Unions Low on Gas
| Your Majesty, Gasoline is down to $2.00/gal in some places, and drivers are finally able to afford to drive to work. But the price could soon go up, and it won’t be because oil is scarce. As it turns out, some refineries employ workers who are members of the United Steelworker’s Union – and they are on strike. The results could be an increase in price at the pump, which could be very steep if up to 63 affected refineries are forced to shut down because their union-labor employees refuse to work. The child-king Obama will, of course, take the side of the union. Because fairness. But what the union – and the child king Obama – are not taking into account is that the increase in price at the pump will not be the fault of the Republicans nor can Republicans be blamed for it. Republicans have never liked unions, and unions have never liked Republicans. Any increase in price will be blamed directly on the union and its Democrat shills in Congress and the White House. The first Republican candidate for the presidency to stand up and tell the union that they are acting against the best interests of the nation at large, and ask that the union “put its demands aside until the country is on a firmer financial footing” might just find allies – and new supporters – among working-class voters who, after 6 long years, are finally seeing some relief from high gas prices. Relief granted by private corporations operating on private lands: not by act of government, but despite attempts by government to prevent it. And that same Republican candidate should remind those same working-class voters of the child-king Obama’s publicly announced desire to raise gasoline prices via the “Cap and Trade” bills … and his appointment of David Chu, who promoted higher gasoline prices in 2008 (yes, he actually said so). And of the Democrat Senators and Congresspersons who fought the development of energy resources on public lands. And of the EPA, which dragged its collective feet when ordered by a court to stop sitting on oil leases and issue them. Well, I can dream… Operative BJ |
Operative BJ is a bit more optimistic than the Czar. But here are some points to ponder.
Yes, public support for unions is at an all-time lower, with the exception of next year when they will be lower…until the year after that. In fact, support for unions is so low that it seems to be inversely tied to support for firearm carry: not too long ago, only a few states allowed it. Now all do in one form or another. Likewise, support for unions has been tumbling like crazy. You can read about it all here.
But despite this lack of support, it doesn’t necessarily follow that a bonehead move by one union will provide leverage of any kind to a Republican candidate. It would be nice, but unlikely.
And it isn’t because of any lack of talent in the GOP pool of potentials. The Czar just doesn’t think that any Republican candidate (even Coolidge) would be able to overpower the media narrative that higher gas prices are due in some large part to the fact Republicans continue to exist despite all science to the contrary.
What would help is disturbingly simple but proven. You would need a President who would end the responsibility of the government to collect and track union dues payments by members on behalf of unions. That doesn’t sound like much, does it? No—not band unions, nor even force right-to-work laws. Simply state that if any union wants to collect its dues, it has to do that itself rather than let.
This is what Scott Walker did in Wisconsin, and it positively hurt the public sector unions. Yeah, the trade unions have been collecting their own dues for decades, and whattaya know, they remain one of the least awful unions.
This is causing a ripple effect in Wisconsin and the effect, while large, is not being covered. If anything, it’s being suppressed. The public and private sector unions who depended on the State of Wisconsin to collect dues through paycheck deductions lack any means to do so. Suddenly, it became necessary for union members to pay their own dues with their own personal checks. And about 18% of them are—the rest of these union members aren’t paying their dues at all and have effectively voted to quit the union while keeping their jobs.
Simple, subtle, and powerful.
Of course, the Czar has no idea whether the United Steelworkers Union expects government to collect their dues—probably not. But the best thing a Republican candidate can do is to step aside and let the unions continue to destroy themselves.
Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.