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2014 election aftermath: Union’s bark worse than its bite

F. Vincent Vernuccio, writing for the Mackinac Center

The 2014 election was not so much a referendum on labor reform as yet another reminder that when elected officials protect freedom and taxpayers they do not need to fear the wrath of the union political juggernaut.

These reformers winning and opponents losing cannot be easily dismissed as “it was a Republican wave which protected the politicians who took on labor reform.” Almost more striking than what was in the Republican wins was what was not in the Democrat losses.

In Michigan for example, the birthplace of the UAW, the state with the 5th highest union membership rate in the country and long considered a labor stronghold, right-to-work was nowhere to be found in the election. Not on the ballot as an initiative or Constitutional Amendment, nor even in the gubernatorial or legislative races.

During the sole Michigan gubernatorial debate of the season, the only time worker freedom came up was as a subpart of another question and one that neither candidate addressed.

So low was the saliency of right-to-work as a negative issue that even representatives from the Michigan Education Association dismissed it. At a right-to-work panel discussion in October, MEA communications consultant David Crim explicitly stated:

I do not believe that on November 4th when people go to the polls they are going to say ‘you know what I am going to decide who I am going to vote for, for governor, for the legislature, any office on the ballot based on the right-to-work law that was passed…’ See 46:30 on video 

This is a far cry from the violent protests outside the Capitol and a “there will be blood” threat by Rep. Douglas Geiss, D-Taylor, during the passage of Michigan’s right-to-work law in 2012.

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The same goes for the legislators who voted for right-to-work in Indiana and even for Gov. Kasich in Ohio, whose labor reforms were overturned yet still won re-election handily last night.

Big Labor lost four of the five gubernatorial races the AFL-CIO initially said it would focus on — Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Florida — with Pennsylvania being their only win.

As Lee Saunders, chairman of the AFL-CIO’s political committee, told The New York Times in February, ousting Republicans in the industrial battleground states was “about survival.”

Labor lost races that were not even initially on their radar. This shockingly includes Illinois, where Gov.-Elect Bruce Rauner dared to take on forced unionism.

The “survival” lesson from the 2014 election is that labor reform is not the third rail of politics. Despite enduring a lot of noise from Big Labor, reformers need not fear its wrath. Voters will continue to reward those who support freedom and taxpayers.

As for labor’s survival, this election should be a lesson. It is time they give up the compulsion and privileges of the past. In order to not just survive but grow, they need to adapt.

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Conyers Decision Reinforces Unfair Advantages of Incumbnents

Despite failing to meet the signature requirements to run for re-election, a federal judge has ordered Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan) restored to the ballot.

Michigan’s Secretary of State had ordered Conyers name removed because he failed to collect the appropriate number of petition signatures.  The Conyers campaign used collectors who were not registered voters, and the signatures collected were not valid according to Michigan law.

But Conyers has been in office for 49 years, and received consideration that his challenger clearly would not have been given.

A growing trend towards enhancing the already considerable advantages of incumbents, whether they be president of the United States or a local town legislator, has virtually stagnated the American governing process.  Ironically, many of the approaches advertised as levelling the playing field such as campaign finance regulations, have served only to enhance incumbents’ power due to the fact that challengers rarely have the experience or the resources to comply with complex and onerous regulations and filing requirements.
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A study by Politico notes that 90% of House members and 91% of senators who sought re-election in 2012 were successful, as was President Obama.  The rate is difficult to explain beyond the power of incumbency, since there was widespread dissatisfaction with both federal legislators and the White House.

Beyond special treatment by Boards of Election and gimmicks such as campaign regulations that favor incumbents, a media that largely under-reports challengers also plays a significant role.

Limiting the role of spending, often advertised as a means of levelling the playing field, tends to help incumbents.  Challengers, with less name recognition and less access to media attention, generally need to spend more to be competitive.