So That's Why the Union Bosses Don't Like Private Ballots

Jake give us a peek at the Wild Left with this link to Open Left, a Demo-blog that purports to enlighten us on the state of the U.S. Senate races accross the nation. Not surprisingly, Open Left would like Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to lose but concedes that's unlikely: "you can't always get what you want."

In addition to stating the obvious, Open Left is refreshingly frank about the debate on whether workers should get a private vote in an election to determine whether a union represents them, or whether their votes should be a public "card check," allowing Union Bosses to intimidate the workers into voting for the union. That's the legislation with the Orwellian name of "Employee Free Choice Act" that has been subject to much advertising.

Open Left is at least honest about the legislative intent:

This is an extremely important instance of "positive feedback loop" legislation, as making it easier to join a union will shift the political infrastructure of America to the left.

But stacking the union elections is just part of a broader agenda:

By targeting one of the five major ideological institutions in this country (employment, media, education, family and religion) with fundamental, progressive, infrastructure change, we help build a long-term, progressive governing majority.

That sense that the Left really opposes church and family is no irrational fear; it's their agenda.

NRO Praises Chao

National Review's current editorial pays homage to the tenure and accomplishments of Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. Chao -- unlike almost any cabinet secretary in any administration -- actually has asked for less money from Congress over time. A few excerpts:

As of today, Chao is the longest-serving labor secretary since the end of the Second World War. She will be remembered as both one of the most conservative as well as one of the most consequential.

She’s the only member of President Bush’s original Cabinet who hasn’t moved on. Many of her successes have been preventative. Not only has she kept her budget in line, but she has also led efforts to defeat a series of bad ideas emanating from liberals in Congress, such as burdensome regulations involving ergonomics. She has effectively opposed the No. 1 item on Big Labor’s legislative wish list: card check, a.k.a. the Employee Free Choice Act, an Orwellian bill that would deny workers the right to a secret ballot when unions are trying to organize them.

Chao’s most significant achievement, however, may be proactive rather than defensive: Unions now must provide a far more detailed accounting of their money and activities. . . . In reality, Chao has empowered rank-and-file members by demanding that labor leaders comply with modern standards of transparency. They must report income, expenses, salaries, and so on. It’s all online in a searchable database, too. It means that in the future, union bosses will have a harder time keeping the lid on everything from their left-wing politicking to the bar tabs they rack up at their Las Vegas conventions.

We owe her our thanks.

Bill Proposes Collective Bargaining -- Just for Schools

It's bad enough that the Beshear administration has proposed cutting school funding for such frivolities as teacher training and text books. Now, a proposed bill would force schools -- and only schools -- to enter into collective bargaining.

The proposed bill that Joni Jenkins and Rick Nelson (both Democrats) introduced in the General Assembly differs from other collective bargaining bills in that this one only applies to schools rather than all public employees. As if Kentucky school districts have extra money to spread around to the teachers' unions.

Perhaps the most offensive aspect of House Bill 650 is its utter contempt for local school boards. The bill would gut the ability of those community members who sit on school boards -- whose children attend the school -- to make fundamental decisions about the cost of labor, even though that constitutes nearly 75 percent of a typical school district's budget.

Specifically, the Bill would destroy a local school board's right to decide whether it wants to enter into contract negotiations with employee unions. At present, according to the Kentucky School Board Association, fewer than a dozen of Kentucky's 174 school boards have chosen that option. If House Bill 650 is enacted, collective bargaining for schools will no longer be optional.

The bill suffers from numerous other flaws. It fails to define what constitutes an illegal strike. It forces any contract negotiations that cannot be resolved within 30 days to be mediated by the Department of Labor. That's a pretty short fuse, given that school boards meet monthly. It allows teachers to strike over non-contract issues, such as sick leave and refusal to perform assigned duties.

Given that our state government, for all practical purposes, has ceased to function, this is not the time to take away local control. House bill 650 is poorly written and poorly reasoned. It is a disservice to our students and an insult to local decision-making. Republicans need to ensure that it does not become law.

Emboldened Labor Targets Chao

As soon as the television writers' strike ended this week, it became a matter of time before a newly-energized labor movement would assert itself again. It didn't take long: the writers have not had a chance to pen a single script, but American Rights at Work has launched a smear campaign against Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. To spare us the suspense of their take on Chao, they entitle their campaign Shame on Elaine. No ambiguity there.

Note the timing of the smear Chao project. Although she has been Labor Secretary for seven years, and less than one year remains of the president's term of office, American Rights at Work launches the campaign now. Why wait until 2008? Because Chao's husband, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is up for reelection this year. The smear Chao campaign is really aimed at defeating McConnell.

Nor is it a coincidence that the Shame on Elaine project's blog roll includes three Kentucky blogs dedicated to defeating McConnell, out of seven blogs listed.

As for whom ARW hires, only Democrats need apply; it advertises for its interns on Demwork, "jobs for Dems." That's consistent with ARW's board of directors, which includes failed presidential candidate John Edwards, NAACP President Julian Bond, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, and in a nod to multiculturalism, a former U.N. Human Rights Commissioner and an Iman from the Islamic Center of America. That sounds about as non-partisan as the Democratic National Convention.

One of the stated purposes of the smear Chao project is to provide "much-needed public scrutiny" of Chao's record. If ARW really believes in the value of "public scrutiny," it should name its contributors. Sure, its status under the tax code may allow it to hide the identity of its donors. But if ARW genuinely wants trasparency, it should voluntarily identify its funding sources. Let's see how much it cost the Iman to get his seat on the Board of ARW, and who wrote the check.