Where Unions Are, Americans Aren't

At Real Clear Politics, frequent PJTV contributor Diana Furchtgott-Roth writes:

The American people have been voting with their feet, the Census Bureau announced on Tuesday, leaving states with heavy union influence and choosing to live in “right-to-work” states with higher job growth where they cannot be forced to join a union as a condition of employment.But the National Labor Relations Board, now dominated by Obama appointees, is deaf to the preferences of voting Americans. It wants to do everything in its administrative power to tilt the playing field towards unionization-even if it means higher unemployment and lost jobs.

As a result of geographic shifts in population uncovered by the 2010 Census, nine congressional seats will move to right-to-work states from forced unionization states. Some winners are Texas, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, and South Carolina, while losers include New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and New Jersey. Over the past 25 years job growth in right-to-work states has been over twice as high as in unionized states.

Of course, Americans voted at the polls, too, electing a substantial majority of Republicans to the House of Representatives in the 112th Congress. One result: Americans will be safe in 2011-12 from enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act, a union-supported bill that would take away workers’ rights to a secret ballot in union elections and impose mandatory contracts between newly-unionized firms and workers.

One reason that the Senate didn’t pass the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act-the bill passed the House in 2009-is the record high national level of unemployment, which has exceeded 9% for the past 19 months.

In a news conference on Wednesday, President Obama said that “we now have to pivot and focus on jobs and growth.” Increased unionization raises wages and costs jobs.

Advertisement

Speaking of which, “UAW Ready for Fresh Triumphs!” Mickey Kaus quips, noting that they’re hoping to devour the US plants of foreign car manufacturers.  What could go wrong? As Mickey writes, “Two of the three firms we’ve organized have already gone bankrupt!”

Meanwhile, at Big Journalism, Dana Loesch has video of what the MSM euphemistically dubs union-“Christmas Caroling” — performed in the style of Saul Alinsky and Barack Obama, of course.

Related: “President Meets With Union Bosses to Discuss Government-Union ‘Partnership.'”

Recommended

Trending on PJ Media Videos

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Advertisement
Advertisement