US Politics: Mark your calendars

[Shryke]

It was even a good idea.

Proving that the GOP is so dumb, they can only do good things while trying to be ironic.

[The Marquis de Leech]

Michigan Gov. Snyder has decided to use the lame duck session to make Michigan a right-to-work state. They are doing it, like, right now.

Protesters are currently being pepper-sprayed in accordance with state-level governmental procedure.

One hopes the Democrats have finally learned how much of a screw-up 2010 really was.

[Shryke]

One hopes democratic voters have learned how much of a screwup staying home during midterm years is.

[The Marquis de Leech]

One hopes democratic voters have learned how much of a screwup staying home during midterm years is.

Well, yes, but 2010 was uniquely bad, since it allowed the Republicans to gerrymander themselves in office for a decade.

[danm_999]

http://www.huffingto..._n_2251515.html

McConnell actually filibusters himself... somewhat funny if it wasn't sad.

Reminds me of the Key and Peele sketch;

At some point, you become so hopelessly contrarian that you oppose ideas you agree with.

[Fez]

Its not going to get quite the attention it used to, since there's no longer an election for it to potentially impact (not that I think it did much anyway), but reports are that the monthly jobs reports showing unemployment dropping to 7.7%.

Just goes to show that if we weren't probably about to head into another recession thanks to Republican recalcitrance the economy would be rounding into pretty good shape next year.

[awesome possum]

Hell, the economy would probably be in pretty good shape this year were it not for Republicans blocking so many of the measures that could have gotten us out of the recession faster.

[rocksniffer]

Is your 200.00 on that she will resign as Gov and then be nominated or that she will nominate herself? I dont see her resigning before nominating herself.

sidenote: where in SC are you? Columbia here.

i don't think she can nominate herself but McConnell would name her in a minute and i can't see the state legislature blocking her nom...so that's where my money is...

isle of palms for me, but got a house in shandon, as well where nieces and nephews stay while going to school and where i can stay for the greek fest, games, etc... :smoking:

[Opisthokont]

Michigan Gov. Snyder has decided to use the lame duck session to make Michigan a right-to-work state. They are doing it, like, right now.

Protesters are currently being pepper-sprayed in accordance with state-level governmental procedure.

Isn't right-to-work a good thing? Allowing employers to discriminate against potential employees who aren't members of a certain organisation sounds like a horrible idea.

[Spring Bass]

Right-to-Work just blocks unions from requiring employers to make new non-union employees join the union after a while. It's not that they can't hire them, as with a closed shop - those have been banned since 1947.

It's a little shocking to see Michigan going this way, but not really surprising. Private sector unions in the US are nearly dead, down to the single digit percentage of the labor force.

[Fez]

Right-to-Work just blocks unions from requiring employers to make new non-union employees join the union after a while. It's not that they can't hire them, as with a closed shop - those have been banned since 1947.

Yeah, but the unions are still supposed to negotiate on their behalf. The whole thing is just designed to create a free-rider problem to undermine what power unions still have. And it works. Studies have shown that average wages have decreased by roughly $1,500 annually in states that have passed "right to work" laws.

[Jaxom 1974]

Yeah, but the unions are still supposed to negotiate on their behalf. The whole thing is just designed to create a free-rider problem to undermine what power unions still have. And it works. Studies have shown that average wages have decreased by roughly $1,500 annually in states that have passed "right to work" laws.

Not going to comment one way out the other, but how much do yearly dues cost a union employee? More than $1500a year?

[Fez]

Not going to comment one way out the other, but how much do yearly dues cost a union employee? More than $1500a year?

According to this report, the average is $400/year

[Jaxom 1974]

According to this report, the average is $400/year

Fair enough.

[The Iceman of the North]

Its not going to get quite the attention it used to, since there's no longer an election for it to potentially impact (not that I think it did much anyway), but reports are that the monthly jobs reports showing unemployment dropping to 7.7%.

Not that reduced unemployment isn't a good thing, but isn't it a problem that the new jobs created are generally low paying jobs, while the jobs lost were mainly among people receiving higher pay?

[awesome possum]

One of my best friends is very much pro-union and posted this to his FB status the other day:

Since Indiana became a Right-To-Work state in Feb. 2011, its unemployment rate fell 0.9% through Oct. 2012. During that same period Indiana's union-friendly neighbors experienced these levels of unemployment rate decline: MI: 1.6%, OH: 2.0%, IL: 0.5%, KY: 1.4%....that's an average of 1.38%. During the same period the U.S. unemployment rate fell by 1.1%.

Just a small sample size, but seems consistent with the idea (I personally hold) that RTW is full of shit and is merely a rightwing method of destroying the power of unions.

[Guest Raidne]

Michigan Gov. Snyder has decided to use the lame duck session to make Michigan a right-to-work state. They are doing it, like, right now.

What bothers me about "right to work" isn't so much the actual proposal, but the name. If I had a nickel for every time someone said "well, my state is right to work so we have at-will employment..." Just. Facepalm.

On the actual issue with right-to-work, which is whether employees, once a union is democratically chosen, should be mandatorily forced to join and pay dues to that union, anyone have any data on what this actually does to the power of unions? I would have thought it would be catastrophic until I became a federal government employee and union member and saw how this actually plays out on the ground, since union membership cannot be mandatory for federal government employees. There really isn't as much of a free-riding problem as you think because while one of the union's functions is to negotiate our employment contract, which applies to all employees, union or not, the other functions, namely legal representation from the union should any employment action be taken against me and the ability to file greivances, etc., applies only to dues-paying members, and that's the stuff that most people really want the union for.

So, unless it's shown that it raises problems I'm not currently aware of, I have no problem with right-to-work laws, beyond the stupid, stupid, annoying, stupid, misleading name it's known by.

Well according to this article Obama's trip to Asia didn't go that well at all.

And Peter Lee thinks Asia should be worried about extra US attention.

Meant to say this yesterday - thanks for posting those! Interesting reading.

[Guest Raidne]

Yeah, but the unions are still supposed to negotiate on their behalf. The whole thing is just designed to create a free-rider problem to undermine what power unions still have. And it works. Studies have shown that average wages have decreased by roughly $1,500 annually in states that have passed "right to work" laws.

That doesn't prove that right-to-work is the reason why. There are plenty of possible underlying reasons as to why wages have decreased in the same states that have passed right-to-work laws. People might become less in favor of unions in states with a trend of decreases wages. Or there might be other underlying reasons for both outcomes. I don't think that establishes a cause-and-effect relationship between those two factors. If you can show that wages were stable or were increasing before right-to-work laws were passed then we might be getting somewhere.

Not going to comment one way out the other, but how much do yearly dues cost a union employee? More than $1500a year?

I tried to look it up for you but my payroll website is down. Boo. I know it's not more than $50/month and I think it's more like $30-40.

[Sci-2]

U.S. Asylum Laws Must Improve In The Face Of Homophobia Abroad

Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Bill has been making headlines recently and has prompted a conversation about anti-gay laws and attitudes abroad. There are 78 countries that criminalize homosexuality, and five of these use the death penalty as punishment for homosexuality. For many LGBT individuals in repressive countries such as Uganda, leaving is the only viable option, and many turn to the U.S. for asylum.

Since 1994, refugees have been able to gain legal residence based on persecution for their sexual orientation. A year ago today (December 6^th) President Obama issued a memorandum that required greater awareness of LGBT individuals seeking asylum and training for immigration officials. This memo was a step in the right direction, but there is still much that could be done to improve the lives of those sexual minorities who seek asylum in the US. The federal government must begin to....

[The Iceman of the North]

What bothers me about "right to work" isn't so much the actual proposal, but the name. If I had a nickel for every time someone said "well, my state is right to work so we have at-will employment..." Just. Facepalm.

I have to say that what I've seen of the various systems used in the US in regards to unions, most seems to be ripe for exploitation of the regular workers, either by the employers or by the unions. (This does not mean that exploitation take place, just that it's all too possible.)

I'd prefer a system with freedom of organization, where forming and joining a union is a legal right, and once a union is of a certain size (as a percentage of the work force), they have the power to perform collective bargaining on the behalf of their members (not everyone else). Likewise employees are free to either stay out of unions, join current union(s), or form new competing unions.

Where I'm from, not only the employees, but also employers organize themselves, preventing situation where one single employer is faced with a single (too) strong union.

Union busting, as well as closed shops, seems outright undemocratic in my eyes.