Union demands kill jobs in California

What is it with unions in high unemployment states? Can’t they get it through their thick skulls that no businesses means no jobs and no chance for a union to bludgeon it’s way into the worker’s paychecks?

In California, apparently not. A Japanese company was all set to build a factory in a state with one of the worst businesses environments in the country when the International Brotherhood Workers Union Local 11 killed the deal. Here are the details from Fox News:

The California city of Palmdale was ready to roll out the red carpet this summer when a Japanese company agreed to build a $60 million factory on a city-owned, vacant parcel on the southwest side of town — but now the company is taking its project out of state and critics say union greed is to blame.

Hey! Unions are NOT greedy! They will tell you that themselves, then climb into their chauffeured limousines to take them back to their expensively furnished union offices.

As many as 300 people were slated to work at the 400,000-square-foot plant, painting and wiring light rail cars under a huge contract with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It was a coup for Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, and a plan that seemed to suit Kinkisharyo International, which last year moved its U.S. headquarters from Boston to El Segundo, Calif.

First, kudos to the mayor of Palmdale in conning convincing Kinkisharyo International to build a plant in his city. Pity he didn’t consider the thugs at the Union might want a piece of the action. A BIG piece.

“I believe this is just the beginning of a manufacturing renaissance here in the Antelope Valley,” crowed Ledford in June.

Counting your chickens before they were actually laid Mayor?

“We’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” added Palmdale Economic Development Director Dave Walter. “So many people and organizations played huge roles in making this a reality.”

With one notable exception, the International Brotherhood Workers Union Local 11. So what the heck happened to kill the deal?

The “Antelope Valley Residents for Responsible Development,” a group backed by the International Brotherhood Workers Union Local 11, produced a 588-page appeal claiming that construction of the proposed factory would violate state environmental laws, by, among other things, kicking up spores. What the union really wanted, according to Kinkisharyo officials, was clearance to organize the plant without any interference from the company. When Kinkisharyo officials balked, the project suddenly became a potential environmental hazard.

The standoff began shortly after the June announcement, when Local 11 officials sought a so-called card check agreement, where a company accepts the union if a majority of workers sign authorization cards. Absent such an agreement, the National Labor Relations Board would authorize a secret ballot during an organizing campaign the company would be free to oppose. The company said no thanks.

And there’s your answer. The refused to force their members into a union, and make no mistake about it, using the card check is a way Unions force workers to join. Card check doesn’t allow for a secret ballot or anonymity. The union knows who is for or against it and those who don’t want to be in the union have been known to suffer threats and actual attacks against them and their families. This is why the company refused. They wanted their employees to have a choice to join without a threat. This is what secret ballots are for, and as the unions have found of late, when presented with a choice, workers tell the unions to take a hike.

“We offer good salaries and good benefits, and we’ve never had a labor issue,” Donald Boss, Kinkisharyo’s general manager of program management, told The Los Angeles Times. “If our employees want to organize, they can. But we aren’t going to organize for them.”

And that’s when the problems began.

Kinkisharyo officials say that’s when the environmental issues suddenly arose. The complaint alleged Kinkisharyo did not secure proper water rights and that the project could spread spores that carry valley fever. A union spokeswoman denied that the environmental concerns were motivated by the company’s opposition to its efforts to organize workers.

“That’s absolutely not the case,” said Elizabeth Brennen, of IBEW Local 11 said to FoxNews.com. “Obviously union support is important, but so are the environmental concerns.

Oh I’m sure that the union had nothing to do with this sudden assault on this deal. Just as I’m sure that ISIS is nothing more than an Islamic community service organization. Well that was when Kinkisharyo International decided to take their ball and go elsewhere.

“We are looking at some out of state options,” Kinkisharyo International spokeman Coby King told FoxNews.com. “West of the Mississippi.”

Hmm, east of California and west of the Mississippi. That means places like Texas, Arizona, Nevada, etc. What do these states have in common? In general the unions are not well received by workers. Personally, I hope the people of Palmdale who now won’t have jobs thanks to the machinations of IBEW Local 11, decide to see if they can sue the pants off them. I”m sure there’s some greedy lawyer out there who would relish the challenge.

Thatisall

~The Angry Webmaster~

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