murderers and motorcycle gangs honest hard working people in vomparidon to politicians who steal
Cuomo starts re-election campaign at the top
Modal Trigger
Andrew Cuomo Getty Images
State budget lets unions deny some services to workers who don’t pay dues
Hey, Big Labor, Albany’s got your back.
A provision tucked into the state budget gives public-employee unions the right to deny many services, such as free legal help, to covered employees who opt not to join or pay dues.
The US Supreme Court is soon expected to decide whether states such as New York that give unions the right to compel payment of “agency fees” from workers who refuse to join violate those employees’ First Amendment rights.
The fees are basically a portion of regular union dues, excluding spending on political activities.
To push employees to keep filling union coffers, the new state law says unions are no longer obligated to provide any services to opt-out members beyond basic salary and benefits required by contract.
For example, an opt-out worker who is brought up on disciplinary charges now has to pay for his or her own lawyer instead of using a union attorney without charge.
“It’s to let employees know what they’re getting. Why should you be getting benefits if you don’t pay dues?” asked Assemblyman Peter Abbate (D-Brooklyn), who chairs the Governmental Employees Committee and helped draft the law in consultation with the state AFL-CIO.
“If you’re not paying dues, then there’s not enough money for the unions to provide you service.”
In addition, the law makes it easier for unions to sign up workers and more difficult for workers to withdraw, by requiring the government to begin dues deductions “no later than 30 days” after getting an authorization form.
Critics slammed the law as an election-year kiss to Big Labor.
Kenneth Girardin, of the Empire Center for Public Policy, called it “the budget’s big gift to unions” from both Democrats and Republicans.
“Ironically,” he said, “the provision preemptively limiting worker rights and benefiting the unions could not have made it into the budget without agreement of Senate Republicans — whose slender working majority has been targeted by campaigns funded largely by NYSUT and UFT,” the state and local teachers unions.
Doug Kellogg, of the watchdog group Reclaim New York, added, “It’s strong-arming government workers to keep them in line in order to protect politically powerful special interests — the unions.”
Kellogg ripped Gov. Cuomo and legislators for jumping into the fray without even knowing what the Supreme Court will do.
“It’s logical for the court to decide that workers can’t be forced to fund political opinions they don’t agree with. There’s no respect for workers’ rights. It’s all about political power games and protecting the people who run Albany,” he said.
Cuomo, a Democrat seeking re-election to a third term, championed the pro-labor law.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo starts his re-election campaign for a third term in a strong position, with 55 percent of voters saying they’re prepared to return him to the statehouse, while 36 percent prefer someone else, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Voters are split on the Democratic incumbent’s job performance — with 50 percent giving him a thumbs up and 48 percent disapproving, the Siena College Poll found. But that’s an improvement from his negative 45-54 percent rating in November.
In a bright spot, voters — by a 2-to-1 margin — have a high regard for Cuomo. The survey showed that 62 percent viewed him favorably compared to 30 percent who don’t — his highest personal rating in four years.
“Election Day is 42 weeks away. Many political lifetimes. Budgets, trials, legislation, ribbon cuttings, natural or other disasters (hopefully not), federal issues, and unforeseen events likely to impact the political landscape,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.
“That said, Andrew Cuomo enters a re-election year with his best favorability rating since the last re-election campaign, his best job performance rating in eight months, his best re-elect rating in this cycle, and a potpourri of State of the State proposals that are popular with New York voters,” said Greenberg.
“He is viewed favorably in every region, including upstate, for the first time since last May, by a 10-point bulge. While a majority of Republicans still views him unfavorably, 41 percent view him favorably, up nine points from November,” Greenberg said. “As many watch to see if Cuomo will be challenged from the left again, he has an 80-14 percent favorability rating with liberals.”
On the issues, 43 percent of respondents say the new federal tax law will worsen New York’s economy, compared to 24 percent who say it will improve the economy and 21 percent who say it will have little effect.
A plurality of 45 percent says they will be about the same financially as a result of the new tax law — which cuts federal tax rates but curbs deductibility of state and local taxes — while 33 percent say they will be worse off, and only 15 percent say they will be better off financially.
Taxes and health care are the top two issues voters want the governor to focus on, replacing perennial favorites education and jobs.
More voters say Cuomo has tacked to the left, after pushing an agenda that includes boosting the minimum wage, immigration, free public college tuition and support for illegal immigrants.
Forty-one percent of voters describe Cuomo as liberal, the highest ever, and 40 percent, the lowest percentage ever, identify Cuomo as a moderate, with only 10 percent calling him a conservative, the poll said.
But he’s not out of the woods. The Republican Party has yet to settle on a candidate to challenge Cuomo and the Democratic incumbent will likely face a primary challenge from the left. Cuomo also has to confront other issues — a potentially bloody budget negotiating season and unflattering stories coming from upcoming corruption trials centering on his administration, including former top aide Joe Percoco.
State Republican Party chairman Ed Cox slammed the Siena poll as flawed for oversampling New York City voters and under-sampling upstate voters compared to historic Election Day voting patterns, thus inflating Cuomo’s popularity.
“Siena Polls: Da fix is in for Cuomo: NYC@39% of sample but not over 30% in gov election while Upstate is 35% of sample but near 50% in gov elections,” Cox tweeted.
No comments:
Post a Comment