Busting Up The Union Mafia

Subject: Busting Up The Union Mafia Wed Feb 11, 2015 2:32 am

Moving beyond rhetoric, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday issued an executive order that aims at absolving state workers who don’t want to join a union from paying fees that support collective bargaining.
The new governor’s decree effectively attempts to impose right-to-work rules on public employees, an idea Rauner and his pro-business allies also are pursuing for private-sector unions.
Anticipating a strong pushback from organized labor, Rauner filed a pre-emptive federal lawsuit in Chicago seeking to have his decision declared legal. But the move likely will spark additional court battles as unions quickly decried the effort as an illegal abuse of power. It’s also possible Democratic lawmakers could vote to overturn Rauner’s executive order.
Under state law, employees can decline to join a union but are still on the hook for “fair share” fees related to collective bargaining and contract negotiations. The idea is that if all employees are getting the benefits from a new contract, everyone should contribute to the cost.
Illinois statute prohibits those fees from being used to support political activities, but Rauner contended it’s nearly impossible to draw a distinction because public sector unions directly negotiate with the government.
“Government union bargaining and government union political activity are inextricably linked,” Rauner said. “As a result, an employee who is forced to pay unfair share dues is being forced to fund political activity with which they disagree. That is a clear violation of First Amendment rights and something that, as governor, I am duty-bound to correct.”
The Republican further argued that the fees were a “critical cog in the corrupt bargain that is crushing taxpayers,” saying they helped finance wage and pension packages that contributed to the state’s massive debt.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/chi-bruce-rauner-tries-to-block-fees-for-state-workers-who-dont-want-to-join-union-20150209-story.html

Busting Up The Union Mafia

Busting Up The Union Mafia

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