Politics and true American Labor

I listened to Teamsters President Sean O’Brien speak at the RNC.?? Understanding he has a job to do and I respect that.?? However, I part company with him on a few important issues.

85% of our American work force is non-union.? ?Let us be very careful to distinguish “organized labor from actual labor.”??? True labor in America is non-union and is the force that truly drives our economy.??? Politicians that pander to unions have a couple of problems.?? One being that union leadership is often not representative of union workers.?? ?It is of course much easier to buy off union leaders than the rank and file.?? Take the UAW for example. . .

Secondly since roughly 15% of the work force is referred to as organized labor the actual numbers compared to labor as a whole are not there.?? ??Now let’s talk about State Governments and state workers unions which of course are known to vote with certainty and for sure are bought off by the in-office politicians through a host of vote buying schemes.?? Usually that begins with union contractual concessions that result in higher taxes for the rest of us.? ??Hence the importance of the non-union labor vote in state government.

The idea that labor benefits from organization is debatable.?? Today the National Labor Relations Board more than represents all labor and does an outstanding job.?? Couple that with OSHA, the EEOC and Human Rights Commissions in every state and labor is well protected.??? Does labor benefit from paying dues to a group to organize them and represent them?

Our labor unions have become predominantly political organizations, representing only a small percentage the private-sector workforce but spending nearly $2 billion during the 2020 elections. ??Where union members hold a wide range of political views, more than 99% of spending by the largest unions goes to Democrats and the political left. Perhaps for these reasons, “union political involvement” is the top reason cited by workers who do not want to join a union.?

There is a call to prohibit political spending by worker organizations, comparable to the prohibition on political spending by 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. ?????This would apply to any organization recognized by the National Labor Relations Act as the exclusive bargaining representative for a group of workers or ?any organization that receives compulsory dues from workers, and any organization that receives employer or public funds to provide benefits or training to workers. ????

They would still be free to create separate political action groups and raise voluntary contributions from workers and other sources to fund political activity where desired. Don’t misunderstand me as a freedom loving American I support everyone’s right to join a union or not to join a union.? Your choice like with all choice should be protected. ?Hence SCOTUS and the Janus case in 2018.??

I grew up in a union household where my Dad was a V.P. of the Bridge Iron and Ornamental Workers union.?? ? ?I would not argue with the need for our trade unions as they have in fact built the disciplines they support such as:? Carpenters, electricians, plumbers and the like.??

My point in all of this is for all of us to remember the 85% of American workers that truly comprise labor and to pay great attention to them!??? I would hope in this election that all eligible American Labor votes and brings about a country that is truly representative of the majority of our citizenry. ?