Unions are ANTI-AMERICAN

At a time when 23,000,000 United States' Citizens are UNEMPLOYED, unions are showing their selfish un-American attitude: "We can screw you and we will get our pay rise."

When the US is in one of two worst recessions in the last 100 years, unions are just selfish to strike or demand any pay raises.

Unions workers are for the most part over-paid and under-worked.

Union workers should be happy to even have a job in this recession. Remember 23,000,000 Americans are unemployed - many of them are unions workers. Union workers who lost their jibs because the company they worked for went out of business - in part because of the large union wages and pensions the businesses were forced to pay.

YET, like the Chicago teachers' union strike or the American Airlines pilot "sick-in," unions are showing how anti-American and selfish they really are.

Unions should not be able to strike or get a pay raise until the unemployment rate drops to below 5%.

And that;s the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

Chicago Teachers Cheated the Children

The teachers and their union said it was "ALL ABOUT THE KIDS."

Well in order to meet the terms of the new contract with pay raises,
ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SCHOOLS NEED TO BE CLOSED!

How's that for helping the children.

Now Children will have to be bused further and spend more time on the buses every day.
That will help the children.

Children will have to get up earlier to meet the new and longer bus schedules.
That will help the children and their parents.

Now children will get home later with less time for play and maybe homework.
That will help the children.

But let us not forget that the highest paid teachers will not get a 16% pay raise.
And that money will come out of extra state taxes and higher real estate taxes.

The Chicago teachers are greedy.
The Chicago teachers have the lowest preforming students in the nation.
The Chicago teachers and their union have screwed the people of Illinois.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford.

Chicago Teachers only care about money

The strike was scheduled weeks before the strike.

How do I know?

On strike day at 12:01 AM RED strike shirts and PRE-PRINTED signs were
being handed out to picketers.

If this strike was not planned, then these items would take 1 or 2 days to produce.

And why are the teachers striking? FOR MONEY.

These teachers must know that the USA economy is deep in a recession.
YET instead of being happy they have jobs, they are asking for a pay raise!!!

They originally wanted a whopping 36% pay increase.

The teachers don't give a damn about the children.
45% of Chicago high school student drop out.
84% of graduating Chicago High School students read at a 4th grade level.

The Chicago school year is the shortest in all of the USA.

The Chicago school day is the shortest in all the USA>

So lets summarize:
1) The teachers can not teach and have not taught..
2) The students are short-changed in an education.
3) The teachers work the least in the USA
4) The teachers want a 36% pay raise!
5) The average teachers' pay salary for 9 months is $77,000
6) The average Chicago household yearly income is $44,000

And where will any teacher pay raise come from???

The money comes from your Illinois state taxes and your real estate taxes.

You and I are paying for these teachers who can not teach, who produce the worst
students in all the USA in the least amount of time spent teaching at the highest salary.

What do you think??

I think ALL these teachers should be fired and replaced with new teachers at
a salary comparable to the average Chicago household income of $44,000.

That's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford.

Chicago Teachers Union

The United States of America is in a recession.
There are about 23,000,000 people without job.
That's Twenty Three MILLION unemployed Americans.

Now comes the Chicago Teachers Union demanding a pay increase of about 16% over a few years.

And they say it is all about the children. BullSh#t!!!

The children of Chicago are in school - the least time of ALL USA Cities.
Chicago school years are the shortest in the USA.
Chicago Class time per day is the shortest in all the USA.

The Chicago Teachers do less work per day and per school-year than all the other school districts in the USA.

The net result of all the children learning is - about half of Chicago students drop out plus those who graduate from High School can not read better than a 4th grade grammar student.

And these teachers say the strike is about the children.

I say IT IS ABOUT GREED.

I believe about 25% of all the Chicago teachers should lose their jobs and be replaced with teachers that teach and inspire.

But that will not happen. WHY? Because the union protects bad teachers from being let go.

Why? Because the unions want to increase union dues. And the only way to justify an increase is to get teachers raises.

The Unions DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE CHILDREN.

THE UNIONS DO NOT CARE HOW A STRIKE FOR A PAY RAISE AFFECTS PARENTS.

THE UNIONS ARE SELFISH.

WE NEED TO STOP THE UNIONS FROM BEING ABLE TO HOLD THE CITY OF CHICAGO HOSTAGE FROM THEIR STRIKING.

JUST LIKE THE STATE OF WISCONSIN, WE NEED TO CHANGE THE RULES ABOUT UNIONS' ABILITY TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE CITY AND THE STATE.

REMEMBER, ANY RAISE FOR TEACHERS' PAY COMES DIRECTLY OUT OF ILLINOIS TAXPAYERS POCKETS THROUGH STATE AND REAL ESTATE TAXES.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford.

Who really pays for the teachers?

Teachers are paid out of yours and my real estate taxes. 

We, the citizens, are the real employer. 

We need to be able to control when or IF  teachers can strike. 

AND we need to demand more from the teachers. 

AND we need to demand more of our children.

We need to break the connection between any union and the government. We need to change the rules which allow teachers, fire and police to demand negotiations with the state or city - specially when the state and city are millions or billions of dollars in debt.

Teachers - fire and police unions should not be able to strike or "just not show up on a selected day."

These unions are SERVANTS of the people - not the other way around.

Particularly, the Chicago teachers do not need nor have they earned a raise in pay. The Chicago teachers are over paid now and are offered excessive pension benefits. The "product" these Chicago teachers produce is sub-standard. And the drop-out rate is excessive compared to all other school districts or even a minimum standard.

When these teachers retire, your real estate taxes with pay for their retirement every year. 

What will you get from your real estate taxes??? Absolutely nothing!

Someone needs to stand up to these quasi-governmental service professions and stop the automatic pay raises. 

And that's the way I see it...

Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

Union strikes hurt everyibe

When union teachers threaten to walk out on strike, the teachers do it with zero consequences and the children get the shaft. The children pay the price of a teachers' strike.

Let me explain.

The children lose class time. Pure and simple - the children lose.

The teachers get paid an hourly salary to walk the strike lines while knowing that after the strike they will get all their back-pay. And the teachers have less time to send in the classrooms. Teachers have nothing to lose to vote for a strike and go out on a strike.

WHAT IS WRONG HERE???

WHAT LESSON DOES THIS TEACH THE CHILDREN?

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

UNIONS - Do they really help?

One city after another is crumbling under the with of union pensions and too small payments for health care premiums. WHY? Because unions have negotiated for these benefits. So who is to blame?

The people in government are to blame. Unions can only do what they can get away with.

And the VOTERS ARE TO BLAME !!!

WHY ???

Because the people who get elected have an obligation to "look out" for the needs of the community they were elected to serve. Whether it's a mayor or village manager or governor of a state, their first obligation is to protect the people of their jurisdiction.

When unions spend their union members' dues to get a "friendly-to-unions" person elected, they are working for a few union members at the expense of many citizens. After all, it is the citizens that have to pay the salaries of the elected officials and it is the citizens who have to pay for the pensions of government employees and union members.

HOW do citizens pay for these salaries and pensions?

The citizens pay excessive real estate taxes or sales tax or state and federal income tax.

All these taxes would be much lower if the pensions agreed by government elected employees were
downsized and reduced to level approaching the private sector (The private sector is the part of the business community that encompasses all businesses and none of the government entities.)

So what does this mean? In Stockton, CA real estate taxes have soared over 100% and still that was not enough to cover the pension and government salaries. So the city went bankrupt.

Five other cities have also gone bankrupt for the same reasons. And the number of cities, counties and states that will soon declare bankruptcy will climb.

The state of Illinois has 5 to 6 Billion in debt. The state of Illinois have the highest sales tax and the highest liquor tax and the highest gasoline tax in the USA. And still the debt is increasing.

The City of Chicago's budget is a mess and now the Chicago teacher's union is threatening a strike if they do not get a guaranteed 3% raise every year for several years. With the student drop out rate among the worst in the nation, these teachers should be happy with their $55,000 to $136,000 salaries for 9 months of work. Instead these greedy teachers are demanding a raise and not having to increase their medical insurance premiums.

THIS IS THE UNION'S FAULT !!!  THE UNION WANTS MORE UNION DUES. SO THEY FIGURE IF THEY GET A LARGER SALARY FOR THIER MEMBERS, THE UNIONS CAN RAISE THE UNION DUES. AND WITH THAT EXTRA UNION DUES, THEY CAN SPEND THAT MONEY TO HELP ELECT UNION FRIENDLY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.

SO IT BOILS DOWN TO THE CITIZENS. THEY HAVE TO BE INFORMED AND THEY HAVE TO ELECT PEOPLE WHO HAVE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.

If this out of control debt continues, it could cause your city or state to go bankrupt next. And moving is not an option when a city bankrupts because property vales drop like a rock immediately. The only way to move is to walk away from your home and declare bankruptcy yourself. Then you can move to another state. But beware, that city or state might be the next bankrupt city and state.

So again, we need to vote our pocket books. THERE ARE MORE NON-UNION CITIZENS THAN UNION MEMBERS. SO YOUR VOTE CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. VOTING FOR THE FISCAL RESPONSIBLE PERSON IS IN YOUR SELF-INTEREST.

Tell your elected officials that you want to stop the unions' ability to be able to negotiate with any government city, county and state. And that will begin a first step towards solvency.

Want proof ????????

Look what the governors of New Jersey and Wisconsin did. They were able to reduce the state's debt and reduce the real estate taxes. Proof is in the real action. Follow the real action --- not the politicians' words and you will have better government and lower taxes.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford.

Ever hear the phrase: "Bulls and Bears make money - Pigs get slaughtered?"

What this means is that when negotiating, you can never expect to win all the time. You have to end the negotiations so that both sides feel good or at least not taken advantage of.
That is being a bull or a bear.

But if you always demand to win 100% and never give anything to the other side, that is described as a PIG. And no one ever helps the PIG when they are down.

You meet the same people on the way up as you do on the way down. SO being kind to the people you meet in life and as you rise in life, is prudent, costs nothing or very little and offers you a safety net should you ever find yourself on the way down.

UNIONS are always demanding overly large salary increase PLUS additional excessive health and pension benefits.

These pension benefits are what is bankrupting cities and large companies all over the USA.

W,hen a company or a city bankrupts they can wipe out the excessive pension growth payouts and
re-set the pension payouts to a more "normal" expectation.

I have zero empathy for unions that demand 8% or 10% or 12% pension growth for its members. That is excessive expectations and unsustainable. But pensions never care about that. They are by definition PIGS. And what happens to PIGS??? They get slaughtered.

SO I am in favor of cities going bankrupt and for companies going bankrupt.
That does two things.

It levels the playing field for pensions between union and non-union.

It reduces real estate taxes or reduces corporate expenditures that are strangling the city or the corporation. That is good for everyone ...

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford.

OVERPAID TEACHERS WANT A 35% SALARY RAISE

When teachers in the teacher's union say they will strike because  it is about the students - who are they kidding. IT IS NOT ABOUT THE STUDENTS. IT IS ABOUT AN UNREALISTIC 35% SALSRY RAISE AND IT IS ABOUT THE UNION GETTING MORE UNION DUES FROM THESE TEACHERS.

Who does the union think they are fooling? Not me. They are trying to screw you and me, the Taxpayer into believing they are in this only for the children. BUT all that is being asked of the teachers is that the teachers teach Chicago students. If they can't get a group of students to listen to their teaching, then something is wrong with the teacher's ability to manage a class.

All that is being asked is that the Chicago teachers spend a only FEW MORE MINUTES in the classroom.
And what is the Chicago teachers' response??? They want more money. Not a little bit more BUT 35% MORE OF YOURS AND MY TAXES. THEY WANT A 35% SALARY RAISE.

WILL ANYONE BE GETTING A 35% SALARY RAISE FOR DOING A MEDIOCRE JOB IN THIS ECONOMY?
OF COURSE NOT. THEN WHY ARE THEY ASKING FOR THE 35% SALARY RAISE? IT IS JUST GREED AND IT SHOWS THAT THE TEACHERS DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE STUDENTS.

These teachers should be happy they are employed in this terrible economy. BUT these 'piggy' teachers lead by a greedy union want 35% more pay. THERE IS ONLY ONE PLACE THAT 35% SALARY RAISE CAN COME FROM AND THAT IS INCREASED REAL ESTATE TAXES AND INCREASED STATE TAXES.

IN OTHER WORDS, WE ARE BEING ASKED TO SHELL OUT INCREASED REAL ESTATE TAXES AND STATE TAXES SO A FEW TEACHERS CAN MAKE AN ADDITIONAL 35% SALARY INCREASE. I SAY MAKE AND NOT EARN BECAUSE THE TEST RESULTS OF THE CHICAGO STUDENTS SHOW THEY ARE NOT LEARNING.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

Here we are in the second depression in 80 years with about 14.4% of total unemployment. That os about 48,000,000 people. 48,000,000 million people with a job!!!
Middle class Americans are losing their incomes and life's-savings with no jobs in sight to get these people back to work and what does the CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION DEMAND???

THE CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION WANTS 25% TO 35% RAISES.

The Chicago students are among the dumbest in the nation by test standards. The drop out rate is closing in on 35% and more. And to help these children, the Mayor has suggested that the teaching day be extended by a few minutes. A few minutes and the CHICAGO TEACHERS ARE THREATENING A STRIKE IF THEY DO NOT GET HUGE RAISES while saying it is about the students. Yeah, right!!!

THE CITY OF CHICAGO CAN NOT AFFORD THESE RAISES UNLESS THEY RAISE REAL ESTATE TAXES AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. PLUS, THEY WILL HAVE TO RAISE THE SALES TAX - ALREADY THE HIGHEST IN THE NATION.

A salary raise in these times is unAmerican. A salary raise in these time is not paying their fair share. A salary raise in these times when students are failing badly is just being piggy. A salary raise in these times would force many people out of their homes because they will not be able to pay their real estate taxes. A raise in this depression when 48,000,000 people are unemployed or under-employed is not paying their fair share.

CHICAGO TEACHERS SHOULD BE ASHAME OF THEMSELVES. THEY ARE ASKING TO BE ABLE TO GORGE THEMSELVES ON FILET MIGNON WHILE OVER A MILLION CHICAGO AREA RESIDENTS ARE WITHOUT A JOB, GOING HUNGRY AT NIGHT AND DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL.

UNIONS. WHAT GOOD ARE THEY? THEY WILL BANKRUPT THE CITY OF CHICAGO AND THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. AND FOR WHAT? THEY DO NOT NEED THE EXTRA MONEY FOR ANYTHING BUT LUXURIES.
TEACHERS ARE SERVANTS OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO AND THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.

WE NEED TO ELIMINATE THE TEACHERS RIGHT TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE GOVERNMENT.

Why should an unemployed person have to shell out their real estate tax increase so the few teachers can have a salary raise in this depression while bankrupting the city of Chicago and the State of Illinois.

THAT'S WHAT UNIONS DO!!!

Some one must stand up to these teachers. The union must learn to not always be asking for more money. The teachers are overpaid as it is with salaries reaching $75,000 to $125,000 and with a failing student learning effort.

WE NEED TO ELIMINATE THE RIGHT FOR THE UNIONS TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE CITIES AND STATE GOVERNMENTS - OR WE WILL ALL BE BANKRUPT.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford.

Why does CA need a high speed rail?

California, prone to earthquakes, has approved a high speed rail project. Really? And how much faster will CA residents be able to travel from San Diego to San Francisco? Maybe save a few hours - at best. This looks like a highway for illegals traveling north as well.

Who really benefits from this high speed rail project? The union members who will build it and the union members who will run the trains. That means more pension expense for the state. But the towns along Highway 5 or 101 will lose all that business from drivers that would travel through these towns to gas-up and grab a bite to eat or even sleep over on their way - just like the towns along highway 66 that lose most of their business when highway 66 was replaced.

So lets look at this financially.
Less city and town sales taxes.
Less local gasoline taxes.
Small businesses that depend on the traffic from people driving up and down CA will close.
More local people will be out of jobs.
Less jobs means less Social Security and medicare taxes will be received into the US Treasury.
More unemployment means more stress on the CA's state deficit - almost as large as Greece's debt.
All this means that many CA cities and towns will have to increase real estate taxes.

And why are we building this high-speed rail system???

Because the unions want this project.

Everyone else in CA will lose.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

Unions and Real Estate Taxes

Just received my Real Estate taxes. They are up just over 11% WHY??? Union jobs are up. WHY??? Because the 1.4 Trillion dollar bailout to the States allowed States to keep going without making any budget cuts or enough budget cuts. And what are the biggest expenses of these States? Union pensions. And who will pay for these unfunded pensions? People who pay Real Estate taxes and State Taxes.

What can I do to relieve myself of this unfair burden? I'm looking at various States to re-locate to.
States with the lowest State Taxes, Sales Taxes and Real Estate Taxes.

In the meantime, I live in a blue state where welfare takers and unions are the majority. So there is little I can do the persuade enough voters to vote for a Change in the President this November. But as an American, I believe it is my duty to point out current administration lies and mis-directions.

One thing we need in my State and every state is to eliminate the ability of unions to negotiate their salaries and pensions with the States. This is absolutely wrong. Why should non-voting people have the power to take my money when taxes have to increase to pay for their negotiations???

Talk about paying your fair share. Unions should only get at most a modest 2.5% return per year. Not a dime more. And if the market declines their pension payout needs to decline just like my 401K. And these union workers need to reduce their expectations of their retirement pay-out in their pensions. And these union workers need to WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE 67 before they get a dime in pensions just like my social security.

Obama keeps talking about paying your fair share. Well that works for union workers as well.!!!

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford.

Unions are stalling jobs growth

The other day, I past a small construction site. They were rebuilding a burned out home.

There were at most 6 or 7 workers - all non-union tradesmen who were doing a job

that would have taken many more union workers to accomplish the same thing at three or 

four times the cost.

So why does having a union with more workers not make sense. Because with union workers

the owner could not afford to re-build and the property would have stayed a burned out lot 

for years. 

But there is more to this scenario. The union was picketing this small construction project.

This put these few tradesmen out of work for weeks at a time. Every now and then a cement

truck would arrive when the union picketing was absent and work would get done. 

When I asked the picketers why they are picketing, their answer was for better wages. Then I

asked why picket a non-union small personal project. Their answer was that: "They all had to 

stand together."  But I said they were not union and picketing would not affect the union's

negotiating plus stopping or delaying this project hurts other businesses that would supply the building materials for this project. Their answer; "We all have to stand together."

Then I tried another approach by asking isn't it better to have a job with current earnings than to be without a job for weeks or months because the union is picketing? They just shrugged and repeated

the party line.

What do you think? You, the readers, must have an opinion. Lets hear from you. And please be polite.

Non- polite or vulgar e-mails will be deleted. 

And that's the way I see it...

Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

Tenure - WHY?

Who has tenure? Mostly union members: tradespersons, teachers, firepersons, police, teachers and professors who are mostly union members. WHY? There is zero reason unless you make up some anti-management reason. If a tradesperson doesn't do a good job, a business or home could burn down. Shouldn't we be able to fire them? What about teachers? Whatever you think, teachers for the most part are not doing a good job in teaching our grades 1 thru 12. At least that is what the world ranking of USA students suggest USA = #17). Our teachers are paid the highest of all countries. WHY?

Then there are the police and firepersons - all public employees. They have unbelievable pensions. WHY?
Because the unions negotiate them with the people we elect. Why should these people have power over my real estate burden??? Over half the states are unable to meet the obligations the unions demand for pensions of police and firepersons. And these states are running budget deficits plus raising sales taxes and state taxes and real estate taxes. WHY???

Least of all are professors. Colleges have been drinking at the public dollar for decades now.
HOW???
Because we have student loans and the colleges know that. So they raise the tuition which suggests that students borrow more.
WHY?
Who says that college is for every one??? If less students apply for colleges, tuition will have to fall. That's competition and it works. That will keep the tuitions lower and then less student loans would need to be made and then college professors would not get any raises or maybe lose their jobs. This brings us to where we started.
Why tenure?
Tenure is a penalty tax on the rest of the USA tax paying community which is only about half of all citizens.
Again why? Cut Federal taxes and replace with a sales tax. Then almost 98% of all the people will be paying taxes.
Tenure? Who needs it? Only the few at the expense of the many. We need to get rid of the concept of tenure. If you are good, no employer would think of firing you. If you are a bad worker/teacher who needs you. They need to find work elsewhere.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

American Workers - You Decide

The day after the Supreme Court upheld the obamacare, I have a thought.

Say I'm a business owner of any size and I'm faced with the extra costs
associated with obamacare, what do I do ???

Well for one thing, If obama gets re-elected I would tell my workers that with
costs going up, I will have to cut my workforce. Then I would tell them, that
if obama does not get elected, and obamacare gets rescinded (That means
erased as if it never happened), then I would be able to keep all the workers.

So it boils down to this. If obama gets re-elected, some of you will lose your jobs.
And conversely, if someone else gets elected and actually rescinds obamacare,
then I will be able to keep everyone and possibly add a few workers; maybe
someone you can refer to me.

The choice is yours.

You decide when you vote Nov 6th.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

ObamaCare cheats most non-union people

The ObamaCare law was passed with lots of exceptions for mostly union members
to be able to avoid following by the new law.

Why did they get these exemptions?

Because the bill signers needed a bribe to get the law passed. But in Congress,
they do not call it a bribe - They call it PORK!

These union members will not have to abide by the many rules if this new law.

And who will pay for these non-union members' benefits?

You and me Mr and Ms Taxpayer. Anyone who works and pays taxes will
pay for these union workers.

Do you think this is fair? Are the Union members PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE?

NO WAY!!!

This obamacare law needs to be rescinded and replaced. That is what the
Nov 6th election is about.

The takers will vote for obama.

The tax payers will vote for Romney.

Which are you? A TAKER or a TAX PAYER?

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

Unions Have Passed Their Day and Use

What's wrong with unions today? First, when an electrician need to move something
out of their way to get at an electrical box, that electrician needs to wait until a
loader or general worker comes over to move the item a few feet. If that worker is
at lunch or doing something else, the electrician might have to wait several hours.
This adds to the cost of the job. Definitely not a good union rule.

Another scenario is when a plumber connects a hot water heater. BUT the hot water heater
needs to be grounded. That requires an electrician. Come on. What os so complicated. All
that is needed is to apply one wire from the hot water heater to the ground on the
electrical panel. But no, I had to wait for an electrician to arrive to connect that one wore.
I could have done it but the plumber would not let me do that on my own hot water heater
in my own house.

And when I told the plumber to do something else because I was not paying for his time to
wait for the electrician to arrive, he complained loudly. SO I fired him and paid him for his
time. Then I called the electrician and canceled his coming to me. He complained and he
was not even able to get there inside 2 hours. Geesch! I thought.

Then I called a handyman. The city install papers were still good and the handyman did
the job completely - hot water heater and ground in very little time. The city inspector
looked at the completed install and checked the ground and passed the installation.

Best of all I saved a lot of money in less time.

Union rules block good business practices. They are part of what is wrong with unions.

One other general problem with unions is their demand for raises when the economy is
turning down; like it is today. Instead of asking for more and more, they should be happy
that they even have a job. BUT NO!!! Unions think they have to get raises because then
unions can raise their union dues. It is all about union dues. Never forget that one fact.

It's time for unions to back down - before they become obsolete.

And that 's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

Wasted union dues

Can you imagine how every union dues paying person feels when they see how many
millions of dollars went to the Wisconsin recall vote??? That money could have been used to
help union workers. That money could have been put into college scholarships for
union workers. That money could have helped pay for food for unemployed union workers.

It is time for dues paying workers to stand up to these "mob-like'" union bosses and stop
paying dues. Most union workers get nothing for their dues. That is a fact. The raises
and benefits for union workers is not much different than non union workers. The one
big exception is that non-union workers keep several hundred after tax dollars in their
pockets every year; instead of the pockets of the union bosses.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

The taxpayers VS the union workers

Now Wisconsin has voted and Governor Scott Walker remains as Governor of Wisconsin. The majority have seen that they were being bullied by a few tough and rough union workers to pay for union pensions while the non-union people of Wisconsin had no such pensions. They is basically unfair.

Public workers are servants of the State - not the other way around. Public workers wages need to be capped by the budget of the State - not the threat of walkouts. Public workers are overpaid and they need to have their wages frozen until the private sector's wages match and surpass pubic workers' wages.

Public workers need to pay more into their pensions and their health insurance premiums. They need to be paying as much as any private sector wage earner pays or more.

Unions are the tail of the dog and the dog needs to wag their tail - not the tail wagging the dog.

This vote tonight begins a pendulum reversal long overdue for union whose powers need to be curtailed to fit into the budget.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

Unions have reached their diminishing return point

When employers were taking advantage of their workers, inions played a good role in getting better working conditions and wages for workers.

BUT NOW, unions are all about corruption and unbelievable selfish tactics. Take the teachers union. They are producing less educated students ( we are 25th in math in the world), The teachers have less work then ever with smaller class sizes.

And unlike in the real business world, it is almost impossible to fire a bad teacher. These bad teacher hang on for decades never teaching their student anything.

Then in the midst of a widespread and deep recession, they have the nerve to ask for a pay raise. REALLY??? A PAY RAISE with their terrible performance???

And who pays for their pensions???  which they hardly put anything into their pensions???

The taxpayers - that is who.

When many homeowners without jobs or without any pension pay increasing real estate taxes to pay for the teaches' pensions.Talk about an unfair tax on the majority of tax payers!!!

Then when Wisconsin wants to separate unions negotiations from politics, the few union workers in Wisconsin and all over the USA are demanding that they can control the money that the taxpayers must pay to union workers who do not even produce a good result.

If Wisconsin unions prevail in Wisconsin, then there will never be any freedom from union's excessive and ever increasing tax on homeowners.

My thought is to keep everyone in office in Wisconsin.

And that's the way I see it...

Straight Talk by Jay Clifford

UNIONS HAVE REACHED THEIR PETER PRINCIPLE

Yes, unions had their reasons to exist. Workers today, both non-union and union workers aloke, all benefit from past union pressures to make work conditions safer over the years. BUT work conditions are safer now.

So why do unions exits? They exist to exist. Big money in the form of dues flows into unions every week. Many
of these union members do not have a clue that their dues is being used to lobby for rules that work against
freedom from union dues. Some states have chosen to allow union workers to OPT OUT OF UNION DUES. And
of course the unions make these peoples' live miserable. INTIMIDATION IS THE RULE WITH UNIONS.

THE OTHER DAY I saw three union picket persons keeping a small project from getting their cement. They
were iron workers - or so their bibs said. This small project employes about 5 to 12 people at any time. And these three persons are keeping these 5 to 12 workers unemployed plus the cement company can not sell their
cement plus the driver has lost a job. A NET LOSS CAUSED BY THE UNIUON!!!

WHY??? I asked the three picketers. They did not know.

UNIONS HAVE LOST THEIR REASON TO BE

And that's the way i see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

Union Tactics - Mob Action

Mob action by unions is destroying the United States rule-by-law.

Instead the unions will intimidate through force - brute force - to get what they want. And what do they want.
Let's look at what is behind the union wants.

The union wants you and me to pay for their pensions. The public pays for these pensions through real estate taxes and state taxes. Sure union members pay these same taxes but their share is so little compared to what they are getting that it is UNFAIR to the rest of the tax paying people who do not have these high-paying pensions.

And what is making up the most of many state's deficits? It's union pensions!!!

States need to limit union action with states. Unions have a place in the private sectors but not in the governmental sectors where you and I pay for these excessive concessions to pensions and health care for union members.

I compare these strong-arm union tactics to 'mob' actions similar to "protection rackets."

We need strong people to stand up to these brutes. They are bullies and bullies should not be tolerated.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk by Jay Clifford

Unions, Pensions and Taxes

Let's look at this through a financial lens. The unions which make up a smaller and smaller part of the total work force get unbelievable large pensions. They put in a minor amount and receive upwards of $36,000 to $50,000 to $75,000 to $100,000 to $150,000 per year; and many get more. Where does this money come from?

The money comes from Real Estate taxes and State Taxes for the most part. That means every home owner and anyone in a state with an income tax has part of their taxes going to pay for these pensions. Most of the people
who pay these real estate taxes and state taxes will never get a pension for a variety of reasons. But the unions
always demand more and get pensions for their members while the economy is barely limping along. Just plain greedy. That's my opinion. When 18% to 21% of working age people are unemployed the unions are not
satisfied to keep their jobs, they always ask for more. And that MORE comes right out of your wallets.

The way I see it in America today, it is the non-union people versus the unions - and definitely not low earners versus high earners. The class warfare is more about the union class taking from all the other non-union people. The unions are in fact a re-distribution of money channel. The unions are a very greedy group of people.

Think about this when your state raises your tax rate or when your real estate taxes go up while the price of
your home goes down. But the union members will be getting their share.

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford