This story on NPR may make your blood boil. It looks like it was written by an AFGE operative. http://www.npr.org/2011/06/24/137389668/the-nation-tsa-gets-some-security-of-its-own
Many years ago I listened to NPR news for the in depth analysis it provided while trying to ignore the spin. Sadly, it became too much of an ordeal and NPR lost a listener.
I used to listen to NPR because they had tons of BBC articles from around the world, sadly they seem to have gotten away from the basic article into the biased POV article like everyone else. BBC still has pretty good info from around the world, but they have leaned further off center over the last decade as well. Whatever happened to press that reported facts? Is there a good source out there that doesn't truly lean left or right?
Another point to look at, if you can dig up the response numbers from the TSOs in each election (determining to unionize) and which union to have represent the workforce, the response was surprisingly blah. Check the stats in these articles, less than 50% of the workforce even participated in the initial election (which means that not even all the active dues paying union members voted). That is absolutely shocking in my experience. http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2011/04/tsa_union_election_runoff_next.php http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0611/062311l1.htm Something else that struck me was the fact that AFGE has almost 3 times the members that NTEU did, and still only won by like 500 votes. That is either a sign of apathy, a sign that most don't think a union is needed, or just plain bad communication (which I can't see being the case as I was approached like 3 times before the first election, and 3 more times during the runoff). Just weird to me.
Interesting -- didn't the feds recently change the requirements to vote in a union so that a majority of those represented is required (i.. no vote = "no" vote) to just requiring a majority of those voting? I wonder if this was part of their motivation?
