All hands on Deck!  Its time to take back our state, and regain control of our own efforts and skills.

This press release comes from only one group involved in the effort to unshackle Michigan workers to their unions, and bring accountability back to workers’ representation.  From the Campaign for Liberty Tony Demott begins. (Note that Terry Bowman, a UAW worker is a point man in this)

Begin Message:

June 3, 2011

Dear Michigan Patriots,

Over the past couple of weeks, we have been working to put Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville on record on Right to Work.  Will he allow a vote?

We are not alone in this fight.  In fact, we’ve worked closely with Terry Bowman, President and founder of Union Conservatives.  I’m honored to introduce Terry and his group to you.

As you read Terry’s message below, I hope you savor, as I did, the realization that our strategy is being adopted by more and more organizations.  We should stand proud of our stance for Liberty within our own communities and political parties.  It’s great to see others standing up within their communities and organizations as well.

I ask all Campaign for Liberty members that belong to a union, or are retired from a union, to let Terry know of your support for our shared cause.  Please click this link and let us know if you are–we will contact you and discuss taking a stand with Terry and other Liberty-minded union members to support Right to Work.

For Liberty,

Tony DeMott
Michigan State Coordinator
Campaign for Liberty

---

Hello Campaign for Liberty supporters!

My name is Terry Bowman, UAW member, and President and founder of Union Conservatives.

We are a group that is–for the first time in union history--reaching out and organizing conservatives within the unions.

You see, we believe it’s essential that conservative union members join together to confront the political injustice of forced unionism. At least 40% of the 14.7 million union workers do not vote in line with the far-left political agenda of their union bosses.

Yet they are forced by law to pay for their political agenda or lose their job.

From libertarians to independent voters, from conservatives to Reagan democrats, between 5 and 7 million union workers are left without a voice and are consistently persecuted, harassed, and marginalized when they make their political voices heard in the union workplace.

I can personally attest to the terror factor.  Many union conservatives express to me their fear of being “outed” and persecuted.

Because of this, many “keep their heads down” and are genuinely afraid to speak up.  It is for these people that Union Conservatives was formed.

We are reaching our goals by adhering to our 3 foundations:

• Bridging the gap between union members and liberty
• Building an organization of voices, and
• Strengthening unions through conservative principles.

Tony and I have teamed up for an issue that is near and dear to our beliefs: Right to Work.

For the union worker, Right to Work honors the 1st Amendment guarantee of freedom of association, including freedom not to associate.  It is that simple. As it is now, in Michigan, a majority of employees can form a union and force the minority to pay dues or be fired.  There is no recourse for the employer or the employee that doesn’t want to join.  The contract between employee and employer can be overridden by the union–the union created by no agreement with either party!

We strongly believe in Right to Work because it is a civil rights violation to force workers to financially support an outside third party as a condition of employment.  The passage of the 1935 National Labor Relations Act gutted our constitutional freedom of association, and we believe that the NLRA must be repealed.The abuses today are visible everywhere. 

A doctor reports to me that unions can require prior approval for HMO procedures.  He had one life-or-death case where prior approval was not possible, because some 19 year old clerk in the union offices refused to authorize payment.

Another supporter was forced to pay dues for ten years to the union at the golf course she worked at–even though, as a seasonal employee, she was ineligible for any benefits!  Like so many others, she was afraid to speak up.

This is why it’s so vital that you sign Campaign for Liberty’s Statement of Support for Union Conservatives.

The more voices we have, the more easily more people can find the courage to speak up.  Our strength is in our numbers.

But this is about more than freedom.  It’s about restoring Michigan to its greatness.

Forced unionism has devastated Michigan’s economy perhaps more than any other state.  Companies rightly understand that forced unions are a threat to their ability to do business, and choose to build in Right to Work states rather than face Michigan’s draconian union demands.

Folks, Michigan has the best trained, most abundant factory workforce in the nation. And, we are surrounded by fellow forced union states.  Companies all over the area would expand into Michigan.  From our engineering base to the skilled trade workforce, Michigan would offer a perfect environment for attracting new business and the well-paying jobs that come with them.

Boeing considered renovating and using the Willow Run assembly plant in Ypsilanti for new manufacturing.  Instead, they chose South Carolina, a Right to Work state.

Have you seen the TV commercial for the BMW plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina?  The plant employs over 7,000 people–jobs which might have come to Michigan, were we a Right to Work state.But there is something that we can do together to help Michigan’s economy back from the brink of disaster. 

We can work together to help pass a Right to Work law here in Michigan.  Click here to join us.

As a group of union workers who embrace reality, we realize that Right to Work is not the villain that the union officials say it is.  It represents real jobs, real economic advantages in a state so desperately in need, and the freedom and liberty to choose.

We believe that if Michigan becomes Right to Work, we would immediately be a magnet for these new manufacturing jobs.

This summer, Union Conservatives is organizing union workers who are with us on the Right to Work issue.

If you are a current union worker, former union worker, or retiree, I ask you to join Campaign For Liberty and Union Conservatives in this cause.

We are planning a press conference to announce to the citizens of Michigan that we are union workers who believe that everyone has a right to be in a union—but only if they choose to do so.

We are seeking as many current and former union members to stand with us.  Will you?

In January of 1962, President John Kennedy signed Executive Order #10988 which states:

“…Employees of the Federal Government shall have, and shall be protected in the exercise of, the right, freely and without fear of penalty or reprisal, to form, join or assist any employee organization, or to refrain from any such activity.”

The very order that gave collective bargaining rights to Federal employees also guaranteed a Right to Work status for all employees of the Federal Government!  Here in Michigan, we too can have those rights; but only if we are free to refrain from any such activity.

Will you stand with us?

Sincerely,

Terry Bowman
Union Conservatives, Inc.
www.unionconservatives.com

P.S.  If you stand with Union Conservatives, please sign Campaign for Liberty’s Statement of Support, and be sure to include your union background.  It’s time to stand together and get this done.

Feel free to forward this information to your union friends and neighbors!

“The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to “save the country from trending toward socialism.”

The strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how “ego-driven” wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and “tchochkes.”

Politico’s piece has sparked a number of lefty blogs, who are looking for anything they can find to turn attention away from the FAIL Obama policies and the current debate on the monstrous government health care takeover.  Using a paltry 2 pages from the presentation found,  Democrats have begun to rail on Republican efforts to milk the rich donors based on the fears of this country turning to socialism etc.. But at the same time ignoring that many donors were AT THE RETREAT where the presentation was made.

An attempt to turn the Republican supporters against the party is expected.  The left has been trying to define Republicans based on their limited synaptic polarization, but to use a strategy session hand out as a smoking gun for a political party is somewhat weak and has the smell of desperation.

But let us not forget that in our own state, the glorious territory of Michigan, it was not a Republican “conspiracy” that attempted to rewrite the constitution of the state in a single pass, but rather the collusion of the Democrat Party, and The Unions.  The 2008 discovery by a Mackinac center intern of the Democrat takeover plan was found on a UAW website, and outlined the ways in which to deceive Michigan voters so that the Democrats could retain power in a state where the dissatisfaction with Democrat leadership would leave them out of power from 2012-2021 (their estimates.. not mine)

The document, when addressing the desired redistricting to help retain democrat seats:

“To succeed Redistricting reform must be a part of a larger, popular state government reform proposal”

which means “We need to headline the package with things that people actually might support”

They even recognized how incredibly miserable a job Democrats have done in Michigan, all the while trying to get more power for encore performances:

“In 2008, use the public’s very negative mood and high level of discouragement about state government (the worst in 25 years) to enact a ballot proposal which comprehensively reforms state government, including changing the structural obstacles to Democratic control of state government in 2012-2021″

And it wasn’t ME who added the parenthesis and “worst in 25 years” comment..

The worst part of this document, is that it wasn’t merely a strategy booklet laying around, but rather a full blown plan bought and paid for by the Democrat Party in Michigan.  It’s implementation HAPPENED, and the Democrats LIED about it.  They claimed to have nothing to do with it when the RMGN (Reform Michigan Government NOW) petitions appeared on the scene.  They hid the source of the funding, and only when this document was discovered, did the Michigan Democrat leadership admit its participation.

From Stacking the courts by elimination of “conservative” or otherwise Republican identified judges, to redistricting that favored Democrat majorities, the entire ballot initiative that came out fortunately had one little problem.

It was too big.  IT wouldn’t fit on the ballot, and was summarily rejected for that reason.

The failure of the Democrats and their leadership in this state and in the nation can be summed up in one word; “proboscis”.  The consistent failures result in the inability to see beyond the ends of their elite, and oft upturned noses.  Lack of consideration for the damaging complexities they weave, while practicing the art of deception over a voting public and indeed their very own constituencies.

And now they would condemn the Republicans, for the simple act of considering how best to raise funds and reach their donor base based on a little stroking of the ego?

Laughable.

At 11/06/2009 12:32 AM, Anonymous said…

Why is the UAW allowed to represent the workers at Ford? the UAW is now the de facto owner of GM and Chrysler, courtesy of the US taxpayer via the Obama administration. Representing Ford workers presents a clear conflict of interest, forcing Ford to negotiate for labor with it’s direct competitors.

It’s only a matter of time before the UAW labor cartel has completely destroyed the native American auto industry. The question is how much more of the taxpayers blood will they be allowed to suck?

Consider that Ford motor company declined to participate in the bailout process.  This has infuriated the Obama administration which is both beholding to, and pulls strings within the labor union ranks.  We have already seen the POTUS’ vindictive nature when it is not supported by the Fox news network.

The next negotiations between the UAW and FORD will reveal even more, as Obamas “Chicago method” will be all over it, confirming ever more we have the most corrupt administration the US has ever had.

Right Michigan points out:

“And thanks, especially, to Andy Dillon and legislative Democrats, cash-strapped Michigan families are about to take another punch to the gut.  The Detroit News reports this morning that Consumers Energy will raise rates again.  This week.  3.5 percent amounting to about $2.99 a month.

Of course industry doesn’t use electricity ever since we assigned energy policy to the center for climate strategies.. Oh  wait.. yeah that’s right we ALL still use electricity..  Maybe the lights aren’t on after all?  $2.99 may not seem like a lot, but to an unemployed worker who has lost all of his income because of a cut in workforce due to energy costs increasing in the manufacturing process, it is certainly more than a loaf of bread off the dinner table.

Of course energy policy is just a part of it.  Overall STATE tax policy which helps to sway en masse, those businesses which might decide to settle in Michigan is sadly lacking.  The changes in the last couple of years have helped cement a negative growth in the industrial sector, and given that it seems the car making employers are going to leave quite the vacuum in the budget, we are in some deep doo doo.

The Mackinac Center’s senior economist, David L. Littmann, speaks about the impact of the auto crisis on Michigan’s economy, and predicts:

“Revenues for the state will continue to plummet,” adding: “The automakers and suppliers were such a big part — I’m going to say between 26 and 30 percent — of the tax base of Michigan. And today that’s eroding to something on the order of perhaps 10 to 12 percent.”

Littmann also expresses concern that state officials are underestimating the severity of the economic and fiscal crisis and the need for significant policy change, explaining:

“They have to explain rationally to the voter and to the taxpayer why they think somehow heaven will change Michigan’s fortunes if bad policies persist.”…  “The single most important element in reform — long-lasting, durable economic and financial reform — for this state, so that we can become a magnet for attraction of business and jobs, is to make it a right-to-work [state].”

So look at that last part.  For the average Union worker, who for a generation or two has accepted that the gains in his paycheck have been the result of a strong union presence defending his position, it is an atrocity.  How dare they take advantage of the worker?

Hey Dave, George, or Junior? I want to point out to you something..  Its the people you elect who are doing this.  In Michigan, soft core tyranny which drives up costs in energy, living expenses, and general business overhead can be placed squarely at the feet of the union voter.  Because the unions have carried so much weight in deciding Michigan political outcomes, it is logical to assume the policies which have been borne are a direct result.

While I point out this fact, I am not suggesting that union workers are bad, but that the leadership they have, is either self serving, or better put, simply corrupt.  I like most in this state have relatives who have a direct interest in the survival of the auto companies and industry in general, and am furious that some of the national leadership your dues dollars supported now will provide cover for their activities..  And ultimately leave the workers with an undecided future.

So as the title asks..  “hows it working for you?”  Are these results worth the $12, $20, $50 a week out of your paycheck?  Do you suppose that maybe truly positive “change” is now a little farther than you had hoped?

The billions of dollars paid by the taxpayer for the short term survival of GM and Chrysler was a shell game by our government, and both administrations had their reasons for supporting it.  Bush, because the total collapse of the automotive sector on this watch would have been unacceptable, and the incoming Obama administration because they saw it as a means to an end; the nationalization of the largest sector of industry.  The movement of taxpayer funds into the companies with “first rights” or “preferred” status, was to reduce the influence of former stockholders who would have been better served with an immediate bankruptcy in the latter part of 2008.   The bleed losses the companies were expecting are essentially CONVERTING the ownership from stockholders to government and Union controlled pension obligation funds.

But THIS ownership by government is merely that of “control,” and perhaps not a total ownership which might be more classically used to demonstrate a fascist mission.   The Chrysler failure resulting in its bankruptcy will now apparently result in the ownership of the automaker by the very unions which have guided the company into a profitless state.  And as GM is soon to follow,  the unions, alongside the government will soon be the operational owners and management of at least two of the automakers.  Ford, wisely chose to remain independent of this scheme to defraud stockholders of their ownership stake by the government.

So as to not appear fascist, the Obama administration is going to cede operation control of these former giants of productivity to the very unions which destroyed them.  There will likely be further controls added by government to enhance their competitiveness  against Ford and other car makers.  And employees of the new Union-Government partnership will see a new boss..  same as the old boss.. And will have been fooled again.

But this time, it will be worse.  It will be worse because the employees will have no representation.  They will have the negotiating equivalent of a lawyer suing on a plaintiff’s behalf.. suing himself, with a judge who also as a defendant.  The dichotomy of representation against your representation arbitrated by an economically interested party is laughable, yet sorrowfully so. .

Isn’t it strange though, how the very set up in this situation so closely resembles the very problem we ALL face with an over reaching government?  Consider that the dues paying employees contributing dues,  a “tax” if you will, to have a voice in their representation, find themselves in opposition to those very same representatives who take the “tax” from them.  What we are witnessing is a  microcosm of government that lives so very completely in the unfolding developments, and theft of our voices.

So to the DUES PAYING MEMBERSHIP of the UAW here is a question:  How long will you pay dues to your OWN employer till you have your own “Tea Party?”

My own below, found at the link above tends to divert to the ideological side I suppose, but its hard not to provide valid reasoning for an opinion I feel has been well crafted and is appealing logically.

My own reasons for wanting to fully understand what is going on there has less to do with my dislike for an organization of the type I do not care for, but rather to know what money manipulations might be happening at the same time the very same (or related) organization is begging the government (the taxpayer) largess. As I disagree with the particulars of the current money handling to that end, you will find myself and others pretty sensitive to what might be perceived as shenanigans in the organized labor sector.

As to organizing?  I actually might have a view a little more different than you think.  I am not against unions.  I am against GOVERNMENT involvement in the support or otherwise as relates to unions.  In other words, if there are 50 employable people in town and 40 of them hold hands and insist they will do nothing without the agreement of the 39 others, then more power to them.  If there is one major employer in town who needs a majority of those available persons, it is incumbent upon them to create a relationship with their perceived leadership.  However, if the employer decides the cost benefit of importing labor from outside town is of greater weight, then there is no reason that employer could not do so…  even if it involves FIRING workers who might stand and disrupt by strike or otherwise.

Private property and individual ownership is one of the MAIN reasons this country was formed.  To have an elected body institute a “board” which can FINE or DISRUPT business operations because they are/were not “fair” to previous or current employees is anathema to the very core beliefs which brought us this great republic.

We have hands.  We have minds. We have the ability to change direction, to re-task our selves to productive pursuits.  It is not only unnecessary to have a government punish self serving enterprise for decisions which will in many cases keep it afloat, it is immoral.

Also If you follow this posting you might have a little more insight where I am coming from. http://michigantaxes.com/wordp… It doesn’t necessarily demonstrate government ACTION, but it does show that the (original story linked within, you will have to follow through) car hauling company knew it had no choice but to liquidate.  In that case, did it HELP the lowly worker?  of course not.. it was merely an ideological tool as a warning shot across the bow of any other company which might suggest the union give any concessions.”

Thoughts?

Chetly Zarko of Zarko Reasearch,  and LaborPains.org have revealed some (publicly available) information which might put the UAW’s Black Lake operation on the radar.  The First part is the equalized value as brought up by Dennis Lennox and the waverly township assessor.  Chetly maintains there is a significant difference, ($770,000 not collected as a result of the tribunal ) but as the “equalized values” go (Half) I believe the difference in the amount should be $385,000 in property taxes which would certainly be helpful to the township in any event.

But as Chetly also points out, THAT is hardly the potential bombshell.

Mr. Zarko points out the biggest loss in the financial statements of this “for-profit” enterprise is the pension losses of $5,910,000.00.  This number eclipsing the wages for the operation?

“its clear that pensions are the largest reason for the losses, which laborpains.org suggests isn’t “unusual for UAW pensions” which have been in disarray even for the larger union itself and with GM and Chrysler, which recently went through a pension buyout among the rank-and-file.”

Zarko makes comparisons which demonstrate how far out of line the number is in comparison to the other figures, and to those in other for profit enterprises.

“First, if you compare the golf course wages ($274,095.34) to golf course health insurance ($57,689.04, or about 20%, similar to medical costs anywhere) and those same wages to the pension trust fund investment ($17,269, or about 6% of wages), you get numbers you’d expect to find in a normal workplace.  But when you look at the education center’s ratios, pensions are 182% of wages.  The golf course verifies that something strange is going on at the education center.”

So the new question is…  Who had a really good Christmas this year?

The UAW Golf course in Cheyboygan county, (North Eastern Michigan)  a $33 million dollar posh (and public.. at a price) facility has been losing money for the Union and apparently misrepresents its true value for property tax purposes as Dennis Lennox III points out in his phone interview on Fox news yesterday.  Dennis is the recently elected Drain Commissioner for Cheboygan county, and claims the UAW uses the tribunal process in an attempt to decrease the state taxable value well below the value they claim for federal purposes.  This results in lowered collected taxes and “cheats” the already cash strapped schools of much needed funds.

Michelle Malkin has been on top of this as well for weeks, and has chronicled the excesses the UAW has enjoyed on the backs of its workers, and now apparently the taxpayer.  She points out even more through financial history:

Nero fiddled while Rome burned. The UAW golfed. While carmakers soak up $17 billion in taxpayer bailout funds and demand more for their ailing industry, United Auto Workers bosses have wasted tens of millions of their workers’ dues on gold-plated resorts and rotten investments. The labor organization’s money-losing golf compound is just the tip of the iceberg.

Malkin is correct.  It is only the tip of the iceberg…

Curious as I am about the UAW and its operation of the lavish facility in Cheboygan county I wonder aloud if the employees if this resort are the recipients of a decent compensation package the UAW insists is necessary for the survival of ANY individual at any time.  Certainly the kitchens of Black Lake Golf Course in Onaway are heavily populated with the finest Union chefs and wait staff.  I guess a little cheating on your local taxes could be well balanced out by long term health care doled out to those deserving northern Michiganders hmmm?

Right..  Hypocrisy… meet thy maker

Or at least they think the Senate Republicans arent being “decent” when they decide that it is an improper role being played out to keep the automaker afloat, if but only for a few more months..  My comments on a thread at Right Michigan pretty much speak for themselves, though I will elaborate:

“What makes it right to take our money for them?

The real underlying problem is that you are a member of one of the most corrupt institutions of our time.  One which enriches its members by delivering the goods to heavy lobbying interests.  This is not to say that YOU are corrupt, but my point is that these “bridge loans” or Bailouts will continue until the streets are red, and NOT with ink.

Bush was WRONG to deliver the original bailout, and will be WRONG if he delivers more to save the automakers.  The saving of which will only lead to more problems, as is the way when people fail to own up the responsibilities of their actions.

The unions and the PEOPLE THEY ELECT are MOST responsible for the majority of the problems we face.  It is a pitiful state of affairs when smart people like yourself cannot separate your blind ambition to remain in office and embrace the ideology which could SOLVE this problem.  The very ideology which the party you chose claims to represent.

It is time to STOP being enablers to big government, and big labor.  They have failed us, and will continue to do so.

As for what the actions of those senators are..  it is YOUR job as an elected Republican to explain why the ideology is better for us all in the end.  If you cannot, then perhaps you do not in fact believe in it.  Right is Right.  Circumstances do not change statics.

The unions have an addiction problem. Its time to play hard love.  THAT is the decent thing to do.”

Candace Miller is truly a DECENT person.  She merely wishes for the best for her constituency, and perhaps she believes that a short term stimulus for the automakers will bring about the needed miracle for the sake of Michiganders and those related to the automakers everywhere.  However, in doing so she abandons principles which are MOST NEEDED in tough times.  Principles which should guide her votes absolutely and definitively.  Without the principled decision making we merely prolong the agony of a dying beast.

The beast however is NOT the automakers.  It is the UAW.  The very union which lays claim as a restorer of decent living standards for workers of all skill levels.  The same union which knowing it is at high risk wishes to take as many out with it as possible if it goes.  The same organization which hasn’t the capability to understand “decency” as it relates to those who wish to be free of “their” selection for government who always seem to offer merely oppressive government solutions to everything.

Decency..

Decency is allowing those of us who earn a living keep a substantial amount of it.

Decency is allowing us to determine the recipients of our benevolence.

Decency is NOT saddling our children, their children, and their grandchildren with a debt beyond reason.

Decency is allowing failure to be failure so that we may learn from it.

Government intervention in all things is not in anyway appropriate, and strays from its basic function of keeping order. Government is incapable of promoting decency by subjugating its constituents to an abject form of fiscal slavery.

Often, the supporters of left leaning politicos decry the “capitalist” solution as anathema to job growth in this country.   They use the movement of employment and factories as an example, citing “greed” and “avarice” by business owners as motivations of such decision making. What is not considered readily by skeptics of those decisions is that the cost of continuing business in the local environments makes such a possibility a certain death sentence for the business involved.  It COSTS more to build here because of GOVERNMENT.

Speaking to the pain and position of the automakers, the fact that in the last several years there has been a step up in legislation supporting mandates on fuel economies and safety standards.  Automakers have for DECADES endured the boat anchor that is the UAW, but with the increased manipulation of design by a congressional engineering team, they now have “Mickey Rat” telling them what they can or cannot make. The Unions as a side note are a insidious monopolistic plague mandated by rules and force of law; a creation of congressional activity in the decades old establishment of the NLRB.

Add to this..  The same congressional muck-a-mucks derailing oil and gas exploration at a critical time of war, and essential need, the fuel prices exploded for long enough to scare the buyers off of the cars they really wanted to buy.  All the automakers felt the pain though some were better positioned to benefit the result of the congressional manipulation.  Congress merely entering into session is job security for itself.  For every “problem” it attempts to deal with, it merely creates more, and usually in multiples.

There is a fix for the automakers.

It is a simple fix and allows the free markets to function in the best manner and for the healthiest results. Eliminate CAFE standards. Allow Exploration and recovery of needed resources to continue, and eliminate the NLRB.  Free markets would FLOOD the automakers with new cash, and the automakers could efficiently deal with workers and worker organizations which are laden with wasteful procedure and needless rules.  Designs “could turn on a dime,” and the companies would be more quickly responsive to the needs of consumers.  Add to this, the fuels costs would be more consistent as well.

Russ Harding of the Mackinac Center notes:

Fuel economy would increase if Congress repealed CAFE requirements and imposed a substantial increase in gasoline taxes. The gas tax increase could be made revenue neutral by cutting federal income taxes. This approach would allow the auto manufacturers to respond to market conditions rather than artificial government mandates.

He is Correct. And even if there was a slight increase in the tax to provide for direct relief to road infrastructure, the lower BASE cost of the fuel would spur sales of vehicles which we WANT to drive.  Harding delves further into the regulatory roadblocks as well.  It is worth a visit.

Government in its efforts to “protect” or “save” business and the environment often steps on its own untied shoelaces.  The pitfalls of allowing legislators and lawyers “design” product by fiat has become glaringly clear as we face the greatest financial crisis most alive have ever seen.  Government needs to be told to let up and allow business to flourish naturally.

Added a couple hours later – 22lbs of UAW rules Malkin’s pic of the day