I just went out to move the car and I heard something on the radio that had me shouting at it. The radio, not the car. It was about Wisconsin's inevitable "Right To Work Free Of Union Oppression Gosh We're So Oppressed" law. The piece started with some quotes from the bill's supporters that were not just opinions one could disagree with, but out and out falsehoods.
One should never drive while angry, especially when the streets are sloppy with snow, as they are here this morning, so I kept my temper by promising to vent about it online.
One claimed that Unions have no accountability, and that union bosses get to use those dues to go to the golf course. Actually, unions are required by law to annually publish financial statements showing where the money goes.
One of the sponsors of the bill also uttered a pious platitude about how the source of everything beneficial and salutary is when the Individual Has a Say In Things; and obviously, if the Individual has no say if whether or not he pays union dues, then He Has No Say. Well, I don't know about all unions, but when I worked for a union shop, we had the right to opt out of the Union if we wanted to, and I knew a co-worker who did.
But even were this not true, The people who have no say are the people who AREN'T in the Union. Union members get to vote on the things the Union does: what candidates the union endorsed, what contracts to accept or reject, who represents them in the union, even whether or not union officials can draw from the General Fund for their golf fees. My union dues paid for my voice in the union.