The Facts and the Rhetoric

Fact: While Congress decided they were tired, after all their debt standoff and dealing, and it was time for recess. You know, a pint of milk, some raisins, and a nap on the floor mat. Then maybe ride on the merry-go-round of campaigning a bit, you know, Recess.

Meanwhile, the FAA was in partial shutdown. With 4000 federal workers (tally that into the unemployment stats) furloughed, and 70,000 construction workers sent home, due to lack of FAA funds to pay for continued work on airport construction projects.

Fact: the airlines continued to merrily collect the $10 ticket tax, per ticket, totally about $30 million total over the 2 weeks of the shutdown. Pocket it. For the glory of their shareholders. After all, the mantra for business is not 'raise tax for the government', it is 'work to benefit shareholders'. Well, at least that was the 20st century mantra, not sure what it is today - survive maybe.

Rhetoric: U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said "its not a union issue". Put this in the same category of Obama-isms like "the Stimulus has created jobs!", or "we brokered a compromise for the debt deal!". Just cause you say it, and even if you are the leader of the free world and you say it, over and over and over again, does not make it True.

Fact: the National Mediation Board (there is such a thing) recently broke from decades of prior practice regarding workplace elections for unions. Instead of the usual rule - must have 51% of all workers say yes to forming a union, they changed the rule to -must have 51% of workers who vote and say 'yes' to forming a union. Making it easier since those who don't vote, don't count. You don't even need to 'get out the vote', just gather those who you think will vote your way, and voila, get your union (of course, all the "fair share" people who didn't vote, would probably still be subject to the same dues, conditions negotiated, etc.)

It used to be, that all those people who didn't give a darn basically served as 'no' votes, making it harder to form a union.

More rhetoric: complaints by liberal senators about "hostage taking". Does anyone fall for that anymore? Well - if you say it enough times, maybe people don't realize there are other ways of thinking.. Which still does not make it True.

So the real deal here, as I see it - all the hoopla about Republicans not wanting to extend the small airport subsidies, and willing to shut down the FAA over this. Partially true. The Democratic leaders saying it is crazy and unproductive (expletive deleted) to shut down the FAA over this and throw 74,000 more people onto an unemployment system that is already strained well past the breaking point. Partially true.

But underneath it all, a federal regulation changed. One which made it easier to form a workplace union. And the Republicans, faithful Federal Register readers all, most likely, took notice. And said no. In a very public way. Note to self: Federal Register daily digest, must subscribe...