12-18-2012, 05:13 PM
This is a very good piece, imo, about how organized labor (down to 11% of the workforce now) across the country is planning to politically regain its ground by targeting Republican leaders and further supporting Democratic ones.
Snip:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Blindsided by a new law weakening union rights in Michigan, organized labor is preparing to target Republican governors in politically important states up for re-election in 2014 — part of a renewed offensive against perceived anti-union policies.
While unions fared reasonably well nationally last month at the ballot box, their struggle to survive has forced them to spend staggering sums just trying to hold ground. It is money not spent on recruiting new workers to stem a membership decline that has made unions more vulnerable than ever.
"It's unfortunate that that's the case," said Michael Podhorzer, political director for the AFL-CIO. "But the reality of having elected officials who are so anti-organizing is that this is the first step to getting to the point where we can organize workers."
In Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation last week prohibiting unions from requiring workers to pay dues or representation fees, even if they are covered by union contracts.
It was another jarring blow for unions in Michigan, a cradle of the modern American labor movement. Unions already had spent $22 million this year in the state on a failed effort to enshrine collective bargaining rights in the Michigan Constitution.
Full Story here:
http://start.new.toshiba.com/news/read.p...011&page=1
Snip:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Blindsided by a new law weakening union rights in Michigan, organized labor is preparing to target Republican governors in politically important states up for re-election in 2014 — part of a renewed offensive against perceived anti-union policies.
While unions fared reasonably well nationally last month at the ballot box, their struggle to survive has forced them to spend staggering sums just trying to hold ground. It is money not spent on recruiting new workers to stem a membership decline that has made unions more vulnerable than ever.
"It's unfortunate that that's the case," said Michael Podhorzer, political director for the AFL-CIO. "But the reality of having elected officials who are so anti-organizing is that this is the first step to getting to the point where we can organize workers."
In Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation last week prohibiting unions from requiring workers to pay dues or representation fees, even if they are covered by union contracts.
It was another jarring blow for unions in Michigan, a cradle of the modern American labor movement. Unions already had spent $22 million this year in the state on a failed effort to enshrine collective bargaining rights in the Michigan Constitution.
Full Story here:
http://start.new.toshiba.com/news/read.p...011&page=1