Is Ron Paul Against Unions?
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Spun Stories and Twisted Tales
I have always kind of favored Ron Paul, even though I haven't solidified whether or not I would vote for him over anyone else who may pop up in the elections. So in an effort to help figure out what's what, and to seed out the information from the disinfo, I have been keeping track of Ron Paul and his campaign. As well as the campaigns against him.
Recently, a rumor has started to circulate that although Ron Paul is good on just about every issue, he is "against labor unions", and this has become a source of great discouragement for many who would otherwise vote for him. So in a effort to get through these twisted tales and spun stories, I felt it would be good for us to explore Ron Paul's position on labor unions, and see what's really going on.
Is Ron Paul against labor unions?
The truth is that Ron Paul is not against labor unions. Clearly he personally has a distaste for labor unions, but he has made it clear that he politically opposes federal government regulation and control with labor unions, which has monkey'd with the system. Instead of allowing the open and free competition between businesses, employees and states, the federal government has made it so that unions are monopolized by their leaders. Not to mention, most labor unions are self defeating and the workers don't get the same representation or benefits they wanted when they signed up in the first place.
Ron Paul's main stance on labor unions, which follows in line with nearly everything else, is that it should be regulated and organized by the states. The constitution never enumerated that the federal government should have any power over labor unions, and not even the commerce clause can make it so. Paul believes that the states and the people should have the ultimate power over unions.
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So how did this rumor start?
Next to immigrants and minorities, labor union members are one of the largest voting groups out there today (at least in the eyes of politicians). So it's not hard to see that Ron Paul's position that the federal government keep it's hands off labor unions, could really hurt Big Government.
If people learned the truth, that labor unions really only benefit union leaders and corporations. That they don't truly create or improve jobs, then they might stop voting for candidates that say they are pro federal handling of unions. People might wake up and realize that the only way to benefit from a labor union, is if it is independent from the federal government and run by the people that it sets out to help. If people did this, the federal government could kiss it's labor union income and votes goodbye. And they certainly don't want that.
So between random bloggers who spun stories of Ron Paul's labor stance, and obvious slander campaigns pushed by democrats and republicans alike, it's not hard to see how or why this rumor got started.
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Clearly you've never been a member of the union. First and foremost, IBEW Union WORKERS choose what their Union Dues are by each local. Secondly, we only pay ~$35 a month on average. Newsflash: That's less than pretty much every major cell phone company charges.
Let's also look at the "poor quality": Prevailing wage in my area, including full health care and pension? $56 per hour. How much does your average non-union worker make? $16 per hour, with NO benefits.
You're ignorant and mislead, sir. Unions are For the People, By the People. We stand up for what we Deserve, and not a dime less!
Yeah. Okay Yeah. You know, I really, *really* like Ron. And yeah, he'd prolly take a It's not the Feds' bidness stance. But now I was recently disturbed by a Rand Paul radio ad against 'forced' Union dues. On a nat'l level. Yeah, okay, yeah... See that's not 'hands off'. That's not letting the States handle it. Hope Ron doesn't share that view. But still... Anyway, yeah, I live in a Right to Work state, so I didn't HAVE to join a union? So long as I don't mind my name being derisively read at the beginning of every union meeting, right? So yeah, I guess there was peer pressure. But NOT MUCH. Where I live, there's no way on Illuvatar's green Middle Earth I'd be making what I do, if my workplace wasn't unionised. No. Way. And I think I'm paid fair. And I'm certain I would not be otherwise. So... yeah... I can't agree that unions are a total waste of dues. I'm happy to pay, and most of our dues stay local, helping us. So some of them go to HQ and causes I detest. I also resent my tax dollars being used to bomb 'ragheads', too....
Unions are the ones how set the wages and scales, do all the hard work for the members so we can earn a decent wage and have benefits. If not we would all be living in poverty with poor conditions and yet we get no love,just ignorant people the hate that we have a voice in numbers.UNITED WE STAND!
My husband is also a union worker and has been for several years. I am a huge ron paul supporter and I think what this blogger was trying to explain is that ron paul wants to keep each local union in control of their own bylaws and collective bargaining agreements and NOT have the federal government coming in to make regulations and benefit from unions. Ron Paul is tired of sending so much money to washington and getting nothing back in return. He just believes all this money we are pouring into federal government would be better used at state and local levels. I agree this blogger knows nothing about what it means to be a union member, but it doesn't change that ron paul believes in all the right things. He wants to eliminate the IRS and has a solid plan to do it. I know he's running as a republican but his views are vastly independent.
The Author BizGenGirl is clueless about Unions and needs to do a little better research on what it is to be involved a Union before writing about them.
Wow! Such passionate comments from all of you! Thank you for taking the time to read the parts of this hub you wanted, and leaving your enthusiastic comments.
I'd like to take a moment, to thank the commenter Nicole, for recognizing that this hub is NOT about unions specifically, even the context is about unions.
It is specially about Ron Paul's political stance on unions and the rumor created to say he is against them when he isn't. His stance is that the Fed Gov should not be involved in the unions, because they use subsidies, tax breaks and social programs to influence and control them by corrupting the leaders at the top of the unions. So if the fed gov stayed out of unions and they were only controlled by the people in the states/cities, then it would be much more beneficial to the people and jobs that unions were created to protect in the first place. This is in line with RP's Free Market and 10th amendment views.
I would like to make clear, that this hub exemplifies RON PAULS stance on labor unions, NOT my own personal views. Which is why the hub is not titled "BizGenGirl's Stance of Labor Unions."
I think the confusion was created by two paragraphs, the first being
"most labor unions are self defeating and the workers don't get the same representation or benefits they wanted when they signed up in the first place."
I'm not going to say I totally disagree with RP, but this is HIS stance, not one I fabricated from my own personal knowledge or experience of unions.
the second paragraph that I think confused everyone, was:
"If people learned the truth, that labor unions really only benefit union leaders and corporations. That they don't truly create or improve jobs, then they might stop voting for candidates that say they are pro federal handling of unions. People might wake up and realize that the only way to benefit from a labor union, is if it is independent from the federal government and run by the people that it sets out to help. If people did this, the federal government could kiss it's labor union income and votes goodbye. And they certainly don't want that."
Again, this RON PAUL's OPINION of labor unions, that he has stated publicly. I don't totally agree or disagree with him, but I emphasis that this hub is not about my personal opinions. This isn't an editorial, it's factual hub about RP's views, gathered from his public statements, debates and interviews. It is Ron Paul's position that most major/nationalized labor unions are corrupt at the top levels because of federal influence, and although they do have many benefits to their members, they benefits are mostly the top. RP feels that unions would be much better all around, without federal gov influence or interference, especially since it is not one of the fed govs enumerated powers in the first place.
I will post some vids in the hub to help emphasize this.
Now, as for my own opinions.... While I don't have personal experience as a union member, I am not completely inept to the workings of unions. My father, uncles, grandfathers, great-grandfathers and even my grandmother on my mother's side, were all in unions. I also have several friends who are in unions, and they enjoy it very much. I also have many family and friends who work in non-unionized businesses, many of whom want to be in unions, and many who are glad they are not. I have also met and spoken with many union members and leaders when I worked in various construction trades.
To be specific, I will say that my personal experience of unions is limited to the ones in Washington state, while I have done plenty of research and spoken with individuals in other states as well.
It is my personal opinion that labor unions have their benefits, limitations and downfalls, but that they would be all be better off without federal government influence, regulation or interference.
I personally do NOT feel that labor unions are all bad or all good, or that they don't help their members. I also didn't mention anything about union dues (that several of you seem to think I did), nor did I write anything about wages or scales. And while they are related topics, neither of them were the subject of this article. I can appreciate all of your feelings on these individual issues surrounding unions, as they are often areas that many people do not understand (from both sides of the fence), I just want to make it clear that this hub was not about those individual issues involving labor unions. It was only about Ron Paul's personal and political stance on unions.
Feel free to comment in which ever way you are moved, I enjoy even the off topic comments. I just wanted to make it clear for previous and future readers, what this hub is about. I don't personally care whether or not anyone assumes I am educated in the ways of unions or not, as that is not a subject I find myself all that interested in. Though I do hope that future readers will truly understand what this hub author was writing about, as it might make the comments more informative.
So states with Republicans in charge will crush the unions...
I'm not sure what you mean MiddleAmericaMS.... I personally don't feel that republican states will crush unions, though I can't say I spend a lot of time trying to identify with the republican mindset... Why do you feel that republican dominated states would crush unions?
I have been in unions all my life and have seen the the good and the bad of uniounizations(i.e. corrupt unions).I really believe in Ron Paul's stances on a lot of subjects but what he feels about unions does bother me.I am not exactly clear on what envolvements that our government has with any negotiations of contracts or influences the have on our union leaders.What I have seen was the government forcing the air traffic controlers back to work and shortly after that busting the uniouns eveywhere.Then to make matters worse we open free trade allowing companies to flood to cheaper labor in other countries all under republican control.What i do know is If left up to companies they would have us all slaves if they could.I just know that if no one is not there to help us stand up together we would be all slaves.
There are more working people who vote than there are businessmen who vote..or businesses, I should say.. The working American is a big muscle in the body.. It should never be compromised.. Dr Paul should think about that.
I work for the biggest union in the state of washington, and i understand what he is saying. stop chomping down on the negativity. Yes we get our slice of the pie, but what does that have to do with the federal government? I dont see what will change if we bring it back to the states
If you don't want people to be confused, maybe you should write a better article.
Been a union member for almost eleven years. I cannot myself say where all the dues go, and what they go for. I like being a member of the union, especially when it comes to my hourly wage & benefits. Ron's personal belief on unions really doesn't matter if you listen to his whole message. He wants less federal gov't involved with it, along with everything else. Do I want the government telling/forcing me to go back to work if my union decides to go on strike? Hell no.
I really appreciate your comment CWAmember. It's nice to hear from someone who can write a well thought out and polite reply. Plus, it's nice to hear that you're in a Union, and without indicating whom you'd vote for, you were still able to see RP's message over all - more freedom, less corruption. I personally feel that most smaller unions are probably run by wholesome people, and that the issues with larger ones need work, but so do most larger organizations, government run or not. It's just the cycle of things, so to speak, lol.
Anyways, I was just really glad for your comment and I hope you come back and join hubpages =)
jonny 8 months ago
If people learned the truth, that labor unions really only benefit union leaders and corporations. That they don't truly create or improve jobs.
Wow you know little about unions. I have been a union member all my life and has had a job the entire time. As the cost of living went up so did my pay and benifits. The corporation that was making record profits tried to stop it but thank god for my union leaders and rights. They did however cut pay to new employees and passed more cost of benifits on to the non union employees. Keep in mind this company profits tripeled in this time and the top five people took in 200% more bonuses which could have paid for all non union benifits. Your a fool