Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Card Check Video Briefing

Critical Card Check Video Briefing from National Right to Work on Vimeo.



“I owe those unions ... When their leaders call, I do my best to call them back right away. I don’t mind feeling obligated.”-- President Barack Obama “The Audacity of Hope”

You’ve likely heard of the “card check” battle now going on in Congress. This is one of those once-in-a-generation battles Right to Work supporters have faced in the past.

Card check organizing eliminates the secret ballot for union organizing elections and replaces it with an abuse-ridden process in which the votes of workers are made public to union organizers.

The threat of passage of card check forced unionism legislation – fraudulently named the “Employee Free Choice Act” – is becoming greater by the day.

Why are the union bosses fighting so hard for card check?

Because associating with a union -- and Big Labor’s job killing, economy crushing agenda -- has never been less popular with American workers.

The union bosses know that American workers increasingly reject union “representation” when they have a choice.

The union bosses desperately want new members. They need a massive influx of new dues revenue to pay for their financially troubled pension funds and for their ever-more-costly and ambitious political activities.

But they can’t get these workers into their ranks anymore through the less-abusive secret ballot election.

The union bosses’ only option is a dramatic expansion of their coercive power. They must force employees into union ranks.

You should also know card check legislation is only one step in the union bosses’ plan to fully exploit their new political clout. Big Labor is also pushing to...

  • ... force companies to fire workers who worked during a strike – something companies have not been compelled do for 70 years.
  • ... blacklist employers and employees from all federal contracts unless they unionize or agree to allow card check unionization drives.
  • ... raise taxes on companies that insist on defending employees’ access to a secret ballot election.
  • ... force police and firefighters across the nation to be unionized -- opening the door for strikes that hold vital public services hostage.
  • ... promote the establishment of “mini-unions,” small cells of workers who don't represent a majority but who could force an employer to bargain with them over pay and benefits.
  • ... repeal Section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act, thereby eliminating all 22 state Right to Work laws that make union affiliation voluntary – the cornerstone of workplace freedom in America.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Text of pp. 425-430 (Section 1233) of the actual health care bill, which, as far as I can tell after wading through several pages of legalese, merely amends Title 18 of the Social Security Act to stipulate that Medicare will pay for — not mandate — "advance care planning consultations" between individuals and physicians every five years, during which a spectrum of end-of-life options can be explained and discussed so said individuals can knowledgeably choose their own treatment preferences in advance:

a red voice said...

If you take a closer look at section 1233 of HR 3200, The measure would PAY physicians to give Medicare patients end-of-life counseling every five years or sooner if the patient has a terminal diagnosis.

Though not mandatory, the consultations envisioned in Section 1233 aren't quite 'purely voluntary,' as backers of the bill assert, 'purely voluntary' means 'not unless the patient requests one.' Section 1233, however, lets doctors initiate the chat and gives them an incentive -- MONEY -- to do so. Indeed, that's an INCENTIVE TO INSIST.

It includes conditions and financial incentives for physicians and other health care providers that create a setting in which an elderly patient’s decision to appropriate this option is likely to be less than voluntary.

Patients may refuse without penalty, but many will bow to white-coated authority. Once they're in the meeting, the bill does permit 'formulation' of a plug-pulling order right then and there.

What's more, Section 1233 dictates, at some length, the content of the consultation, the legislation says the doctor "shall" discuss "advanced care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to"; "an explanation of . . . living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses" even though those are legal and not medical papers. The physician "shall" present "a list of national and State-specific resources to assist consumers and their families."

Section 1233 goes beyond facilitating doctor input to PREFERRING it. Indeed, the measure would have an interested party -- the government -- recruit doctors to sell the elderly on living wills, hospice care and their associated providers, professions and organizations.

If you don't like it, tough. You won't be able to take your business elsewhere, since there will be no elsewhere.

And to whom will you issue your grievance, a special 'health court?'

Such a court, would be "one likely informed by a youth-worshipping culture and a utilitarian bioethics philosophy that sees the elderly (not to mention, handicapped infants) as burdens that are siphoning away valuable resources that could be put to better use in support of society’s “real persons” and more productive contributors."