[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 103 (Friday, July 12, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H7516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             UNION MEMBERS DUES USED FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Hoke] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOKE. Madam Speaker, I think it is interesting with respect to my 
good friend and colleague who just spoke that in addressing the 
question as to why when the Members of his party controlled the House, 
the Senate and the White House during the 103d Congress, which was 2 
years ago, they did not, if this was such an important initiative, 
undertake to in fact raise the minimum wage at that time. He just 
dismisses it very quickly and briefly by saying: Well, I am not 
interested in the past; I am only interested in now. I think that is 
unfortunate and predictable.
  I want to address my comments today to the very hard-working rank and 
file union members of America whose dues are being used for political 
purposes and activities that they are probably both not aware of an 
almost undoubtedly do not agree with. Those are dues that should be put 
to work for those Members in the negotiation of labor contracts, in 
getting better working conditions, in getting higher wages, in getting 
better benefits packages and vacation plans. But they are in fact being 
used to further the political agenda of their labor bosses who are 
located not, for example, in Cleveland, OH, which I have the privilege 
of representing, but in Washington, DC.
  What is happening is that through a mandatory payroll deduction 
scheme, union members dues are being used to fund a defamatory and 
demagogic attack on Members who have one fundamental problem as far as 
the unions are concerned. That is, as far as the Washington-based union 
bosses are concerned, and that is that there is an R next to their 
name. In other words, what this is really about is partisan politics. 
It is not about principles and the principles which different people 
believe in.
  Mr. Speaker, let me give an example. There was a poll that was taken 
of over 1,000 union members about 6 or 8 weeks ago. One of the 
questions that was asked was, do you believe that the budget of the 
United States should be balanced and that we should have an amendment 
to the Constitution requiring a balanced budget? About 80 percent of 
the union members responded positively that we should. That is not 
surprising.
  About 80 percent of all Americans believe that we ought to have an 
amendment to the Constitution requiring a balanced budget. And yet the 
AFL-CIO bosses in Washington are opposed to a balanced budget amendment 
to the Constitution. It is funny, I had union reps from Cleveland in my 
office yesterday. They were talking about the union bylaws. And one of 
the fellows said very clearly that the bylaws prohibit the union from 
spending more than it takes in. That is a perfectly reasonable policy 
which is obviously practiced by American families as well. Yet his 
leadership in Washington opposes a balanced budget amendment to the 
Constitution, clearly in contravention of what the rank and file 
members want as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I will give another example. The AFL-CIO bosses in 
Washington are opposed to a balanced budget amendment to the 
Constitution, clearly in contravention of what the rank and file 
members want as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I will give another example. The AFL-CIO bosses in 
Washington are opposed to a $500 per child tax credit, and that would 
fall primarily to the benefit of working families, union families. And 
yet they are opposed to that $500 per child tax credit although in 
polling the AFL-CIO members, the rank and file members are clearly in 
favor of it.
  So here we have got a very similar situation to what is happening 
right now in a larger sense in America. That is that what we are trying 
to do with this Congress is send power out of Washington and back to 
local communities, because the problem that we have got is this massive 
centralization, bureaucratic centralization of power in Washington.

  So one of the primary efforts besides reducing the size and scope of 
government as well as reducing the tax burden on the American people of 
this Congress has been to get more decisionmaking back to the local 
communities and the conviction that you are going to get better 
decisionmaking process about government.
  The same needs to be done with respect to the unions as well. We need 
to get that power, the unions need to take that power out of Washington 
and back to their locals.

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