CHANGE TO WIN SHAKE-UP-UPDATE: DEMOCRACY IN UNIONS IS DEAD...

THIS IS AN UPDATE ON THE POST FROM EARLIER TODAY:

Democracy is DEAD in unions. If anyone disbelieves this, all you need to do is point to today's actions of the union bosses controlling the Change to Win federation. Not only did they hand-pick the original leader of their federation, Greg Tarpinian, they got rid of him AND they hand-picked his successor--ALL WITHOUT THEIR MEMBERS VOTING OR HAVING ANY VOICE IN THE MATTER AT ALL.

According to left-wing writer John Tasini (on Tarpinian's own Labor Research Association's Working Life blog), Greg Tarpinian's replacement, Chris Chafe, the new-handpicked ED at Change to W(h)in(e), is a real mensch.

Apparently, Tasini received an e-mail from his "mensch" this morning before the rest of the world knew that Tarpinian was out and Chafe was in, boasting that he "will be announced as the new Executive Director at Change to Win, a labor federation of the SEIU, UNITE HERE, the UFCW, LIUNA, Teamsters, Carpenters, and United Farm Workers, representing six million workers across the US. My appointment will begin in July, and I am honored and excited by this new challenge, and humbled by the CTW Leadership Council's confidence in me."

Obviously, the six million rank-and-file workers represented by these politburo-bred, baby bureaucrats have no idea, no voice and no say on these appointments--as they didn't with the break-up of the AFL-CIO.

Additionally, in the off chance the six million members actually know who Greg Tarpinian or Chris Chafe are, if the recent dictator-like actions of SEIU boss Andy Stern against SEIU's internal dissidents are any indicator, the members have no ability to oppose these top-down decisions either.

Like most leftists, apparently today's union bosses don't get the correlation between themselves and other leftist leaders like Chavez, Castro, Mao, Stalin, Stern...and the list goes on.

It is little wonder they want to end workers' right to vote on unionization entirely through their hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act.

THE CURIOUS CASE AS TO WHY LABOR'S KARL ROVE GOT DUMPED: BIG Shake-Up at Change to Win as Tarpinian Steps Down

CHANGE TO WIN'S PROM KING GETS DUMPED.
Perhaps size does matter afterall?

Three years after orchestrating the biggest shake-up of the American labor movement in decades (yet producing very LITTLE results), the Change to Win federation announced this afternoon that Greg Tarpinian (pictured on left showing the size of something), the group's Executive Director since the union insurgency broke away from the AFL-CIO in 2005, will be stepping down.

TARPINIAN: LABOR'S KARL ROVE. Tarpinian, a labor union consultant who was not elected by any rank-and-file union members, assumed his appointed role in 2005 as one of the architects of the AFL-CIO break-up after hanging out with one of the bad boys of the union movement: Jimmy Hoffa Jr. Although Hoffa Jr is, admittedly, not as cool as his old man was, he's got good creds with his name, so Tarpinian grabbed onto Jimmy's coattails in 1996 and has been riding them ever since.

In addition to his role as the insurgent federation's executive director, Tarpinian is also President of the Labor Research Association and President of LRA Consulting and, according to Change to Win's Department of Labor filings, has been 'back charging' the union federation for his time as Executive Director.

According to the C2W top cheerleader and SEIU siren Anna Burger: "Greg Tarpinian's vision was instrumental in the creation of Change to Win. He has played a leading role in the development and unity of Change to Win over the last three years and has won the respect of labor leaders throughout the country for his leadership in shaping the movement to restore the American Dream."

Curious. Since Tarpinian was one of the original architects of the break-up of the AFL-CIO, we're wondering why it sounds to us like Ms. Burger and her clique got tired of Tarpinian and kicked him to the curb. (Maybe Biff couldn't deliver on his promises and Anna and the girls got bored?...Hmmm.)

To be sure, the whole break-up and union rivalry hasn't gone all that well for the Change to Win gang.

In fact, following the AFL-CIO's 2006 mid-term election victory, it would be safe to say that the Change to Win strategy has been nothin' but a Change to LOSE strategy. We've even pointed that out on a couple of occasions, urging quarterback Andy Stern to make amends with his old coach.

Maybe The Architect just got unpopular with the bosses?

Prior to his coronation to his prom king role as head of the Change to Win gang, Tarpinian was a staunch supporter of and advisor to current Teamster president, Jim Hoffa, Jr. (pictured on left with C2w'S Anna Burger and Tarpinian), as evidenced by his Letter to the Editor published in the Sept. 7, 2000 edition of the Nation, wherein he wrote:

As someone who has worked closely with Hoffa over the years, I always found it difficult to hear the trite stereotypes used by those who were bent on maintaining their power under a veneer of progressivism.

In addition to his ties to union bosses, Tarpinian also helped run Republican George Pataki's re-election campaign in 2002.

But, Tarpinian also had his detractors, like the rank-and-file members from the Teamsters for a Democratic Union who, in 2005, wrote:

Do you know Greg Tarpinian? If you careabout your union, you should. He’s
practically running it. And you are paying him millions of dollars to do it.

Tarpinian is a labor consultant in New York. He attached himself to Hoffa back in 1996 when he campaigned for him, along with another consultant, Richard Leebove of Detroit. He’s wiggled upward ever since.

His long time close associates have eased into key positions of power. Leo Deaner, a Tarpinian associate for many years, is Hoffa’s new Executive Assistant....

Tarpinian gets big bucks to do dog-and-pony shows at the IBT Convention and Unity Conferences, and he’ll get a lot more PR and “education” money now. In return, he holds banquets in New York to give awards to Hoffa and Tom Keegel, who sign the checks to his consulting company. What goes around comes around. What’s going around is your money.

Tarpinian wrote the plan and the script for the Teamsters to leave the AFL-CIO and join Change to Win, which also pays Tarpinian big bucks.

Most importantly, he is guiding the direction of the Teamsters Union. Remember when Jim Hoffa charged that Ron Carey had outsiders (“SEIU”, “mineworkers,” etc.) in positions of power?

Now we have a New York consultant running our union, who only bothers to speak to Teamsters when he has his hand out for money.

According to the Change to Win press release this afternoon, Tarpinian will be replaced by Chris Chafe, another non-elected staffer who served as Chief of Staff and Political Director from UNITE-HERE before becoming former presidential candidate John Edwards' senior adviser on labor.

While we're not exactly sure why Tarpinian, a Hoffa devotee, is being kicked to the the proverbial trashheap and replaced by another non-elected appointee from another union in the union federation, you can be sure EmployerReport.com will bring it to you as soon as we know.

For more union-related news, go to EmployerReport.com

TEAMSTER WORKERS UNIONIZING?...

So, working for the Teamsters isn't all that it's cracked up to be?

Perhaps wages are too low, or managment is unfair?

So you think maybe you need a union to protect you from your boss?

WAIT A MINUTE!?! YOUR BOSS IS THE UNION???

Oh. Sorry.

Well, out of Michigan comes yet another sordid story of employees seeking to unionize against their employer--the union...

On May 16, the Office Professional Emolyees International Union (OPEIU) filed a petition for an election (no card check?) in order to represent workers employed by Teamsters Local 214.

The irony of it all...

Lazy Union Workers 'a Cancer': Are Union Bosses Finally Getting It?

"We represent the sick, lame and lazy."

It was said matter of factly by one of the older chief union stewards sitting around the bar one late afternoon after one of our monthly union meetings. That was nearly 20 years ago, but it was something I (like many others) had come to realize as a union rep.

The people who actually needed the union were those that were always in trouble at work--the workers who couldn't make it to work on time, didn't care that their quality sucked, or who generally couldn't do what the company expected of them. Ultimately, it is the syndrome that cost far too many good union members their jobs, as companies have elected to move away from these mutant union members.

Basically, as a union, if you take dues from a hundred people, the union will spend the dues representing the bottom ten percent. The other ninety percent are paying dues for nothing, was something I later realized.

Like I said, that was nearly 20 years ago, and I've long since left the union movement.

Since then, after spending years "on the other side," I've come to know why many companies despise unions and it goes back to that bar many years ago....It's because unions all-too-often represent the 'sick, lame, & lazy.' [Actually, since the passage of the ADA, it's more politically correct to just say 'the lazy'.]

Now, however, it seems that at least one union boss is beginning to send the message that unions are finally starting to get it: That employers' perception of unions is so negative because of the 'lazy union worker.'

Mark Ayers, the president of the AFL-CIO's Building & Construction Trades Department (BCTD), is finally sending a wake-up call to his union bretheren:

"There is no place in our unions for nonperformers," Ayers told business managers of the Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons during a recent speech recently.

Calling non-performing union members a cancer that has “dragged us down for many years and damaged our reputation as highly trained and productive craft professionals,” during a Feb. 27 OPC-MIA meeting, Ayers said, “they are the members that scream the loudest about union rights on the job, in your hiring halls and in your union meetings, while at the same time they chip away at our proud foundation.”

In short, he said, “they are simply bad for business, and therefore, they must go!”

He reminded the business managers that in the current business environment anyone can find out anything about an organization with a few clicks of a mouse.

“We must understand that we are constantly being judged by what we do and how we conduct ourselves every single day we are on the job,” he said. “Over the last thirty years or so, we didn’t lose the lion’s share of the market because the competition was so good,” he said. ‘We lost it because our attitudes, our productivity, and our work ethic got worse and we took our jobs and our work for granted.”

Perhaps if all union bosses came to the same conclusion that Ayers has, unions wouldn't be as despised as they are and wouldn't need to spend a billion dollars to buy an election in order to strip workers of their right to vote on unionization (vis a vis the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act).

But, then again, it seems that most union bosses are more interested in preserving their place in history as destroyers of companies, than go against the status quo by looking at their own defective product.

Note: The AFL-CIO's Building & Construction Trades Department encompasses the following unions:

• International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers


• International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers


• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers


• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)


• International Brotherhood of Teamsters


• International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers


• International Union of Elevator Constructors


• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)


• Laborers’ International Union of North America


• Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada


• Sheet Metal Workers' International Association


• United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada


• United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers

_________________________________________

For more union-related news and information, go to EmployerReport.com

EOW: Labor Steamrolling its Way to Power & Other News...

Dear Readers:

We owe you an apology. It's been a couple of weeks since our End-of-Week (EOW) Wrap-Up and we're sorry. We've been somewhat swamped with fighting collectivism on the frontlines and keeping the dragons at bay. And while EmployerReport.com is updated daily (M-F), we are occasionally forced to neglect our duties in posting our weekly updates on the news of what's happening around the country. In this regard, we hope you'll forgive us.

This week, we have two brief announcements about EmployerReport.com for you:

• First, we've begun "cross-posting" the EmployerReport.com blog to our main site. Now, you can view out blog postings and other rants by going here as well.
• Second, as part of our ongoing effort to awaken Americans to the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act, we have updated our EFCA Page by posting numerous EFCA-exposing videos by such freedom fighters as:
  The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace
  The Heritage Foundation
  National Right to Work Foundation
  UnionFacts.com

We will be continually be adding videos and other coverage to this page, so we encourage you to visit EmployerReport.com's EFCA Page, and pass it along to your friends. If you see a video (or news story, op-ed, etcetera) that you think should be posted, let us know. It is not an overstatement to say that America's system of free enterprise and the future of millions of jobs are at stake, should this Orwellian law pass next year.

Now, on to what's happening:

While there are far too many stories on EmployerReport.com to post here, there are several this week that have captured our attention and one of which may come to serve employers whose employees are under attack by union organizers.

SEIU sues CNA over home mailers. The ongoing dispute between the California Nurses Association (CNA) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) took an interesting turn this week when the SEIU filed a lawsuit against the CNA for allegedly violating the Iowa Trade Secrets Act over the CNA's mailing of literature to SEIU member's homes. In its press release, the SEIU states:

"It's frankly scary that an out-of-state union like the CNA would have gotten their hands on our confidential, internal list," said Cathy Glasson, a registered nurse and President of SEIU Local 199. "No one in America should ever have to worry that their private information will be taken and used without their consent." [Emphasis added]

Now, as many of our clients, from construction companies to health care organizations, as well as grocers, often have employees complain of unsolicited mailings from different unions (even in the absence of a union petition and the submission of the requisite Excelsior List), our interest was piqued by this hypocritical action taken by the SEIU. Naturally, we began to ponder: If a union can sue another union for obtaining member/employee information, why couldn't an employer (or an employee) do the same?

Although we suspect there may be an NLRA preemption issue or some other exemption, we submit to you, it may be worth exploring. Additionally, as many of our readers are some of the top labor attorneys in America, should you wish to weigh in on this, please feel free to comment here and we will post your opinion on the EmployerReport.com blog.

A UFCW exploitive attempt to obstruct justice? The second story that has captured our attention is another ICE raid on another slaughterhouse, replete with allegations of ID fraud on the part of the captured illegal immigrants.

While that, in itself, is news, what came as a bigger point of disgust is the revelation that the United Food & Commercial Workers had asked ICE to refrain from raiding the slaughterhouse as it was attempting to unionize the workers(!).

Clearly, if the UFCW was in the process of unionizing this workplace and knew that at some point many of these workers would likely be deported, the union also knew that, if successful, the union would represent whomever the deported workers' replacements were. Talk about a cruel joke!

That said, it's not the first time UFCW bosses got caught in an illegal scheme. Last week, a former UFCW representative who helped illegal workers get jobs at a Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Marshalltown was found guilty of federal immigration charges. We believe the slang word for this type of individual is "coyote."

For more background on this story, we found an excellent 2007 video of CNN anchor Lou Dobbs slamming a UFCW VP over the union's position on illegal immigration. You can view it here.

The highest-paid people on the unemployment line. The ongoing United Auto Workers' (UAW) strike at American Axle seems to have backfired on the union known today for its ability to kill of American jobs.

As the strike entered its 12th (or is it the 13th?) week, the company has announced that it will be closing a third UAW-struck plant. Upon hearing the news, the incompetent UAW bosses who have severely miscalculated the effects of this strike on the members and had already agreed to close two other plants(!), had very little to say other than: "It just blows me away..."

We're sure that provides some solace to the members who, instead of taking pay cuts that may have saved their jobs, were instead called out on strike and will now be unemployed.

The GOP can't seem to stop the hemorrhaging. Following another Democratic special election victory in a district that has been traditionally a GOP stronghold, the Republican Party is in a panic.

In fact, party insiders are worried that the GOP may lose another 20 House seats and five or more Senate seats. This of course, does not bode well for America's employers. In fact, with the announcement of former-GOP-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr announcement on Monday that he will be seeking the White House, it may be that, with 173 days to go before the general election, Senator John McCain is all but McFinished.

As Barr will surely serve as McCain's Ross Perot (1992) or Ralph Nader (2000), siphoning votes away from McCain, coupled with unions predicted to spend up to $1 billion on this election, the probability of holding back labor's disastrous legislation may come down to a Republican minority in this Senate, IF they can hold onto 41 seats (which is questionable).

On a Lighter Note, Sex Workers of the World are Uniting! While posting YouTube videos on our EFCA Page, we came across an "interesting" video from the Erotic Service Providers Union. Don't ask how we found it (we won't tell you)...No, really...It was truly an innocent search of union videos!

In any case, the PG-rated video (no nudity) is the mission statement of the Erotic Service Providers Union, which is, according to its website(!) affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World--those Wascally Wobblies of the early 1900's fame.

As stated above, there are many, many more labor-related stories from around the nation than could be posted here Therefore, please go to EmployerReport.com for all the latest and relevant news.

Last but not least, we offer you two Public Service Announcements:

EmployerReport.com PSA (part one): The Ayn Rand Institute will be giving a lecture on the Morality of Capitalism in Costa Mesa, CA on May 22, 2008. This is something that is sorely needed in today's socio-economic climate. To get more information, go here.

EmployerReport.com PSA (part two): As springtime is finally upon us, motorcyclists all across the US of A have dusted off their two wheels and have joined you on America's highways and byways. According to a USC study, 3/4 of all motorcycle accidents involved a collision with another vehicle and 2/3 of those involved the vehicle invading the motorcycle's right-of-way and causing the accident. Please keep a watchful eye for us, when making those left turns, lane changes, and pulling out of driveways.

With that said, dear readers, we hope you have a truly enjoyable week's end!

Best wishes!

EmployerReport.com
"I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes." -- Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

On a lighter note...

Sent to us from a well-seasoned EmployerReport.com reader:

Things I do since I've retired...

Well, for example, the other day I was downtown and went into a shop.

I was only in there five minutes and I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.

I went up to him and said,"Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break?"

He ignored me and continued writing the ticket.

I called him a "Nazi."

He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires.

So I called him a "donut eating Gestapo."

He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.

The he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I abused him, the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, I didn't care...

I came downtown on the bus and the car that he was putting tickets on had a bumper sticker that said "Hillary in '08."

I try and have a little fun each day now that I'm retired. It's important to my health.

John McCain is McFinished...

Sometimes people don't like to state the obvious. Other people would rather ignore the truth. And still others would rather just hope that reality isn't reality.

That, however, is not us. So here is, for some, a painful truth:

John McCain's campaign just ended today. 176 days before the American people go to the polls to pick the next POTUS (President of the United States), barring some unforeseen cataclysmic event changing our nation's political landscape, McCain's campaign is over.

Here is why (from least to most important):

• McCain is pathetically attempting to 'triangulate' Democrat issues (i.e., by 'going green; today in an attempt to lure independents). This will further alienate GOPers who were just starting to get used to the dim prospects of a McCain presidency.


• Republicans are still not excited about John McCain, as evidenced by the last three primaries (PA, IN & NC) in which McCain failed to capture 27, 23 & 26 percent (respectively) of the GOP vote, even though he is already the GOP nominee.


• Democrats are already succeeding at painting a possible McCain presidency as George Bush's third term.


• Labor union bosses from the AFL-CIO and Change to W(h)in(e) unions are due to spend up to $1 billion to defeat McCain and the GOP in November. Unions are united in both their desires and their messaging, while the GOP is having trouble coming up with a coherent sentence. [Ironically, McCain's own McCain-Feingold may prove to be his undoing, as he has limited his own ability to get cash from his too few supporters.]

...and the list goes on...

However, the one thing that will surely crush McCain's presidential aspirations is the announcement today that former-GOP-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr will be running for the White House.

Should Barr capture the Libertarian nomination at the party's May 22-26 Denver convention, given the dissatisfaction of many within the GOP, Barr will serve as John McCain's Ross Perot (1992), or Al Gore's Ralph Nader (2000). Although Barr has virtually no chance of winning the White House, his ability to syphon the much-needed votes from McCain will surely put the Democrats in the White House.

While Libertarian and independent candidates usually don't fare well in general elections, Barr is probably the most well-known presidential hopeful the party has had for years. For those of us who despise freedom-stealing, big governent-loving bureaucrats on both sides of the aisle, the addition of Barr to the race proves to be a tantalizing proposition.

At least for those of us who value principles over pragmatism, staying home on election day is less likely. In addition, Barr will likely capture the hearts and minds, as well as the votes, of the Ron Paul supporters who despise McCain almost as much as Clinton and Obama. This means Barr can possibly get as much as 15% of the vote in November (although we estimate it will only be in the high single digits).

This, dear readers, means that, in the close election that is predicted for 2008, John McCain's campaign for the presidency is finished. Barak Obama will almost assuredly be the next POTUS.

Although the campaign is really just starting and a lot may change between now and November, it may be time to start focusing on shoring up the Senate to stave off the disastrous legislation unions have on the Democratic agenda.

In the meantime, as our tag line says: "I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes."

Stay tuned, we'll keep you posted...