Public Sector Unions - Is the End Near?

Reuters:

Ohio's legislature on Wednesday passed a Republican measure to curb the collective bargaining rights of about 350,000 state employees, and Governor John Kasich said he will sign it into law.

The bill, which also bans strikes by unions for public employees, was approved in the Ohio Senate late on Wednesday following its passage in the state House of Representatives earlier in the day.

The amended bill removed jail time as a possible penalty for workers who strike. But it is in some ways tougher on unions -- it prevents nonunion employees affected by contracts from paying fees to unions and makes it easier to decertify a union.

While Wisconsin has gained more national attention, Ohio is far more important to unions. It has the sixth largest number of public sector union members among all the 50 states, twice the number of Wisconsin. With many auto and steel and manufacturing plants, Ohio is also a union bellwether.

 Full story:  Reuters - Ohio Unions


And in Idaho:

Idaho's Republican governor on Thursday signed into law a measure that strips public school teachers of some major collective bargaining rights and does away with teacher tenure.

Butch Otter is the second governor to sign such a measure this year, after Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed legislation curbing that state's public workers union last Friday.

The Idaho law limits collective bargaining by the 12,000 teachers represented by the Idaho Education Association, the state teachers union, to salaries and benefits.

That means educators can no longer negotiate such issues as teacher workload and class sizes. It also does away with teacher tenure and limits contracts to one year.

This is a true movement going on.  I fully expect more states to follow.  AFSCME must be pulling out their hair. Ultimately, I believe that this will be good for public sector financials and strengthen the attractiveness of municipal bonds and BABs.

The Shame of the US Political process

Once again, our system of government is showing what it has truly become.  Gone are the days of debate and making tough decisions, gone are the days or a government of the people, by the people and for the people.  The founding fathers would be ashamed of the cowardice.

Most Democratic members of the Indiana House of Representatives have decamped for Illinois to avoid being forced to vote on legislation that would allow workers in private sector unions the right to opt out of their unions and not pay dues, officials said Wednesday.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, the Democratic members, who were trying to prevent a quorum in the House, said: “We will remain here until we get assurances from the governor and House Speaker Brian Bosma that these bills will not be called down in the House at any time this session.”

Following the pitiful conduct by Wisconsin:

The Democratic state senators have fled the state as a way of preventing a vote on the union legislation. Starting Tuesday, those senators, who are in Illinois, will have to watch from afar as Republicans continue the work of governing without them, taking up matters from the mundane to the controversial. 

Now, before I am accused of being a covert Fox neocon, let me just say that this is not about mere politics - it is about the the subversion of the constitution and all that this country has worked for and stands to lose (yes, this is in motion).  It is a shame.  Is it any wonder many nations do not want our democracy?

Public Sector Unionization - It IS the States Problem

Saw this from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and thought it warranted a post.  Keep in mind that the public sector is grappling with massively underfunded pensions and OPEB and has to face some hard budget choices.  Now many say that the unions will continue to help their employer out by giving concessions in contract talks.  I ask:  why?  Who is negotiating from a position of strength?

Union membership declines in 2010

In 2010, the union membership rate—the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union—was 11.9 percent, down from 12.3 percent a year earlier; the number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions declined by 612,000 to 14.7 million. In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million union workers.

In 2010, 7.6 million public sector employees belonged to a union, compared with 7.1 million union workers in the private sector. The union membership rate for public sector workers (36.2 percent) was substantially higher than the rate for private sector workers (6.9 percent).

Within the public sector, local government workers had the highest union membership rate (4.7 million members, or a rate of 42.3 percent). This group includes workers in heavily unionized occupations, such as teachers, police officers, and fire fighters.

Private sector industries with high unionization rates included transportation and utilities (1.1 million members, or a rate of 21.8 percent), telecommunications (167,000 members, or a rate of 15.8 percent), and construction (801,000 members, or a rate of 13.1 percent).

Now the question I have to ask is with the union being so deep in states and municipalities, what are the chances there will be meaningful concessions.  Perhaps people should recall one of the main reasons GM and Chrysler went into bankruptcy - the gain negotiating power with the unions.