November 4, 2008
Go Vote!
Remind your family.
Remind your friends.
Remind your co-workers.
GO VOTE!
November 3, 2008
We’ve only got one more day…one more day to talk to our friends, relatives, co-workers, and neighbors about what the Employee Free Choice Act will do to the economy of Louisiana, and of our nation.
One more day…one more day to work toward preventing the liberal take-over of the Congress, and the destruction of one of our most sacred rights–the right to a secret ballot.
ONE MORE DAY.
Spend it wisely.
October 31, 2008
October 30, 2008
The Cazayoux campaign is running a television ad accusing one of his opponents of being ‘bought and paid for’ by special interests. Could he be talking about himself and the over $359,000 he’s taken from a single special interest–Organized Labor? You know, the Big Unions?
Want to know more about what happens when Labor Unions rule? Listen to this radio ad, and hear what’s happened to jobs in Michigan: AUDIO: UNIONS COST JOBS
Think about it before you vote. Make sure you’re voting for a candidate who represents you!
October 29, 2008
$359,500 from just one special interest group–Organized Labor. Want to know more? Just listen…
October 29, 2008
Have you heard the radio commercial about your vote? If not, please click on the link below and listen.
And remember, on Election Day, vote for the candidate who will protect your right to a secret ballot!
October 28, 2008
See the warning signs…Labor unions make big promises, but their past and current practices speak for themselves. KNOW THE TRUTH! The unions’ agenda is full of holes that only hurt Louisiana families and businesses.
Now is the time to fight against politicians who are bankrolled by powerful unions. And one Louisiana politician is topping the chart in taking union cash: DON CAZAYOUX.
Tell Don Cazayoux to reject and return the unions’ money before it’s too late. Help stop union influence on Louisiana’s politicians!
October 27, 2008
Still wondering why Organized Labor and the Unions are willing to give Don Cazayoux so much money? Then take a look at this information from the website of the National Legal and Policy Center: (http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=2647)
Priority number one would be to persuade Congress to enact “card-check” legislation, formally known as the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). A card check is a process, both longstanding and legal in the U.S., in which union organizers attempt to secure signatures among affected employees at a targeted work site who indicate a desire to join. If organizers obtain a simple majority, the employer either can accept or refuse to recognize that union as the employees’ sole collective bargaining agent. Typically, the employer won’t, which is why a card check typically serves as a prelude to a secret-ballot election. EFCA, however, would force an employer to recognize as binding the results of a successful card check, effectively ending the ballot as the primary means of worker choice of representation. As Union Corruption Update has documented, unions are not above using aggressive persuasion and even threats to get holdout workers to sign. With EFCA in place, they would have every incentive to step up such tactics.
Unions and their respective federations, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, are pulling out the stops to make EFCA the law of the land.
If you follow this link it takes you to the Elections and Politics page on the NLPC website, where you’ll find this interesting information—information the Unions and Organized Labor already know, but you might not: (http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=1831)
When the new 110th Congress convenes this week, it can count on intensive and sustained pressure from organized labor to enact pressing agenda items. Unions spent an estimated $100 million on the 2006 midterm elections, with the AFL-CIO paying for about $40 million of the tab. The candidates benefiting from this largesse, directly or indirectly, were overwhelmingly Democratic. Now that the Democrats have regained a majority in the House of Representatives and (to a lesser extent) in the Senate, ending a dozen years of frustration, labor bosses want Congress to deliver the goods. That means hiking the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour; restricting free-trade agreements; and expanding employee health and safety coverage. Most of all, it means passing card-check legislation, introduced in the last Congress by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., that would enable unions to obtain exclusive representation of workers without necessarily having to win a majority in a secret-ballot election. In effect, labor officials want Congress to seriously compromise a principle of more than 70 years of established labor law.
A “card check” is a process by which representatives of a union obtain signatures from employees at their workplace, homes or elsewhere indicating a wish to join. Though not prohibited by the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, this organizing tactic runs counter to the spirit of the law’s one-man, one-vote democratic principle. Union officials long have favored this method over the secret ballot because it typically is less time-consuming, and more importantly, lends itself to face-to-face pressure. For a worker to say “no” when presented with a card to sign, especially from a friend, is tougher than when asked to mail in a ballot under complete anonymity, the latter process overseen and certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Sometimes, a card check is a dress rehearsal for a later election. Given that in the U.S. less than 8 percent of private-sector employees, and 12.5 percent of employees overall, now belong to a union, “no” is likely to be a common answer. Unions obviously don’t like this.
It’s essential to note that merely signing a card does not obligate a worker to join the union. Moreover, while an employer may recognize the union as the sole collective bargaining agent after a union obtains a majority of affected workers’ signatures, it does not have to. That opens workers up to undue pressure from union reps and fellow workers who support them. The more signatures a union can obtain, the better its likelihood of winning representation. Back in 1989, the AFL-CIO noted, “It is not until the union obtains signatures from 75% or more of the (collective bargaining) unit that the union has more than 50% likelihood of winning the election.”
Given the evidence, the tactic works, and that’s why unions want to mandate its acceptance by employers. Unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO gained more than 150,000 new members last year through card-check petitions. A 1999 report by the federation’s George Meany Center for Labor Studies, after examining the results of more than 100 card-check campaigns, concluded that in 78 percent of all cases the union won status as a collective bargaining agent. By contrast, the success rate in secret-ballot elections was only 48 percent. It’s little surprise that about a third of all workers in Canada are unionized; for decades, the Canadian government has mandated card check recognition by employers.
Union officials here dismiss accusations that card check procedures invite abuses. That claim would be hard to square away with the evidence. The Washington-based HR Policy Association in 2004 noted that the absence of federal supervision in union representation campaigns has “resulted in deceptions, coercion, and other abuses.” In a case brought before the NLRB, HCF, Inc. d/b/a Shawnee Manor, an employee testified that a co-worker warned her “the union would come and get her children and it would slash her tires” if she didn’t sign. Labor bosses counter by citing the results of a nationwide survey published by American Rights at Work, a Washington-based think tank founded in 2003. The report concluded that intimidation happens more often with secret ballots than with card checks, and that management is the prime culprit anway. But the union-friendly organization, chaired by ex-Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich., appears to have an agenda of its own. The study’s authors, Adrienne Eaton (Rutgers University) and Jill Kriesky (Wheeling Jesuit University), concluded with a denunciation of the “right-wing ideological objective to eradicate labor unions.” If that’s the case, then a good many working Americans qualify as “right wing.” A survey conducted by the Princeton, N.J.-based Opinion Research Corp. found that 75 percent of respondents believed secret ballots were a more democratic method than card checks in choosing whether to unionize. Moreover, a recent Zogby Poll found that a sizable share of employees – 40.4 percent – said they were “definitely against” joining a union.
Popular or not, card check legislation is a top priority with organized labor. Union officials and their political foot soldiers are reminding lawmakers of their IOUs. “We all agreed this is a major down payment on a populist agenda,” said Charles Loveless, legislative lobbyist for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, on card check authorizations and other issues. “We will all be heavily involved. Everyone is getting marching orders.” The Kennedy-Miller bill, deceptively known as the Employee Free Choice Act, would mandate employer recognition of a card-check majority, and is certain to get a renewed and aggressive push. Top-level Democratic Party chieftains seem eager to reciprocate. At an AFL-CIO rally on November 13, incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., promised she will “move on card check.” Given the financial support her party received in the most recent election cycle, it’s a promise she can ill afford not to keep. (Washington Post, 12/8/06; Washington Times, 12/21/06; other sources).
Is this what you want for your family, your friends, and your country?
Support candidates who OPPOSE the EFCA and protect your right to a secret ballot!
October 27, 2008
Your vote.
A sacred right.
Private and confidential…
…it’s yours.
And it’s part of what makes America great.
But special interests want Congress to change that.
They want to change the law, forcing people to choose in public about joining a union…
…stripping you of your privacy and leaving the door open for intimidation and revenge.
And big unions have found a new ally.
Don Cazayoux.
Union-related special interests are funding Cazayoux’s campaign…
…giving him hundreds of thousands of dollars…
…more than almost any candidate in the country.
It’s no wonder Don Cazayoux supports the big union labor bosses who want to strip you of your right to a secret ballot.
Don Cazayoux and his union boss friends are wrong.
Tell Don Cazayoux not to take away our right to vote in private.
October 22, 2008
Why is Organized Labor giving Don so much money?
Posted by cazayouxtruth under UncategorizedNo Comments
Recently the Center for Responsive Politics reported that Don Cazayoux has received $378,500 in contributions from PACs affiliated with Organized Labor this year. He’s the #1 recipient of union-related campaign money for this year
Cazayoux has received more money from Organized Labor than any other Congressman or Senator–almost $20,000 more than any member. Organized Labor is single largest source of Don Cazayoux’s funding–39% of his campaign contributions come from Organized Labor!
Why would Organized Labor give so much money to a relatively unknown freshman congressman who has only been in office for a few months?
Could it have anything to do with the fact that he promised to support the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007, which backers say would amend the National Labor Relations Act? (Baton Rouge Advocate, March 18, 2008, page 9A)
Is this why Organized Labor is supporting Don Cazayoux to the tune of $378,500? What do you think?
October 21, 2008
October 14, 2008
You’ve seen the commercials—the ones claiming that Don Cazayoux voted to expand offshore drilling, and the ones claiming that he opposed expanding offshore drilling. And you’ve got one question going through your mind: Did he, or didn’t he?
Here are a few facts to help you find an answer to that question.
House Roll Call Vote 524: Don Cazayoux voted to block consideration of the American Energy Act, a comprehensive energy bill which would allow for deep-sea oil exploration
House Roll Call Vote 340: Don Cazayoux voted to block consideration of a bill extending the alternative energy and energy efficiency tax credits and blocking consideration of amendments allowing exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf
House Role Call 547: Don Cazayoux voted to block the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act, another bill which would allow deep-sea oil exploration
House Roll Call 537: Don Cazayoux votes to send the House on a 5-week vacation, even though no significant energy legislation had been passed.
So, what do you think? Is Don Cazayoux really voting to expand off-shore drilling? Is he voting the way you want him to?
I’ll let you decide.
October 3, 2008
Be Informed, Get Involved
Unfortunately, hard-working Louisianans are represented by politicians who are bankrolled and controlled by unions. These politicians often put the interests of the unions ahead of the interests of the people. This is not right, and this practice must stop.
I encourage you to participate in the election process and vote for candidates who aren’t bought and paid for by high-powered unions. By participating in the democratic process, you help keep our politicians honest, and help make Louisiana a better place to live. —Lane Grigsby
September 27, 2008
On July 8, 1976, almost 200 years from the day our Founding Fathers declared independence, Louisiana became a Right to Work state. In a Right to Work state, each individual is given the freedom to decide for themselves whether or not to join or financially support a union.
Louisiana is fortunate to be a Right to Work state, but we must be aware that unions want this to change. Politicians in the pocket of labor unions, both in Washington, DC and here at home, would like nothing more than to change our Right to Work laws and take away the freedoms we as Americans deserve.
It is wrong to force an individual to join or pay tribute to a union in order to get or keep their job. Do what is right. Support candidates who value our American freedoms–our freedom to work, vote, and speak without the intimidating influence of unions.
September 25, 2008
As has been widely reported, the Democrat-led Congress seems poised to adjourn on Friday without taking up a comprehensive energy bill. But it seems that the ‘leadership’ has decide to allow the current ban on additional off-shore drilling to expire.
While opening up additional offshore oil reserves is an important step toward securing America’s energy future it’s only part of the solution. By adjourning rather than passing a comprehensive energy bill the Congress has done nothing to make it easier–and quicker–to build new refineries, or expand existing ones. Additional oil supplies are good, but a way to turn those reserves into the gas that Americans need would be better.
Is it too much to expect the ‘leadership’ to actually lead?
September 19, 2008
The Dirt on Labor Unions
Posted by cazayouxtruth under Uncategorized | Tags: right to work, unions |No Comments
In 1976 Louisiana became what’s known as a Right to Work state. A Right to Work state lets employees decide for themselves whether or not to join or support a union. We are fortunate to be a Right to Work state, but hard-working Louisianans still face union intimidation and are represented by certain politicians who are bankrolled by the unions who hurt those who they are claiming to protect.
You can help Louisianans keep more of their hard-earned money by participating in the election process and electing politicians who aren’t paid for by union bosses.
–Lane Grigsby
Just one of the things Labor Unions are trying to hide: Their history of hurting the economy and killing jobs.
Over the years, economists have shown that states with unionized labor have higher costs of living and lower real incomes compared to states without forced unionism. (Dr. James Bennett, Economic Department at George Mason University, National Right to Work Newsletter, April 2008)
Unions traditionally finance campaigns of liberal politicians who support:
- higher taxes
- increased government spending
- more government red tape
These reckless policies hurt local businesses, increase living costs and only damage our economy.
Dig deeper for the facts about candidates BEFORE you vote!
If a candidate gets their money from unions, the unions will want something in return, and we’ll all end up paying the price!
Support candidates that believe in fair labor practices and oppose forced unionization.
Know which candidates are bought and paid for by the unions before you vote!
We need jobs, honest leaders, and a strong economy in Louisiana. We don’t need the corruption of labor unions. We can’t afford labor unions buying our politicians.
September 19, 2008
Maybe it’s their history. It’s not a pretty one.
Maybe it’s who they support in this election cycle. A quick visit to the AFL-CIO website can be very enlightening. And it gives you a good idea of just what organized labor is really all about. (www.afl-cio.org)
Maybe it’s the truth about the Employee Free Choice Act.
You’ve seen the commercial that’s running now. The one with the seesaw? It claims that the Employee Free Choice Act “gives workers the freedom to form a union.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkGd5OvEB2E)
WHAT?
Workers already have the freedom to organize and form unions today—without passing the Employee Free Choice Act. (http://www.nlrb.gov/workplace_rights/index.aspx) American workers have been guaranteed the right to organize and form a union since Franklin Roosevelt signed the Wagner Act in 1935. So why would organized labor be pushing for this new law?
It’s simple, really. The Employee Free Choice Act is about anything BUT free choice. It’s about the right of organized labor to intimidate you into joining a union.
You see, workers have been getting educated. They’ve been looking around and seeing that the cost of living is lower and the buying power of their incomes is greater in Right-to-Work states where union membership is not compulsory. And the unions haven’t come around with anything that can entice the worker into joining. So to combat this problem, organized labor has come up with a new tactic—the Employee Free Choice Act. Take a look at the front page of the AFL-CIO webpage (www.alf-cio.org) and you’ll see the action item “Support the Employee Free Choice Act” button. Click on the button and you’ll be asked to sign an electronic petition supporting the Act. (http://www.freechoiceact.org/page/s/aflcio?source=aflcioweb)
Union membership is on the decline, and has been for decades. (See this article in the NY Times and this one in the Washington Post for more information.) Rather than admit that maybe—just maybe—every American worker doesn’t want to join a union organized labor claims that their failure is because of management intimidation. (“Every day, corporations deny workers the freedom to decide for themselves whether to form unions to bargain for a better life. They routinely intimidate, harass, coerce and even fire workers who try to form unions and bargain for economic well-being.” (see the EFCA petition language) So what is organized labor’s solution to shrinking union membership? Simple. Change the rules.
Since more and more workers have been freely voting to keep the unions out of their workplaces, the unions want to make it harder for you to have that choice. Under the Employee Free Choice Act you won’t get to vote on whether or not you want your workplace to join the union at all. Instead of an election to organize your workplace, all that you’ll have to do is sign a petition card stating that you want to join the union.
Except—what if you don’t want to join the union? How comfortable will you be saying ‘no’ to the person holding that card out to you?
What if it’s your supervisor who’s suggesting that ‘you’ll definitely want to sign this, Jack, so that we can get our union started.’? Will you really feel comfortable saying no—or do you worry that if you refuse to join the movement to form a union you will have to worry about your next performance review, your next job assignment, and the security of your job? Will you be as intimidated—or maybe even more intimidated—being handed that card as the union claims management intimidates you today? (http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/)
There’s a reason that the National Labor Relations Board elections require a secret ballot when workers want to try and organize their workplace. (http://www.nlrb.gov/publications/Procedures_Guide.htm) It’s to protect the individual worker from intimidation tactics. But the unions want to strip you of that protection—and in order to succeed, they are willing to spend plenty of money to elect a Congress that will pass their “Card Check” bill.
Take a look at the website of the AFL-CIO and you’ll see the push that organized labor is making toward electing a President and a Congress that will support their agenda. The unions haven’t forgotten what it was like when they called the shots. They want to return to those days.
Do you?
