• Labor Unions,  Public Employee Unions,  Saul Alinsky

    Video: Union Leaders Teach Advanced Thug Tactics in University of Missouri Labor Courses

    April 25, 2011 /

    If you ever wondered if today’s LEFTIST union leaders ever read Saul Alinsky, now you know.

    The University of Missouri has an expansive $1.9 billion enterprise with an operating budget of $500 million which, according to its website, 37%  comes through state appropriations. While the University’s Institute of Labor Studies may only be a small fraction of its budget, one must wonder why tax dollars are being used to fund a program that espouses Communism, teaches tactics in industrial sabotage (including stalking CEOs, using members to insinuate sabotage, as well as the killing of cats), and convincing union members that their “group goals” are more important than their individual goals.

    The videos you are about to see [via BigGovernment] are of two “educators” holding courses via video conference through the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). The courses are an Introduction to Labor Studies and Labor Politics and Society.  The instructors are Judy Ancel, Director of UMKC’s Institute of Labor Studies and Don Giljum, a self-described Communist and Business Manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 148.

    Watch the videos and understand why companies like Boeing Corporation are moving their manufacturing facilities to Right to Work states.

    Video #2:

    After watching both videos, do you now understand the Wisconsin public employee protests at the State Capitol and the various intimidation tactics used against Governor Scott Walker and GOP legislators?

    Exit question: In light of this knowledge, of how the unions create chaos as a bargaining tactic, do Americans really want public employee unions collectively bargaining with the government?

  • Collective Bargaining,  Polling,  Public Employee Unions

    Poll Watch: Americans Support Unions Rather than Governors in State Budget/Collective Bargaining Disputes?

    April 1, 2011 /


    Yes, according to the latest Gallup Poll.

    With political battles over state budgets and collective bargaining still playing out to varying degrees in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Maine,and several other states, 48% of Americans say they agree more with the unions in these disputes, while 39% agree more with the governors. Thirteen percent favor neither side or have no opinion.

    And, how do the numbers break down by groups?

    I am not really surprised as Americans generally support the little guy, the average American rather than a budget balancing POL.

    But, isn’t this why the states and the federal government have run up massive amounts of debt? The fact is the political pressure from voters is always to accommodate and say yes to more salaries/benefits and government spending.

    So, what does this mean?

    Previous Gallup research about the issues involved in these debates revealed some ambivalence among Americans toward the labor unions’ positions. While Americans polled in February were generally opposed to reducing state workers’ pay, benefits, and collective bargaining rights, they were even more widely opposed to raising taxes. Also, Americans were evenly divided over whether government unions are more helpful or harmful to states.

    Today, neither the governors nor the unions appear to have a strong advantage in the court of public opinion nationally, but the unions do have the slight edge, 48% to 39%. This is in keeping with decades of Gallup polling finding Americans generally approving of labor unions.