SEIU: Investigates Boy Scout VOLUNTEER Trail Project Options

[JM]

The other day I heard this news story about a Boy Scout donating 200 hours to clear a park trail in pursuit of an Eagle Scout badge and thought how sad:

"Kevin Anderson, 17, worked more than 200 hours on weekends to clear a 1,000-foot walking and biking path at Kimmets Lock Park in east Allentown, putting him in the crosshairs of the local Service Employees International Union, reported the Allentown Morning Call. Local SEIU chief Nick Balzano told the Allentown City Council the union might file a grievance against the city for allowing Anderson to work on the project. "We'll be looking into the Cub Scout or Boy Scout who did the trails," he told the council, the Morning Call reported. Balzano later told the newspaper he isn't targeting Boy Scouts but argued no one but a union member should be allowed to pick up a hoe or shovel, plant a flower or clear a path for the city".
The complete article here click here

Then I read this article today:
New Hampshire seeks adopt-a-park help for upkeep chores
Greg Gerber posted on November 16, 2009 08:34
New Hampshire's park system, the only self-funded system in the country, is looking to hand over some care and control of as many as half its 71 parks because the system can't afford their upkeep. The complete article here: NH Seeks Adopt a Park Volunteers

Each state is different but if complaints are going to be filed against Boy Scouts for volunteering?
I wonder how New Hampshire is going to get this project to work?
What effect will this have on the National Park System?
No more volunteers, work campers etc will they have to be unionized?

[Eagle Eye]

I was visiting a state park here in Illinois and was talking to one of the volunteers and he told me that volunteers used to be allowed to mow and perform some other maintenance duties but because of union complaints they had to stop. Now they can only work as camp hosts and clean washrooms. Also noted that because of budgets cuts parks were not able to hire fill positions that were vacant and therefore some things were not getting done. I have not heard an official position about this but just what I heard from this one volunteers.

[TCW]

I wonder how New Hampshire is going to get this project to work?
What effect will this have on the National Park System?
No more volunteers, work campers etc will they have to be unionized?

There are unions for federal employees and have been for many years. But, their power is extremely limited by law. Remember the Air Traffic Controller's Strike that resulted in all the strikers being fired and never rehired? Federal law has for many years prohibited using volunteers to replace paid employees. In practice, once a vacancy is not filled or the position is not funded, local managers are pretty much left to their own devices to get the work done any way they can. In their Annual Volunteer Report a few years back, the US Fish and Wildlife Service basically braggged that an employee retired, signed up as a volunteer and was performing his same heavy equipment operator duties as a volunteer thus saving the refuge and agency the expense of refilling the position and paying someone to do the work. Most of the natural resources agencies have suffered either level funding or decreases in funding that can be used for employee salaries for a number of years. That trend is not likely to change despite record spending and deficits. I suspect that the NPS, FWS, FS and BLM will increase their dependence on volunteers in the years to come.

This post has been edited by TCW: Nov 17 2009, 03:24 PM

[chippysgt]

It will get very interesting if Card Check and the Cap and Trade bills pass.

[JM]

It will get very interesting if Card Check and the Cap and Trade bills pass.

The only way to protect our rving lifestyle is to share information and keep informed. Though this may have been a localized incident it could have ripple effects in other communities. People are desperate with high unemployment and the potential pending bankruptcy of the United States Current Liability per Citizen $345,123.00 If all work can only be done by union employees, one conclusion would be campground prices would go up to pay for union employees or go out of business because it wasn't cost effective to stay in business.

EPA Lawyers Video of Cap n Trade

What is Card Check? I Googled it and found this definition:
The Employee Free Choice Act, aka “Card Check”, would take away numerous rights and protections currently afforded to workers employed at companies where unions are actively seeking to organize. The bill would remove workers’ rights to a federally supervised private ballot election. Instead, workers would be asked to sign cards in front of organizers and colleagues, potentially subjecting them to harassment or intimidation. Once a majority of employees have signed cards, the union is immediately recognized.

[Barbaraok]

I believe forum rules are that political discussions are NOT allowed.

Barb

[Biker56]

I believe forum rules are that political discussions are NOT allowed.
Barb

This forum is:
RV Action Items
Legislative issues, ordinances, and restrictions that directly affect the RV community

What part of Legislative issues, ordinances, and restrictions wouldn't include some political people that made the laws or issues.
Anyone in their own opinion, that agree or disagree with them. Would be a political post on this RV Action Forum. IMO

Maybe Escapees should delete this Discussion Forum altogether, as it encourages & promotes political discussions against their own rules.

Or maybe a real modulator could tell us what is allowed or not on this one Discussion Forum.

[Adventurerider]

+ 1

This forum is:
RV Action Items
Legislative issues, ordinances, and restrictions that directly affect the RV community

What part of Legislative issues, ordinances, and restrictions wouldn't include some political people that made the laws or issues.
Anyone in their own opinion, that agree or disagree with them. Would be a political post on this RV Action Forum. IMO

Maybe Escapees should delete this Discussion Forum altogether, as it encourages & promotes political discussions against their own rules.

Or maybe a real modulator could tell us what is allowed or not on this one Discussion Forum.

[Barbaraok]

RV Action Items would be if the State of Texas was going to disallow us to use Rainbow drive as an address, etc. Or if everyone who towed a trailer/5er had to get a Class B endorsement no matter what the weight, or if there was no way we would be counted in the census - things like that. It is not for one to go off on their particular political agenda against the current administration and its supporters.

Barb

[JM]

The original post was about potential action being taken against a Boy Scout Volunteer pointing out that "the union might file a grievance against the city for allowing Anderson to work on the project". There are many RV'ers and Escapees that volunteer. A volunteer is a volunteer, if a grievance can be filed against a city because of work done by a Boy Scout Volunteer then it could easily be filed against the Escapees Organization or any City because of volunteer work done by and Escapee Club member or other rv'er and would qualify as a restrictions that directly affect the RV community.

RV Action Items are Legislative issues, ordinances, and restrictions that directly affect the RV community. The intent is to discuss the potential consequences of this legal action on Escapee/RVing volunteers in the RVing community if it goes forward.

This post has been edited by JM: Nov 28 2009, 04:13 PM

[Mark Nemeth]

I'll take a stab at defining the intent behind this forum area....

Issues that are legislative/political that are directly affecting, or potentially affecting, RVers are appropriate for discussion here. However, if such discussions start to drift off into discussions of the politics of the country in general, that's when a sniff test for RV-related gets applied.

It is a well-established fact that politics, along with sex and religion, are topics that generally can't be discussed calmly in a large group of folks. Thus the prohibition against them on the forum. It is a judgement call in all cases, and not always an easy one (lots of gray area!). I think this discussion meets the criteria for RV action items at this time, tho.

The real purpose for us having this forum area in the first place is to report, and generate interest in, legislative issues that affect RVers, with an emphasis on taking action on such issues. In the past, we have been able to help coordinate efforts to prevent parking ordinances and defeat RV specific legislation that could negatively impact the RV community via this forum. Thus the title RV Action Items.

Hope that helps clarify the intent!

[Mike & Pat]

What is Card Check? I Googled it and found this definition:
The Employee Free Choice Act, aka “Card Check”, would take away numerous rights and protections currently afforded to workers employed at companies where unions are actively seeking to organize. The bill would remove workers’ rights to a federally supervised private ballot election. Instead, workers would be asked to sign cards in front of organizers and colleagues, potentially subjecting them to harassment or intimidation. Once a majority of employees have signed cards, the union is immediately recognized.

http://hr1409.org/?gclid=COWkvvf3r54CFQ4MDQodKVqbmw

[Sigzy]

Thanks for the clarification Mark. I find this a very relevant and important discussion that should be free to civil honest opinion. Some would like to limit any opinion other than theirs. Volunteers are an important part of American culture and keeps many campgrounds open which would be otherwise closed.We should look at the issue for it's merits or short comings and not as a left or right issue.