There is a lot to be said about unions, both pro and con, but one aspect of unions is so sinister, so insidious, that it's rarely, if ever, discussed. That one aspect is the collusion that exists between the unions, and those that they "bargain" with.
Definition: Collusion
1.
a
secret
agreement,
especially
for
fraudulent
or
treacherous
purposes;
conspiracy:
Some
of
his
employees
were
acting
in
collusion
to
rob
him.
2.
Law
.
a
secret
understanding
between
two
or
more
persons
to
gain
something
illegally,
to
defraud
another
of
his
or
her
rights,
or
to
appear
as
adversaries
though
in
agreement:
collusion
of husband and wife to obtain a divorce.
That the goals of unions, democrats, and liberal/progressive republicans are similar cannot be denied. Unions desire as many workers as possible, getting paid the highest wages possible, with the best retirement possible, at the earliest age possible while doing as little work as possible. Democrats and progressive republicans want lifelong guaranteed income, lifelong unemployment insurance, food stamps, guaranteed housing, universal guaranteed health care, and more, for all citizens regardless if they do anything to earn it.
Unions have acquired their power through "good faith" collective bargaining backed with intimidation, threats of violence, and actual acts of violence and subversion. Their tactics are generally successful.
Of course this makes most rank and file union members loyal to their unions and they pay hundreds of millions of dollars annually to their union leaders.
Democrats and liberal republicans derive their power through legislating modest government give away programs. Over time they expand these programs to include more and more people who become a constituency thus ensuring their re-election.
So where is the collusion? The collusion is between government employee unions, who grease the palms of mainly democrat politicians with millions and millions of dollars annually (see below), and the politicians who then pass legislation favoring the unions. And who are the unions and politicians colluding against? They are colluding against the American citizen taxpayer.
We were recently treated to a view of government/union collusion in Wisconsin where Governor Scott Walker is attempting to reign in public sector union bargaining rights. Powerful unions (AFL-CIO, Teamsters, SEIU, NEA, etc) bussed thousands of people across state lines to demonstrate (riot) against Governor Walker. The unions poured millions of dollars into the state attempting to buy the supreme court elections, then more millions of dollars to recall those politicians who supported Governor walker. In the meantime, those politicians who are beholden to the unions fled the state to impede the legal progress of the governor. There it was for all to see.
So what about private business unions. Is there any collusion there? You bet! It is the goal of the businessman to maximize profit with as few workers as possible while paying the minimum wages possible. Private sector unions have the same goals as already stated (above) and use the same tactics as government employee unions. The businessman can't pass laws though and his negotiating tools are limited to lowering profits, lowering quality, lowering quantity, cutting the number of employees, somehow increasing efficiency and lastly, but eventually with a certainty, he must raise prices. It should be apparent that the unions and the businessman are in collusion against the consumer.
The collusion of unions, politicians, and businessmen has grown to a point that threatens our free enterprise, capitalistic form of government and that in turn threatens our very freedoms as government grows, taxes rise, and government regulations increasingly control our lives. You may have heard of the "military-industrial complex"? Well, as I see it, we need to be alarmed about the "union-government complex".
Collective bargaining by government unions must be stopped and we are the people who can do it. Get involved. Write your congressmen and demand that the collective bargaining "rights" of public sector unions be repealed and eliminated. For those politicians who continue to support these public sector unions... throw the bums out.
Ok, so what can be done about private sector union/business collusion? Like public sector unions, private unions collude with businessmen behind closed doors and the consumer pays the price. Barring getting rid of unions, which is highly unlikely, I'm suggestion that we try what just might be a new idea. Let's try creating (legislating) a third party consisting of and representing consumers with as much bargaining power as the business and the union. The people making up this third party could be selected in a manner similar to how we currently select jurers for our legal system.
The power of unions and their collusion with our government and our business has grown too big to be ignored. We can put a stop to it by getting involved, paying attention and voting.
Additional Information:
http://news.yahoo.com/longshoremen-storm-wash-state-port-damage-rr-144921214.html
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/311183
Leading Union Political Campaign Contributions 1990 thru 2010
Union Democrat Republican
American Fed.of State, County,
and Municipal Employees $40,281,900 $ 547,700
International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers $29,705,600 $ 679,000
National Education Association $27,679,300 $ 2,005,200
Service Employees Inter-
national Union $26,368,470 $ 98,700
Communication Workers of America $26,305,500 $ 125,300
Service Employees International
Union $26,252,000 $ 1,086.200
Laborers Union $25,734,000 $ 2,138,000
American Federation of Teachers $25,682,800 $ 200,000
United Auto Workers $25,082,200 $ 182,700
Teamsters Union $24,926,400 $ 1,822,000
Carpenters and Joiners Union $24,094,100 $ 2,658,000
Machinists & Aerospace
Workers Union $23,875,600 $ 226,300
United Food and Commercial
Workers Union $23,182,000 $ 334,200
AFL-CIO $17,124,300 $ 713,500
Sheet Metal Workers Union $16,347,200 $ 342,800
Plumbers & Pipefitters Union $14,790,000 $ 818,500
Operating Engineers Union $13,840,000 $ 2,309,500
Airline Pilots Association $12,806,600 $ 2,398,300
International Association of
Firefighters $12,421,700 $ 2,685,400
United Transportation Workers $11,807,000 $ 1,459,300
Ironworkers Union $11,638,900 $ 936,000
American Postal Workers Union $11,633,100 $ 544,300
National Active & Retired
Fed. Employees Association $ 8,135,400 $ 2,294,600
Seafarers International Union $ 6,726,800 $ 1,281,300
Total Contributions to Democrats $486,440,870
Total Contributions to Republicans $ 27,886,800
Source: NewlyConservative.com