From a source in the House:
House Democrats have brought a bill to the floor today, H.R. 980, that overrides state right-to-work laws and forces state governments to allow their public safety officers to unionize.
Public safety officers work for the public and in the public interest. If they have grievances, they can take their arguments to the public sphere, since their employment conditions and terms are set by a representative government.
Now, even if someone rejects the arguments above, this legislation must still be opposed due to its massive violation of states' rights. This bill overrides the long-standing precedents and decisions of state legislatures and state courts, then imposes a liberal federal policy on the issue. This is bad government and a fundamental violation of the nature of our government.
House Democrats are trying to sneak this bill through the House; help spread the word about this legislation, so the public knows just what they are trying to do. Maybe someone in the Speaker's Office should read the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.
UPDATE:
Rep. Eric Cantor stands in strong opposition to H.R. 980. Here's his quote: "In Virginia, the law would overturn the state's public sector prohibition on monopolized union bargaining. At stake are crucial worker incentives like merit-based promotions and pay raises - the cornerstones of a thriving and productive workforce. And Congress' unprecedented and dangerous reach into local labor relations wouldn't be cheap. The law could potentially cost state and local taxpayers millions of extra dollars - additional costs they now deem unnecessary."
Here are some links:
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H.R. 980 would grant the Federal Labor Relations Authority oversight of the labor-management laws of public safety workers in every political subdivision in the country, stripping states and localities of the right to govern themselves.
The National Right to Work Committee says that H.R. 980 "would force monopoly bargaining on every policeman, firefighter, and emergency medial technician in the country, putting them under the monopoly control of union bosses."
The National Institute for Labor Relations Research writes, "Hundreds of thousands of policemen, firemen, and paramedics who up to now have been free under state law to negotiate on their own behalf would be stripped of that freedom by H.R. 980."
Even President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote in 1937, "All government employees should recognize that collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into public service."
