Fat Cat Union Bosses – America’s Latest Robber Barons!

by Tina Grazier

How do you spell robber baron? U-N-I-O-N B-O-S-S

In this case, the public sector union boss. Yes folks, those lovely people who sit at the bargaining table to negotiate teacher’s demands are the fat cat robber barons of modern America. Not only do they negotiate (extort under threat of strike) high dollar benefits for public school teachers, they personally benefit greatly from the largess of taxpayer money. These robber barons produce absolutely nothing, they add zero to the economy, and yet, they are paid handsome six figure incomes from the mandatory dues paid from teacher members salaries. Politico has the dirt:

“Report: Union heads make six figures,” by Jennifer Epstein

Gerard McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, was paid $479,328 in salary and benefits in 2009. He was one of 10 employees of the 1.5 million-member union who made more than $200,000 that year.

At the 3.2 million member National Education Association, President Dennis Van Roekel made $397,721 in salary and benefits in 2009. Thirty other officers and employees of the nation’s largest teachers’ union made more than $200,000 that year. Public school teachers, by comparison, were paid a national average of $54,319 in 2009.

The American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s smaller teachers’ union, paid President Randi Weingarten $428,384 in salary and benefits. Eight others at the 887,000-member union, which also represents college faculty and school support staff, earned more than $200,000 in 2009.

The power to sustain these fat salaries and benefits is secured through an alliance with a single political party…the Democrat Party. Union bosses agree to put the full weight of union support behind Democrats and thus arrange to sit across the bargaining table with an ally. Voila…union demands are easily met!

According to Politico, “Union political action committees and employees spent $400 million in support of President Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008 and another $280 million supporting Democratic candidates in 2010”.

Democrats lost big in 2010 but their loyalty to the unions is still quite visible in Wisconsin where Democrat leaders have fled the state rather than participate honorably in the legislative process. This is an unholy alliance with the players acting in collusion to thwart the wishes of the voters, protect union demands, and further extort overly burdened taxpaying citizens.

Democrats and union bosses claim justification saying they act on behalf of the ordinary working man but they have shown through their alliance that they have no respect and little concern for the ordinary working man who must foot the bill for these high class benefits, fat cat salaries, and the cache of cash that is spent on Democrat Party political campaigns. ALL of this money, every dime, comes directly from the taxpayer and the taxpayer has no recourse except to pay up. There is something fundamentally and ethically wrong with this scheme.

Governor Scott Walker has a reasonable proposal on the table to balance his state’s budget and regain control of the states budget over the long term. He is asking teachers to accept personal responsibility for a tiny percentage of their benefit costs (5.8 percent to their pension contribution and 12 percent of their health care benefits). He has proposed that collective bargaining should not again be used to create unsustainable benefits promises that break the state’s budget and has made accommodation for collective bargaining to continue for salary increases. This is a very responsible and reasonable proposal. It represents a solution that is bold and necessary to protect the taxpayer of his state.

This proposal is being grossly misrepresented by protesting teachers, supporting private sector union members, and the press. Fat cat robber baron union bosses like it that way.

Newsflash to Michael Moore: Wake up nimrod…taxpayers are the little guy here…compelled by law to fund an egregious political robber baron scheme.