Key Vote “No” S. 2123: the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007

On behalf of hundreds of thousands of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to vote “No” on S. 2123: the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007.  Rather than upholding the rights of states and municipalities to enact their own laws as the situation warrants, this legislation preempts the authority of local government by forcing them to negotiate with labor unions representing public safety officers over the terms and conditions of employment.

In addition to contravening the authority of local governments, at its core the bill strips away the notion of voluntary associations as unions are given exclusive bargaining control over public safety employees, essentially giving unions a monopoly over the personal decisions of all public safety employees. Even those individuals who have chosen not to join a union will be forced to be represented by an organization, which, for whatever reason they do not want to belong. 

Placing the safety and security of our communities in the hands of a few organizations who feel they have a mandate to speak even for those who disagree with them is a dangerous path to take.  Already, states and municipalities have in place their own rules that work for their community.  Such one-size fits all legislation runs roughshod over any authority these towns have to govern in response to the needs of their citizens, not to mention the authority of the individual over their own career.

We will count your vote on S. 2123 as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Scorecard for 2008. The FreedomWorks Economic Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks.org