As fate would have it, I have another UNION story that broke while all of you were having lunch.  As reported in an article on MSNBC.com, Longshoremen storm Wash. state port, overpower guards and dump grain (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44439782/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/#),

“Hundreds of Longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview early Thursday, overpowered and held security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain that is the center of a labor dispute, said Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha.   Six guards were held hostage for a couple of hours after 500 or more Longshoremen broke down gates about 4:30 a.m. PT (7:30 a.m. ET) and smashed windows in the guard shack, he said.”

Nice guys, huh?

Never mind that the grain shipment belonged to someone or some company who paid for the goods.  According to UNION thugs who don’t get their way, everything and everyone are fair game.  The article also goes on to say,

“The blockade appeared to defy a federal restraining order issued last week against the union after it was accused of assaults and death threats.”

Nice guys, huh?  Real respectful of the law, too!

Not only did the UNION thugs threaten a police officer with baseball bats, but they promised “This is only the start!”

Sweet.

The dispute is over the fact that the company which had employed them, EGT, decided to use “other union laborers” instead of the members of local ILWU International workforce.  So, now the UNI0NS are telling employers they don’t have a right to replace their workforce, even if they hire other union workers.  The members of the ILWU are claiming that EGT replaced them with “a low-wage workforce.”  WTF?  What kind of weird snobbery is that?  But more importantly, why do these “sons-of-bitches,” to quote James Hoffa, Jr., think they have a right to tell a company they have to pay more for employees when there are employees who are willing to do the same job for less money?

Ah, but the intention of the UNIONS is to make sure they keep their collective boot on the neck of their employer.  What these dumbass UNION people don’t realize that the more pressure they put on companies to mess with their business, the more of those companies will go out of business.  Are these people so stupid that they don’t realize they are digging their own graves?  I guess they forgot what happened to Eastern Airlines, when their employees’ UNION caused them to go belly up.  Tens of thousands of people lost their jobs because the UNION refused to negotiate with the airline company.  I’m surprised the UNION thugs didn’t tear apart airplanes.  I bet they tried, though.  Nice work, fellas!

The problem with public UNIONS is that instead of breaking the banks of privately owned companies, the risk of bankrupting government agencies is far worse.  While the customers of companies like Eastern Airlines can simply take their business elsewhere, the residents of a broken municipality have nowhere to go.  They end up getting screwed by fewer services, a decaying infrastructure and higher taxes.

Until recently, public UNIONS have been able to hold elected officials hostage because, frankly, many of them weren’t onto the tricks and lies perpetrated by UNIONS.  Of course, many of the politicians who were privy to these schemes, allowed the UNIONS to run rampant because UNION dues were freely used as campaign donations.  The politicians were only too happy to allow the public UNIONS to rape the coffers as long as their bids for re-election were in the bag.

Any residents who spoke up at public meetings against fraud, corruption and overspending were basically laughed out of the room.  They kept coming back, despite the ridicule and sneers they received from the dais, because they knew they were right.  Here in North Miami Beach, these citizen activists were referred to with disdain as the STP (Same Ten People).  Across the country, these STP’s, who are the object of much hatred by UNIONS and their political supporters, are tea party activists and other concerned citizens who want their government to stop the bleeding.

The STP of NMB are as hated by our local UNIONS as the tea partiers and other activists are hated by the Teamsters, the SEIU and many other organizations in Big Labor.  The more we try to rein in government spending, the more the UNIONS get in our faces.

More and more people are beginning to learn the truth about UNION tactics.  More and more elected officials are answering the cries of their constituents.  Fortunately for us, the education of the citizenry is well under way.  Unfortunately for the UNIONS, they are becoming more and more irrelevant, and they are losing their death grip on the unsuspecting necks of the taxpaying public.

The UNIONS want us to respect their rights.  What they refuse to understand is that the more they practice their thuggery, the less respect they deserve.  And the less respect they will get!

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”