Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:15 PM

Labor leader: Koch brothers are behind Michigan right-to-work law

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Tx4obama (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: MSNBC

The day after Michigan’s legislature held an abrupt vote on right-to-work legislation, United Auto Workers President Bob King blamed the influence of the Koch brothers, Charles and David, as well as “the extreme right wing.”

“In the end, Dick Devos and the extreme right-wing control what’s going on in the state,” King told Detroit radio station WDET. “And the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity was in there, and there was a lot of money all pushing for the passage of this legislation, threatening the governor, threatening the different representatives.”
>>>
According to the non-partisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network, David Koch gave a total of $988,604.44 to the Republican Governors Association Michigan PAC in 2010, the year when Snyder was elected governor. Of the PAC’s donors, 98% were from outside Michigan. Americans for Prosperity also erected tents in front of the Michigan capitol before the right-to-work vote, and the Michigan Freedom Fund aired radio and television ads in favor of the legislation that day.

“If you do that, you’ve been planning it for a while,” said Gordon Lafer, an expert in American labor law. He said that well-funded conservative interest groups had likely been laying the groundwork for a right-to-work vote in Michigan for some time. He also said that the campaign in Michigan was part of a nationwide battle against the labor movement.

Read more: http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/12/07/labor-leader-koch-brothers-are-behind-michigan-right-to-work-law/

26 replies, 2372 views

Cannot reply in locked threads

Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum

Replies to this discussion thread

26 replies	Author	Time	Post
Labor leader: Koch brothers are behind Michigan right-to-work law (Original post)	Teamster Jeff	Dec 2012	OP
THOSE TWO ARE A VIRUS	HowHasItComeToThis	Dec 2012	#1
yes, a deadly virus	Dakota Flint	Dec 2012	#5
The Koch brothers have destroyed Kansas, so no surprise they have their sights set	RKP5637	Dec 2012	#2
I read a lot of posters today	Teamster Jeff	Dec 2012	#6
Yep, it's the SOS over and over again. Divide and conquer and keep picking the unions apart, 'till	RKP5637	Dec 2012	#8
AND no weekends. AND no overtime compensation. AND bring on the child labor again.	calimary	Dec 2012	#10
What really used to irk me was I worked with people who thought they were above the	RKP5637	Dec 2012	#18
I remember the UAW trying to organize the white-collar folks at Chrysler.	Bozita	Dec 2012	#22
I hate the phrase "Right to Work" unless it includes the phrase "For Slave Wages Because You're	MADem	Dec 2012	#3
The proper term is "RIGHT TO WORK FOR PEANUTS"!	ErikJ	Dec 2012	#20
There is a war going on in the US. It's a subliminal and latent war being waged by $$$$$ and	RKP5637	Dec 2012	#4
You wouldn't think that their shenanigans are legal!	kitt6	Dec 2012	#7
I long for the 1960's, bringing back the WEATHERMEN, giving them 2 targets ..... N/T	radarluv	Dec 2012	#9
Not judging, but what do you think that would accomplish, from a tactical standpoint?	jtuck004	Dec 2012	#13
I have yet to hear an idea on how to deal with those two MFers...	ReRe	Dec 2012	#11
ALEC ...	Bozita	Dec 2012	#12
I think Detroit Free Press was first to break the Koch/RTW connection	alp227	Dec 2012	#14
KamaAina: Sun rises in East	KamaAina	Dec 2012	#15
POLL! need some DU love	James48	Dec 2012	#16
Done.	patrice	Dec 2012	#24
The two single worst excuses for human beings alive.	Initech	Dec 2012	#17
Of Course, they are! Hopefully this will have a Severe Backlash	Cha	Dec 2012	#19
In other news, water is wet. nt	rbnyc	Dec 2012	#21
This is surprising, from the family whose fortune was founded on the backs of dead Russian slaves?	patrice	Dec 2012	#23
Duh.	Canuckistanian	Dec 2012	#25
Locking, sorry. LBN Dupe. Please continue discussion on LBN link below	Tx4obama	Dec 2012	#26

Response to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:16 PM

HowHasItComeToThis (3,549 posts)

1. THOSE TWO ARE A VIRUS

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to HowHasItComeToThis (Reply #1)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:25 PM

Dakota Flint (68 posts)

5. yes, a deadly virus

They are a clear and present danger and should be treated just as one would treat any deadly virus.

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:19 PM

RKP5637 (25,622 posts)

2. The Koch brothers have destroyed Kansas, so no surprise they have their sights set

on other states and the US in general. They are dangerous. Too bad everything in the US is based on $$$$$ and shenanigans.

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to RKP5637 (Reply #2)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:28 PM

Teamster Jeff (918 posts)

6. I read a lot of posters today

happily listing all the faults, mistakes and so called "unfair" actions of unions which lead up to the people of Michigan becoming fed up with unions. Turns out its the same old dirtbags and corporate backed organizations buying republican politicians.

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to Teamster Jeff (Reply #6)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:35 PM

RKP5637 (25,622 posts)

8. Yep, it's the SOS over and over again. Divide and conquer and keep picking the unions apart, 'till

even those who would benefit most think unions are bad. Exactly as you say, "Turns out its the same old dirtbags and corporate backed organizations buying republican politicians."

I think many in the US are woefully ignorant as to how the unions enabled the benefits they enjoy today. Without what the unions did over the years most would be working in really shitty jobs and shit wages.

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to RKP5637 (Reply #8)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:59 PM

calimary (30,614 posts)

10. AND no weekends. AND no overtime compensation. AND bring on the child labor again.

You can pay them less! There's a ton of stuff that the efforts and struggles and energies of organized labor won for the rest of us, sometimes with their blood as well as their sweat and tears. Disgusting. WHEN will people get it? THAT'S WHAT YOU GET when you vote republi-CON.

THAT should be repeated over and over and over, in the presence of as many people as possible. "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET when you vote republi-CON!" IF we repeat that often enough, plant those seeds frequently enough, drive those points home again and again, the law of average dictates that some of them ARE gonna take root. But we all have to do it and we all have to keep at it.

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to calimary (Reply #10)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 11:31 PM

RKP5637 (25,622 posts)

18. What really used to irk me was I worked with people who thought they were above the

unions in their salaried jobs, working 60 hours a week and getting paid for 40 hrs, because they felt they were sooo special. What a snow job that is, feeling special when your managers are making 200 to 400 times more a year than you, and some of them are worthless. Members of the old buys club, rolling from corporation to corporation making bad decisions.

We need a MAJOR rebirth of the unions in this country. Otherwise, the workers of this country are headed for a dystopia.

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to RKP5637 (Reply #18)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 11:58 PM

Bozita (26,949 posts)

22. I remember the UAW trying to organize the white-collar folks at Chrysler.

Yes, they failed in their efforts.

I'd bet those Chrysler folks would like to turn back the clock.

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:20 PM

MADem (86,146 posts)

3. I hate the phrase "Right to Work" unless it includes the phrase "For Slave Wages Because You're

Being Exploited."

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to MADem (Reply #3)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 11:36 PM

ErikJ (2,693 posts)

20. The proper term is "RIGHT TO WORK FOR PEANUTS"!

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:22 PM

RKP5637 (25,622 posts)

4. There is a war going on in the US. It's a subliminal and latent war being waged by $$$$$ and

shenanigans. It's more dangerous than other conflicts. It's silent often, and deadly. It's like a cancer spreading across the US.

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:30 PM

kitt6 (346 posts)

7. You wouldn't think that their shenanigans are legal!

Who knows?

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 10:40 PM

radarluv (26 posts)

9. I long for the 1960's, bringing back the WEATHERMEN, giving them 2 targets ..... N/T

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to radarluv (Reply #9)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 11:09 PM

jtuck004 (5,101 posts)

13. Not judging, but what do you think that would accomplish, from a tactical standpoint?

Last edited Fri Dec 7, 2012, 11:10 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

Wouldn't they be replaced by a dozen people just as vile, so you wind up with a worse problem than you had?

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 11:01 PM

ReRe (2,879 posts)

11. I have yet to hear an idea on how to deal with those two MFers...

Beside trying to educate the populace, which is all but impossible since the owners of the MSM are their buddies and won't help disseminate any REAL news about ANYTHING. And then there's the FAUX propaganda machine.

Maybe Michigan will be the dip back into Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Maybe that's what it's going to take. State-by-state, back to the 1930s. Just how much can this country take? Is this what the 21st century is going to be? Backward, backward, backward?

All I do know is that maniacal human beings like the Koch's never win in the end. Never.

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 11:05 PM

Bozita (26,949 posts)

12. ALEC ...

Last edited Fri Dec 7, 2012, 11:15 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

Koch-Funded ALEC Launches Assault on Michigan Unions
By Mary Bottari, PR Watch
07 December 12

In a sudden change of heart, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced that he would sign so-called "right to work" legislation designed to gut union membership in the auto capital of the world.

Yesterday in Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder and his GOP controlled lame-duck legislature pulled a fast one, introducing and then ramming through the House and the Senate so-called "right to work" legislation. The bill was introduced at 11 a.m., passed the House at 5 p.m. by a narrow margin and the Senate at around 6:00 p.m. When the process is complete and the bill is signed, Michigan will become the 24th right to work state.

Why the rush? The GOP majority felt it might not have the votes once the newly elected legislature was seated in January. The bill is designed so it cannot be repealed by popular referendum.

-snip-

Standing tall behind the measure was David Koch's Americans for Prosperity group, the non-profit organization that bankrolled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's efforts to strip the state's public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights. AFP ran a multi-million dollar ad campaign trying to convince Wisconsinites that unions were their enemy, sponsoring rallies and backing Walker to the hilt when he later faced recall over the measure.

The crowing began early this morning. "Michigan passage of right-to-work legislation will be the shot heard around the world for workplace freedom. A victory over forced unionization in a union stronghold like Michigan would be an unprecedented win on par with Wisconsin that would pave the way for right to work in states across our nation," said Scott Hagerstrom, Michigan director of AFP in a statement.

AFP and other Koch-funded groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council have long promoted an extreme anti-worker agenda. It comes as no surprise that key sponsors of the Michigan bill in the House and the Senate such as Senator Arlan Meekhoff, Rep. Tom McMillin, and Rep. Pete Lund are ALEC members. Michigan legislators talked about their plans for passing Right to Work at the ALEC Spring Task Force Meeting in Charlotte earlier this year according to a legislator from New Hampshire.

-snip-

more...
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/315-19/14906-focus-koch-funded-alec-launches-assault-on-michigan-unions

Cannot reply in locked threads

Response to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 11:15 PM

alp227 (20,500 posts)