Another reason to get rid of all the unions

The union that covers city employees in Baraboo, WI has filed a grievance that their workers were not called first to sandbag the town during the recent floods. They are demanding that the city employees be paid overtime to compensate for the lost hours of work. An in-depth rant is available at Badger Blog Alliance, it's worth a read.

Wisconsin is a forced union state, as is Colorado. Frivolous grievances like this, as well as some of the shenanigans that have been going on here, highlight how hard it would be to have any self-respect and remain in a union. As an announced retaliation for right-to-work being put on the ballot this November, unions here have put initiatives on the ballot that will kill many small businesses, such as requiring raises to match cost of living, requiring that small businesses with more than 20 employees provide health insurance, and trying to do away with at-will employment. I presume they are planning on shutting down the small businesses, then picking up the battered bruised remnants as even more union workers who will be grateful to have someone protecting them.

Governor Ritter has repeatedly referred to this retaliation as a stand-off, with two groups having guns at each others' heads. I see it more as a hostage situation - the unions are holding voters' livelihoods hostage by threatening lethal retaliation.

(h/t BitchGirls, who summed it up: EVIL.)

Update: when I saw this headline, I thought at first that is said, "Union wants to pay for sandbagging" and thought that maybe a union had offered to do something nice for a change.