Romney Campaign Press Release - The Romney Record: Standing Up to Big Labor

As Governor, Romney Stood Up To Big Labor Bosses. "Romney's move is his latest confrontation with organized labor in state government. He has pledged to end the practice of using union members as managers in state government, and said he will end seniority rules that make it tough to weed out unproductive workers. He has also been critical of a law that protects public union workers form having their jobs shifted to private, nonprofit contractors." ("Romney Ends Union Work On State Time Deal," The Associated Press, 7/3/03)

Mitt Romney Fought Massachusetts' Davis-Bacon-Like Restrictions On Wages:

As Governor, Romney Sought Exemptions From The State's Prevailing Wages Laws — Similar To Fighting Davis-Bacon On The Federal Level. "[The Romney administration proposed to] exempt public construction jobs costing $100,000 or less and those in smaller communities from the state's prevailing wage law. It also would do away with bidding requirements for subcontractors on public jobs, giving the general contractor the choice of who to hire." (Elizabeth W. Crowley, "Budget Ax Falls; Local Aid Proposals Outrage Unions, Mayors," The Boston Herald, 1/31/03)

Mitt Romney Prevented State Employees From Receiving Government Pay While Doing Union Work:

As Governor, Romney Ended A "Sweetheart" Deal That Allowed State Employees To Collect Pay While Doing Union Business. "Governor Mitt Romney, stepping up his confrontation with organized labor, this week severed a 'sweetheart' deal that allowed 12 state employees to collect a combined $540,000 a year on the public payroll while devoting as much as 35 hours a week to union business. ... 'This is a sweetheart deal that can't be justified any time, but certainly not during a fiscal crisis,' Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said." (Raphael Lewis, "Governor Halts Deal For 12 In Union Deal Ends For Union Work On State's Time," The Boston Globe, 7/3/03)

Mitt Romney Stopped The State From Using Its Own Resources To Help Collect Contributions For Union Political Funds:

As Governor, Romney Ended Union Payroll Deductions At Taxpayer Cost. "The unions are allowed, under the terms of their collective bargaining agreements, to solicit employee participation in political action committees through a payroll deduction. Surely public employees have the right to voluntarily fund their unions' political activity if they so choose. The outrage was that tax dollars were used to administer the deduction and transfer the funds to the unions' PAC. The unions were, in effect, soliciting contributions on public property, in contravention of state law, by publicizing the deduction option at work sites. The Romney administration objected to the practice and now the state's campaign finance regulators have agreed it's wrong. From now on, the unions must pay administration costs, and they can no longer solicit PAC money on public property, said a ruling by the Office of Campaign and Political Finance." (Editorial, "Closing A PAC Loophole," The Boston Herald, 9/14/03)

Boston Herald: "Hats Off To Gov. Mitt Romney... No Politician Until Romney Had The Guts..." "Hats off to Gov. Mitt Romney for calling a spade a spade and putting a stop to public employee unions' improper use of state resources for political purposes. ... OCPF should have put a stop to this flouting of state law long ago. But then again, no politician until Romney had the guts to ask them to." (Editorial, "Closing A PAC Loophole," The Boston Herald, 9/14/03)

Mitt Romney Vetoed Card Check:

As Governor, Romney Vetoed Union Card Check In Massachusetts. ROMNEY: "After I left office, organized labor had another run at replacing the secret ballot with a card check. With the support of Democrats in the legislature, that same bill I had vetoed was passed again in 2007 - and my Democratic successor signed it into law. What happened next is a cautionary tale for Congress as it moves toward a vote on national card-check legislation. With this powerful new tool, for the first time ever in Massachusetts, a charter school was unionized." (Mitt Romney, Op-Ed, "Viewing Unions From The Right: Cautionary Tale Of Card Check," The Washington Times, 3/25/09)

Romney: Card Check Robs Workers Of The Right To A Secret Ballot. ROMNEY: "By tilting the playing field in favor of unions, card check not only robs workers of a secret ballot, it deprives management of the right to express its point of view. It will dramatically change the workplace as we know it, just as it's beginning to do for charter schools in Massachusetts. Small businesses will have to hire labor lawyers and follow burdensome new rules. If the parties can't agree on a contract, mandatory arbitration follows and employers that don't yield to union demands will have contracts foisted on them. All of this will raise costs, leading to more unemployment." (Mitt Romney, Op-Ed, "Viewing Unions From The Right: Cautionary Tale Of Card Check," The Washington Times, 3/25/09)