Saving the Unions, and the Original Episode of Gangster Government
In 2001, the United Auto Workers boasted over 700,000 members, according to the union's filings with the Department of Labor. By 2010, they were down to just 355,000. Their fortunes reflected the decline of organized labor nationwide, but in fast motion. They were devouring their companies from the inside with work-rules and wage demands that had made the Big Three automakers uncompetitive.
Thanks to the bailouts of GM and Chrysler, the UAW has rebounded slightly, to about 376,000 members, according to the newest report which was quietly filed at the end of March. But if not for the bailouts -- if those two companies (combined UAW membership: 78,000) and several of their suppliers had been allowed to fail -- the number could be near or even below 200,000.
The conclusion is unmistakable. The $80 billion dedicated to the automotive bailouts was one of many expensive and precedent-setting favors to unions that this administration has given out, using your money and the public trust awarded by voters in the election of 2008. I dedicate two chapters to this phenomenon in Gangster Government -- one on the auto bailouts, and another to organized labor in general.
The Chrysler bankruptcy, in which the priority of secured creditors was overridden in favor of the UAW's benefits fund, gave rise to the original cries of "gangster government" from my colleague at the Washington Examiner, Michael Barone. The Chrysler case overturned 100 years of bankruptcy law, as the administration facilitated the very sort of late 19th Century abuses of bankruptcy that the modern code was designed to prevent. (This is probably why the Supreme Court, without explanation, vacated the lower court's decision after all of the issues were moot.)
Even as Obama's Treasury chose to bail out the pensions of UAW retirees at Delphi, a GM supplier, they left the salaried, non-union workers high and dry.
The stimulus package, which is ten times the size of the bailout, contains $140 billion in construction contracts for which "project labor agreements" may have given union construction firms (about 15 percent of the business) an unfair advantage in bidding, thanks to an executive order from Obama.
Obama's administration changed union election rules so that airline and railroad unions no longer need to win majorities in order to seize monopoly bargaining power with an employer. This decision, which overturned 76 years of established labor law, recently allowed 34 percent of Air Tran's employees to force the other 66 percent into union representation.
Obama's National Labor Relations Board, in its Dana decision, overturned a 45-year precedent that had protected workers from employer-union collusion at their expense -- that is, where the union and the employer agree to a contract in advance, then the employer helps the union seize control.
Obama's Department of Labor rescinded new transparency rules for union trusts -- an act that can do no good for anyone except union bosses who are genuinely corrupt and want to pocket members' money without adequately representing their interests.
There is obviously a common thread here. If you're getting the impression that 99 percent of this administration's attention is dedicated to the 12 percent of American workers who belong to labor unions -- and worse, to the less than one percent who lead them -- you're not far off. Obama's so-called "Middle Class Task Force," which was supposed to keep average Americans at the top of his priority list in hard times, instead produced a report that contains essentially nothing beyond a list of union boss priorities -- card check, high-road contracting, project labor agreements and the like. The rest of us are nearly an afterthought, except insofar as we are potential recruits.
This at a time when the labor market is choosing against unions. Their age pyramids are inverted, their under-funded pension plans are no longer a selling point, and their reasons for existence -- humane working conditions, a check on abusive employers -- have been rendered far less important by state and federal laws and regulations that protect workers from the worst abuses. And in the case of unions like the UAW, they are buying their short-term survival at the cost of cannibalizing their membership. They are agreeing to half-pay for new workers at GM and Chrysler in order to keep their older workers' pay artificially high. This makes unions even less attractive to young people.
If you were surprised by Obama's cheerleading for the unions during the Battle of Wisconsin, then you haven't been following his career closely enough. Unions spent $400 million in 2008 electing Democrats, including Obama. The AFL-CIO spent so much that it put itself into a financial crisis. The SEIU delivered for Obama his huge and mostly unexpected win in the Illinois Democratic Senate primary in 2004. As Obama writes in The Audacity of Hope, "I owe those unions. When their leaders call, I do my best to call them back right away. I don't consider this corrupting in any way . . ."
Richard Trumka likes to brag about his access to the White House and the president. In addition to his many visits, he says he speaks with senior staff every day -- even on weekends. This means he has more access to Obama than most of Obama's cabinet secretaries, some of whom went two years without so much as a phone call.
In 2007, Obama sought SEIU's presidential endorsement, telling its members at a conference, "Imagine having a president whose life work was your work." They no longer have to imagine. But for the rest of us -- 88 percent of American workers -- we will not know what that is like again until Obama is out of office.
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Re: Saving the Unions, and the Original Episode of Gangster Government
I am puzzled by the NLRB decisions. Cannot a worker or an employer go to federal court and have the decision overturned? Do years of precedent in interpreting the law count for nothing?
May '10
Re: Saving the Unions, and the Original Episode of Gangster Government
Wow! I knew the administration's union ties were deep, but I didn't realize they were that deep. After reading this post, I now know why I'm so frustrated with my union. I am a member of the IBEW. As a "Provisional" employee, I pay the same dues as a "Regular" employee, but in return I don't receive the same benefits. No dental, vision, vacation, the list goes on. But one of the most frustrating things is, I don't even have the "right" (thats what the union calls it) to file a grievance with the union if I feel I have been wronged by the company. Its pretty clear now that my 4+ years of dues have only gone to fill the pockets of the union leadership.
Oct '10
Re: Saving the Unions, and the Original Episode of Gangster Government
Yeah, but Koch. Koch, Koch, Koch and Koch. Kochitty, Koched up Koch. And did I mention Koch?
My hypocrisy resistance capacity is tested every day by this lot. It drove me crazy that the left preferred American failure to George W. Bush success. Well, I'll give them credit; I better understand their logic because I've taken on a bit myself.
I do not want America to slide further into the abyss. I am concerned, however, that the Obamanistas will paper over enough cracks to get Him through re-election. My hope that won't happen is built on confidence in their ineptitude. Sure, they're masters of manipulation within the Chicago machine, but they've been less proficient outside of an obeisant environment. It is not that I hope for them to fail the country. I just happen to believe that is the most likely outcome. If terrible consequences are countered by His defeat, that may be preferable to four years of Team Obama ruling without the constraints of electoral politics.
May '10
Re: Saving the Unions, and the Original Episode of Gangster Government
I have spent a lot of time in developing countries where crony capitalism is the norm. It is extremely common in many parts of Europe as well. I frankly never thought I would see the day when the USA headed full speed ahead down the same route.
The amazing part of the story is the thundering silence from the MSM. If these and many other issues where actually brought to the attention of people getting on with their lives, I feel that the American sense of fair play would create a strong contra reaction. The media is complicit to the point of being a key component to this degradation of our society.
Re: Saving the Unions, and the Original Episode of Gangster Government
Yes, you can go to court, but the court standard gives the NLRB much deference. The board wins 85 percent of the challenges.
Re: Saving the Unions, and the Original Episode of Gangster Government
I think you've got it with this comment. This could partly explain election 2010. When you look at the exit polling, it does not support a "vote-the-economy" interpretation as much as a "vote-against-big-government" interpretation.