Excuse Me Mr. Walker, But All People Have the Right to Associate!
Removing the freedoms and rights of citizens has nothing to do with public budgets. by Gene DeNardo
(libertarian)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Only in a land in which the concept of freedom is more hype than reality would individual's right to associate with who they wish in the manner they wish be questioned. And that is exactly what is happening in several states, the most visible struggle taking place in Wisconsin, as public workers right to collectively bargain is being threatened as if this basic right to associate was some physical threat to those outside of the group.
Only in a nation that has brought one method of organization, the corporation, to a subsidized and legitimized level unheard of historically, would the right of those who work for corporations {whether governmental or private} to even collectively ask and bargain for wages and benefits be in jeopardy. While the corporation consumes great amounts of our public resources whether through enforcement of the massive quantity of statutes and laws protecting and enhancing its existence, the worker's right to form a group is beyond many of our politian's concept of acceptable behavior.
Mr. Walker claims to be solely interested in budget restraints. Why then would a concept that involves freedom have anything to do with a public budget? It costs the public nothing to allow workers to group together. Any past concession to public employees that stretched beyond justifiable compensation was not due to any type of worker organization. It was due to politicians who could care little what occurred after they left office when the bills came due.
Which brings us directly to another restriction of freedom: what sort of "free" country allows its elected officials to sign away the future of its people? What type of political system allows the "state" to contract and spend without the consent of its people who provide the financial backing for those same contracts?
The question here is not whether the "state" should be allowed to break a contract it made with its public workers. The question is why the "state" is allowed to make that contract in the first place without the full consent of those citizens who have to pay the tab.
We do not answer this question by limiting the right of association that is a basic freedom of all people. We answer this question by removing the power and ability of public officials that enables them to restrict our freedoms, whether it be the freedom to associate or the freedom to determine how our money is spent. We will be able to do that when we all come to realize who the real enemy is.
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 0
thumbs so far
The views expressed
in this article are those of Gene DeNardo only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
Gene DeNardo is solely responsible for the contents
of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated
with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Posted By: trd
Date: February 28, 2011 12:27:30 AM
When your employment status is tied to a Union membership YOU HAVE NO FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION. Therefore, the Unions are the main offenders in preventing freedom of association. I belong to the local Chamber of Commerce. Nobody has forced me to belong to it but I pay my dues and receive benefits from my membership. I can leave my membership to the local Chamber of Commerce at any time. That's real freedom of association.
If union membership were voluntary and some groups may even have several unions to chose for representation for the same job if any, then unions and collective bargain would truly have freedom of association. Until then, the way they are structured should be abolished regardless of the budget.
Posted By: Walt
Date: February 28, 2011 09:32:21 AM
The issue isn't really freedom of people to associate with a union. The real question is whether a union has the right to force association with it. That's not freedom. That's slavery.
Posted By: Bill Gee
Date: February 28, 2011 10:20:59 AM
It's ironic that while the states are systematically working to remove the power of unions to act as a political force, they are giving corporations more rights to do just that.
Posted By: Amy Kelly
Date: March 4, 2011 03:41:48 AM
Removing public workers right to collectively bargain does not in any way legally violate their right to association. No lawyer worth their salt would take that case since there is no basis for it. In this case, it's just words. And if there were any justification for this assumption then the lawyer/vultures would've already been in court.
