If you live in Indiana, unless you have been living under a rock, there has been a big protest to a recently introduced bill into the Indiana General Assembly. This bill, HB 1043, has caused a walk-out by the democrats which sent them to Urbana, Illinois and has brought Indiana government to screeching halt. Since the democrats have left, the General Assembly cannot be brought to order because there are not enough members to hold a quorum. HB 1043 is a bill that prevents businesses from requiring employees to belong to a labor union, pay dues, or be required to do anything that involves a labor union. Now I will be the first to admit that I do not belong to a union or have any interest of joining a union. I am having a hard time understanding how this hurts people. The way I understand it, the bill gives the employees the right not to join a union, to make their own choice. I am having issues with the protesters that are saying their rights are being taken away. One of the reasons, I am writing this post, is because I want people to help me understand how this is restricting people's rights.
The real issue I have with all of this, is that I do not understand how anyone can support the retreat of the democrats to another state. First of all, they are still recieving their paychecks that are being funded by my tax dollars. Second, they have brought the Indiana state government to a standstill, the same government they have sworn to represent. Then, when the governer and the representatives that are still here say they will table HB 1043, they decide that their are 11 other bills that they want modified before they are willing to come back. So now we have the former Speaker negotiating with the current Speaker over the phone over state lines. This is just ridiculous! The democrats are holding the state of Indiana hostage until their demands are met. I do not blame the governer for not moving on these bills that were, with the exception of Right to Work, were laid out during the campaign before all the democrats were voted out.
So, what I am asking is for a little bipartisan understanding. I am not trying to take sides, I am just trying to understand why this bill is a bad thing for the people of the state of Indiana. I will disclose that I am a registered republican, but that is not what this post is supposed to be about. I want to hear from both sides so I, and anyone else reading this will have a better understanding of what is going on. I encourage you as readers to share this and to try to keep this debate civil. I also am not looking to get into the other 11 bills that are involved, that is for another post.
