Shot in the Dark

Freedom Of Choice

I don’t oppose unions.

Unlike the vast majority of Democrats, I’ve actually belonged to a union.

Unions can be – can be – a vital part of a free labor market.

But they usually aren’t.  And when people encounter a product or service that’s of no worth to them in the free market, they can say no – provided the political process hasn’t removed that option.

In Michigan, which just passed a “right to work” law granting workers the option to say “no” to unions, 80% of healthcare workers have done just that:

That means some 44,000 workers did not wish to be part of the SEIU, when given the choice.

Ted O’Neil, media relations manager for the Mackinac Center, said plummeting SEIU membership is a clear sign that the forced unionization of home healthcare workers was never something those people wanted.

“All 44,000 of those caregivers who were originally forced into the union are free to go back and join,” he told The Daily Caller. “It’s very telling of what worker freedom means to people.”

Drop the word “worker”.  When people have the freedom to say “no” to things that don’t work for them, real change happens.

I bring this up because it’s an issue that should resonate with Minnesotans, where the DFL is trying to force healthcare and childcare workers into AFSCME and the SEIU, respectively.  They’re doing it for exactly the same reason as they did it in Michigan – to skim dues for their management and the Democrat party that gives them all the goodies:

The dues-skimming scheme was set up in 2006, after the SEIU identified home-based healthcare workers as a potential revenue source. Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm helped facilitate the process by setting up a by-mail election for union representation for home-based caregivers. Some said they never received ballots and were unaware of what had happened.

The Minnesota plan – which is currently under a court injunction – would be exactly the same scam.

 

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Mitch Berg

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10 responses to “Freedom Of Choice”

  1. TheFedSucks Avatar
    TheFedSucks

    I am friends with someone that is very, very angry about paying due to these guys and this is not pocket change for her, either.

  2. TheFedSucks Avatar
    TheFedSucks

    Reportedly SEIU Health was the #1 supporter of Bill DeBlassio. I wander if any local money went to the NYC socialist sandinsita.

  3. nerdbert Avatar
    nerdbert

    I’ve been in two unions, both horribly corrupt and actually worse to work with than the management of the companies so the best I can say is that I view unions like I view communism: great in theory, but horrible in practice.

  4. Bill C Avatar
    Bill C

    I detest unions, but I grudgingly will concede that PRIVATE sector unions can exist. For the very reason stated above: I can choose not to purchase the products they make or the services they “provide” (for the most part…exigent circumstances notwithstanding).

    PUBLIC sector unions should be dismantled and made illegal.

  5. TheFedSucks Avatar
    TheFedSucks

    The only unions that make any sense any more are police / fire and trade.

  6. The Big Stink Avatar
    The Big Stink

    Weren’t the Soviets unionized? How’d that work out?

  7. bikebubba Avatar
    bikebubba

    It seems to me that the need for unions simply reflect the fact that some employees have employers who are the “only game in town”, and that such employers are largely the creation of the government.

    OK, solution; reduce the need for government.

    That said, it seems that we’ve done a fair job in most areas of making sure that one employer is not “the only game in town”, and so people are enhancing protections for unions exactly why?

    I’d suggest it’s because union leaders don’t have job skills that will allow them to live like rock stars.

  8. Adrian Avatar
    Adrian

    I happen to be a member of a private sector union. I strongly favor right to work, and oppose public sector unions altogether.

    This should be obvious to all, and I have said as much to my union leadership…right to work forces the unions to sell membership on it’s benefits, it also forces accountabilty on the part of the union to it’s members.

  9. Troy Avatar
    Troy

    The freedom to choose to be (or not to be) a member of a union seems (to me) to be an unalloyed good. What is the downside to allowing that choice? Is there one?

  10. bikebubba Avatar
    bikebubba

    If you allow the choice, Troy, then people won’t join and union leaders won’t be able to live like rock stars. :^)

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