When Unions Have Power, Jobs Get Lost

May 25th 2009 · 0 Comments

unemployment-line As American business for the last year or so has been fretting the union takeover of the federal government, too few realize that unions have been taking over local and state governments for quite some time.

A prime example of this is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where, due to too much union power, 500 jobs may soon be lost at non-union Worth & Company.

Named as one of Pennsylvania’s “Best Places to Work” six years in a row, the Pipersville, PA company has been the target of what COO John Marinucci calls a “politically-motivated debarment.” What has been this company’s “sin”?

Well, besides the fact that its employees are union-free and the company also competes with unionized contractors on “prevailing wage” work, the union-controlled Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry has been after the company for years.

Recently, the Dept. of L&I issued an order of debarment against Worth & Co. which would effectively kill the 33-year old company (and the vast majority of its 500 employees’ jobs), as the company would be precluded from bidding on public projects (the vast majority of its work).

According to its website, Worth & Company believes the L&I debarment process is flawed because it allows former union leaders now in state employ to direct enforcement toward non-union companies, preside over the debarment proceedings, and make unilateral decisions.

On April 23rd, however, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the state Department of Labor & Industry from enforcing its debarment decision.

Secretary of Labor & Industry Sandi Vito and the Dept. of L & I seem to be unfairly targeting non-union companies. Worth & Co. points out L & I’s track record of “charging and debarring more than 50 such businesses, virtually all of which are non-union, since the administration took office in 2003.”

On June 15th, Worth & Co. will have a hearing in the federal court to determine whether a permanent injunction should be granted that would allow Worth to continue to bid on public projects despite the debarment.

If the court refuses to grant a permanent injunction and the union-controlled Bureau of Labor & Industry has its way, nearly 500 people may lose their jobs.

Discrimination against union-free companies is nothing new in union-controlled states like Pennsylvania. However, as unions now control the federal government, we should expect to see non-union companies unfairly targeted more and more and, as a result, more jobs lost.