THE MESSAGE:
THE CANADIAN WAY?
In Canada, roughly one out of every five Canadian workers is employed in the broader public sector, working in public administration, health care, education, police and fire protection, public utilities, social services and municipal government. Of those, more than 70 per cent are union members. This compares to just 15.9 per cent of private sector workers in Canada who belong to unions.
HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE CANADIAN UNION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' (CUPE) BULLETIN:
Everyone is dependent on a well-functioning, well-financed public sector. For public sector workers, this is the source of a decent and secure livelihood. For citizens, the public sector is the mechanism we use to collectively provide services — like health care and education — that are so fundamental to our well-being, regardless of our individual income levels.
A HUGE PROBLEM
As in the USA, Canadians are faced with the reality of partisan politics. Instead of supporting the wishes of their constituents, riding reps tend to vote the 'PARTY LINE". A huge problem arises when it comes to seeking or maintaining POWER. The union presents its members with the preferred choice of candidates, and in most cases, the members vote accordingly. This is done on the basis of which political party promises the most benefit to the Union. In the case of CUPE, the government must have the responsibility of administering each PUBLIC SECTOR without undue influence and in proportion to what is fair and reasonable. This must be accomplished without the interference of political pressure.
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY MUST CARRY OUT ITS DUTY ACCORDING TO THESE PRINCIPALS:
> to oversee each public sector service with the view of protecting the general public
> to take into account the 'VALUE ADDED' of each sector
> to consider the 'EFFORT and SKILLS REQUIRED' by employees of each sector's services
> to consider the 'EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND' requirements of employees for each sector
> to ensure that each sector is given the resources needed to provide valuable and required services
> to initiate and promote programs that will best serve the consumers of each sector's productivity
> to foster a fair wage and equitable benefits package for public sector workers REGARDLESS OF GENDER
> to set realistic budgets, free of selfish interests, for each sector
> to remove the right to strike for all sectors
If all of the above factors are accepted as the responsibility of the government, there would be no need for unions or union bosses.
IN THE USA
In 1932, WISCONSIN became the first state to allow a government employees union. In 2012, Republican Governor Scott Walker, kept his campaign promise to change the state’s unsustainable fiscal trajectory driven by what he referred to as the perquisites of government employees. 
Back in 2010, the government employees unions campaigned, unsuccessfully, against Walker’s plan that requires government employees to contribute 5.8 percent of their pay to their pension plans. (Most were paying less than 1 percent. Most private-sector workers have no pensions; those who do, pay on average, much more than 5.8 percent.) Walker’s reform requires government employees to pay 12.6 percent of their health care premiums (up from 6 percent but still less than the 21 percent private-sector average).
This freed school districts from buying teachers’ health insurance from a PATRONAGE provider that was associated with the teachers union. It saved Milwaukee $19 million. Walker also ended the automatic deduction of union dues from government employees’ pay. Experience shows that when union dues become voluntary, they become elusive.
Badly wounded, the union led the charge to have Walker recalled, stressing his restriction of collective bargaining rights. Tuesday, June 5, 2012, will be remembered as the beginning of the long decline of the public-sector union in the USA. The abject failure of the union's campaign to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, the first such failure in U.S. history, marks the defining moment of the failure of a public sector-union's power.
THE QUESTION:
HAVE UNIONS OUTLIVED THEIR USEFULNESS?
THE LEMON TO:
THE QUOTE:
"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death."— Leonardo da Vinci
THE CLIP:
No comments:
Post a Comment