A study found twelve instances of “ALEC-authored bills in state legislature related to PUBLIC UNIONS.” These were often omnibus bills with provisions to RESTRICT collective bargaining rights, and make it more DIFFICULT to collect membership DUES, while at the same time making it easier for the state to privatize public services. The study found that in the years after the enacted legislation was passed, union membership declined on average 3% per year, having a significant impact on public sector union density as a whole nationwide. This decline did NOT occur in states where such a bill did not pass. HERE in Alabama, such a dues collection bill was passed a few years ago, and YES it IS having a significant impact on membership in AEA. The study found that one of the reasons these ALEC bills are so easy to proliferate is that many states only have a part-time legislature, so their members are busy with their REAL careers also. So, they appreciate pre-written bills by industry reps, that are literally no-brainers. OFTEN, you can ask a sponsoring lawmaker what certain provisions mean or what their impact is, and they will have NO CLUE, especially if it is a long bill that they may not have read completely. prwatch.org/node/12701#sthash.9oiB37ll.dpuf
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 23:45:30 +0000
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