$390 Per Union Member To Fund Lost Cause

Let me make it clear from the start that I do not like unions. They are nothing more then bloated little fiefdoms where the leadership pull down million dollar salaries on the backs of their members while driving the cost of business through the roof and at the same stifling personal responsibility and initiative. They are a parasite on the taxpayers with their ability to get generous compensation and retirement packages that are bankrupting local and state budgets while at the same time giving a big middle finger salute to anybody who dares to challenge them. They are a relic of a bygone era, who while at one time served a purpose, are no longer relevant and merely a pox upon the economy.

With that being said I thought all of you union members would like to know that you will shelling out about $390 per person this year to fund the campaigns of various Democrat candidates, in what for a lot of them, is going to be a futile attempt to hold onto power. I know those on the left coast will view this as money well spent but I wonder how the laid off auto worker in Michigan feels about it.

Previously, most labor-sponsored campaign ads had to be funded by volunteer donations. Now, however, AFSCME can pay for ads using annual dues from members, which amount to about $390 per person. AFSCME said it will tap membership dues to pay for $17 million of ads backing Democrats this election.

The unions are able to do this in the aftermath of a decision made by the Supreme Court regarding part of the campaign finance rules. You know the one the Dems loudly protested.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is now the biggest outside spender of the 2010 elections, thanks to an 11th-hour effort to boost Democrats that has vaulted the public-sector union ahead of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO and a flock of new Republican groups in campaign spending.
The 1.6 million-member AFSCME is spending a total of $87.5 million on the elections after tapping into a $16 million emergency account to help fortify the Democrats' hold on Congress. Last week, AFSCME dug deeper, taking out a $2 million loan to fund its push.

For everybody else out there, remember this sort of spending when you are forced, forced, to hire union workers at sky high prices in order to do a job.