Reason magazine

The Dead Weight Loss of Union Disputes

by Ivan Osorio on September 14, 2010

in Economy, Employment, Labor

At Reason Hit & Run, Tim Cavanaugh provides a good observation on the ongoing dispute between the powerful Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and its breakaway local, National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), which entered a new phase yesterday, as voting began at Kaiser Permanente facilities in Northern California, for workers to decide whether to be represented by SEIU, NUHW, or no union at all.

NUHW president Sal Rosselli, who used to head SEIU’s affiliate in Oakland, has loudly complained of the SEIU national leadership’s efforts to forcibly merge his local with a scandal-ridden Los Angeles-based local. He’s got a good point. However, as Cavanaugh points out, in terms of the broader economy,  SEIU and NUHW are essentially fighting over the deck furniture on the Titanic.

[I]t’s not clear how having more choice in union leadership decisions would do much to end the exploitation of the proletariat. The more time you spend choosing between Rosselli and [SEIU President Mary Kay] Henry, the less time you have to, maybe, build some value for the people who pay you 100 percent of your income (not counting moonlighting), or even check out Craigslist to find a better job.

Even worse, your union dues may actually hurt your future job prospects, as they go to help elect and reelect politicians who support economically destructive policies intended to keep unions afloat.

For more on the SEIU-NUHW dispute, see here and here.

For more on SEIU, see here and here.

Impossibly Awesome Cash for Clunkers Video

by Ryan Lynch on August 7, 2009 · 1 comment

in Culture, Economy, Mobility, Odds & Ends, Politics as Usual, Regulation, Stimulus to Nowhere, Zeitgeist

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Berlau on Air America today — debating deregulation on Thom Hartmann

by John Berlau on December 4, 2008 · 6 comments

in Bailout Watch, Coalitions & Outreach, Economy, Nanny State, Personal Liberty

Today at noon Eastern time, I will enter the lion’s den.

I will be live in the New York City studios of liberal network Air America having a friendly discussion about deregulation on The Thom Hartmann Program. Hartmann, author of books such as “”Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class,” usually broadcasts form Oregon, and when I’m guest I have joined him by phone. But today, he’s broadcasting form the home office and I will be joining him live and in person.

Hartmann is tough but friendly, and the last couple times I’ve been on his show, we’ve actually sort of agreed on the issues. The civil libertarian in him and me both strongly objected to the mandatory fingerprint registry in this summer’s housing bill for a broad swath of the mortgage industry. We also both opposed the Wall Street bailout when it was before Congress this fall, though I think his main objection was the “Wall Street” part and mine was the “bailout” aspect.

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