Those Evil Koch Brothers Have An Awesome Highly Unionized Workforce..Wait, What?

The Left’s current pet target….well, one of them, as Sarah Palin and the TEA Party are still high on their Bitch Meter….., the Koch brothers, have some explaining to do for why they are so evil

A number of organizations are advocating a boycott of the products that come from companies owned by the Koch family. This is problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it could potentially hurt the wrong people.

The Koch brothers own Georgia Pacific. It is an American consumer goods company that makes everyday products like facial tissue, napkins, paper towels, paper cups and the like. Their plants are great examples of American advanced manufacturing. Incidentally,

GP makes most of its products here in America. The company’s workforce is highly unionized. In fact, 80 percent of its mills are under contract with one or more labor union. It is not inaccurate to say that these are among the best-paid manufacturing jobs in America.

This presents a dilemma and a paradox. While the Koch brothers are credited with advocating an agenda and groups that are clearly hostile to labor and labor’s agenda, the brothers’ company in practice and in general has positive and productive collective bargaining relationships with its unions.

Alas, this is no April Fool’s Day joke. In fact, the article, which goes on much further, is written by Jon Geenen, International President of the United Steelworkers, and published on the USW website. Mr. Geenen goes on to say that boycotting the Koch brothers’ products would not hurt them, but hurt the unionized members who make the products.

Really, the Koch brothers do not have a problem with unions: they have a problem with public sector unions. I’ve always wondered why we need unions for government employees. Unions were started to protect blue collar workers in typically dangerous and hard working conditions, like steel mills, from poor working conditions and harsh bosses/companies. Unions gave the workers in these conditions a chance to collectively bargain for better and safer working conditions, better pay, and better protection. Yet, here we have unions run by far left people who say that government is great and awesome, and is only there to benefit people, but they need a union to protect themselves from the evil government?

As stated many times, public unions serve: 1. get their employees absurd levels of benefits and pay that go far beyond the public sector, all at the expense of the American taxpayer, and b. get Democrats elected so that the members can get absurd levels of benefits and pay that go far beyond the public sector at the expense of the American taxpayer. And that needs to stop. It wasn’t that long ago when people said “you don’t go into government/teaching to make money.” We need to get back to that time, and stop fleecing the American public.

Funny how it’s the Koch brothers who are evil, not public sector teachers who send death threats.

PS: Fixed Jon’s name.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.

Share this!

Enjoy reading? Share it with your friends!