It's not necessarily the collective bargaining rights that have union officials so frightened. It's the dues check-off. Dues check-off? What's that? That's a system whereby the employer - in this case the government - deducts union dues from paychecks and pass them directly on to the unions. Unions love this because sometimes union members actually get the idea that perhaps they have better things to spend their money on than union dues ... dues that can reach over $1000 a year in some cases. These dues are a tremendous source of power for union officials. It is the union officials who decide where this money goes ... not the rank-and-file members ... and union officials generally decide that when it comes to campaign contributions that money goes to Democrats. The follow-the-money scenario here is really very simple. Union members pay dues, and union leaders get paid massive salaries from those dues. Usuallly in the six-figure range. The union leaders then arrange for huge union campaign contributions to Democrats. About 95% of union donations go to Democrats. The Democrats then do all that they can to make sure that the dues keep flowing to the unions and the union leaders so that those campaign contributions don't stop. The Democrats do this by promoting forced unionization and other union-friendly policies. In Wisconsin, they failed - and you can imagine the panic. The Democrats and union leaders must do everything in their power to prevent any further erosion of union power. Calling Scott Walker Hitler, destroying taxpayer property and assaulting non-union advocates is just a beginning.
Bad news for unions? The earthquake and tsunami in Japan has sucked all of the air out of the Wisconsin union story ... for now, anyway. Funny how that happens.
