Candidate McAuliffe and the Right to Work

From Patricia Evans:

"Mr. McAuliffe owes organized labor A LOT. It’s a fair bet that his top priority as governor will be to dismantle our simple but effective right-to-work legislation.  We cannot allow this to happen.  We don’t want to end up like Michigan or Wisconsin, but more than that, we can’t allow our liberty to be trampled by a mob. - Chuck Angier

From Follow the Money by Chuck Angier:

Our “inalienable rights” cover a lot of territory including the right to work, the right to negotiate and the right to collectively bargain.  No one can find fault with collective bargaining provided that the employer and employee can negotiate and procure outside of the organization (should they choose) and do so free from intimidation.   But when “collective bargaining” evolves into using the power of the state to bully the rest of us, the results will be (and have been) universally…bad.  As an example, today (July 2^nd), San Francisco is in a 2^nd day of gridlock due to a strike against the Bay Area Rapid Transit system called by it’s two biggest unions. http://news.msn.com/us/sf-transit-strike-snarls-commuter-traffic-for-2nd-day?ocid=ansnews11

 

To be fair and to assess the impact of organized labor on a Terry McAuliffe administration, we must consider his relationship with organized labor since at least 2008 when he began his unsuccessful bid for Governor in the 2009 election.  Since that time, he has collected $1.465 million from organized labor (his 6^th most generous industry)  http://www.vpap.org/candidates/profile/money_in_industry1/11897?start_year=2008&end_year=2013&lookup_type=year&filing_period=all  including:

 

$726,239	American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
$275,000	Firefighters - International Assn
$100,000	American Federation of Teachers
$75,000	Communication Workers of America - Cope VA
$65,000	International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
$50,000	United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry
$40,000	Service Employees International Union
$27,000	Va AFL-CIO
$25,000	NEA Fund for Children and Public Education
$25,000	Laborers Mid Atlantic Regional Organizing Coalition
$25,000	Machinists Non-Partisan Political League
$15,000	Office & Professional Employees Union
$5,000	National Rural Letter Carriers Assn
$2,500	Newton Jones
$2,500	Laborers' International Union of North America
$2,500	Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562
$2,000	Sheet Metal Workers - Local 36
$1,050	Bridget Martin
$500	Vincent A Panvini
$331	International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
$250	Charles M Loveless
$200	Adrianne V Doherty
$100	Michael Long
$100	George D Roberts
$50	Michael Monroe
$50	John Niederlehner

 

Tied for top McAuliffe contributor (excluding himself and the Democratic Governors association) with $250,000 for this election cycle is an out-of-state attorney, one Peter G. Angelos of Baltimore. http://www.vpap.org/committees/profile/money_in_details/2577?donor_id=132481&end_year=2013&filing_period=all&lookup_type=year&start_year=2010  He apparently made his first fortune representing Baltimore labor unions, then made his second fortune leading the charge against asbestos, Phillip Morris and Wyeth (Sources: Wikipedia and Peter G. Angelos website). Because of his longstanding relationship with organized labor, we can certainly consider his $250,000 contribution to the benefit of organized labor bringing the total to about $1.71 million.

 

And last, for both campaigns, (striking the first two for obvious reasons),  American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees becomes his top contributor at $726,239 while 3 of the top 5 contributors are, or represent, organized labor totaling $1.25 million

$2,232,763	Democratic Governors Association	Washington, DC
$803,494	Terence R McAuliffe	Mc Lean
$726,239	American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)	Washington, DC
$526,064	Haim Saban	Beverly Hills, CA
$350,000	Robert L Johnson	Monroe, CT
$275,000	Firefighters - International Assn	Washington, DC
$250,000	Law Office of Peter G Angelos	Baltimore, MD

Mr. McAuliffe owes organized labor A LOT. It’s a fair bet that his top priority as governor will be to dismantle our simple but effective right-to-work legislation.  We cannot allow this to happen.  We don’t want to end up like Michigan or Wisconsin, but more than that, we can’t allow our liberty to be trampled by a mob.

 

Oh, by the way, Ken Cuccinelli has only received $250 from organized labor during the current election cycle and NONE prior to this cycle!

 

Thanks for reading.  Have a GREAT Independence Day!

Your Right to Work Rights – In Three Minutes

From The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, established in 1968, is a nonprofit, charitable organization. Its mission is to eliminate coercive union power and compulsory unionism abuses through strategic litigation, public information, and education programs. If, after reviewing the information available below, you are still unclear about your rights, or believe that you need legal aid because union officials have violated these rights (as they frequently do), call us at 800-336-3600 or send us an e-mail here.     http://www.nrtw.org/your-rights-3-minutes

1. No employee in the United States can legally be required to be a full-dues-paying, formal union member. But in many states, an employee can be forced to pay certain union dues or be fired from his or her job.
2. Union members have the right to resign from formal membership at any time. However, dues deduction authorizations may limit when they can be revoked.
3. Employees covered by state Right to Work laws can not lawfully be required to pay any union fees to keep their jobs. But state Right to Work laws do not protect railway and airline employees and employees of private-sector contractors on some federal properties.
4. Because they enjoy the special privilege of exclusive representation, unions have a legal duty to represent fairly all employees in their bargaining units. Unions are legally required to represent nonmember employees the same as members, but unfortunately this duty is often breached.
5. If a law or bargaining agreement permits it, employees can be forced to pay certain union fees. If you don’t join the union, or resign from membership, and notify the union that you don’t want to pay full dues, the required fee must be limited to the union's proven costs of collective bargaining activities. This fee may not lawfully include things like political expenses.
6. Nonmembers with religious objections to supporting a union have the right to ask the union to redirect the forced dues amount to charity. Religious objectors do not have to belong to a specific church to claim this right.
7. A union member who wants to work during a strike should resign from union membership BEFORE going to work. If the resignation is mailed, the employee should not work until the day after the resignation is postmarked. Otherwise, the employee could be fined by the union. If you are already a nonmember, you can work at will during a strike and not be lawfully fined.
8. Many employees have a legal right to petition for an election to oust an unwanted union from their workplace or to eliminate the union’s ability to collect forced fees. You should contact us if you want to do this.
9. Your best source for information about your Right to Work rights is this web site. Foundation attorneys have represented many employees like you, and have taken several cases all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect workers’ rights.
10. If, after reviewing the information available through the links below, you are still unclear about your rights, or believe that you need legal aid because union officials have violated these rights (as they frequently do), call us at 800-336-3600 or send us an e-mail here.

To learn more about your legal rights, please select the category of employment to which you belong:

• Federal Government Employee
• Private Sector Employee
• Public School Teacher or College Professor
• Airline/Railway Employee
• State or Local Government Employee

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"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."  - Thomas Jefferson  Virginia Tea Party Patriots       www.virginiateapartypatriots.com   Danville Patriots http://danvillepatriots.com/   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyqTlje8RxQ "