Kaine
Have you noticed recently the big push for a minimum wage increase in Virginia, which is rated #1 for business, has a low unemployment rate of 3.3%, and a very good quality of life rating.
Many of the local members of the “Democratic” party have been pushing this issue and claiming it is the “right thing to do” for the people and is only fair.
This issue has been debated several times on RightsideVA and in the local media and has gotten heated at times. I am still waiting for somebody to show me a person working in Augusta County for the minimum wage of $5.15 and to present what job skills that person has and if those skills command more pay. The free market works and a person with increased\learned job skills will and have been paid more for they produce more and are more valuable to the job market. I have also asked how raising the minimum wage will increase\promote job skills and what will be the incentive for the worker to learn more and thus improve their skills and making themselves more valuable…
Recently I had the opportunity to hear Michael Reynold, the Executive Director of Free Enterprise Watch and he provided some very interesting information. The following information is from the website
www.freeenterprisewatch.org and it shows that VA Democratic Governor Tim Kaine received 10 times the amount of campaign contributions from “Big Labor” then the previous governor and how he has appointed many “Big Labor” members to his cabinet.
Check out the following information and this might just explain the big push for a minimum wage increase in Virginia and how it will benefit(?) the worker. Or will it benefit Big Labor and unions who require their workers to pay dues which are then given to candidates of the unions choice and not the workers choice.
Maybe this is why the local Democrats claim they want to talk to Senator Allen about supporting an increase in the minimum wage? For the benefit of the workers or the union? Maybe they should ask Democratic Governor Kaine why he took so much in “Big Labor” campaign contributions?
Labor Money
- Organized labor spent more than $1.95 million in last year’s three statewide races.
- Governor Kaine received more than 10 times the amount of campaign contributions from
big labor than the previous governor received.
- The Service Employees International Union gave Governor Kaine’s campaign three times
the total amount of all labor contributions that Governor Warner received.
- This year, a non-election year, big labor has contributed over $315,000 to anti-business
officials and organizations.
Appointments
- The governor has placed union officials at the highest levels of state government. The
Administration’s policy and message are controlled by union operatives.
- The governor has appointed former AFL-CIO president Daniel LeBlanc to be his Senior
Workforce Advisor, a cabinet-level position. As recently as February 2006 LeBlanc has
called Virginia’s Right-to-Work law “right to work for less.”
- The governor has said LeBlanc is in a position to “make the biggest mark of anywhere in
state government.”
- Jean Bankos, former president of the VEA, is Senior Advisor to the Governor for
Educational Projects. The NEA has recently advocated for a federal minimum wage for
all teachers.
- Delacey Skinner, the communications director for the governor, worked for George
Soros’ 527 group, America Coming Together (ACT) - a partner with the Change to Win
and AFL-CIO coalition to raise the minimum wage.
- Maurice Henderson, the governor’s deputy press secretary, was an employee of the
United Steelworkers of America and ACT.
Labor Money in Virginia
In his 2005 campaign for governor, Tim Kaine received more than $1.4 million from organized
labor. Including contributions to his inaugural committee, Governor Kaine received more than $1.55 million in union money. This is far and away the largest amount of money ever spent by labor unions in a Virginia statewide election. To put this in perspective, Governor Kaine received more than 10 times the amount of money than the previous governor received.
Contrary to what some union officials contend, raising the minimum wage does not reduce
poverty rates. A recent study by Ohio University examined the correlation between a raise in
entry-level wages and poverty rates. The economists found that there was no reduction in
poverty even when broken down by gender, age, ethnicity and race. In fact, in some categories, “negative employment effects” actually increased poverty.xv Allowing the free market to work makes sense. Employers pay their employees what the markets will bear - giving them the flexibility and freedom to choose how to compensate their employees. With Virginia’s unemployment rate holding steady at 3.3%xvi, keeping the minimum wage at its current level is the right choice for keeping our economy vibrant and productive.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Right-to-Work laws attract new businesses to states, providing good-paying jobs and a high
quality of life. “Hundreds of site-searching companies and their consultants eliminate non-
Right-to-Work states from the beginning,” says southern business owner and author Joe
Hollingsworth. Specifically, Right-to-Work states expand a state’s manufacturing sector. From 1977-2001 Right-to-Work states gained more than 800,000 manufacturing jobs. On the other hand, compulsory union states lost nearly 2,000,000 jobs in this same time period.xxii Data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that 637,000 Americans between 21 and 30 years old have relocated from forced union states to Right-to-Work states since 2000.xxiii Between 1990 and 2001, Right-to-Work states have had a population growth of almost 8 percent higher than non-Right-to-Work states.xxiv
Why are Union bosses opposed to Right-to-Work?
For large labor organizations, worker dues are the sole sustaining force that keeps them
powerful. If workers are not compelled to contribute a portion of their paycheck to the union,
then the unions lose money and relevance. When states do not have Right-to-Work protection, a monopoly exists; leaving employees with no choice but to pay up. If unions are receiving compulsory income from workers who only join because they do not wish to be fired, the union’s power is inflated and, some argue, that the individual worker’s constitutional right to freely associate has been abridged. By forcing those who otherwise would not join the union to join, they collect additional revenue and exert inflated political power.
