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What do unions have to do with funding our troops in Afghanistan? Apparently a lot.

Democrats slap our troops in the face in order to reward union bosses.

By: LaborUnionReport (Diary)  |  July 6th, 2010 at 01:22 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Back in April, Democrat Harry Reid re-introduced another union-payback bill called the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (PSEECA).  This union-payback bill is a massive federal takeover of the unionization and collective bargaining processes in all states, counties, and municipalities.  Essentially, PSEECA federalizes the unionization of all police, firefighters, as well as EMS workers, irrespective of of their current state laws.

As the Heritage Foundation notes:

The bill would be more accurately named the Public Safety Employer Coercion Act. It would force state and local governments to collectively bargain with police officers, firefighters, and emergency personnel—whether or not collective bargaining would improve local public safety. This will directly affect the 21 states that do not already do this and would force states with collective bargaining to rewrite their codes to comply with the federal standard.

A federal mandate would strip away state sovereignty over labor relations. For many states, public sector collective bargaining makes little sense. Under this bill, they would have to do so anyway.

PSEECA would also affect volunteer fire and ambulance services that many municipalities currently have. And, knowing how unions need dues in order to survive, it is highly unlikely that “volunteerism” would be allowed in a unionized environment. PSEECA would almost certainly cause either the closure of volunteer fire companies and ambulance corps., or cause a tremendous tax increases in those municipalities.

Realizing that the bill has little chance of succeeding in the Senate, House Democrats (through James Clyburn D-SC) have pathetically attempted to sneak the bill into the supplemental spending bill intended to fund the war in Afghanistan. In doing this end run, Democrats and their union bosses are not only slapping America’s troops in the face and endangering their lives, they are hoping that the desire to keep our troops funded will override a rejection of the union-payback bill.

There are only two ways to stop this union takeover of public safety employees.

The first is to convince all Republicans and what few Democrats there are who still put higher value on America’s troops than on union bosses to strip PSEECA from the Afghanistan spending supplement.

The second is to…

Remember November.

2010 is America’s Thermopylae.

GOTV.

Read the rest of the Heritage Foundation’s piece here.

__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.”Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

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COMMENTS

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  • http://www.veronicaestrada.com/ Veronica

    Screwing with Right to Work states under the radar.

    Evil, conniving..

  • JadedByPolitics

    abyss of disgusting behavior. I will contact Connolly today and everyone should contact their Congressidiots no matter the letter after their name. It is certainly high time for US to make a stink and let these tools know that WE are wide awake this summer to their disgusting and manipulative actions!

    • nessa

      …since last week. but he was in a Textile Union before he lost that job and joined the Teacher’s Union so it’s probably not a battle I’m going to win. Still, it’s fun to argue with his staff, till November anyway.

  • http://www.redstate.com/etcartman Kenny Solomon

    Cass Sunstein + Andy Stern (even though he “resigned”) x Totalitarian Marxist Jihad Endgame = The current situation.

    Over a year ago, I and a few other folks I know, said that this administration will move to Federalize all L.E.O.’s and that they’d probably do it under the table as much as possible – but when word got out, they’d make it seem all goody-goody gumdrops in nature – a kind of “it’s for the children” way of dropping a claw hammer on the nation’s face.

    I even said it here on RS.

    I was called a fear-monger, inciter and all sorts of other things……. especially by some of my L.E. friends.

    Then that exec. order came out allowing Interpol free and unfettered access to America, including the ability to hold American citizens within The United States without representation and/or recourse.

    That got a few people’s attention…… but it seemingly waned….. (and this is key)…… because nothing has yet to occur in that regard…….. yet……. that anyone knows of…….. yet.

    Now, we have this ‘one union under our Dictator In Training Pants thing that had me just create the following:

    I pledge allegiance to the by-laws,
    of The Domestic Defense Corps International Union.
    And to the president forever he will reign,
    One Union, all over the land, indivisible
    With green jobs and social justice for some.

    ————

    Well ?

    Anybody got somethin’ ta say now ?

  • constitutionalconservative

    I’ve always drawn the dividing line between those Dems who are stupid vs. those who are stupid *and* evil by their level of enthusiasm for public sector unions. These guys are a cancer on the body politic and even the thickest-headed Democrats know it.

  • revivefederalism

    Aside from the obvious affront to federalism that this bill presents, its inclusion in this bill is an insult to our armed services. The knowledge, skills, and abilities required for military service in some ways compare to those needed in the ranks of our policemen and firemen, but they are most often greater. I would not hesitate at all to say that the risks to life and limb are much higher for soldiers than public safety officers. Additionally, cops and firefighters do not get stationed in deserts or jungles in foreign lands where they are kept away from their friends and loved ones.

    It necessarily follows that the enlisted ranks of the military should be paid more than the enlisted ranks of cops and firefighters. With respect to officers, there is not a police chief in the nation who should be paid the same as an O-7, let alone David Petraeus. This bill must be defeated, and municipalities across the country need to tell cops and firefighters that if they are unhappy with their compensation, that they should head to the nearest armed services recruiting station.

  • GregInFla

    For state/local employees. what is federal jurisdiction here? I don’t see any Constitutional basis for this law.

    I hate to say this, but maybe this is the basis for Steele’s statements about the war in Afghanistan. Get enough Repubs to vote no here on this bill, to stop this stupid POS bill. if you recall, Obamacare originated as a US Troops benefits increase bill passed by the House, and Dingy Harry added Obamacare as an amendment to it. This Congress is no Change, and definitely leads to no Hope.

  • redneck_hippie

    Apparently a lot.

    “Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.), the flinty antiwar lawmaker and powerful chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, seized on the administration’s interest in saving 140,000 teachers’ jobs nationwide as a way to tack onto the war bill a legislative accomplishment that hews more closely to his caucus’ agenda.”

    Obama threatened to veto if anti-war amendments were included (they were not) and also threatened to veto if paying for it meant the loss of his pet agenda items.

    http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-war-congress-20100709,0,1045259.story?page=1

    Other laugh-worthy bites:

    Re: threatened veto: “”You’ve got a lot of people doing a lot of heavy lifting here,” said freshman Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.). “I don’t know that we expected flowers and chocolates,” he said. But the president’s response “was an unwelcome message.” So……..the Donks admit they are getting screwed over. Interesting…

    Truer words never spoken =

    “There is nothing as expensive as ignorance, and ignorance is fed when you have an inadequate number of quality teachers,” Obey argued during the floor debate.

    When Obey said “There is nothing as expensive as ignorance” on the floor of the House of Representatives, there should have been a lightening bolt zipping through the chamber.