State of the Unions
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By Bill O'Reilly for BillOReilly.com
Thursday, September 8, 2011
There's lots of angst in the air after Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa called Tea Party people SOB's and urged voters to "take them out." Immediately, voter registration jumped among members of the Gambino family. Apparently, Mr. Hoffa is angry that some Americans want to put a lid on public sector pensions and perks which are bankrupting municipalities all over the country. Old Jimmy believes this is "taking the bread out of the mouths" of American workers.
For decades, union power has intimidated politicians in both parties. I mean, if you were running for office, would you want big union money flowing into your opponent's campaign? Would you want organized demonstrations at your rallies? How about work slowdowns, sudden mass worker illness, or anti-you phone campaigns? Unions have power and power rules.
Thus, many American unions have secured lucrative benefits for their members—benefits that have drained treasuries. The Post Office, for example, is on the verge of bankruptcy, not able to repay $5.5 billion in loans from the Treasury Department. The huge cost of postal retirement benefits is one of the main reasons an American institution may collapse.
All of this is not the fault of the workers. They did their jobs and are entitled to what was negotiated. But public money has run out, and going forward, big changes will have to be made if the American economy is to expand. Jimmy Hoffa can huff and puff all day long, but if he succeeds in blocking economic reform, he will indeed blow the entire house down.
President Obama needs union votes to win reelection. Therefore, he did not condemn Hoffa's over-the-top rhetoric even though he campaigned for verbal restraint in his Arizona speech. Mr. Obama will also not go up against the unions and demand fiscal reform. He will position himself as the champion of the working stiff, even if it means more disasters like the Post Office.
Previously in this space, I discussed my membership in AFTRA, a union that represents TV and radio people. When some greedy suits tried to con me and my colleagues at the syndicated program "Inside Edition" out of pension money, AFTRA fought them and won. So, unions are needed, but they should be optional. No American worker should be forced to pay union dues. Employees must weigh self-reliance against union protections.
With union power in decline, Jimmy Hoffa needs an enemy to rail against, and the Tea Party provides him that. But if he were honest, Hoffa would see the Tea folks simply want financial responsibility and fairness in the public sector. Living within your means is a key to economic success. Gaming the system through intimidation and threats is not.
Hoffa's not looking out for his country on this one.
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Bill what can we expect from Hoffa . He is corrupting and part of the Mafia family of Chicago. Remember that them Senator Obama said that the American should judge him for the people he will surrounding in his administration? Yes we judge him for that, people that belief in Mao, in Communist, and all the Chicago politic that is the most corrupted since 1920, remember Al Capote? Nothing had change since them. Obama is a product of Chicago wih all his corruption and socialistic ideas
Posted by meira R. on September 09, 2011 at 1:05 PM
Jimmy Hoffa has some nerve! Eighty-nine percent of the workers in the U.S. are NON-union! Jimmy won't take this country away from the rest of us, even with all his goons, and the BO admin in his pocket. There are still plenty of good, decent, hard working people in this country, and most of them are NOT union workers, I'd be willing to bet. We have all heard the stories about union workers telling the new guy not to work so hard, because then it would be expected of all others. As I stated once before in this forum, unions are like perfume--a little is nice; too much stinks!
Posted by Karen R. on September 09, 2011 at 12:15 PM
Originally the unions were needed and performed great service for American workers. But then many became corrupt and power mad. It is all about those dues and power. I agree - people should not be forced to belong to a union OR pay dues. I grew up in Western PA in the 40's and 50's and my experiences with unions were NOT good. They drove the steel companies out and even Krogers which I worked for for a time.
Posted by Eileen on September 09, 2011 at 12:04 PM
Where are some old great companies like PAN-AM, Eastern Airlines, The Steel industry of Pennsylvania? Oh! Yes I forgot, THE UNIONS brought them down and out of business. Now we have to import steel and our Aviation industry is American Airlines and Delta. Workers of the World United and break the United States economy.
Posted by Jorge K. on September 09, 2011 at 9:49 AM
The best example of unions helping their workers is the steel industry. We used to be the biggest steel production country in the world. Can anyone name a U.S. steel company?
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