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Silence to mark 43rd anniversary of King's slaying

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Monday, April 4, 2011

(Updated 6:02 am)

Staff Reports

RALEIGH (AP) — Union supporters who want to repeal a 1959 North Carolina law denying collective bargaining rights for public employees will speak out through silence on the 43rd anniversary of the slaying of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The state chapters of the AFL-CIO and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People are helping to organize a 15-minute silent protest at noon Monday across the street from the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

North Carolina and Virginia are the only states that expressly prohibit collective bargaining for its government workers.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while in Memphis, Tenn., to support city sanitation workers on strike.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina also is participating in the protest.

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ravencottage

April 4, 2011 - 7:49 am EDT

We can thank the outrageous antics of unions on display in Madison, Wisconsin and elsewhere because public employees in North Carolina will now never be allowed to unionize. Today's silent stunt is a joke and their time would be better spent helping the General Assembly cut taxes and reduce spending. Aside from the usual suspects, I'm also wondering who are the public employees participating in this stunt and if any of them will be calling in sick today.

goodtoknow

April 4, 2011 - 9:33 am EDT

When unions have collective bargaining in government the average voter's vote has lost it's power. The voter votes candidates into office and then their hands are TIED because the unions collective bargaining power TRUMPS all votes.

The laws on the books today already protect the worker. Therefore unions are not needed. The employer and employee have no direct contact to solve a problem. It has to go through a union rep. So, in effect the employee actually works for the union. Nothing gets done or solved until the union gets involved. Those that are open enough to say it will tell you they work for the union and not the company.

A union in government will make deals to have automatic pay raises the state cannot afford, along with benefits the state cannot afford just to keep the ball rolling. Then, all of a sudden you have a state in debt. The voters will find that their taxes will be raised just so the unions can get all of these pay raises and benefits that come automatically and cannot be stopped.

Todays unions are Socialism. Greece is a prime example. France can be totally shut down by the transportation union. In Europe one has to get a permit to work so you don't take a union job. Europe lives with a 10% unemployment rate. It's built into the system.

Union dues go primarily to the Democratic Party in this country. It's not for your retirement and if it is a state union the tax payers end up paying for the employees retirement. This constantly increases taxes as in Wisconsin. If there is a problem it will not be a quiet demonstration, It will be drums, whistles,bugles,yelling and any kind of disruption they can make. They will be paid by all sources to demonstrate. They are thugs.