Huffington Post: Terminator 4: Rise of the Freeloaders

[Omaha Steve]

X post in Labor

Keep an eye on GD for my other labor posts today.

OS

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-macaray/terminator-4-rise-of-the_b_5553381.html

Posted: 07/02/2014 7:31 pm EDT Updated: 07/02/2014 8:59 pm EDT

David Macaray Become a fan
Playwright and author ("It's Never Been Easy: Essays on Modern Labor&quot

Terminator 4: Rise of the Freeloaders

Organized labor got an understandable scare when the Supreme Court, on June 30, in yet another 5-4 decision, ruled (in Harris vs. Quinn) that home health care employees can't be forced to pay union dues, even if they have benefited from union representation. No surprise that those comprising the majority were Justices Scalia, Alito, Kennedy, Roberts and Thomas. The Gang of Five.

However, what worries organized labor -- what has put them on alert -- isn't the Harris vs. Quinn decision so much as the potential snowball effect it may have on the landmark Abrood vs. Detroit Board of Education decision (1977), a ruling which maintained that "fair share" requirements were constitutional. But that was way back in 1977, when unions were still recognized as vitally important social-economic institutions.

Alas, things have changed. There is now a predatory anti-union movement loose upon the land, one that is going around telling working folks that they deserve a free ride. These anti-union fiends are telling workers who voluntarily hired into union shops (because of the superior wages, benefits and working conditions) that they don't have to pay their fair share -- that they don't have to pay dues to the very union who fought to get them these superior wages and benefits.

Nutty as that sounds, these anti-union fanatics have not only tried to make this a bogus First Amendment issue, they have, in fact, managed to get some intelligent people to listen to them, including the conservative wing of the Supreme Court. Of course, one can guess what organized labor's position is on this issue. It's defined by a bedrock adherence to a sense of fair play.

FULL story at link.

[dipsydoodle]

1. lol

Love the title of the OP.