In a political culture in which most politicians fear Big Labor's massive forced dues electioneering machine, it's refreshing to see an elected official articulately and passionately condemn compulsory unionism. That's just what New Jersey Governor Chris Christie did last week at a town hall meeting.
In the video below, listen to Gov. Christie explain the evil of forcing teachers to pay union fees (roughly 85 percent of full union dues) just to exercise their right to refrain from union membership.
New Jersey employees have the limited right -- secured by National Right to Work Foundation-won cases at the US Supreme Court -- to pay only the portion of the fees that union bosses can prove is spent on bargaining and contract administration.
In Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977), the Court ruled that compulsory dues for politics violates the First Amendment. In Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson (1986), the Court agreed with Foundation attorneys and unanimously held that union officials must provide employees with an independently verified breakdown of the union's expenditures and that employees must have the opportunity to challenge the calculation of their forced fees.
Unfortunately, Christie stops short of calling for the Garden State to pass a Right to Work law, which would make union association 100 percent voluntary. But he's right on when he explains that the teacher union officials are motivated by "the accumulation and exercise of raw political power." Something to think about as Congress considers rewriting states' employment laws by federal fiat.
Comments
85% - could be worse
I "chose" not to join the union that was supposed to represent me and was charged ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the dues in "agency fees." Most of my fees went to parties and gifts I was not entitled to because I wasn't a member. Raffle prizes at the parties were amazing - cruises, big screen TVs - nearly enough items for everyone present to win something! The only money I saw spent in any way that could be interpreted as representing me went to a bumbling lawyer who nearly caused multiple employees, including me, to be laid off prematurely. I was eventually laid off 6 months later - at least I'm not paying for any more parties!
Union bully video
I am next in line..................where's the video?
Not able to get video
Not able to get video
Where it is
The video is here on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ksLlAi3iIc
Unable to get video.
Unable to get video.
Ditto on unable to get
Ditto on unable to get video!
could not get video
could not get video
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This info is the catÂs pjaaams!
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Right onÂthis helepd me sort things right out.
video is not showing up.
something wrong?
nj gov talk on forced unionism & where they spend the dues
I couldn't get the video to come up, just red star but nothing when i hit the star
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You got to push itÂthis esnsteial info that is!
Union power and union abuse
Two things:
---Wasn't there a time when the labor movement (in the 1950s) fought to retain secret ballots out of fear of intimidation of workers by company bosses?
---Is there an analyses of Steelworkers' Union benefits of the 1950s which included paid vacations of several weeks, and how much those benefits led to the collapse of the American steel industry?
unions
wasn't the union started by jimmy hoffa as a maffia boss?
so what is difference between union and the old maffia?
UNION vs. MAFIA. . .
Bernadine, . . Your response, in the form of a question, . . shows your youth and incomplete informtive experiences. . . The LABOR UNIONS were alive and well way before Jimmy Hoffa was ever born !!! . . He just became infamous for his HORRIBLE CORRUPTION of the Teamsters Union. . . Mostly, as usual, by the misuse of the DUES FEES, . . i.e., . . THE MONEY !!! . . .
The LOVE of MONEY is TRULY the ROOT OF ALL EVIL !!! . .
IT'S NOT THE MONEY, . . IT'S THE "LOVE" OF IT WHICH IS HAZARDOUS.
Hoffa LOANED union dues funds to the MAFIA. . . That was his FIRST MISTAKE. . . His LAST was that he DISAGREED with the MOB BOSSES. . . AND SAID SO. . .
Hoffa was NOT a Mafia boss, . . However, . . He WAS KILLED BY ONE !!! . . . OR TWO, . . OT THREE. . .
He was making deals with the DEVIL !!! . . And the Devil always wins !!! . . Always. . .
there was not a link for the
there was not a link for the video. Help!
no link to view video
no link to view the video
No Link
I was unable to view the video as there was no link.
I was unable to view the video as there was no link
I concur. The webpage shows normally, but the box containing the video is blank, with just a little 'x' in the upper left-hand corner.
Chris Christie: Not about teachers
If you go to youtube.com and search for 'Chris Christie: Not about teachers' you should be able to view this video ... and many others with this great man! Every elective office should have such a straight thinker who puts the country first! Gratifying to know there are such folks!
Behind the Rhetoric of NJ Governor
Chris Christie puts himself and his cohorts first! Although he gets a lot of positive press for his "bullying" stances, he plays the political game well. He has neglected to tell the general public that New Jersey is number 46 or so in the list of 50 states when it comes to publicly funding education through state funds although we have an income tax and lottery for that reason. The governor also neglects to mention how the state has failed to fund their share of the pension for the last 11 out of 15 years while diverting that money to other projects. No, Christie wasn't the governor BUT he knows the facts and neglects to state them. If you continue to watch him, you will see that he will follow the path of many politicians in which he provides for his cohorts while demonizing everyone else. In New Jersey, according to Christie, it is either his way or the highway! That sounds like a dictatorhip to me. Isn't America still a democracy?
Rhetoric of NJ Gov
Since the low standing of NJ schools started long before Christie
was governor the teachers union must be much more to blame than
the Governor. Maybe we could point to the Department of Education
since they became active our education system has been in steady
decline.
America is a Republic!
America is a Republic!
simply not true - America is
simply not true - America is a representative Republic
NJ Governor
That horrible system you are talking about was put together by a long succession of Democrat administrations assisted by Mob controlled unions. The money raised by the your huge taxes went to the teachers, then the Unions and the Mob, then it went to Democrat candidates to try to influence your state government to give them more money. It's a vicious cycle that the citizens keep paying for. We need Chris Christie to go to Washington and clean up the Obama mess.
Behind the Rhetoric of NJ Governor
"That sounds like a dictatorship to me. Isn't America still a democracy?"
No, America is not a democracy. It is, however, a Republic. Please watch "Overview of America" on You Tube. This DVD has been shown in many schools across the country because some teachers understand the difference between Republics and Democracies and want to pass the information on to their students.
Rhetorical Question not the Point!
The question - Isn't America still a democracy? - was a rhetorical one. One point of my comments being that no elected official should take the attitude that it is my way or the highway. I think this pervasive attitude of our elected officials is seriously affecting the welfare of our country, the United States of America. If it will make you feel better, I can reword the rhetorical question to ask - Isn't America still a republic?
democracy
Absolutely NOT is this country a democracy!!!! We are a Republic!! You should pick up a copy of this country's Constitution and learn something!
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ThatÂs more than seisnble! ThatÂs a great post!
Rhetorical Question Only
As I indicated to another writer, my question was rhetorical in nature. If it makes you feel better, I will reword the question so that it asks - Isn't our country still a republic? One of my points was the attitude of this elected official which seems to be pervasive throughout our country. I was not debating the issue of democracy/republic according to the Constitution. It was simply a rhetorical question!
Gov. Chris Christie
It is really about time a NJ elected official took a firm and principled stand against the NJ Union thugs.
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It does not matter to me that Gov. Christie fails to mention the broader picture, the abuse by the public sector unions and especially the NJEA is pandemic.
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Their unreasonable demands and failure to concede on even the smallest point will be theiir ruination.
NJ Governor Has His Own Issues
No one is best served by "demonization"! It is a negative process which breeds "hate" and "discontent". It has been my experience that someone who has a tendency to "demonize" is someone using their rhetoric as a distraction away from what they are doing.
Case in point
Obama is a good example of your point about "demonizing" to distract from what he is really doing.
Union Video
Looks like Union hackers have disabled your video. I can find no way in which to open the link.
video
Your latest email on Gov Christie had no video to click onto, at leat I could not find it.
NJ not the only state
NJ isn't the only state where the teachers' unions put politics first. When the smoke clears from our governor's race in Oklahoma, I hope we will have someone equally strong, someone equally in tune with the travesty that these unions represent, and why it is so important to support right to work. Although we are a right to work state, the NEA still reigns supreme in our boardrooms and classrooms, doing incalculable damage each day to our students' educations.
Four years ago, when our elementary school refused to provide legally mandated assistance and and IEP to my disabled children, my family left public schools and chose to homeschool. Believe me, I know all about "bullies"! I sat in that last IEP meeting, stunned to silence, with my youngest son's therapist and treatment advocate in attendance as professional advocates, but the administrator still had the nerve to erase my answers to a parent questionnaire and change them, saying, "According to our definitions, your son doesn't fit these behaviors." Then, based on these new answers, said there was no basis for an IEP meeting, therefore there was no need for an IEP. She refused to accept the written protests of my two treatment advocates, and left the meeting.
Why did this administrator feel free to do all of this, knowing she was blatantly violating both state and federal law? Because she knew that I could never afford the kind of lawyer that the unions would provide, and that by stalling long enough I would run out of money before the case was over.
Taking control
My wife and I had two children that need special education. we were dissatisfied with the education the public schools were providing. We joined a state wide organization (I will get back to you with a name which escapes me at the moment) that provided us with our rights as a parent and the kind of education the state had to provide for our children . We used that information and got our kids into the schools we thought were best for teaching them. One effective method of being dealt with fairly at these meetings was to tape our sessions with the administrators. The backlash ceased and we worked with civility together in getting our kids into better schools.
IEP
Although I have been able to have my grandchildren under this program it has had it's share of battles. Don't accept the school's decision. I didn't. Start with the School Board and go all the way to the top. There are plenty of lawyers out there that work with these type cases and willing to do so without thousands of dollars in fees. I as the guardian of my grandchildren challenged the system. I know there are alot of parents who accept the bull the school dishes out without question. This old bird told them from the beginning if I were younger I might believe you. It took years of fighting but this system is very clear now I mean business. (tip) Always take a tape recorder to meetings and watch them squirm
It seems unusal to me that
It seems unusal to me that any child who meets the requirments are not being put
on an IEP. I am from OH and was under the impression children on an IEP brought extra money to the schools. Teachers have to do extra work for the IEP child and I could see the strong union teachers hoping they could stop a few but not administrators who are usually not in the union and are hoping for more money coming into the district.
No video
Apparently the union thugs removed your video?
To all who could not get the
To all who could not get the video up, I had the same experience when I clicked the link to try to bring it up on YouTube. HOWEVER, when I came back to nrtw.org website, I just clicked the ARROW SYMBOL that overlays the webpage video and it played just fine. You may need to watch it at the smaller size, but perhaps you'll get to see it. I hope you do. Right on, Governor!
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Fell out of bed feeling down. This has bireghtned my day!
still no video! darn!
no arrow symbol, either.
They need to get this video up! I love any good clips of Christie, and am disappointed not to see this one.
Hmmm
If christie expects teachers to except this huge reduction in pay for benefits and more pension money. the least he could do is allow us to not pay over $700 a year into the union when we dont join.
I dont understand how its unconstitutional to make the state pay into the pension system as required by law, but it's constitutional to force workers to pay union dues even if they dont join? The public has to follow the laws, btu the government does not.
But democrats need unions just like republicans need big business. They are all corrupt and it's sad that teachers and other state workers are being lied about and used by republicans in an attempt to destroy or weaken the democrats special interest group!... not to mention our children???
WOW
Christie is amazing. He has the guts to talk about this while he is forcing all teachers to pay more for the very same benefits they were forced to pay the union to negotiate!
Does ANYONE realize that teachers had paid for their benefits? It was a lie to tell the public that teachers did not pay for benefits. The union that teachers are forced to join negotiates, which means that they agree on a lower salary for the benefits they want. Teachers recieved a lower salary so that they could have good benefits and now thanks to our lovely leader and sweeney, teachers will continue to be forced to pay the union because they do the negotiating, but the union is not allowed to negotiate health benefits!
Teachers will continue to be forced to pay the union the same amount of money(thanks to STATE LAW) even though the union can not negotiate benefits until the sunset clause which is not 4 years as sweeney has told everyone.. It is four years after teachers are paying the max premium percentage.. of their premium. This will be four years after the teachers three year contract is up. Another Sweeney lie.
Negotiations will never make up for the money teachers are losing thanks to Christies property tax cap. Christie has divided the people of our state with lies and led people to believe that teachers were not paying for their health benefits. This is simply not true at all.