Pack93z
13 years ago
Just as our public officials should be taking part in the sacrifices as the majority of us.. so should these union heads.

Wonder how dhpackr agrees?


Largest unions pay leaders well, give extensively to Democrats 

On the surface, the fight between the governor of Wisconsin and organized labor is about balancing state budgets and collective-bargaining rights. Behind the scenes, hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to top labor leaders as well as campaign contributions to Democrats could be in jeopardy.

Union treasuries - filled by dues paid by union members - not only fund programs benefiting union members and their families. The money they collect also pays six-figure compensation packages for labor leaders and provides millions of dollars for Democratic causes and candidates.

The Center for Public Integrity  found compensation for leaders of the 10 largest unions ranged from $173,000 at the United Auto Workers to $618,000 at the Laborers' International Union of North America, and almost $480,000 for the president of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees. The latter is the target of GOP governors in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Kansas.

The union reports, filed with the Department of Labor, list compensation for all union employees and officers. Salaries make up the biggest portion, but other benefits can include tens of thousands of dollars for meal allowances, mileage allowances and entertainment. Health care and pension contributions are not specifically addressed.

The reports show that assets of the various labor unions run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and payrolls rival midsize companies. Among the Top 10 unions, dozens of top officials have salary-and-benefit packages that rank them among the top percentage of income-earners in the country.

"What's very clear to union leaders is the huge threat this poses for the organizations they have built," said John C. McAdams, political science professor at Marquette University in Wisconsin.

The standoff began when Gov. Scott Walker proposed deep cuts in state workers' benefits to help close a projected $3.5 billion deficit in the state budget. Although unions have said they would agree to cuts in health insurance and retirement plans, Walker is pushing to curtail bargaining rights and make it harder to organize workers and collect dues.

Gerald McEntee, president of the AFSCME, said Walker is retaliating for organized labor's support of Democrats, in particular for the money given to his opponent in the 2010 election.

In the 2010 elections in Wisconsin, AFSCME gave almost $83,888 to Democratic candidates. Half that amount went to the campaign of Tom Barrett, whose top 10 donors were unions. Barrett lost to Walker, who promised during the campaign to take on organized labor if elected.

"This is political payback, which does nothing to promote job growth or help the middle class," McEntee said on The Huffington Post. "This is nothing less than union busting at its most transparent, designed to deny workers a voice in the workplace."

The membership of AFSCME, which evolved from a state employees union organized in Wisconsin in 1932, has grown by 25% over the last decade. McEntee, who has been president since 1981, says more than 145,000 government employees have joined AFSCME since 2006.

McEntee's pay and benefits have grown along with his membership stats. Reports by the union indicate that his salary has increased by about 4% a year, even as many workers have faced pay freezes and unpaid furloughs. In 2009, his compensation totaled almost $480,000.

These are the 10 largest unions, noting the number of employees who have compensation packages of more than $200,000, leadership salaries and campaign contributions to federal candidates in 2009-'10.

National Education Association. Membership: 3.2 million; assets: $216 million. The NEA, representing most of the nation's teachers, has 31 headquarters officers and employees who earn more than $200,000 in pay and benefits. The president, Dennis Van Roekel, received $397,721 in salary and benefits. Of the $3.7 million NEA spent on political activities in the last election cycle, 98% went to Democratic candidates. The NEA has 98,000 members in Wisconsin.

Service Employees International Union. Membership: 1.8 million; assets: $187 million. The SEIU, whose membership has increased in recent years, has been organizing hospital, home care and nursing home workers, along with local and state government employees, janitors and security officers. The union has nine headquarters officers and employees who earn more than $200,000. The former president, Andy Stern, was paid $306,388 in salary and benefits from the union in 2009. Stern resigned in 2010 and was replaced by Mary Kay Henry, formerly the executive vice president. Over the past two years, SEIU gave almost $2 million to Democratic candidates and $8,500 to Republicans. It has 18,000 members in Wisconsin.

United Food & Commercial Workers. Membership: 1.3 million; assets: $157 million. The UFCW, whose members work in meatpacking, food processing and retail grocery stores, has 17 headquarters officers and employees who earn more than $200,000. The president, Joseph T. Hansen, received $360,737 in compensation in 2009. Of the $1.9 million the union donated to political candidates over the past two years, 99% of it went to Democrats.

International Brotherhood of Teamsters: Membership: 1.3 million; assets: $175 million. The Teamsters, whose origins date to the horse- and mule-team drivers of the late 1800s, represent truck drivers and a wide array of blue-collar and government workers. Eight headquarters officers and employees received more than $200,000 in 2009. The president, James P. Hoffa, was compensated $364,869. Over the past two years, the Teamsters have donated $2.3 million to Democratic candidates and $46,500 to Republicans.

American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees. Membership: 1.5 million; assets: $78 million. AFSCME, one of the fastest growing unions in the United States, was founded in Wisconsin almost 80 years ago. At union headquarters in Washington, 10 officers and employees receive more than $200,000 a year. McEntee was paid $479,328 in salary and benefits in 2009. Over the past two years, AFSCME has donated $2.3 million to Democratic candidates and $78,500 to Republicans.

Laborers' International Union of North America. Membership: 633,000; assets: $134 million. The Laborers represent mostly construction workers in 500 locals in the U.S. The headquarters in Washington has 17 officers and employees who earn more than $200,000 a year, including 10 who earn more than $300,000. Terence O'Sullivan, union president since 2000, received $618,000 in salary and benefits in 2009. Of the $1.7 million donated to political candidates over the past two years, 95% went to Democrats.

American Federation of Teachers. Membership: 887,000; assets: $115 million. AFT is the smaller of the two teacher unions and also represents school support staff, higher education faculty and staff, health care professionals and state and municipal employees. At AFT's headquarters in Washington, nine officers and employees earn more than $200,000 a year. Randi Weingarten, who was elected president in 2008, received $428,284 in salary and benefits. Of the $2.4 million donated to political candidates in the past two years, the union gave all but $10,000 to Democrats.

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Membership: 685,000; assets: $482 million. IBEW represents electricians, linemen and other public utility employees, along with some computer, telecommunications and broadcasting workers. Sixteen of the IBEW's officers and employees in Washington earned more than $200,000 in 2009. Edwin D. Hill, the union president since 2001, received $375,767 in pay and benefits. Hill and other top officials received salary increases averaging at least 4% each in the past several years, even as membership declined by 5%.

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Membership: 613,000; assets: $147 million. IAM, which grew out of a secret meeting of 19 machinists in a Georgia rail yard in 1888, represents machinists and aerospace workers in more than 200 industries. At the union's Maryland headquarters near Washington, 34 officers and employees earn over $200,000 in salary and benefits. Robert Buffenbarger, who became president in 1997, received $284,975. Over the past two years, the IAM donated $1.98 million to Democratic candidates and $34,000 to Republicans.

United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. Membership: 538,000; assets: $1.2 billion. The UAW, founded in 1935 by automobile plant workers, currently represents workers at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, along with workers in the aerospace and agriculture industries. None of the officers or employees at the UAW headquarters in Detroit earns more than $200,000 a year. Over the past two years, the UAW donated more than $1.6 million to political candidates, and all but $3,000 went to Democrats.

Center for Public Integrity  reporters Aaron Mehta and Laurel Adams contributed to this report. The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to produce investigative journalism about significant public issues. It is based in Washington, D.C.


"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
musccy
13 years ago
There's no disputing that democrats are up in arms over this because they see their cash cow being shot out in the pasture. Maddow pointed to the 2008 election campaign funding - only 3 of the top 10 were democratic supporters and all were unions.

Nobody is saying unions are without flaw, or that this dispute isn't due to policital posturing. However, the majority of public union members are willing to concede this knowing this helps with representation for democratic polititians that typically fight for their interests, and unions provide negotiating power in the workplace.

Walker is 86'ing the unions to reduce $$$ and campaign support to the left, plus with his 1.5 billion in cuts to cities/education (and not allowing for any new taxes to counter the cuts) forces the local governments to make the layoffs and cuts (e.g. AP programs, recycling) that he wants but w/out having to be blamed for.

Also, if I worked for public works wherever Walker lives, I'd cut off the water, trash pick up, and not plow the snow directly in front of his house and say tough shit, we had no choice - budget cuts!
dhpackr
13 years ago
very busy, but I'm gonna respond quick.

Its not like the private sector (taxpayers) pay those union bosses salary. that comes from union dues.

& you proved what was really at the heart of Walkers campaign. It was the republicans plan the whole time to break the unions.

as a fellow Musky fisherman is trying to point out to you,

the unions are the biggest contributors to the democrats....so break the union, break the democrats and a huge chunk of their (democrats)funding.

this has nothing to do with the WI budget, never did, its about democrat vs. republican and the fight for the white house.

the saga continues.
So if you meet me Have some courtesy, Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse, Or I'll lay your soul to waste
musccy
13 years ago
I almost completely agree with you Dhpackr other than my hunch that this also involves a push to privatize education in the state and other municipal services (in addition to the usual dems vs. repubs power struggle).

I could write a 12 paragraph-long post about the flaws in his budget proposal, but I'll save that for if this thread continues to evolve.

Other than effectively eliminating recycling in the state :headwall: and loosening some phosporous emission standards :headwall: it appears (from what I've read so far) that he left the DNR, public lands, fishing, state parks, etc. alone. However, if something turns up in this 1,300 paged document of uneducated republican hand-job giving bull shit to fuck with that natural resources of this state (in particular my muskies) any more, I will pay his neighbor 4 million dollars so I can move in and be the most annoying son of a bitch neighbor since Dennis the fucking Menace.
Pack93z
13 years ago
I have said it a couple times in this debate... that Walker's motives were suspect when he passed on the concessions offered up by the unions.

No question that Walker has another agenda in focus.. and hard pressed not to see what that agenda is.

My point was.. and is.. there is a ton of fat that could be trimmed from both sides of this debate.. and it should be trimmed.

If as an union brother or sister you are okay with forking out for an extra tax in the form of union dues.. it is your right.

I was just wondering why these union leaders haven't been challenged publicly about their grossly bloated pay checks.. just like we are challenging the compensation our elected officials are receiving.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
musccy
13 years ago
I see your point, and the union reps/leaders, (both national and state) coming to protest on behalf of the workers seems a little disingenous when you know that they're really in Madison to protect their own butts
Pack93z
13 years ago

I see your point, and the union reps/leaders, (both national and state) coming to protest on behalf of the workers seems a little disingenous when you know that they're really in Madison to protect their own butts

"musccy" wrote:



Bingo.. there are two sides in this that are using the general workers as pawns for their own personal gain.

Just not the one side.. the Walker side.

Trying my best to illustrate the point without irritating anyone.. neither side is in it for the righteous cause past the workers sitting on both sides of the debate.

Just another issue in which the common man is merely a pawn.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
Cheesey
13 years ago
The ONLY reason the so called "union leaders" give a damn is because it cuts off their own free spending of other people's money. That's it, PERIOD. They don't give a DAMN about the "little people".
So the state workers have to pay a little more then they did before. It's STILL way less then what we "average" people have to pay. And pensions? Who on this site even HAS a pension to look forward too?
The "cash cow" is being killed by Walker, and those that have been given a chunk of said cow, are pissed off that their own piece of steak might be a little smaller then they expected.
Please, all you smart guys that think Walker is wrong, how much longer can Wisconsin survive spending millions upon millions of dollars more then it takes in every year? Someone now has the BALLS to try to stop the bleeding, and a handful of people cause all kinds of trouble at the state capital.
The only reason the Walker supporters haven't been there is that THEY are busy at their jobs. They have to be at work to support their families.
My wife has a union.....the ONLY people they "help" are the lazy bastards that SHOULD be fired. They do NOTHING for the hard workers.
That's fact.
UserPostedImage
musccy
13 years ago
Agreed pack93z...I'm very anti-Walker, obviously, but in no way does that mean that I have my head in the sand and lose sight of the fact that the unions/democrats don't have their own self-preserving interests involved here. As you said, it's too bad worker layoffs are being used as a threat to push political agendas.

Cheesy - the notion that the state/public workers are wiping their butts with golden toilet paper is a falacy perpetuated by Fox News. Are the benefits and pensions pretty good? Yes, but they have also been negotiated that way in lieu of salary.

If you work for the state/public, you're not going to see big raises, you're not going to see a Christmas bonus, you'll likely have a ceiling on how much you can earn - but in exchange you have a decent job, with OK pay and good benefits - there's a pro/con to the positions. With these 'cozy state jobs' who on the right is talking about the 8 unpaid furlough days last year, 2-year-long pay freezes added to the 6% hike in HC/pensions? Public sector work is not this free-loading gravy train that Walker and Limbaugh want you to believe it is, they've made a lot of consessions the last 2 years.

This all comes at a cost, I acknowledge that - but it's for services we all benefit from. You want to pay a private contractor to plow your road? Your house burns down, do you want to pay a private fire co. 3grand after you lost all your possessions? How much do you pay for water? You want to pay to drill your own well, treat it, and then have to deal with keeping your neighbor's shit out of your own well because sans public utilities we now all have our own septic fields on 1/4 acre lots. Taxes are a dream relative to a 20k+/year cost of private k-12 education!

I'm not disputing changes need to be made, but to come down so heavy solely on the public sector employees, then on top of that cut the revenue that can come into the state with property tax caps and tax breaks to new businesses is outrageous. I thought Walker said we ALL need to chip in?!?
Porforis
13 years ago

If you work for the state/public, you're not going to see big raises, you're not going to see a Christmas bonus, you'll likely have a ceiling on how much you can earn

"musccy" wrote:



Everyone on this forum that has gotten a big raise or christmas bonus in the last two years, raise your hand. I don't disagree with much in terms of the content of your latest post but I don't agree with the implication that much of the private sector has been getting ANY of that the last two years. And most people, not ever.
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