Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says right-to-work issue is on the table

[Omaha]

Wow, as a Colbert Conservative I can confidently say reading these posts on this subject has caused me to lose 2 hours of my life I’d like to get back.

Let me say I love Right-To-Work legislation for many reasons most of which are directly and indirectly related to the maximization of short-term profits for the large stockholders of publicly traded corporations. The expansion of “RTW for less”…yes the union’s name is accurate, and the reduction of union density increases management’s power to become “lean and mean” or "do more with less." It insures that our nation’s income and wealth will once again resemble what it was at the heights of the Gilded Age!

I have lived in both Detroit [[well not really…just the toniest of its suburbs) and Omaha. I much prefer Nebraska and its RTW for less laws. Section 14b of the Taft-Hartley codified a state by state option to end compulsory unionization and as importantly the requiring of agency fees. Nebraska became a RTW for less state by constitutional amendment even before the SCOTUS ruled the 1947 Taft-Hartley constitutional!

RTW was actually bandied about in the South before 1947 as an anti-union tool because some of those industrial unions were pushing a “black and white together” agenda…which didn’t go over too well with some white Southerners

One of the reasons I love RTW is its name. RTW implies a RTW. There is, of course, NO right to work. Having a right to work would limit the employer of the power to use "divide and conquer" to make the “reverse auction” for jobs work to OUR advantage.

We love it when we can always get wage earners competing individually against one another for the existing jobs. We always have. History reveals it is an American tradition. Pitting free white workers against indentured servants and slave; men against women; adults against children; native born against immigrant; white against POC; union against non-union; RTW against non-RTW [[Michigan’s Police and Fire unions); native workers against desperate workers in developing countries…all part of the game.

In the early to mid 20^th Century unionized textile in the Northeast moved to the Southeast lured by politicians bragging about low unionization rates. Gee, lower wages mean greater profits. What’s astounding is those Southern politicians were perplexed when the industry moved off shore...again in search of ever lower wages [[the reverse auction is worldwide now because thank goodness capital can move anywhere).

“Ideally employers should put every plant they own on a barge so that it could move around the world to take advantage of lower wages.” Jack Welch, former CEO, General Electric Corporation

The other reason I love RTW is its many defenders who are willing to argue that it is good for everyday wage earners. If its so good, why did the Legislature and Governor deprive the police and fire of its many benefits?

RTW is good for employers who want to return to the days before unions when employers had the unilateral right to make any and all decisions about what happened in the workplace and often in the homes of its employees as well.

Some of the people on this post think that CEOs of publicly traded companies actually are the job creators. Job creation inside and outside the U.S. is a side effect. CEOs are primarily interested in maximizing short-term profits unearned income and wealth for people like themselves. But don't call them GREEDY...PLEASE leave that term for unions who want to take from us their fair share of the wealth they believe they helped create.

“Let me say as a caveat that I have spent most of my life worrying about the next quarter’s earnings.” Norman Augustine, President, Chairman, and CEO Lockheed Martin Corporation, 1997

The history of how the employment relationship was “humanized” has heroes and villains. Every employee workplace right and protection costs employers money…money that should be going into stockholders’ pockets. Unions are the villains in this story. They forced employers to limit the 7-day workweek; limit the use of child labor; and reduce the 14 hour workday; and put fire exits and room capacities in factories. Each so-called improvement directly and indirectly raising labor costs. Every legislative right, protection and safeguard had unions as part of the coalition pushing for passage. Everyone of those laws had employers, employer associations and our politicians resisting with everything we had.

Unions are the enemy, they are the villains of American history. They ended the dictatorship of employers with their “meaningful workplace democracy.” Every move they to create a collective power and end the reverse auction cost us money.

I say pass a NATIONAL RTW for less law and make it apply to both the NLRA and the RLA. While were at it, let’s deregulate child labor, end the Equal Pay Act, defund OSHA, and go with Rand Paul and tear up Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. ALL of them drive up the cost of doing business. Each limits the ability of employers to use divide and conquer on their workforce.

Back to the future. With conservative help we can return to the late 1800s and the Gilded Age where the shining homes on the hill tops belonged to the deserving Robber Barons.