[geeks] OLPCs for sale...

[wa2egp at att.net]

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Shannon Hendrix <shannon at widomaker.com>
>
> On Nov 19, 2007, at 5:07 PM, Lionel Peterson wrote:
> 
> 
> > I don't see that - the union is charging non-members an extremely  
> > high fee for their "no merit pay, everyone makes the same" contract  
> > negotiations...
> 
> But how can the union charge a free citizen a fee like that, unless  
> the government supports it?
> 
> If I apply for a government job, what gives a union the right to  
> charge me union fees?
> 
> It's constitutionally illegal for any government in the USA to do  
> anything like that, and I don't see how it could possibly happen  
> otherwise.

In my district you could either join the union or not.  You only
paid dues if you were a member.  Members starting getting POed
and were quiting, so the union (BTW that's NEA/JCEA/JCEA combo)
got dues for nonmembers which is 85% of member dues based on the
idea that nonmembers are benefiting from previous negotiations.
Yeah, right.  Guess they couldn't make it a "closed shop".  Last
I heard, there were about a thousand lawsuits against teachers
unions across the country about this.  The NEA being the largest
union in the country is not going to let them win.

> Then again, most labor laws and related seem to be illegal in the  
> first place.
> 
> Certainly EOE and laws like that are unconstitutional.
 
If not unconstitutional, they certainlly a bit silly in some 
respects.

Bob