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To: gg cox who wrote (4992)	4/18/2014 5:14:18 PM
From: russet	1 Recommendation Recommended By gg cox Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8315

The real failure causing right to work states rests squarely on the union movement. Most unions suck money from the members to create large bureaucracies that in many cases fail to protect the workers from crappy managements and governments. Worse, these bloated bureaucracies fail to educate all the members about workers rights, why unions are necessary and how to protect themselves from the injustices of bully employers. Even worse is the absence of protection from the officials of their own locals who can suck the money from the workers to send themselves on all expense paid convention vacations, copious days off to do little to nothing and reward themselves with banquets and time off to attend monthly general meetings in which they do little or nothing to protect their members. Many of these elected officials become the biggest bullies in the workplace overshadowing even the employers and managers. Massive education of all members in each local is the only thing that can save the unions, but most unions educate a small number of elected officials and employees who are given no incentive to protect the members and no incentives to get the best wages and benefits for the members. Most members don't even have a say in their union. Most policy is made at conventions that few members get to attend. CUPE, Canada's biggest union with 630,000 members and 2000 locals decides most policy at biennial conventions. Less than 3000 members attend to make decisions for 650,000. Policy is decided by the few and is dictated from the top down. Communication is from the top down. Jumping the chain of command to complain is frowned on and most times ignored. There is just as much unjust and undemocratic political crap in the union movement as there is in government. Union officials act to protect their power and status to the detriment of the members. The resources of the union should be focused on protection and education of all the workers. Health and safety, wages and benefits and making the workplace a friendly and happy place to work should be the priorities. Most unions are completely failing in these. Instead they build huge bureaucracies and officials spend their time holding convention after convention, travelling and politicking most of the time. Union workers are given no incentives to work for the members. Many have too many locals and are responsible for too many members to be effective. Union dues are being funneled to bureaucracy building instead of activities that benefit members. These weak unions make it easy for governments and employers to institute right to work legislation. Education for all union members must be the priority for union dues, not bureaucracy building. Education: The Most Powerful Weapon for Changing the World Posted by Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education on Tuesday, April 23rd 2013 blog.usaid.gov As Nelson Mandela says, “ Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Education is the key to eliminating gender inequality, to reducing poverty, to creating a sustainable planet, to preventing needless deaths and illness, and to fostering peace. And in a knowledge economy, education is the new currency by which nations maintain economic competitiveness and global prosperity. Education is an investment, and one of the most critical investments we can make. This is true not only for the United States, but for countries around the world. The UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of providing universal primary education to all and eliminating gender inequities, has propelled many nations and multi-governmental organizations to boost educational spending. But the work is not easy, and many countries are falling short of achieving these goals, particularly the 2015 target date that was set when the goals were adopted in 2000. Today, around the globe, an estimated 61 million primary-aged children are out of school, almost half of them in conflict-affected poor countries. Too often, even those students who do go to school finish without basic literacy and numeracy skills: it is estimated that 250 million children cannot read, write or count well. Expanding educational access for girls is not just an urgent economic and social need. In many cases, it is literally a matter of life and death. A mother who can read can better protect her children from chronic illnesses, from AIDS, and from dying young. A child born to a mother who can read is 50 percent more likely to survive past age five. And in Africa’s poorest states, UNESCO projects that the lives of 1.8 million children could have been saved if their mothers had at least a secondary education. In announcing his Global Education First initiative, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reminded us that, “We cannot afford to waste the talents of a generation.” He related this to his own experience growing up in the Republic of Korea as it recovered from war. “People today often ask about my country’s transformation from poverty to prosperity. Without hesitation, I answer that education was the key.” The Global Education First initiative, along with the Learning for All Ministerial event in Washington, D.C. last week with the UN, World Bank, the Global Partnership for Education, USAID and others, are building momentum around the global movement for education: to put every child in school, to improve the quality of learning, and to foster global citizenship. With roughly 1,000 days to the 2015 MDG deadline, the pressure is on to accelerate progress to expand access, improve equity and boost student achievement. Education is the foundation of peace and prosperity. I can’t imagine a better world without a global commitment to providing better education for women and youth and I urge all of us to reinvigorate our efforts to accelerate progress in improving access, quality and student achievement worldwide.