Tag: Right-to-Work

Defining America First: Employers can’t be great if workers are on drugs and don’t want to work

In the swirling debates of American politics, few phrases resonate as powerfully as “America First,” especially when applied to the global marketplace and the thorny issues of employment, immigration, and worker opportunities. Under the Trump administration, this slogan has been invoked to rally support for policies prioritizing U.S. citizens, yet its practical application—particularly regarding H-1 B visas and the definition of an American worker—reveals a complex reality. Patriots may cheer the rhetoric of control and sovereignty, but the actual test lies in whether these policies genuinely empower native-born Americans or inadvertently perpetuate systems that favor entrenched interests. The question is not just about acquiring workers but about fostering a competitive environment where the best opportunities go to those who earn them through merit and drive. In a world where talent flows across borders, seeking the highest rewards, America First must mean more than slogans; it demands a clear-eyed assessment of who gets access to the nation’s top jobs and why. The global economy draws ambitious individuals from every corner, hungry for the American dream, but domestic policies rooted in outdated labor assumptions often stifle this potential. Consider the automotive industry, where union dominance once symbolized strength but now exemplifies stagnation. Growing up amid family members deeply entrenched in union life, the dinner-table conversations were revealing: complaints about competition from faster, more efficient workers, both abroad and domestically, were met with defenses of collective bargaining that prioritized equality over excellence. Unions argued that protecting the slowest workers ensured fairness, but this all-or-nothing approach dragged down productivity, making American manufacturing less competitive. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics underscores this: union membership has plummeted from 20.1% in 1983 to just 9.9% in 2024, with private-sector unionization at a mere 6.9%. While unions boast a 15.9% wage premium—$1,263 weekly for union workers versus $1,090 for non-union—this comes at the cost of slower economic growth. Studies from the Mercatus Center show that powerful unions, acting like monopolies, secure short-term gains but hinder long-term employment growth, investment, and productivity. In states with right-to-work laws, union membership has declined further, yet wages adjusted for cost of living are comparable, and job creation is higher. Illinois, with strong union protections, added 27,000 members from 2022 to 2024, while right-to-work states shed nearly 200,000 members, illustrating how union density correlates with economic rigidity. This isn’t patriotism wrapped in the American flag; it’s a communist-inspired model that equalizes mediocrity, stifling the marketplace for decades.

The root problem extends beyond unions to a broader erosion of the American work ethic, decimated by cultural and political forces from within. Progressive politics have targeted traditional demographics—think Appalachian descendants—with messages that undermine motivation: questioning gender roles, promoting pronoun changes, and eroding the provider instinct that once drove men to build strong families. When society tells young people that toxic masculinity is the enemy, it strips away the ambition to rise early, work hard, and secure a legacy. Add to this a drug culture that normalizes intoxication, particularly marijuana legalization, and the result is a workforce plagued by unreliability. Personal hiring experiences bear this out: when seeking employees, the smoke clears to reveal specific demographics struggling to show up consistently or pass drug tests. Marijuana’s effects on productivity are well-documented; a 2025 study from the National Safety Council linked recreational legalization to a 10% increase in workplace injuries among 20-34-year-olds, attributing it to impaired cognition, attention, and motor skills. The U.S. Drug Test Centers reports that businesses lose $81 billion annually to drug use, with $25 billion in healthcare costs and the rest in lost productivity. States like Colorado saw positive drug tests rise 20% post-decriminalization, far outpacing the national average. Video games, endless leisure promises, and government dependency exacerbate this; young adults, medicated since kindergarten for hyperactivity, lack the grit to commit 40 hours weekly. Gallup’s 2023 Work in America Survey found that 77% of workers experience work-related stress, with 57% reporting burnout symptoms like emotional exhaustion—trends that worsen as well-being declines. The labor force participation rate for prime-age men (25-54) has dropped 2.2% since 2000, per the Heritage Foundation, driven by demographics but amplified by these cultural shifts. When families fracture—fourth or fifth marriages, child support draining incomes—motivation evaporates. Employers face a stark choice: hire unreliable locals or seek immigrants eager for opportunity.

This brings us to the heart of America First: does it mean excluding global talent to protect underprepared Americans, or fostering competition to elevate all? Critics scrutinize support for foreign interaction, fearing it undermines native workers, but experience shows otherwise. Immigrants pursuing the American dream often outshine those eroded by entitlement. H1B visas, designed for skilled professionals, exemplify this tension. Under Trump, policies like the September 2025 proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on new petitions aim to curb abuse by restricting entry unless paid or exempted. This follows earlier reforms, including a December 2025 rule that, effective February 2026, weighted the H-1 B lottery toward higher-wage applicants to prioritize merit. Yet data reveal H-1B benefits: the American Immigration Council notes that they fill STEM gaps, complement U.S. workers, and expand jobs. From 1990-2010, foreign STEM inflows accounted for 30-50% of U.S. productivity growth, according to economists Giovanni Peri, Kevin Shih, and Chad Sparber. NFAP estimates Trump’s policies could reduce legal immigration by over 600,000, slashing workforce growth by 6.8 million by 2028 and economic development by one-third. H1B holders earn a median of $118,000 (2022), contributing $86 billion annually to the economy and $35 billion in taxes, per FWD.us. They own 300,000 homes, boosting local demand. A Harvard study found that each H-1 B creates 7.5 jobs, with no significant native displacement. Critics argue for wage suppression, but restrictions push firms offshore: a 10% cut in the number of college-educated immigrants costs natives $2.9 billion in welfare annually, per Richmond Fed research. In tech, H1Bs fuel innovation; over half of the billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. Trump’s base demands America First, yet blocking talent risks stagnation. The alternative: train Americans, but current demographics—decimated by drugs and demotivation—struggle. Employers can’t succeed with workers who roll out of bed sporadically, burdened by erratic personalities and short-term plans.

The degradation of society compounds this. Progressive messages confuse youth, eroding family structures that once motivated providers. Government safety nets foster parasitism, not self-reliance. Studies from Pew Research show Gen Z prioritizes work-life balance over advancement, with union support at historic highs (70% public approval, Gallup 2025), yet membership is low due to perceived irrelevance. Labor force declines aren’t just demographic; Eberstadt’s “Men Without Work” highlights that there are 4 non-working men for every unemployed one, a 60-year trend. Post-pandemic, hours worked dropped, per Gallup, amid rising detachment. To rebuild, competition is key—tough love pushes excellence. Immigrants, undeterred by such barriers, embody the drive that natives have lost. Born Americans, schooled in entitlement, arrive unprepared; foreigners fight for spots, enhancing productivity. America First shouldn’t mean handouts but standards that demand the best, regardless of origin. If locals falter, it’s not discrimination—it’s reality. Employers thrive with motivated talent; restricting H1Bs ignores this, as Trump’s fee may deter startups while empowering offshoring. Berenberg lowered 2025 growth estimates to 1.5% post-fee, citing brain drain. JPMorgan warns of 5,500 fewer permits monthly. True reform: reclaim motivations through family values, anti-drug policies, and education emphasizing grit.

Yet, political answers evade the core: societal rot. Degrading ambitions from grade school—diagnosing disorders, promoting leisure—creates unemployable adults. When hiring, reliability trumps nationality. America First means building strength from households: tough, drug-free, family-oriented. Competition drives this; coddling doesn’t. Trump’s challenge: balance rhetoric with action. His administration’s H-1 B tweaks signal intent, but a broader overhaul is needed. Deport criminals, yes, but skilled visas fuel growth. To make America great, start with people: out of bed, off drugs, competing fiercely. That’s the path to prosperity.

Bibliography

•  American Immigration Council. The H-1B Visa Program and Its Impact on the U.S. Economy. Washington, DC: American Immigration Council, 2025.

•  Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Union Membership (Annual) News Release.” U.S. Department of Labor, January 2025.

•  Clemens, Michael. “The Economic Impact of High-Skill Immigration.” Center for Global Development, 2025.

•  Griffin, G. Edward. The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve. American Media, 2010.

•  Hoffman, Rich. Gunfighter’s Guide to Business, 2021.

•  Illinois Economic Policy Institute. The State of the Unions 2025. La Grange, IL: ILEPI, 2025.

•  National Foundation for American Policy. The Economic Impact of the Trump Administration’s Immigration Policies. Arlington, VA: NFAP, 2025.

•  National Safety Council. “The Impact of Marijuana Legalization on Workplace Safety.” Itasca, IL: NSC, 2025.

•  Paul, Ron. End the Fed. Grand Central Publishing, 2009.

•  Peri, Giovanni, Kevin Shih, and Chad Sparber. “Foreign STEM Workers and Native Wages and Employment in U.S. Cities.” National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013.

•  U.S. Drug Test Centers. “How Does Marijuana Use Affect Employee Productivity?” 2024.

Footnotes for Further Reading

1.  On H1B economic benefits: See American Immigration Council (2025), pp. 6-7, for data on job creation and wage impacts.

2.  Marijuana and productivity: NSC study (2025) details 10% injury increase; in contrast, NBER Working Paper 30813 (2023) shows muted labor effects from legalization.

3.  Union trends: BLS (2025) for membership data; Mercatus Center (2025) on monopoly effects.

4.  Work ethic decline: Heritage Foundation (2022) on participation rates; Gallup (2023) on burnout.

5.  Immigration and growth: NFAP (2025) on productivity; Richmond Fed (2025) on welfare losses from restrictions.

6.  Hoffman (2021) for business insights; Paul (2009) on economic critiques.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

Workplace Freedom in Ohio: Using Barack Obama to Pass it

A little bird landed on my window sill this week while Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana backed a new ad for making his state a “Right to Work” state, to remind me of the many union members I personally heard from during the Issue 2 campaign of 2011. Issue 2 was a bold attempt in Ohio that failed and several union members who understood what I’ve been saying about the entire philosophy of union membership being the gateway to socialism was true, and they wanted out of those unions. So out of all the things Issue 2 would have done in for Ohio, it would have freed those public union workers who understood that unions belong in Russia and China, but not in America, and given them at least the freedom to choose.

Watching the Daniels ad below is a grim reminder of what those of us who actually think knew was coming. Indiana is well on its way to becoming a Right-to-Work state, and when that happens, much of what Governor John Kasich hoped to accomplish with Issue 2, will go to Indiana—the precious jobs of the companies in the United States who do not wish to have their company run by socialist unions.

Once Daniels leads his state of Indiana to a “Right to Work” status, Ohio will find itself at an incredible disadvantage. Large manufacturing jobs that Ohio had been trying to lure to the Midwest and its wonderful highway access, close proximity to the east and west, and even the Great Lakes will be lost to Indiana, because companies do not want their organizations run by socialists.

Anyway, the little bird had been asking these same questions, and contemplated what would happen if Ohio had something similar to what Indiana was doing but wasn’t going along the approach of attacking the unions so much as just providing the union worker with the freedom of being able to join. Because after all, in the wake of Issue 2, many of us on who worked on that campaign learned that there are many hundreds of thousands of union workers who are trapped in a corrupt system where the unions take their money against their will and use that money to supply the Democratic Party to work the government toward socialist intentions, and they don’t like it. 

The results from this poll were obtained using the same measures that indicated Issue 2 was going to be voted against by the labor union repeal which said Ohioans by a margin of 56% did not support Issue 2. This poll data had been present all summer of 2011 and many of us who worked the campaign stated that polling could not be trusted, and we believed that if we educated the voters, that the numbers would change in our favor. Well, when the election came around the numbers stayed pretty much stable and we ended up seeing a repeal of Senate Bill 5 trending very closely to the polling numbers all along. So the polling is coming from the same type of source and is just as valid.
Many in the Republican Party felt the sting of supporting Issue 2 (Senate Bill 5) and have lost their courage to do anything similarly bold in 2012, since their focus is on defeating Barack Obama and not allowing him to capture Ohio. Well the polling here shows that Obama isn’t fairing too well in Ohio less than one year from the election, and Obama’s people have the same information that you are looking at, which is why he came to Ohio to create another branch of government this past week. Obama has over $1 billion dollars to convince the very stupid, socialist, freeloaders that he can make shit look like a diamond, and he will certainly appeal to those I referenced. But intelligent, hard-working people will never buy into a president who attempts to lawyer everything like he’s Johnnie Cochren from the O.J.Simpson murder trial. See my article on Obama’s real achievements here: (The charts don’t lie)

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/barack-obama-the-murder-of-america/

Obama and his socialist union brothers and sisters have wrecked the American budget, which is unmistakable in the charts shown on that article. Even fresh on the heels of the Issue 2 repeal, Obama is not more popular in Ohio, which means even if he spends much of his war chest in Ohio on trying to close that gap, well over half of Ohio sees through his act and aren’t buying his rhetoric.

In fact if Ohio had a Workplace Freedom Amendment that was initiated by the citizens and not a political party, that women would overwhelmingly support it with a yes vote, as would members of the African-American demographic. This little bird who visited me told me they had flown to my window from up north in a heavily unionized area and spoke to many of those African-American, (Obama) supporters and they declared, “We ain’t tight with the unions and have no love. They’ve kept black people from getting good jobs for decades.” Well, that shows on this polling, African-Americans overwhelmingly support the right to opt out of a union should they choose to, or to join one. The same demographics that will show up and attempt to re-elect Barack Obama in Ohio support a Workplace Freedom Amendment.

So Ohio has a unique opportunity to use Barack Obama and his $1 billion dollar war chest to come to Ohio and encourage his “base” to give him another 4 years of socialism in The White House. If Ohio had a Work Place Freedom Amendment on the ballot, many of Barack Obama’s voters would vote in favor of ending the union monopoly in Ohio with an option of freedom. So the more Barack campaigns in Ohio, the more he would hurt his dedication to union monopoly.

With all the concerns that the labor unions are an impenetrable force that cannot be stopped, it’s simply an illusion dear reader. The best way to defeat this enemy of American value is to call it what it is, which is socialism, and to allow people to leave who want to. What we saw in Issue 2 was a very organized effort to take even those who wanted out and use their union dues against them with forced wage garnishments to allow the unions to fight Issue 2. Many of these members did not enjoy their obvious loss of liberty and asked people like me for help. By putting a Workplace Freedom Initiative on the ballot in 2012 we could actually use Barack Obama to help us remove union monopolies from Ohio and begin to attract substantial jobs to the Ohio area.

The south as shown in the chart below already has this workplace freedom, which is why Boeing is building a plant in South Carolina, because Boeing doesn’t need work stoppages every three years as socialist oriented workers demand new contracts with higher wages and benefits continuously. We’ve seen what such measure have done to our education system here in Ohio where the teachers unions have taken our tax money and threatened work stoppages to drive up the per pupil costs of education. Companies have learned that this is what these unions are about and they make investments in states and countries that are free from union monopolies and those are the cold-hearted facts.

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/the-next-civil-war-unions-versus-right-to-work-is-happening-now/

The term “worker” as Obama and the unions use it is taken directly from the book The Communist Manifesto. Karl Marx used that term to attempt to level the playing field of Europe against all forms of capitalism, which cast Europe into two World Wars and eternal poverty that plagues every European country to this very day. Labor unions are the European export of socialism to the United States and are attempts to infect America with communism. That is not a statement of rhetoric, but a fact.

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/the-communist-manifesto-seiu-attacks-ohio-senators-while-they-eat/

In America and particularly in our state of Ohio, people have a right to believe what they want. So if they want to support socialism, have at it. But they do not have the right to compel others and force them to join against their will garnishing wages for political use. That practice must be stopped at a bare minimum so that the true value of ideas can be determined in the marketplace of freedom. If unions believe they have all the answers, then the market, not force will determine the validity of their enterprise. And the time to do it is when the President brings his toothy smile and his basketball terminology to the public schools of Ohio to attempt to convince America to allow him to continue on his socialist path. Ohio should permit it to be Obama’s voters who give freedom to Ohio’s workplaces with the passage of the Workplace Freedom Amendment.

Doesn’t that seem fair, and just? It does to me!

SEE HOW THE NAKED COMMUNIST  AND IT’S 45 POINTS IS ATTACKING YOUR LIFE AT THIS LINK:

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/agenda-grinding-america-down-and-the-naked-communist/

Rich Hoffman
https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/ten-rules-to-live-by/
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com
 

Right-to-Work is Coming to Ohio: Money spent against Issue 2 sealed the deal

That mug shot of Diana Frey represents to me the problems of public sector unions. It’s not the individual members themselves who are the problem, but collectively they pave the way to corruption. As a general rule, the larger the organization, the more opportunities for corruption, and that corruption usually comes from the leadership. Diana Frey had access to vast sums of money from a union she started, and she abused that trust for her own gain. There are people like her in the leadership of most unions to varying degrees. They may not be embezzling money on the scale of Diana Frey, but the power they wield does corrupt their intentions for the so-called “greater good.”

Doc Thompson did a wonderfully balanced segment on 700 WLW on Issue 2, the collective bargaining reform bill in Ohio. This portion of the conversation begins with an interview from a rep from Freedom Works, but consists of many phone calls from people on both sides of the Issue 2 argument. Doc also breaks down the specifics of Issue 1 and 3 in Ohio as well, so if you aren’t sure what those issues are, you’ll want to spend time with this broadcast. Click the video link to listen.


Doc is a lot more neutral about the public unions than I am. I have come to a place where I believe they should all be illegal. I see absolutely no good that comes from them. Not only has the collective bargaining contracts negotiated by unions allowed very average employees to make Grade A income, but they create a culture of complacency that I find devastating to our social fabric. Our society has become too safe, regimented, and overly regulated. Too many people have jobs that are unproductive and simply serve to maintain those complacent conditions and it is the unions who perpetuate that culture.

A hard look at the Stacy Schuler case in Mason and the sexual promiscuity going on at that school not just among that one teacher, but the several who are also involved, and the situation I recently learned about at Lakota where a teacher thought nothing of using a child to seduce the mother of a family is that all these participants are functioning within a bubble of protection which the union gives them. Because unions destroy competition, there are no real rivals in the work place that must be out-performed, and this allows the mind to wander to sexual promiscuity on the light end of corruption and on the heavy end, Diana Frey and her embezzlement of three-quarters of a million dollars in union dues. See the sad sex story of the Lakota parents here:

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/sex-at-lakota-schools-i-just-want-to-see-justice-said-the-husband/

Wherever I’ve had to work with unions either in the private sector, which I do often, or the public sector which I have since I became involved in school levies, I see massive inefficiencies in their work ethic that disgust me. Unions exist to protect the employee, but that is not always a good thing, because competition helps drive the best out of people, and when that is taken away, complacency fills the void.

I am one of those who believe that every member of society should have a right to belong to a union, or not to belong to a union. I believe that freedom from a union should be an option for every Ohio employee. And I am one who thought that Issue 2 never went far enough. Those who claim it went too far are those who assume that the static patterns maintained for the last 40 years deserve to be maintained, and I think it should be completely erased. There is no merit in the union activity that I can see, except for those who live under its protection. The cost of that protection is not something I’m willing to support. The strangle hold they have on the public must be released.

As I was riding to work this morning in the crisp cool autumn air I thought of a friend of mine and frequent reader here who announced to me last night, “I’m the one of the first to sign the petition for Ohio to become a Right to Work State!” I had to smile at that, and not just because the mask I wear in the cold attracts a lot of attention, but because it has been talked about for a long time. Many of us who have wanted education reform have been waiting to see the results of Issue 2, but after seeing how much money the unions from outside Ohio have spent attempting to defeat that very fair bill, it has been decided to proceed with our plan to put Ohio Right-to-Work on the state ballot. This is something that needs to be implemented as fast as possible. The ugliness, the fear tactics, the misleading information that has come out of the unions during this campaign against Issue 2 has sealed the deal and convinced many people who there just isn’t a happy co-existence with labor unions. Employees need to have the option to belong to them or not, and in the future I will judge the value of employees based first on whether or not they are in a union. If they are in a union I will assume that they are a weak employee who is relying on collective-bargaining to receive a level of pay they do not deserve. Those not in a union will naturally earn my respect because they obviously are proud of their work and don’t wish to hide it in a collective mass.

Unions, you brought it on yourself. We tried to play nice, but you chose the radical route. So you are doing yourselves in. Personally, I am done with all of you. I want a cop, a firefighter and a teacher, but I don’t want a union between them and me. All one has to do to see the ugliness of the union ethic is to pull up the rug, because there has been a lot shoved under there that has accumulated over time and has pulled our society down to a level that I find reprehensible.

For those who wish to point at Diana Frey and say, “She’s not an accurate representation of public unions, or unions in general.” I would say that you are lying to yourself out of convenience. You don’t want to believe simply due to that fact that you benefit from unions and don’t want to believe you are participating in treachery to the nation. Diana attempted to shove her mess under the rug, but it was just so big that we could see the lump in the carpet. So we lifted it up and saw what she had done. However, for every Diana Frey, there are many little Diana’s out there doing much smaller offenses that add up to a lot of dirt collectively, and it all doesn’t fit under the rug.

I want to pull the rug away all together. I want to polish the hardwood floors of our nation, so I’m ready to toss the carpet out to the trash so we can show off the foundation that has always been there. But without the carpet, there isn’t anywhere to stuff the corruption, which is a key to putting our country on the correct tract which will endure for the future. That is the primary reason I am a huge supporter of making Ohio a Right-to-Work state, so look for the petition coming to a neighborhood near you. And when you see it, SIGN IT!

For the answer to everything click the link below!

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/the-answer-is-c-who-runs-society-the-engine-or-the-boxcar/

Rich Hoffman
https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/ten-rules-to-live-by/
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com