SEIU Displaying It's Irrationality Once Again... No Surprise

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -VS- Tyranny

The "Raise" Act, sponsored by Marco Rubio, a common sense and reasonable piece of legislation is soon to be voted on. Of course the unions, especially the dishonest and untrustworthy SEUI is falling all over itself misrepresenting what the law says.

In the unions continuing attempt to keep exceptional employees, those who contribute the most from being justly rewarded for their individual efforts the union will stop at nothing. Including lying in the hopes of winning support for their bankrupt collectivist ideology.

From the SEIU blog:

Collective bargaining rights are under attack. Again.

The "RAISE Act," introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), is yet another attempt to undermine the rights of workers to bargain collectively. The bill, which goes to a vote today, would take away employees' rights to negotiate contracts that create a uniform, fair process for granting wage increases. Employers would be allowed to ignore what they agreed to in collective bargaining agreements - and that's not fair.

The RAISE Act is an unnecessary attack on workers' rights, and it undermines the fairness collective bargaining contracts bring to the workplace. We cannot allow Senator Rubio to deny unionized employees the right to raises that are granted free from discrimination, arbitrariness, and favoritism.

A lot of talk about fairness, playing to the choir of those who expecting to provide the minimal effort expect to be compensated the same as those who expend demonstrably greater effort in advancing their companies competitiveness.

Makes no sense. Unless you're a collectivist that truly believes sinking to the lowest common denominator is good business and the "fair thing to do."

Now, the abstract of the Raise Act with the truth from The Heritage Foundation:

Abstract: Federal law allows unions to impose wage restrictions on nearly 8 million American middle-class workers. Union contracts set both a wage floor and a wage ceiling—barring unionized employers from offering pay raises as reward for exceptional work without negotiating with the union. No matter how hard most union members work, they cannot earn higher wages than specified by their contracts. The RAISE Act would lift the “seniority ceiling” on workers’ wages by allowing employers to pay individual workers more than the union contract specifies. Many unionized companies would offer merit raises if the RAISE Act were passed. Restoring workers’ freedom to contract for higher wages, and the higher earnings themselves, would create wealth and supply a much-needed boost to the economy. Congress should lift the pay cap on union members now.

Federal law caps the wages of 7.6 million middle-class workers. Union contracts set both a wage floor and a wage ceiling—unionized employers may not give productive workers pay raises outside the collectively bargained contract. Unions usually insist on seniority-based pay and rarely allow employers to reward hard-working employees on an individual basis. No matter how hard most union members work, they cannot earn higher wages than specified by their contracts.

The RAISE (Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees) Act, introduced this year by Senator Marco Rubio (R–FL) and Representative Todd Rokita (R–IN), would lift the “seniority ceiling” on workers’ wages by allowing employers to pay individual workers more—but not less—than the union contract specifies. By offering workers the opportu­nity to earn higher wages, the RAISE Act provides an incentive for increased productivity. Should Congress pass the RAISE Act, the average union member’s salary could rise between $2,700 and $4,500 a year. The RAISE Act would restore union members’ freedom to earn individual merit-based raises—a freedom that federal labor law currently denies. With many American families struggling financially in the aftermath of the recession, Congress should lift the seniority ceiling on workers’ wages.

Unions Impose Pay Caps

In December 2007, the economy slid into a deep recession and since then many American workers have struggled financially. While government-imposed pay caps for executives at firms that received funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) caused concern that the pay caps would harm the economy, these caps affected, at most, a few thousand employees. Far more destructive is the pay cap that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) places on almost 8 million middle-class workers.

Most Americans know that unions set a floor for workers’ wages: An employer may not pay individual union members less than the amount bargained for by the union. Few Americans know that unions also set a ceiling for workers’ wages: Businesses may also not pay individual workers more than the amount for which their union bargained.

Unions are exclusive bargaining representatives. They represent all employees in a bargaining unit as a group, and they negotiate a collective contract that applies to all workers. Employers may not pay individuals more than the contract allows without first negotiating such an increase with the union.

Individual Work Unrewarded

As a mere practical matter, union officials do not have the ability to assess the productivity of, and negotiate appropriate individual merit raises for, hundreds of workers at a given company. Unions also want their members to view the union—not their individual accomplishments—as the source of any wage gains. Unions prefer, in the words of Teamster’s President Jimmy Hoffa, “to create uniform standards for all employees.”[1] Therefore, individual performance reviews are the exception in collective bargaining agreements (CBA). While some union contracts permit employers to pay individual workers higher wages, most base pay on seniority systems and job classifications that apply to all workers.[2] Table 1 shows the proportion of workers in several manufacturing sectors whose pay is at least partly based on their individual performance. {Read More}

As the influence of labor union's have waned, the result of their own ineptitude and failure to represent the real interests of their membership, they have become increasingly more desperate. This is just another example of Union Leadership irrationality.

Via: Memeorandum