most controversial is already a known quantity: a union boss for the labor relations board. No possible hint of partiality with that person eh? Nevermind that the up-or-down vote had Democrats voting against Becker, appoint him anyway! Because card-check can't pass the legislature, we'll just load the labor relations board and force it through by regulation instead of law! Just remember: when someone starts talking about union elections where you work, there is NO TIME TO WASTE. Talk to EVERYONE you can, even print flyers to put on their windshields. Also refuse to be intimidated, and park where your car is on camera to catch the vandalism that will be coming to it (so you can press criminal charges).

Also be on the look out for news about the other people appointed (quietly on the slowest news day of the week) last Saturday. They are sure to be real pieces of work each one of them. Remember not to be surprised at anything that happens after a Marxist is elected to the Presidency of the USA.

Take Your Kid To Work Day, Air Traffic Control Edition!

You are a commercial airline pilot. Your job is a mind-numbing routine. You are half asleep making routine calls to the Air Traffic Control towers along the way to your destination. Then you hear one ATC voice that sounds like a little kid in your headphones. You snap wide-awake-but-right-now and pay attention to whatever is happening around you. Then you smile and laugh because the kid is obviously somebody in the tower's version of bring your kid to work day.

The call was 100% appropriate language, with good pronunciation. Radio communications protocols were observed because the child was repeating verbatim what the father said to say. The pilots apparently all got a big kick out of it.

The union realizes that the child is not a union member, however, and the controller/father and his supervisor are both suspended. We just can't have non-union labor in a union shop! Next they'll be talking about cutting wages! JERK THAT UNION BOSS KNEE!

Austin Schools Facing Budget Emergency.

Earlier this year, a few weeks? months? ago, I was shaking my head at the Austin school district people. They were talking about hiring an additional teachers and spending like $50M for a dual-language program. I wondered how they could possibly do that sort of thing in the middle of a depression. Turns out, much like the guy down the street from you who lost his job a year ago and didn't tell you he isn't paying his mortgage, they can't afford it.

The radio news this morning said they are looking to see how AISD can declare a state of fiscal emergency so they can lay off a bunch of people to make up for a $46M budget gap. The problem, if you haven't been paying attention to Michael Shedlock, is not the number of teachers. The problem is the teachers' union. Nobody has to be fired, if some would take a pay cut. Nobody would need a pay cut, likely, if they would all agree to a cut in their medical/dental/pension benefits. Unions like pissing in the pot until the pot is kicked over, however, and so they're going to be getting some of their members fired.

Why would they do that?

Because, as Michael Savage told us, liberalism is a mental disorder.

International Socialists Destroying California. WOW!

The Service Employees International Union (read: international socialists) are destroying California, much the same way that the United Auto Workers destroyed GM and Chrysler.

The Governator of California and the unionized home health care workers in CA AGREED to get a budget-ameliorating pay cut for all the union workers in question. They agreed to it, as part of a (futile) desperate attempt to prevent the bankruptcy of the State of California. The SEIU [deleted]s went to Il Presidente Obama and cried about this agreement.

Il Presidente has agreed now that what is needed is to withhold $6.8 Billion of Federal Stimulus Money from California, until they rescind the appropriate legislation and raise the union's pay levels again.

WOW!


The level of chutzpa involved here is just staggering. I would comment on the federal encroachment into state financial affairs, but the I'm actually FOR not giving out money like it comes from nowhere for free. (update 5/14/09: I was against the idea when it came up originally, too)


Just wow.

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This is not the change you were hoping for