Recent paybacks to unions by Obama include overturning a 76 year old rule to make it easier to unionize airlines and more importantly a new executive order requiring all government contracts be to union companies. Both of these union payoffs were done without needing or even asking for congressional approval.

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Recent paybacks to unions by Obama include overturning a 76 year old rule to make it easier to unionize airlines and more importantly a new executive order requiring all government contracts be to union companies. Both of these union payoffs were done without needing or even asking for congressional approval.

Close to half of Obama’s first $820 billion stimulus bill went ‘to entities that sponsor or employ or both members of the Service Employees International Union, federal, state, and municipal employee unions, or other Democrat-controlled unions‘ according to Ben Stein in an article last year in The American Spectator about the stimulus. More recently, congress passed the $30 billion ‘teacher bailout’ bill which funneled approximately $16 billion to union teacher and other public employee union jobs.

According to RiShawn Biddle in a Capital Research Center report:

‘The NEA [teachers union] took in an estimated $569 million that it spent on local, state and national political campaigns during the 2007-2008 election cycle, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. This made the NEA the nation’s single-biggest campaign contributor for the 2009-2010 election period, the NEA has raised another $15 million to date – double the amount raised at the same time two years ago. This fund raising prowess is why Harvard University education scholar Paul Peterson declares that the NEA is “in a position to tell state legislatures what to do.”’

In a recent local election SEIU (Service Employees International Union) spent $500,000 and may end up as high as a $1 million. Why so much? To prevent cuts to exorbitant union wages and benefits that are bankrupting the county.

According to an article by Kevin Bogardus and Sean J. Miller at The Hill, just two unions plan to spend close to $100 million to save Democrat jobs in the 2010 elections. Even though unions have already gotten taxpayer bailouts of benefits ($20 BILLION in GM fiasco alone), preferential treatment in federally funded work, the overturning of 76 year rules on unionization, ownership in Chrysler and GM to the detriment of shareholders, creditors and taxpayers, and the lions share of stimulus money directed to public work projects which will have to be union, they will be expecting more like taxpayer funding of a trillion dollars of under funded union pension liabilities.

Kevin Bogardus and Sean J. Miller say:

‘The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) plans to spend in excess of $50 million during the 2010 campaign, part of which will fund “a massive incumbent protection program,” according to Gerry McEntee, president of the union.’

And:

‘The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) plans to spend $44 million in total on its 2010 election program. The union spent $85 million on its 2008 campaign, according to union officials.’

An August 25 article in the Wall Street Journal by Melanie Trottman points out that the AFL-CIO is adding over $44 million to the kitty for Dems:

‘Mr. Trumka says the AFL-CIO will spend more than the $44 million it did in 2006 but hasn’t determined a specific amount.’

That is a total of $138 million from just those three unions for just 2010 and its all for Democrats.

And its not just money. Unions put boots on the ground for campaigns. Melanie Trottman at WSJ notes:

‘To counter any possible apathy, Mr. Trumka said the unions planned to put more campaign workers in the field than in 2006 and 2008, knocking on doors of union households and handing out leaflets at work sites. The federation also will coordinate phone banks and mailings, tracking progress through weekly polls.

In the last midterm elections, union households represented 23% of the electorate, according to exit poll data.’

In a recent editorial titled ‘The best government money can buy -top 20 public sector union paid politicians‘, we listed the top twenty recipients of union campaign money from public sector unions, industrial unions and trade unions. They are all Democrats.

Now it brings focus to Obama’s new old plan to stimulate or create or save jobs. $50 billion as a start for jobs that won’t begin to materialize until late next year about the time the 2012 campaign really gets started. The guy is brilliant.  Roads, runways and railroads are all union jobs which will funnel campaign money to the Democrats and particularly to Obama just in time for the 2012 election cycle. And he wants there to be a permanent ‘infrastructure bank’ as his and the Democrats slush fund to keep the unions working at the expense of the private sector. They will probably seek allowance for this ‘bank’ to fund without congressional approval just like the finance bill did with the takeover of banks and other ‘financial’ institutions.

All the while he can angrily chide the Republicans (or anyone else who disagrees) as blocking his magical job creation.

In reality, even if we are stupid enough to fall for this, the make work jobs will only prolong the recession or turn it into a full blown depression as it robs the private sector of capital and increases our already unsustainable debt.

Don’t be fooled again.

-Editor

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