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THE REEK OF RANCOR-THE FREE LANCE-STAR, JANUARY 28, 2008

Posted: Monday January 28, 2008

The Reek of Rancor

An untoward turn of events in the General Assembly’s House chamber

Date published: 1/28/2008

MY, MY. HOW the mere men- tion of labor unions stirs emotions in the Republican-led Virginia House of Delegates. Thoughts of angry men wearing flat caps, carrying torches, wielding clubs at scabs, and overturning police cars must come to delegates’ minds. Judging by reports coming out of Richmond late last week, such a scene may have been closer to reality than the aver- age Virginian would care to think. The legislation at issue was a constituent-stroking bill introduced by Del. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, that would have in effect allowed collective bargaining in state and local governments—about the last place, in our view, it belongs. In any case, Virginia is a “right to work” state, which means someone can’t be denied work because he refuses to join a union. That’s as it should be, too.

Yet a brief history lesson seems in order. Unions, despite the considerable warts in some of their histories, deserve full or partial credit for bringing about the 40-hour work week, safe working conditions, many of the benefits your employer provides, and generally the right to ply one’s skills in non-sweatshop conditions. Such boons are these days largely taken for granted, and Virginia believes its successful pro-business climate is best served by minimizing union influence. Certainly, organized labor’s unreasonable demands are a reason many firms have relocated to the South, which may be sunny in climate but is cool to unions.

In any event, House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford, evidently saw the Ebbin bill—introduced by a single Democrat with no expectation of passage on behalf of some Northern Virginia police—as a political windfall. The speaker can divert legislation from its usual path, and Mr. Howell rerouted this measure to the Rules Committee, which he chairs. That enabled him to bypass the normal debate a bill receives in committee, and send it straight to the House floor, where it became red meat in a dogfighting ring.

Mr. Ebbin needed little political astuteness to see the writing on the wall. He attempted to withdraw the bill, a courtesy almost always granted a measure’s chief patron. But House leaders denied the request—reportedly for the first time in a quarter-century. This refusal let Republicans force a voice vote on the bill, compelling Democrats to stiff an ally (organized labor) or beard a benefactor (business).

When the D’s balked at being put on record, House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, seized the pulpit, calling them “cowardly” and equating Democrats’ complaints over the handling of the Ebbin bill to “tripe.” The snarling Mr. Griffith seemed ready to reprise “Let’s enjoy knocking their soft teeth down their whiny throats.” But then George Allen (R-Out of office) already claimed that one.

In a democracy, partisan debate—which never happened here regarding the bill’s merits—usefully puts all sides of an issue on the table. Granted, the majority holds the upper hand, and can conduct business as it pleases. Yet Virginians expect their representatives, in the majority or not, to govern in a civil manner. What public good came of the extraordinary Howell-Griffith raid on the sensibilities of their Democratic brethren?

Decorum was once thought to be a conservative value. If this is how a party in numerical—and, apparently, intellectual—decline seeks to endear itself anew to voters, voters surely will make it known they are unenamored.

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THE REEK OF RANCOR-THE FREE LANCE-STAR, JANUARY 28, 2008

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