January 30, 2009

Disappointing Unionism

Justin Katz

Michael Morse is a good guy. A very good guy. He's reasonable, compassionate, and intelligent, but also emblematic of the cult of unionism. That such a man would not spare one word of sympathy for those appalled by the teachers' union tactics at the infamous East Providence school committee meeting or one word to disassociate his own union, or at least his own belief about unions, from the astonishing behavior illustrates how corrosive unionism can be to a community, how divisive the line around those who proclaim "solidarity." Union uber alles.

To Michael, Travis Rowley's recounting of the school committee meeting marks him as an "arrogant" purveyor of "vitriol." Yet, he offers no expression of regret that the National Education Association's Patrick Crowley has been increasingly successful at making his the face of Rhode Island unions. Michael speaks of the "potential allies" whom Travis has alienated, but if he means to indicate people under the union umbrella who might be uncomfortable with some actions of their peers, he does not give reason for confidence that he'd be willing to break ranks himself.

And so it has been. It was largely Lt. Michael Morse of the Providence Fire Department who finally convinced me of unions' insidious nature. Although I've considered him a friend, and although he reached out in camaraderie to the contributors of Anchor Rising, the union disagreement proved too much. He's scrubbed us from his blog, and apparently, we weren't able sufficiently to persuade him that our opposition to public sector unions is based on honest assessment that he'd step forward in public to display a union rift so that the broader community could begin to heal.

Comments, although monitored, are not necessarily representative of the views Anchor Rising's contributors or approved by them. We reserve the right to delete or modify comments for any reason.

The unionists come at night. The victim may appear to be a perfectly fine person but there is some flaw in character that the unionist exploits. They may work along side some of these creatures and never fully comprehend the danger. Once the victim relaxes their ideological guard it is as though they have opened their bedroom window to the night. And then they come....

Posted by: Phil at January 30, 2009 7:17 AM

Phil,

With your knack for Alynskyesque propagandistic mockery, you should apply for a job at the NEA. Actually, you've provided a great example of the methods by which union organizations propagandize their own members to ignore sincere observations from those outside of the group.

"Those so-called neighbors? They're either paid shills or paranoiacs."

Posted by: Justin Katz at January 30, 2009 7:49 AM

I think the part of the pro-union folks that I find most hilarious is when you see posts like this one where they are disgustingly attributing union membership to the heroes of the day. However, where is all the union talk when an Oakland transit cop murders someone

Where is the union talk when Tim White finds shop stewards using city property to steal cement sand to another city employee's house? Link

Where's the union talk when his supervisor is caught attending a known bookmaking house "to buy coffee cups" but then exiting without any coffee cups? Link

Where is all the union talk when the Projo exposes Paul Doughty for the criminal that he is by filling in for his own shifts as a fill-in and receiving overtime for it?

If you're going to take credit for heroic actions of a union member, then you gotta at least point these out as bad representation of the union too. That's not even to mention all the examples from the NEA that Mike listed the other day. Yet another example of strained credibility.

Posted by: Patrick at January 30, 2009 8:08 AM

Those were very special coffee cups Patrick, did you notice that they were invisible?

Does anyone know where I can buy a "Proud to be Non-Union" sweatshirt? I've been looking but haven't seen any. I routinely see various pro union clothing worn by union advocates/members. I bet a "Proud to be Non-Union" garment would be a big hit at the next contentious school committee meeting.

Posted by: Frank at January 30, 2009 8:28 AM

"Proud To Be Private Sector - I'm capable of thinking and speaking for myself, thank you"

Posted by: Patrick at January 30, 2009 8:32 AM

Nothing personal, Justin, I "scraped" all of the politics based blogs from my own, except for "Not for Nothin." Ian seems more in the middle and his commenters not as abrasive.

Posted by: Michael at January 30, 2009 8:53 AM

Nice Patrick!

Maybe AR could produce some "Proud to be Private Sector ..." clothing. I'll buy a bunch.

Posted by: Frank at January 30, 2009 8:59 AM

Justin

"Those so-called neighbors? They're either paid shills or paranoiacs."

I don't understand. Where did this quote come from and what does it have to do with me?

Posted by: Phil at January 30, 2009 9:11 AM

Justin,
Will you please stop even thinking that these unionistas might ever be anything but a bunch of absolute PIGS.
You don't negotiate with these people, you don't compromise or anything else. You don't reason with these pigs - you wack them in the head with a 2x4. That is all they understand.
I mean, really, - how much more do you need to see before you understand what is going on here?

Posted by: Mike Cappelli at January 30, 2009 9:32 AM

The "good news", if you want to call it that, is that the state has hit Peak Taxes and is de facto bankrupt. As are its major cities.
The era of Union Supremacism is thus over, by necessity. Certainly not by choice.

Posted by: Mike at January 30, 2009 9:33 AM

Groups that can't be negotiated with are ones who think they have to right to blow you up, literally, because you're standing in the way of building their idea of a perfect society. It is utterly insane to put policemen, firefighters, teachers, or unionized employees in general in the United States of America into this category.

The fact is that the great bulk of the public (the bulk to which I belong) doesn't buy unfocused "just cut everything" rage as the basis of a serious opposition. If that's all you've got to offer, then that's why you've been marginalized, and it's not the fault of rank-and-file union members.

Posted by: Andrew at January 30, 2009 11:03 AM

mike capelli,
Careful, you are greatly outnumbered by those whom you call names. If you resort to picking up a 2x4 you may have it wrenched from your political hands and used against you. In fact, it's very likely to happen. Check the numbers. Check the latest election results. Your time has come and gone and what you are is a voice crying in the wilderness. You poor deluded person, you believe your own propaganda.
OldTimeLefty

Posted by: OldTimeLefty at January 30, 2009 12:45 PM

Let the personal attacks begin.
My father was no friend of unions (he usually dealt with disagreeable employees by saying "Tell it to your union steward"), but I think he'd be pretty embarassed by the fallings out on a personal level this whole debate has created. His dislike of unions didn't stop him from inviting some of those "anarchists" to my sister's wedding (or attending mine).
If you're taking a shot at a guy you considered a friend because of union business...this is precisely the kind of thing that makes America's enemies smile.
Just please let me know civility has officially been suspended for the duration. It doesn't come naturally to me, but I'll act accordingly.

Posted by: rhody at January 30, 2009 1:27 PM

This is where the right always gets it wrong. The union's can ask for anything they want.

It's the spineless politicians (e.g. Scott Avedisian) who let them have anything they want, who have got to go.

Posted by: George at January 30, 2009 3:27 PM

RIs lopsided political culture is directly related to union support. The union role is fundamental to the RI democratic party’s dominance here. Who in their right mind would continue to support a group of individuals who have proven to be as inept as our state legislature? The unions, that’s who.

RI is not a right to work state. Union dues is taken without permission of the employee and used to fund the democrat party, again, without the permission of the employee. I cannot think of anything less fair and less democratic than this siphoning off of monies to a particular political end without the say so of the individual. Just imagine the RI public employee who is an independent or a republican and watches helplessly as their union dues, thousands of dollars per individual over a lifetime, is used directly against their interests. They would have to spend thousands more in personal campaign contributions to just to reach a break even point, politically. Few things in this country are as unfair as this. For this reason alone, ignoring all the other bad union behavior, I will always believe that there is an inherent evil to unions.

http://www.unionfacts.com/states/state.cfm?state=RI

Posted by: Frank at January 30, 2009 7:58 PM

But Frank, if politicians grow a spine, (or a pair of something else) and just say no, the unions' power goes to zilch.


Posted by: George at January 30, 2009 8:09 PM

Ultimately, George is right. We can thank our spineless chicken-crap "leaders" for having pandered to the Unions.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with making the very fair observation that the majority of those in Unions are sheep-like simple-minded, weak, non-individualist, who lack lack courage and integrity, and who exude hypocrisy and dellusions of grandeur on a most regular basis.

Lacking courage and self-reliance, they naturally belong to a Union.

These are NOT the folks, the rugged individuals that tamed and built America.

Rather, these are the folks that came after the hard work was done to, as Mr. Morse would say, "to get their's".

Indeed, Mr. Morse is a perfect example of the go-along to get-along Union hypocrite. The fact that he writes a Blog and writes letters to the Pro-Jo, but supports the likes of Providence Fire Fighter Union President, Lazy-Ass Pauly "No Show" Doughty, who for 3+ years did not show up to work the job that he was well paid to do, is all you need to know about Mr. Morse and his Union ilk.

Posted by: George Elbow at January 30, 2009 9:26 PM

It's not that simple. The problem then becomes that you would need all of the union funded elected officials to "grow a pair". That is never going to happen, you are never going to get them all to do that, it's hard enough to find just one. We're at the point where the unions/democrat party are picking off the last few vocal republicans one by one.

If a union funded democrat steps out of line the union support dries up and is then given to the next inept aspiring politician who promises to do their bidding. All that union dues is going to find it's ways into someone's campaign coffers before the next election cycle. The only way to level the political playing field in RI is to interrupt the union dues stream to the democratic party. Until then nothing changes.


Posted by: Frank at January 30, 2009 10:18 PM

To those who want to debate my premise, I offer two vivid examples: The East Providence School Committee meeting and the conduct of the pig teachers, and the pig firefighter in the paper going after Dan Beardsley.
Who still thinks you can reason with these pigs?
And Andrew, maybe these people aren't literally blowing us up, but they are indeed blowing up our society, destroying municipalities financially and relegating our children to a Detroit like future.
WAKE UP!

Posted by: Mike Cappelli at January 31, 2009 10:18 AM
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