Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Illinois Gov Acts to Curb Power of Unions
This article discusses the attempt by Bruce Rauner, the newly elected Republican governor of Illinois, to weaken the power of public sector unions. He announced an executive order that prevents unions from requiring all state workers to pay union fees, following the steps of other Midwestern Republican governors who have taken such steps in their own states to weaken the powers of public sector unions. What do you think of this? Do you agree with his action? Do you think he will ultimately be successful in curbing the power of unions in such a solidly Democratic state?
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Bruce Rauner's first mistake was trying to solve this issue with an executive order. He knew that his proposal would not make it very far with a legislative chamber that is controlled by Democrats who have been supported by unions. I don't think the governors will be successful in trying to curb the power of unions in a state that has deep roots connected to unions.
ReplyDeleteFacing a Democratic-controlled legislature with strong ties to labor, Rauner doesn't stand a chance. Besides, the ratio of union workers to non-Union workers is so large, which makes his executive order less important to more people. The influences of organized labor "run deep" in Illinois, so he's practically wasting his time.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is foolish. In a state with deep roots to unions and a democrat majority in the state legislative chamber, this is not only antagonistic but is harmful to his chances of re-election. It is also obvious that his ultimate goal is to diminish the power of the unions because he's using an executive order. Overall, this situation will not get any prettier
ReplyDeleteI am never truly a fan of executive orders as they are used (it seems) at times when legislation is obviously not going to be passed and politicians need a plan B. In general, I don't think that this is a good situation at all and I don't see it being successful.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough issue. While all members benefit from collective bargaining, I do not fully agree with requiring people to pay union dues if they do not want to be a member of the union. I think unions should direct benefits towards paying members rather then forcing everyone to pay dues. While I understand this may be difficult in many instances, you can't just force people to write you a check. Either way, the executive order will likely fail. Especially since so many are already bringing it into the spotlight.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Schafer. I am not a huge fan of people being required to pay union dues if they do not want to be a part of the union. However, the article also said that the governor was trying to weaken the power of the unions in the future and take away the voice of the middle class, which I am against. It also does not help that the governor issued an executive order to force this through when he knew it would not be approved by the state legislature. Ultimately, I do not agree with the governor's actions here, and I don't think he will be successful with all the opposition he faces.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nathan. I don't think it's fair that the governor is trying to weaken unions and take away the voice of the middle class. The voice of the middle class is how things get changed, possibly for the better. Besides, I thought this was America, land of the free, so why is someone trying to restrict the voice of the people?
ReplyDeleteExecutive orders seem to be ways out for politicians when they know their legislature won't get the popular vote. It's not fair for Bruce Rauner to decide which voice is to be heard and which isn't.
ReplyDeleteI'm just not a huge fan of executive orders in general, considering that they can be used to pass something that most people could potentially disagree with, I view executive orders as an abuse of your position to be honest.
ReplyDeleteExecutive order is baloney and unfair. Bruce Rauner should not have the final say in this especially when he's not listening to popular vote. He has to be careful to not abuse this power or else things could get messy...
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