Tuesday, August 30, 2011

The Wausau Labor Day Parade

The Wausau, Wisconsin Labor Day Parade has now become the Labor Union Parade. Organizers there equate labor with unions, even though only 11.9% of all workers are unionized. This is manifested in the organizer’s banning of Republican law makers from participating in the parade.

Randy Radtke’s statement, president of the Marathon County Central Labor Council, “Usually they've been in the parade, but it seems like they only want to stand with us one day a year, and the other 364 days they don't really care,” demonstrates the typical union/liberal bias that theirs is the only possible expression of concern for labor.

The fact is the Republicans are just as concerned about labor as are the unions, but their philosophy in meeting those concerns is different. Labor unions believe more money toward social programs, more money for workers, with less responsibility, and more free time is best for the nation. Republicans believe workers should have a comfortable living, but that those employed by the government, who have enormous benefits, should not be allowed to strike in the same way private enterprise groups do.

Each strike in the public sector is simply an additional tax upon the rest of the working class, as government only generates income by confiscating monies from the citizenry via taxation.

The unions are empowered by additional members, and have the backing of liberal Democrats, because they traditionally vote the Democratic ticket. Democrats seem to have little philosophical investment in the process except as they desire the continued participation of union rank and file in their “get out the vote” campaigns, and in the largess union leaders show toward Democratic candidates by showering them with the ever increasing dues charged union members.

I am not opposed to unions. I am opposed to requiring one to be a member of a union in order to work. Such policies are contrary to American initiative, and exceptionalism. I also oppose the practice of unions taking union dues to support policies and politicians with which many workers disagree.

But the concept of unionizing government workers is one of the most ridiculous concepts government has yet enacted. The warnings bellowed from paper, over wire, and through the air were summarily dismissed by the heavy-handed purveyors of this dastardly deed. Today those chickens are coming home to roost, and those responsible are reacting in childish displays of angst, thus the silly ruling against Republican lawmaker’s participation in the Wausau Labor Day Parade.


© 2011 Mike Rasberry

1 comment:

Sam said...

Amen ... well written.