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No arbitration for public sector unions

Neomalthusian

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Every year, countless unions across the country coax countless government officials into interest arbitration for public employees when negotiations reach impasse. And like cattle, the government officials go along with it, spending taxpayer money on a pointless and pretentious process that has no purpose, value or enforcability. Arbitrators' rulings over contract negotiation disputes cannot override the policy decisions of elected representatives. In other words, elected legislatures are the arbitrators. There is no point hiring an outsider arbitrator to come in and make a decision when that decision has no jurisdiction. City and state government should stop wasting taxpayer money on a legal process that is only for sake of appearances for unions' benefit to make legislators think the arbitrator's "decision" is binding (because arbitrators' decisions usually are binding, but in this case, they're not).

You should watch what happens when your state or local government reaches impasse in negotiations, and when it consents to going through this optional crap with arbitrators, speak up. Make sure your elected local and state leaders understand that even when statute entitles unions to go through the process of interest arbitration (which may or may not be the case), the arbitrator's award to the union is never ultimately binding on the legislature anyway. Unions are not entitled to arbitration at all in some cases, and the municipality or state and its taxpayers do not benefit from continuing to let unions drag them through these pointless procedures. You should also petition your local and state leaders to pass laws that state the government will not subject itself voluntarily to interest arbitration and that even if a higher government or court of law demands that interest arbitration take place, that it is recognized that no arbitrator's decision will be considered or called "binding" on the legislature (because it isn't).

Related story from my state that inspired the thread: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anc...trators-decision-and-proposed-union-contract/
 
I have to bump this because I regularly see people say public sector unions shouldn't exist. But what are they doing about it? Don't sit back and just wish for it. Get informed on the local and state level. Shine a light on these things that unions desperately do not want anyone to notice or clue into.

Public sector unions are in some cases not even entitled to binding interest arbitration when negotiations reach impasse in the first place. But even when they are entitled to arbitration, they aren't entitled to "traditional" arbitration whereby an arbitrator can craft and blend the two sides' last best offers. In the cases where unions are entitled to interest arbitration, employers should vocally and explicitly refuse to consent to "traditional" arbitration and only ever agree to "baseball" style arbitration, so that the council or board or assembly that votes to ratify the agreement later knows whether the arbitrator selected the union's last best offer in its entirety or the employer's. That way the council/assembly will be more confident in voting against the arbitrator's award. Which they can do. Interest arbitration is ultimately non-binding, unenforceable, and therefore a complete waste of time and taxpayer money.

The more examples come up whereby an elected legislature votes against an arbitrator's interest arbitration decision and refuses to ratify or fund the arbitrator's contract, the more obvious it will be that the entire arbitration process for resolving collective bargaining disputes is a toothless charade. A pretense. Complete waste of taxpayer money. Interest arbitration should not exist because it's not ultimately binding on anyone.

Here's another thing municipalities across the nation in non-RTW states don't seem to grasp: you are not required to agree or consent to a union security clause. It doesn't benefit you the employer to agree to the union security clause. It doesn't benefit your employees that you agree to the union's security clause. It's optional. Voluntary. All it does is promise the union that the employer will voluntarily be its financial enforcer. This is not necessary. The only people who want this clause so badly are union bosses and attorneys. Stop agreeing to it. Right To Work laws do one simple thing: they make union security clauses illegal. But they're already completely optional in the first place. So WTF?

If you are of the opinion that public sector unions shouldn't exist, and you live in a non-RTW state, tell your local and state leaders these things. Pressure them to stop rolling over and letting the union get away with security clauses. Accuse them of being in union's pockets if they don't pay attention to or care about this issue. Tell them they are wasting taxpayer money by continuing to be so favorable to public sector unions.
 
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