Saturday, March 12, 2005
 
Big Business and Big Labor

Local government works for big corporations; however, apparently in Des Moines, the local government also obeys the dicta of big labor. After all, they threw out a low bid for a city contract probably because the low bidder used non-union employees:
    Des Moines City Council members rejected saving $500,000 on a water detention basin project, turning away all bids because the lowest was too low.

    The savings would have been large enough to nearly pay for last year's decision to restore power to 4,200 streetlights that had been turned off in a cost-saving move.

    "I respect the council members because I know they have a tough job, but this was" wrong, said Thelma Saxton, whose family owns Saxton Inc., which employs non-union labor.

    Officials of Corell Contractor Inc. of West Des Moines and a lobbyist for the Central Iowa Building and Construction Trades Council contacted council members before this week's vote and asked them not to hire Saxton. Corell employs union labor.

    Iowa laws do not require cities to use union labor.
Silly newspapers. Laws are for fools, and government sweetness is for corporations and unions.


 
To say Noggle, one first must be able to say the "Nah."