January 28, By MARC LEVY
Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Labor unions packed the Pennsylvania
Capitol for a raucous rally Tuesday as they widened their fight over
legislation that aims to prevent the state, school districts and local
governments from deducting union dues and political action committee
contributions from the paychecks of unionized workers.
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| Marc Levy | AP Photo Rob McCord, the Pennsylvania state treasurer and prospective Democratic candidate for governor, speaks at a labor union rally in a packed Pennsylvania Capitol Rotunda as unions widened their fight against legislation to prevent the state and local governments from deducting union dues and union political action committee contributions from the paychecks of unionized workers, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 in Harrisburg, Pa. |
The Capitol Rotunda was so full that police forced many more
union demonstrators to wait outside in the freezing cold.
No vote on identical House and Senate bills has been
scheduled. But the fresh memory of major Republican-backed legislation to
weaken union rights passing in fellow northern industrial states has spurred
unions to aggressively lobby rank-and-file Republicans and to assail the
legislation as an "attack on workers' rights" led by out-of-state
billionaires and conservative groups that do not disclose their donors.
"If you watched what happened in Wisconsin and
Michigan, it was far too late when it got to the House," William Hamilton,
president of the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters, told the packed rally.
"We're on time."
Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, has said he would sign the
bill while leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature have been publicly
noncommittal, perhaps reflecting their split ranks.
Democrats staunchly oppose the bill, and some, including
state Treasurer Rob McCord, a prospective Democratic candidate for governor
this year, spoke at the rally.
Members of private-sector unions also streamed into the
Capitol in what they called a show of unity.
"They're coming at our friends," said Lou
Acampora, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Local 380 in the suburban Philadelphia town of Collegeville.
The union demonstrators took some shots at Corbett, who will
be targeted by some unions this year as he runs for a second four-year term.
The House bill's sponsor, Rep. Brian Cutler, R-Lancaster,
has framed it as built on the principle of getting government out of the
taxpayer-funded activity of collecting money that is put toward a political
use.
It would prevent unions from negotiating the automatic
deductions into labor contracts, forcing the unions to spend money and time
collecting the tens of millions of dollars in contributions from hundreds of
thousands of teachers, state employees and other public-sector union members.
Unions counter that they have offered to pay for the minimal
cost of setting up the deductions and that other groups, such as the United
Way, benefit from public-employees' paycheck deductions.
That the bill is supported by this historic opponents of
organized labor has made the confrontation that much more bitter.
The legislation has broad support among conservative groups
and major business associations.
Some supporters link the legislation to their broader goal
of making Pennsylvania a so-called right to work state where employees in
unionized workplaces would not have to pay union dues as a condition of
employment.
Other supporters argue that the automatic deductions give
unions an unfair advantage over rival groups that raise campaign cash.
Source: KansasCity.com
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