As the Michigan legislature finalized plans to make Michigan a right-to-work state, and Governor Rick Snyder prepared to sign it into law, thousands of union protesters gathered in Lansing. They brought their most thought out and reasonable and civil debate points with them, right?
Yeah right. They did what unions usually do when you ask them to explain why they believe workers should be forced to join. They use their fists.
Watch one of them attack conservative comic Steven Crowder. Another brave union thug even comes back, grabs his collar from behind and sucker punches him. Finally, the thugs tear down the AFP tent and collapse it while there are still people in it, including women and children.
Unions do not have a monopoly on the public space in Lansing. AFP had as much right to demonstrate there as the unions did.
Earlier in the day, Democrat Michigan legislator Doug Geiss promised that "There will be blood". As of this writing, neither he nor the unions have apologized for the violence they encouraged and perpetrated against Crowder and AFP.
Here in Ohio, Ted Strickland said he "stands in solidarity" with these goons. And union front group "We Are Ohio" have been pumping out propaganda like comparing the end of forced unionism with the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
As I write this, Governor Snyder has signed the bill into law. That's now two of our neighboring states that no longer force workers to join unions. It's time for Ohio to join the RTW club.
Unfortunately, Ohio legislators screwed the pooch last year. While we supported the reforms in Senate Bill 5, the bill was poorly executed and overcomplicated. We would have been much better off if they had passed a bill like Michigan's. It still would have gone to referendum. But as I stated over a year ago, it would be much easier to defend a simple "Right to Work" bill than SB5 was.
Calls for the legislature and Governor Kasich to pass similar legislation are ill-advised. That well is poisoned. This time, it will be up to us. We got healthcare freedom on the ballot and passed it overwhelmingly. We can do the same to stop forced unionism. Visit Ohioans for Workplace Freedom and sign up to collect petition signatures and contribute to the cause.
I expect and hope that Ohio's Tea Party movement will be getting heavily involved with this very soon. We'll keep you updated.
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I'm not excusing the union supporters who engaged in violence but after watching the video, it's safe to say that all parties involved were behaving like children. The guy in the leather jacket looks at the camera at the end like he accomplished his mission. He would much rather this happened than not. Now he has something to post on YouTube to get conservatives riled up and call people "thugs." And seriously, who in their right mind would bring a kid here?
ReplyDeleteWomen and children have just as much right to be on Public property as any other. Are you kidding me? Twist and turn all you want on Union supporters behaving badly but the truth is a bunch of chest thumping, fist punching, trash talking people who did get what they wanted. Good article Nick. Thanks
DeleteThanks for pretending to be neutral and then spouting the union line, Anonymous.
DeleteNo, not all parties were acting like children. You had the pro RTW people and their tent, and they had as much right to demonstrate as the unions did.
The unions folks were threatening to tear down the tent. The AFP people, including Crowder, were not taunting or threatening anybody. They simply were trying to keeping the unions from tearing it down.
The only folks acting like children were the union bullies who could not tolerate any point of view other than their own.
"Disagree with me? I'm going to tear down your stuff and punch you!"
Nice try but your rewriting of the events doesn't fly here.
I support RTW and I totally agree with anonymous. Both parties involved were looking for trouble. And before you call people thugs, you may want to look at some of your posts. You often engage in name-calling and ridicule to anyone who doesn't share your view. That's the kind of behavior I would associate with such a word but dare not engage in such childish behavior.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great day in Michigan for freeloaders. Don't pay your way. Someone else will ultimately pay for services you enjoy. Sound familiar?
ReplyDeleteThe right-to-work reform accomplished last week in Michigan was the kind approach that SHOULD have been taken in Ohio in 2010. If they had we would not have had to go through the defeat of Issue #2 (2011) and loss of credibility that followed.
ReplyDeleteThat episode poisoned the well for 2012. Senator Shannon Jones and Kasich himself bear some responsibility for the 2012 election debacle and the failure of many conservative voters to show up and vote -- in my opinion. Congratulations to the tax payers of Michigan!!!