Walker Wins!

Just a short time ago, as I type this, Republicans in the Wisconsin State Senate, using the sort of procedural move that is becoming increasingly common in GOP-controlled state legislatures to ram through bills favored by the far right, passed a bill stripping public employees of their right to collective bargaining by separating that provision from the budget bill, this allowing them to vote on a non-budget related piece of legislation without a quorum. Only one of the nineteen senators voted against the legislation. It's expected to pass in the Assembly tomorrow.

The Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate might as well go back to Madison, because all that's left is to vote on a budget with concessions that public employees already agreed to anyway. And now that Scott Walker and his supporters have achieved their primary goal without having to negotiate, and it would be foolish to think that this act of union busting can be reversed in Wisconsin or that union busting can be slowed down elsewhere, even if Republicans do pay a political price in next year's elections, pay a price in this year's midterm elections in New Jersey, or get recalled early in Wisconsin.

Not that any of that is actually likely to happen.

I'm getting angry now. First a parliamentary procedure is used to further restrict abortions in Virginia by adding a rider to a bill already passed in one house, then a removal of two members from a state Senate committee in Ohio clears the path for anti-union legislation there, now this . . .. I'm ready to give up.

Honda: The Power Of Nightmares

On my way home this afternoon I passed by the trio of demonstrators pictured below outside Montclair Acura, a car dealership located in Verona, New Jersey. I parked my own car in a lot nearby, took this picture, then went over to talk to them in the interest of finding out what their protest was all about.

They were auto transport drivers who make their living carrying cars by tractor-trailer to Honda and Acura dealerships. They were protesting a recent decision by Honda to drop their contracts with unionized car carrier companies and hiring smaller companies that have right-to-work labor policies.

These non-union car carriers, most of which are fly-by-night firms with dubious reputations, have less experience in transporting cars to dealers and use trucks that are poorly suited for the purpose. The cars would be improperly secured to the carriers they ride on. This would save money for Honda but likely create serious damages to the underpinnings of the cars - mainly to tires, rims, axles and even the overall frame - that customers could not see before driving that Civic coupe or Acura sedan off the lot. Honda would not be liable once the car is purchased, but the consumer would be left with costly repair bills and compromised safety. The car carriers themselves are likely to less safe and less reliable. Wayne State University in Detroit recently completed a study finding that highway safety is at risk, and that "a shift away from established car carrier companies will lead to higher crash rates" for car carriers.

Cars that are damaged on delivery will hurt the consumer - literally - if disreputable car carriers with little if any experience are widely used. And what's more, the union busting that is threatened by actions like Honda's will destroy good jobs that pay living wages. It's not just Honda that's involved; Chrysler is attempting to switch to non-union car carriers that transport cars improperly.

Learn more at CarBuyersBeware.com.