AWF Letter: AWF Will Rate Vote on S. 2123
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AWF WILL RATE “NO” VOTE ON S. 2123
May 12, 2008
Dear Senator,
On behalf of the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF), and the American worker, I am writing to urge you to oppose S. 2123, the so-called “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007”, as it is a direct violation of the 10th Amendment and a flagrant threat to workers’ rights across the nation.
This bill, sponsored by Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), and unconscionably passed in the House, will mandate that city governments engage in collective bargaining with labor unions representing public safety officers and emergency first responders.
Since the establishment of the National Labor Relations Act, Congress has respected our federalist system by leaving collective bargaining up to the states. Even in the union-booming years of the 1930’s Congress has not had the audacity to trample on this separation of powers until now. Senator, it is imperative that you do not set the dangerous precedent of denying states their federalist powers. Vote “no” on S. 2123.
According to the attached Wall Street Journal article, 16 states have considered similar legislation since 1996 and have all voted against it. With falling unionization rates in the private sector since 1973 and in the public sector since 1994, it is evident that American workers are moving away from unionization. S. 2123 will force American workers in a direction that they are overwhelmingly rejecting.
If passed, S. 2123 will force cities across America into a financial free-fall as evident in the recent Vallejo, CA bankruptcy filing. The San Francisco Chronicle (see attached) notes that the police and firefighters unions have demanded extortionist level salaries that now comprise 74 percent of the cities budget. This exact forced bargaining that you are considering is why Vallejo, CA is the largest city in the U.S. to file bankruptcy.
As evident from the 2005 New York City transit strike, which this left millions of commuters stranded by the transportation shortage, union strikes can leave Americans without the services they desperately depend on. If police, fire and emergency first responders went on a strike similar to the NYC transit strike, the result could be a rash of violence, theft, and even death – all preventable by voting “no” on S. 2123.
AWF encourages you to vote against S. 2123 and not allow union interests to strong-arm safety services. We WILL RATE “NO” vote on S. 2123.
Sincerely,
Brian M Johnson, MPA
Executive Director
