Let the discussion begin:
When it comes to union money in politics, as other government unions like the NEA, AFT, UFT, SEIU, AFGE, NAGE, IAFF, and others pour money into the political process, the actual figures are staggering. Several years ago, the National Institute for Labor Relations Research estimated that unions spent $925 million on the 2004 elections. Since then, it’s only gotten more pervasive.
None of this political spending has come without cost to the American taxpayer. As the Heritage Foundation’s James Sherk has noted, public-sector unions have created a behemoth with a high cost to taxpayers:
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Federal workers make an average 22% more than similar private-sector workers (who pay federal workers’ salaries)
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Federal workers’ wages and benefits will cost taxpayers $47 billion in 2011
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State and local retiree health care and pensions are underfunded $3.1 trillion (as compared to $165 billion in underfunded private-sector union pension plans)
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Government unions, nationwide, are campaigning for higher taxes
Breaking the Stranglehold of Government Unions
Recently, there have been a number of comments and questions from readers suggesting that there must be a way to end the stranglehold that public-sector unions have on the economy. There is. However, in order to do so, there has to be broader understanding among Americans as to the cost and ramifications of having government unions controlling the government, as well as more courage and resolve from politicians. It also helps to understand how government unions came to be.
As odd as it may seem, even labor’s most infamous government benefactor, President Franklin Roosevelt, was against the formation of government unions:
“Meticulous attention,” the president insisted in 1937, “should be paid to the special relations and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the Government….The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service.“
So, how did government unions come to be?
That’s a good question. You can find out by reading the entire piece at RedState.com.
