CEI - New Labor Policy Video: The Life of Julius

CEI Produces Counterpoint to Obama's "Life of Julia"

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 29, 2013 — The Competitive Enterprise Institute unveiled a new video today: “The Life of Julius: How Unions Hurt Workers.” The two-minute animated film can be viewed on YouTube or at CEI's labor policy website WorkplaceChoice.org.

“The Life of Julius,” like the Obama campaign’s controversial “Life of Julia,” follows the life of a working American. Julius is an African-American man who has suffered under pro-union labor policies.

For example, as a 17 year-old in search of his first job, Julius finds that the labor pool in his hometown is artificially small thanks to minimum wage laws, which have been promoted by labor unions for decades.

Later in life, as a father and home-owner in his 40s, Julius finds that the collective bargaining agreements of public-sector workers have driven his taxes up, leaving his family with less take-home pay for groceries, gas, and vacations.

Finally, at the end of his working life, a 64 year-old Julius is looking forward to retiring on the pension fund he's contributed to for decades. Unfortunately, the unionized workforce at his company has driven the enterprise into insolvency by increasing labor costs to unsustainable levels. The company is forced to shut its doors, and Julius finds he has an empty nest egg, just when he needs it.

"The Life of Julius" tells the story of how the average person is affected by politically empowered unions and the laws and regulations they support. Watch the video here.

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CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government.  For more information about CEI, please visit our website, cei.org, and blogs, Globalwarming.org and OpenMarket.org.  Follow CEI on Twitter! Twitter.com/ceidotorg.

AFP - Freeze NLRB

In yet another attempt to “work around Congress,” last year President Obama unconstitutionally appointed three people to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the agency that imposes rules regarding union-organizing elections that give Big Labor a big advantage. This past January, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the President’s appointments, finding them to be unconstitutional—the President made these recess appointments when the Senate was not actually in recess.

Take action today: Tell Congress to freeze all NLRB activities while these unconstitutional appointees are still on the board.

Thankfully, there’s a bill in Congress that would stop the NLRB from implementing the rules that it has adopted since January 4, 2012, when President Obama stacked it with illegitimate, unconstitutionally appointed members. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), would freeze all of the NLRB’s activities that require a full quorum. The House of Representatives is going to vote on the bill next week—and they need to hear from you.

This is not only about stopping the partisan, pro-union stranglehold on the NLRB. It’s also about keeping the American system of check and balances in place. Congress needs to stand up to the president when he oversteps his constitutional authority. No more working around Congress and the Constitution to further his Big Labor agenda.

Sincerely,

Nicole Kaeding

State Policy Manager

Americans for Prosperity

Take action today: Tell Congress to freeze all NLRB activities while these unconstitutional appointees are still on the board.

CEI Weekly: Workers Prevented From Leaving Unions

Friday, May 11, 2012

Feature: Labor bosses aren't respecting workers' choices.

FEATURE: Workers Prevented From Leaving Unions In tough economic times, having labor bosses who demand dues and force strikes can be a hard extra burden. That's why some workers are now trying to leave their unions. But in California, the SEIU is fighting desperately to prevent workers' exit. Warren Brookes Fellow Matt Patterson and Labor Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs explain what's going on in a Washington Times op-ed this week. Read the op-ed here. SHAPING THE DEBATE Forget France, the Greek Elections Are the Beginning of the End of Europe Iain Murray's article in The American Spectator Stephen King Horrified By His Low Taxes. What's Next? Bill Frezza's column in Forbes Global Warming Crusaders Lose Steam, Tempers Matt Patterson's op-ed in The Washington Examiner Lending Cap is Unfair to Small Business John Berlau's op-ed in Newsmax Immigration Policy Is an Economic Meltdown Trifecta Bill Frezza's op-ed in Real Clear Markets Opinions on Genetic Engineering That Aren't Worth a Bean Henry I. Miller's op-ed in Forbes Our Immigration Problem's Not Going Away David Bier's op-ed in Real Clear Policy Federal 'Stimulus' Spent $34.5 Million in Michigan for Only 183 Total Jobs Fred L. Smith, Jr.'s citation in Michigan Capitol Confidential Civil-Liberties Groups Urge Rejection of White House-Supported Cyber Bill CEI's citation in The Hill Obama Is Losing the Keystone Pipeline Battle Marlo Lewis' citation in Reason Magazine

CEI PODCAST May 10, 2012: Freeing Our Farms Immigration Policy Analyst David Bier explains how the Labor Department’s byzantine restrictions on immigrant agricultural workers hurt immigrants and native-born Americans alike. Current immigration policy keeps many immigrants in dangerous black markets, raises food prices for consumers, makes it difficult for farmers to hire workers and create jobs, and reduces the government’s tax revenues. BEST OF THE BLOGS Legacy Risks By Fred L. Smith, Jr. Amendments That Take Away Rights By Hans Bader Fossil Fuel Shill Sierra Club Bites the Hand That Feeds It By Myron Ebell Austerity Bites--But It Isn't the Problem By Iain Murray

CEI Today: Obama war on coal, NLRB Antics, and the week in regulations

ENERGY POLICY - IAIN MURRAY

WashingtonTimes.com: War on coal escalates - Obama emissions rules impose real costs with illusory health benefits

Faced with rising gas prices, President Obama recently outlined what he calls an “all-of-the-above” energy policy “that develops every available source of American energy - oil, gas, wind, solar, nuclear, biofuels and more.” You may notice something missing there - coal, America’s most abundant and affordable fuel source. The administration’s “all of the above” strategy is anything but. > Read the full commentary on WashingtonTimes.com

> Interview Iain Murray

 

LABOR UNIONS - TREY KOVACS & JACK MANN WashingtonExaminer.com: Will Congress stop NLRB? Imagine an election in which one candidate may campaign for a year while the other is only allowed to enter the race a week before Election Day. Blindsided, the latter candidate would have no time to organize a team or respond to attacks. That is precisely what the National Labor Relations Board is trying to accomplish, by imposing an "ambush election" rule on private-sector workplaces. The new rule would give employees as little as 10 days to decide whether or not to unionize. > Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com > Interview the authors > Keep up with all labor policy news at Workplacechoice.org

REGULATION - RYAN YOUNG

Openmarket.org: CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation

•  76 new final rules were published last week, up from 75 the previous week. That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 13 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All in all, 876 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year. If this keeps up, the total tally for 2012 will be 3,563 new rules.
•  2,191 new pages were added to the 2012 Federal Register last week, for a total of 19,487 pages. At this pace, the 2012 Federal Register will run 78,577 pages.

> See the week in regulation and highlights from final rules published last week on Openmarket.org

> For more data, updated daily, go to TenThousandCommandments.com

> Interview Ryan Young

WFI - Taxpayer-Funded Government Agency Does Big Labor’s Bid ding Promoting Unionization

Washington, D.C. (February 14, 2012)  – The Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) today released the following statement in response to news reports that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will undertake an effort to promote unionization in private sector businesses:

 

“Instead of working to ‘avoid redundant, conflicting, or overly burdensome requirements’ as prescribed just a few days ago by the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, President Obama’s labor board is desperately seeking to promote Big Labor’s interests in private sector workplaces,” said Fred Wszolek, spokesperson for the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI).  “With our nation’s debt growing, this most recent overreach by the National Labor Relations Board should send a signal to lawmakers that the so-called ‘independent’ agency’s budget merits serious scrutiny.  An effort that uses taxpayer dollars to promote the interests of union bosses who have stated they intend to spend nearly half a billion dollars this November illustrates perfectly just how misguided and irresponsible the unelected bureaucrats at the NLRB have become.  While couching their latest giveaway as a means to protect workers, the reality is that it protects the interests of President Obama’s political benefactors and has been timed to launch just as an another gross overreach by the agency requiring businesses to post pro-labor propaganda takes effect.”

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

“Worker Rights Get Promotional Drive”:

 

“Federal regulators are preparing a drive to tell workers at nonunionized businesses they have many of the same rights as union members, a move that could prompt more workers to complain to employers about grievances ranging from pay and work hours to job safety and management misconduct.  The National Labor Relations Board will focus on workers’ rights to engage in ‘protected concerted activity,’ which allow two or more employees to take action for their mutual aid or protection, NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce said in an interview … In the next two weeks, the NLRB is set to roll out a Web page explaining ‘concerted activity’ and highlighting cases involving unlawful punishment for it.  It also plans pamphlets in English and Spanish that will be distributed through worker-advocacy groups and sister federal agencies, such as the Labor Department. NLRB officials will address the issue in speeches and appearances on radio and television … The timing of the new Web page is convenient for the NLRB: Its Web traffic could get a boost April 30, when a rule it finalized last year takes effect.  The rule requires millions of private-sector employers to hang posters at their worksites about employee rights.  The posters list the agency’s Web address and toll-free number, and advises workers to ‘promptly’ contact the NLRB with suspected violations.” (Melanie Trottman, “Worker Rights Get Promotional Drive,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/22/12)

 

White House Office Of Information & Regulatory Affairs Telling Agencies To Avoid Redundant, Conflicting Or Overly Burdensome Requirements:

 

“EXCLUSIVE: Amid criticism from the right that the administration still has too heavy a hand, the White House opens a new phase in its continuing campaign to cut back on unnecessary regulations:

 

“A senior Office of Management and Budget official: ‘Last January, the President ordered an unprecedented government-review of existing rules. … [O]ver two dozen agencies have released ambitious reform plans, outlining hundreds of cost-saving reforms.  A small fraction of those reforms, already finalized or formally proposed to the public, will save more than $10 billion over the next five years.  Today, … OIRA [White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs] is issuing guidance telling agencies that they need to work on the front end, with the public and stakeholders, to avoid redundant, conflicting, or overly burdensome requirements.  A rule that in isolation may seem perfectly sensible may overlap with existing requirements in problematic ways, especially for small businesses and startups.  Going forward, agencies will have to keep the big picture of cumulative effects in mind when writing rules.’

 

“From the 2-page guidance, ‘Cumulative Effects of Regulations’: ‘[T]he cumulative effects on small businesses and start-ups deserve particular attention.’”

 

(POLITICO Playbook, 3/20/12)

 

Big Labor To Spend $400 Million Dollars For Obama During 2012 Presidential Election:

 

“Unions are gearing up to spend more than $400 million to help re-elect President Barack Obama and lift Democrats this election year in a fight for labor’s survival.” (Sam Hananel, “Unions Gearing Up To Spend Big In 2012 Election,” The Associated Press, 2/22/12)

 

The Workforce Fairness Institute is an organization committed to educating voters, employers, employees and citizens about issues affecting the workplace. To learn more, please visit: http://www.workforcefairness.com.