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I Support Unions

20 Feb 2011

Executive Summary:  There is no way your elected representatives could talk with every person in his district.  To get the best possible picture of the issues of the district your representatives need to communicate with interest groups.  The bigger the interest group the more likely that group's leadership understands the issues important to the group.  I think local communities and the country as a whole benefit enormously when people participate in groups and organizations.  

Article

Although I was not chosen during the 2010 election by the voters of Ohio's 8th congressional district to be their representative, I still aspire to that position.  I am preparing for this position both by trying to improve my personal political knowledge and by trying to improve the environment of the position itself.  The biggest change in the environment I could make would be to figure out a system where your congressman isn't a full time campaign fund raiser and just a part time representative.  But the item I'm talking about today is how does a congressman represent "all the people" in the district.  Of course it's impossible for your congressman to talk to every individual so what has to happen is consultation with a spokesmen for groups made up of the people of the district.  Of the many important voices that need to be considered are those represented by Unions and those that make up the Tea Party.   The importance of getting larger numbers of people to join both unions and organizations like the Tea Party cannot be understated in promoting the issues of the working middle class.  

Unlike a lot of the population I see "lobbyist" as an essential portion of what makes the government work.  I send membership dues to AOPA and the American Legion.  These organizations lobby on behalf of aviation and the military respectively.  The AARP is prematurely beckoning me to become a member.  Everyone knows who they represent.  As a perspective member of the House of Representatives I'm glad there are organizations out there that I will be able to turn to efficiently and knowledgably talk about the issues affecting aviation, military members and retirees.  There are many benefits to having the lobbyists from big business pointing out how laws, regulations and taxes affect their business decisions.  And it is equally important that we have strong unions to supply the voices that counteract  many of the detrimental suggestions proposed by the lobbyist for big business.  One of the most exciting prospects that I've seen politically is the creation of organizations such as the Tea Party that look like they could inspire regular people to follow politics with the same intensity as others follow NASCAR or football.  We need that kind of interest by the American public.  Our representatives in government are in desperate need of lobbyist that promote the issues on behalf of you and our neighbors.  

Just because I believe in a Republic style of representative government doesn't mean that I fully embrace or agree with the individual positions these organization adopt.  The American Legion published an article entitle "Why Not Torture" in the July 2002 edition of their magazine.  The position they took in this article and through-out much of the current Middle East wars was in direct conflict with the moral code that was the basis to why I served in the military.   

I support unions in writings as far back as this 1999 article providing advice on how to strengthen membership.  I support them because unions are the best means for ensuring the continuation of a strong middle class.  This doesn't mean I haven't felt betrayed by union stances.  For instance I support a strong public educational system.  I also believe in paying a fair wage to people in the profession.  I remember back in the 1980's the teacher's union would make an argument that we couldn't get good people to go into teaching because starting salaries were near $20,000 a year.  This convince a lot of the public to support a levy that was to be used to get starting salaries closer to those other college graduates might get just after graduation.  After the levy passed, instead of boosting the entry level salaries the union then insisted that all salary levels had to increase by the same percentage.  This caused a very large percentage of the levy to go to the teachers at the high end of the pay scale and did very little to solve the problem the public wanted solved. 

On the other side of the debate the public needs to be very leery of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and our governor Kasich's claim that school administrators can be trusted to make sound personnel choices for picking the best teachers in our school.  As a member of the military having an advanced degree is one of those square checker items that looks good for promotion.  Most of my colleagues suggested I should go to one of the on base programs where you "pay your fee and get your B", I thought it a waste of time if I would be going just to do some square checking.  Instead I enrolled in a "real" school with real attendance requirements (The Citadel).  I was hoping to get an advanced degree in math or physics but at that time the schools in Charleston SC weren't offering one so I decided to get my Masters in Secondary Education.  I figured this degree would help me get an assignment teaching ROTC.  I never got that assignment but I did get to teach at the Air Force Academy Prep School. Anyway, I wrote all this background because this program allowed me to meet people that were actually trying to get positions in the public school systems.  At that time (1997) the country was not in a recession and administrators were crying "our public schools are so bad because we can't find any qualified teachers".  This was the administrator's reasoning for promoting programs that brought in people, basically from off the street, to teach  with the expectation they would go out in the next couple of years and earn full teaching credentials.  In my discussions with people that received their Masters the same time I did, it turns out they could not get hired.  It was generally accepted that the reason most did not get hired was because it cost the district $6000 a year more to pay fully accredited people than it did to hire those that promised to get certified, someday.  

Tenured teachers feigning poverty and administrators going cheap both have detrimental effects on the quality of the education system.  That is why a grass roots based lobbying organization such as the Tea Party is desperately needed.  However, it is very important this type of organization becomes an arbiter with knowledge of the details and then promotes solutions in the best interest of our communities.  For example; it is important for this organization to point out that teacher layoffs due to cost necessity need to be based on a method that would result in the fewest lost positions.  With a grass roots organization making this point something could be done to get rid of the current implementation of "last in, first out".  However, just because one political party appears to throw the grass roots organization a bone doesn't mean that organization should work to eliminate the voice that normally moderates the normal supporters of that party .   This appears to be what is happening in the Wisconsin and Ohio legislators.  We are finally getting a voice that could be used to help promote fiscally responsible ideals.  But instead of promoting the best of what both sides present we are about to become the puppet used to allow one side the opportunity to raid the coffers unimpeded.  

If I ever become a member of Congress I aspire to represent all the people in the district.  To do this I'll need to speak to knowledgeable representatives from a variety of organizations.   This is why I support all organizations willing to do the hard detailed work necessary to make logical arguments for their cause.  This includes taking into consideration the complexities brought up by other organizations.  That is why I hope for the continued growth in membership of both unions and grass roots organizations like the tea party.