The Enter Stage Right Link of the Month
Yes!
On Proposition 226
What would you say if I told you that it would be legally
permissible to force you to be a member of an organization which used
part of your paycheck to fund causes that you may disagree with vehemently?
Can't happen here? Wake up.
It's called a union. Unless you live in a right to work state, you may
be obligated to join a union to pursue your vocation, and be forced
pay dues, and have part of those dues used to fund causes which you disagree
with.
Opposed to the legalization of drugs and a member of the Teamsters? You'll
be happy to know that they used your money in 1996 -- some $195 000 --
to fight for its legalization. What does the legal access to drugs have
to do with your working conditions? Beats us.
If you think that's just a rare example of workers money misused by unions,
you'd be very mistaken. Every year, tens of millions of dollars are funneled
into political activities whether or not the worker agrees with it. Although
a good number of American workers vote Republican, a massive amount of
union PAC money goes straight into Democratic coffers. Two unions which
were among the top ten contributors in the 1995-96 federal election campaign
contributed 96 per cent of their donations to the Democrats!
Proposition 226 is the brain child of three Orange County businessman,
one of whom was defeated as an imcumbent after a massive infusion of money
in his opponent's race by teachers' unions. Prop 226 would:
- Prohibits political contributions or expenditures by foreign entities.
- Prohibits employers from making automatic deductions from an employee’s pay for political contributions or expenditures without annual, written authorization from the employee.
- Prohibits labor unions from using any portion of a member’s (or agency fee payer’s) dues for political purposes without annual, written authorization from the individual.
Are you protected in your state or province against these unauthorized
political uses of your membership dues? If you're not, this California
web site is definitely the place to start to learn about paycheck protection.
It's the latest state to fight for paycheck protection and against entrenched
anti-freedom union interests, interests that many unions are willing to
fight for even if their members don't support them! Read all about the
fight for Prop 226 at Yes! on Prop 226.
If you live in California, vote Yes on Proposition 226 in June. If you're
not in California, then learn about the latest fight for workers rights!
