Mr. Factor, a longtime businessman and conservative activist reported, “On average, 60 to 70 percent of public sector employees are unionized.”
He went on to say, “[The late] Albert Shanker, president of the United Federation of Teachers, was once quoted saying, ‘When schoolchildren start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of schoolchildren.’”
Mr. Factor said that unionized federal government employees are often paid – with taxpayer-funded money – to do union work, which could entail anything from union recruitment to campaigning for union-friendly candidates.
“This union work includes an annual 23 million man hours and more than $1 billion in costs, not including benefits,” Mr. Factor told the audience. “Their ultimate goal is to unionize anyone that receives any government funding.”
Praising the Leadership Institute, Mr. Factor said, “Teaching people how to win, which this Institution does, is what it will take to make us stronger.”
Shadowbosses, set to release on August 21, has been praised by Sean Hannity, Michelle Malkin, and Steve Forbes as a must-read.
Mr. Factor chaired the Economic Roundtable for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and led the 2009 Economic Summit for the U.S. House Republican Conference and Policy Committee. He served as a senior fellow from 2007 to 2011 for the House Republican Policy Committee. Mr. Factor was a member of the Board of Governors of the New York State Banking Department from 2001 to 2007 and from 1987 to 1988, he was a member of the Federal Savings and Loan Advisory Council for the Federal Home Loan Bank.
He was chairman of the New York Public Asset Fund from 2002 to 2006 and vice chairman of Governor’s Island Preservation and Education Corporation from 2006 to 2007. Mr. Factor is the founder and co-chair of The Monday Meeting, a nationally-recognized gathering of elected officials, journalists, business leaders, and conservative authors in New York City, and a similar gathering in Charleston, S.C. Previously, he served as chairman of the Free Enterprise Fund.
LI’s Wednesday Wake-Up Club Breakfast is held the first Wednesday of each month and is an excellent opportunity for LI friends to meet leading conservative speakers and hear their thoughts on current affairs over good food and fellowship with conservative friends. Annual memberships are available for just $100. Receive 12 breakfasts for the price of 10!
September’s speaker is the 13th and 21st U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. For more information, please go here.