re: #44 Obdicut

Me too. Restrict.

I think we’re on similar ground on that point Obdi.

What does that have to do with negotiating a contract with your employer? You’re seriously suggesting the way unions should negotiate a contract is through campaigning for people?

Yes, democracy in action. You want a result, vote for the people that will give you that result!

Think about your analagoy for a second. Unions can’t change the leadership of a state by vote either— barring the ability of unions to make up a majority of the citizens in the state. You have the right analogy, but you have it absolutely fucking backwards. Union members get one vote apiece, just like the rest of us.

I don’t agree. Well - to be clear - I agree that it’s one person, one vote - but I don’t agree that political consequences is not an effective negotiation tactic. If Unions couldn’t affect their negotiations by political means why would roughly 2/3rds of the top 20 campaign donors from 1989-2010 be unions or trade associations? And if supporting unions’ desires wasn’t important to politicians why would so many court them so heavily. Unions can pour their collective resources (both financial and manpower) into helping the candidates they believe in and that can have real affect on their prospects in negotiations.