By: Frances R

Frances R — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:09:10 +0000

Mr. Thompson, I do not understand why you are against Labor Unions. Gasp! When you mention Virginia being a “right to work state”, I take it to be code for a right to ”get screwed” state. I see nothing wrong with Tradesmen wanting to be paid a fair and decent wage for the jobs that they do. If it were not for Davis Bacon there would not even be recognition of even overtime pay in this state. I happen to know that there are Federally funded jobs in this state where a contractor hires one union guy, charges the Federal Government as if all of the people on the job were Union workers. Pays all of the guys not in a Union minimum wage and keeps the extra for himself. If a worker does not want to pay into the Union contribution then maybe he shouldn’t hire on to Federally funded jobs if he is so against the idea of a living wage and investing in future benefits. The History of the working class in this country shows to me that by standing up for decent wages and worker safety only increased the quality of life for all Americans. I want to throw up when I hear how Business “friendly” Virginia touts itself to be. “Business Friendly” tells me that you advertise to all Corporations how happy and compliant the “worker bees” are down here in the happy south. If worker reality was so divine why are there so many pay day lenders in this state? Please don’t say there are unfortunate people making bad choices. The reality is that we are still ruled by a bunch of good old boys who imagine themselves taking in the visage of their wonderful Plantations with no recognition of the subsidy that poor whites and enslaved black people paid to subsidize the wealth of the landed gentry. I’m pretty sure that if Thomas Jefferson was alive today he would have made adjustments to the philosophies that he espoused at the time he wrote about them. We are no longer an Agrarian Society. Every Essay on this site is about the evil of government and taxes. No one likes them but can you tell me how without them we can create a general welfare and a common good? IMO what this post is about is not liking an Administration that recognizes organized labor. I do not belong to a Union, but am thinking I need to write a check to the Virginia AFL-CIO if any thing in this State is to ever change.

By: Glenn McLain

Glenn McLain — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:44:46 +0000

At what point in time does this become illegal? And how would the courts resolve this issue?

Comments on: Forced Union Payments on Tax Paid Projects

By: Frances R

By: Glenn McLain