Wisconsin Senate Passes Bill Ending Public Bargaining Rights
Wisconsin Senate Passes Bill Ending Public Bargaining Rights by Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism writes on this evening’s news on Wisconsin political conflicts. Reposted.
After claiming repeatedly in the media that the fight to end public worker bargaining rights was all about the budget, Governor Walker stripped the collective bargaining provisions out of the budget (which required the participation of at least one Democrat to have a big enough quorum to satisfy Constitutional requirements for fiscal votes) and the Wisconsin legislature passed it separately.
Details from David Dayen:
If you’ve been following along in my last post, you know the news: the Wisconsin State Senate rushed through and passed a bill that strips collective bargaining rights from most public employees. The vote in the State Senate, entirely composed of Republicans, was 18-1; only moderate Dale Schultz voted no. The budget repair bill was split at the last minute, cleaving the “non-fiscal” anti-union piece from the fiscal components of the bill. The non-fiscal piece did not require a quorum, so the Senate was able to pass it.
This may not pass muster constitutionally in Wisconsin. Here is the germane language:
Vote on fiscal bills; quorum. SECTION 8. On the passage in either house of the legislature of any law which imposes, continues or renews a tax, or creates a debt or charge, or makes, continues or renews an appropriation of public or trust money, or releases, discharges or commutes a claim or demand of the state, the question shall be taken by yeas and nays, which shall be duly entered on the journal; and three−fifths of all the members elected to such house shall in all such cases be required to constitute a quorum therein
The language may seem ambiguous (claim of rather than claim on?). But there is likely to be precedent, and if not, the Court would look to the debates at the time the constitution was passed, to resolve the question of intent. It is very likely that the concerns expressed then would extend to both sides of the fiscal equation, that is, tax collection and disbursements, which would thus include obligations like employee contracts.
And Walker said repeatedly that the collective bargaining matter was fiscal. In modern contracts, you often have language in the agreement to exclude the headings from any interpretation. The Constitution would not have such language. So the “fiscal” in the heading would be included in any effort to parse the meaning.
But since the Supreme Court has a Republican majority, that would seem to cast a pall over challenges. But Supreme Court elections are on April 5, and the unions have a lot of support in the state. This bill passage (getting it through the Assembly is guaranteed) is subject to legal challenges not only on Constitutional but also on the basis of violating legislative procedures. And there is talk of a general strike, something which if you had asked me two months ago, I would have deemed to be pretty much impossible in America. They may be permissible if spontaneous, as in bottom up rather than called by union leadership.
Some details of the official version from the Washington Post:
Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate voted Wednesday night to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers after discovering a way to bypass the chamber’s missing Democrats….
The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measures that spend money. But Republicans on Wednesday split from the legislation the proposal to curtail union rights, which spends no money, and a special conference committee of state lawmakers approved the bill a short time later.
The lone Democrat present on the conference committee, Rep. Tony Barca, shouted that the surprise meeting was a violation of the state’s open meetings law but Republicans voted over his objections. The Senate then convened within minutes and passed it without discussion or debate.
Spectators in the gallery screamed “You are cowards.”
Before the sudden votes, Democratic Sens. Bob Jauch said if Republicans “chose to ram this bill through in this fashion, it will be to their political peril. They’re changing the rules. They will inflame a very frustrated public.”
I see a LARGE public employee strike in the next few days in Wisconsin. I’m also not sure that this will pass legal muster as the articles state.
This has nothing to do with the budget, this is about crippling the unions, crippling the dems, and class warfare.
Our corporate masters demand strict and total obedience.
This is a pretty good fight. The AWOL 14 should have stuck around.
All the gloating at MSNBC disappeared Wednesday night.
The talk about a General Strike had better stay talk. The nation is not going to put up with that. In the end, that would kill unions around the country. If they don’t believe it, bring it on. Try shutting down the airlines and highways. All hell will break loose.
There is nothing boring about Wisconsin anymore. It’s shaping up to mirror the protests and riots in France.
Round 2 coming up!
Thank you Governor Walker for reigniting and awakening the long dormant Labor movement in this country. Thank you for reminding non union middle class workers how their rights are endangered by this illegal power grab.
Thank you MG for daring us to do something about it.
This has been an option from the beginning, and the Dem Senators knew it. They over played their hand by staying out of the state while seeming to continue negotiations with the Governeor. One too many times of backing away from an compromise agreement apparently finally passed the anger tipping point with the WI Governor.
The Dems asked for this separation of the bill before leaving, and now they have their wish. The results would have been the same if separated earlier, but the Dems gave away their rights to debate and negotiate them by leaving.
There will be a robust fight over this in WI, but the fights in the many other states are already lost for the public unions. There will be fewer “Closed Union” states as the budget issues in the many states get necessarily resolved.
This is a huge loss for the unions, but it was inevitable.
Right. Remember Mission Accomplished?
We do.
Rdan,
You missed the implications of this. The fleabag 14 will return, give the WI Senate a quorum and they will just pass the original bill. If they get back quickly enough Walker could even veto the bill passed last night (assuming the expected passage in the WI House). I have read the D senators are already on the way back.
This would effectively eliminate all legal issues involved and still get the legislation passed.
And as CoRev mentioned. This action taken last night has been available and legal from the start. Its been extensively gone over on the legal blogs. Go read up on it.
What will be really interesting if the left and unions go violent today when the WI House goes into session. If you can’t win at teh ballot box, you can try to win with the goons. All the talk of civility seems to have went out the window when it requires the left to be civil…
What I find most fascinating is the left and unions beleive their position is so weak. If they thought their position was strong they would just recall the R Senators and Walker or just sweep the elections in 2012. Either way they could then repeal the laws and set things straight. Obviously they don’t feel they can win in the voting booth – this will be especially obvious if they resort to violence today.
Rule of the mob vs. rule of law.
Islam will change
buff,
Do you claim the mob is against the law?
Interesting you take the side of the rule of law.
Do you claim the representative are infallible, and just.
Fascists live by the rule of law.
Excellent points, Buff.
AS, WI just joined the ranks of the “open shop”, so increased union membership in WI is a pipe dream.
Mitch Daniels in IN is the poster child for how this all workds over a longer time frame. His poll numbers dived, then he was reelected overwhelmingly. IN is one of the few states with a budget surplus.
Interesting, please send link to the budget surplus.
CoRev,
Do you know what makes an argument unsouind?
Interesting point about In budget, please send link to the budget surplus.
ILSM, I heard it on TV, but when researched, triggered by your question, find that it is not in surplus. IN’s surplus ended in 2008. See here: http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/crd/localgov/topics/essays/State_Budget.htm
Just another example to not believe everything you hear.
Here’s even another point re: the WI law change. Here: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/261808/madison-syndrome-daniel-foster
” Call it Madison Syndrome — the completely irrational belief among a large segment of this republic that their interests lie with public sector unions, whose very existence is predicated on decreasing the efficiency with which government services are provided by maximizing labor costs. And who do this by capturing the same elected officials who sign their paychecks. I’ve been shocked by how little people understand about the status quo ante in Wisconsin, and about the nature of (compulsory!) collective bargaining in general.
The fact is that no individual human being lost a single right in Wisconsin tonight. Some gained the right to decide if they wanted to be represented by a group which had previously had the legal authority to take money from them in the form of dues whether they wanted to participate in that group or not.
But you wouldn’t know that to look at Madison. You wouldn’t know it to read the news either. You’d think that Scott Walker and the state’s elected Republicans — men and women who have day jobs, and who I’m sure could do with fewer death threats in their lives — are heartless monsters.” (My emphais)
With the implementation of this law WI becomes an “open shop” state. Thusly, the impact will probably be a recduction in union membership, and a huge reduction in collected union dues. The fight was over the inevitability of human nature.
covrev: you are correct. i remember when mitch signed the executive order. the threats of ‘getting’ him from the unions was loud. i seem to recall he was re-elected… in ’08. and all the dems here are trying to do is make him look bad and derail his presidential run.
I dunno, CoRev. Public employees don’t do nothin’. If they all walked off the job, nothin’ would happen, because their labor doesn’t contribute diddly squat to the country. So, let ’em walk. The reason such enlightened leaders as Walker want to pay ’em less for the work they do and take away whatever collective bargaining rights they have to protect their paltry salaries is because he’s merely ridding the state of an unnecessary, parasitc workforce.
So, On Wisconsin! We’ll see who wins. After all, Walker can only have one job at a time. Meanwhile, his daughter who conveniently got a nice no-bid contract from the state worth a couple of million $$ just recently, can split the profits with Dad. For doing work the state’s employees could have done had their chief executive hadn’t gone batshit crazy. Nancy Ortiz
I am old enough to remember when there were few public employee unions, and somehow the world kept turning, school teachers had good careers with funded pensions and many public employees had civil service protection.
I am no Walker fan but I am not expecting an apocolypse either.
Round 2.
Buff–No one has been hurt. No violence here, nothing to see. And, there won’t be any. Remember, political action through parties or unions is how you settle arguments in this country. Odd that no one brought a semiautomatic assault weapon to any previous demonstration in WI. Last time I was in Madison, the bars closed at a ridiculously early hour and it was so cold my eyelashes froze to my face. Somehow, I doubt that the people who live there are the sort of people to start up a fight in this weather. They got good sense, Buff. NancyO
Watcha, CoRev. I remember when you were predicting this President wouldn’t get enough votes to get elected. Give yourself some wiggle room. Time will tell. NancyO
Your reference means Wi employees were closed shop??
Were they.
And what is the premise behind this: The fact is that no individual human being lost a single right in Wisconsin tonight. ????
str,
You are supposing that school teacher pensions were eroded by public unions.
How so?
Thanks,
The following would be a logical fallacy by Gov Walker: “The action today will help ensure Wisconsin has a business climate that allows the private sector to create 250,000 new jobs,”
Except the weasel words “help” makes the statement lacjking any logic meaningless.
And “it ends the state’s collection of union dues from paychecks” means that the state won’t collect dues for the unions, does not imply the unions enjoyed “closed shops”.
Gracie Slick and white rabbits come to mind.
we’re going to see much more privatization coming to government. we’re putting together a group here in IN now and i have friends in OH doing the same.
No, don’t put words in my mouth.
School teacher pensions were eroded by incompetent and devious politicians of both parties, while union officials looked on in well-paid silence.
Nancy Ortiz – “After all, Walker can only have one job at a time. Meanwhile, his daughter who conveniently got a nice no-bid contract from the state worth a couple of million $ just recently, can split the profits with Dad. For doing work the state’s employees could have done had their chief executive hadn’t gone batshit crazy. Nancy Ortiz”
That’s not true.
Governor Scott Walker does not have a daughter. Where did you read that junk?
Governor Walker and his wife, Tonette, have been married seventeen years and have two sons, Matt and Alex.
ouch…
Looked like a logical fallacy to me.
I am sure Walker don’t intend any either.
Is the action by Wisconsin GOP legislators not reminiscent of the action by U.S. Democratic legislators when passing the health insurance bill?
If the public employee unions win this struggle, the citizens of Wisconsin may wish to visit Detroit, and have a look at their probable future.
MKS said: “Is the action by Wisconsin GOP legislators not reminiscent of the action by U.S. Democratic legislators when passing the health insurance bill?” Yup! Crossed my mind, too.
payback’s a bitch, ain’t it…
Jefferson Airplane
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0
jeff in indy,
Agree. I expect that we’re going to see a shift to privatization in many States as cost management becomes a more important alternative to raising taxes.
ILSM, not collecting dues means every employee covered by the new law gets a pay raise. Human nature will make it difficult for the unions to reinitiate them as volumntary payments. Not deductions from the paycheck.
Closed shops are those to work you are required to join the union and pay them dues.
ILSM, not collecting dues means every employee covered by the new law gets a pay raise. Human nature will make it difficult for the unions to reinitiate them as voluntary payments, not deductions from the paycheck.
Closed shops are those to work you are required to join the union and pay them dues.
MKS, yeah that Detroit model is the ticket. ha.
We’re libs! We don’t need no stinkin troof. ;-))
CoRev,
Jessie Jackson is up there now. He’ll save the day.
ILSM, not collecting dues means every employee covered by the new law gets a pay raise. Human nature will make it difficult for the unions to reinitiate them as voluntary payments, not deductions from the paycheck.
Closed shops are those in which to work you are required to join the union and pay them dues.
Here’s a list of those states that might quickly follow WI.
“If the plan is approved as expected in Wisconsin, a number of other states where Republicans swept to victory in the 2010 elections could follow. Legislatures including those in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Tennessee, Kansas and New Hampshire have already been working on union curbs of their own.”
From here: http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20110310/NEWS-US-WISCONSIN/
“There is nothing boring about Wisconsin anymore.”
Substantiate this argument. Whatever premises you bring Wisconsin will remain boring.
At least until Aaron Rogers play football again.
This is the OH status: “Senate Bill 5, a controversial Ohio bill which aims to limit collective bargaining rights of public sector unions, passed the Ohio State Senate Wednesday by a vote of 17 to 16. Six republicans stood in opposition to the bill. The bill will now move on to the Ohio House of Representatives which is controlled by Republicans.”
From here: http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/article/ohio_senate_passes_union_busting_bill_11952/
‘….school teachers had good careers with funded pensions and many public employees had civil service protection.’
Yes, teachers throughout the country had “great” careers. That’s why onlu women took the jobs. That’s why men who did take the jobs were often ridiculed as being only good enough to be a teacher. Great careers, but crap pay which in many US localities is still the norm. Wisconsin starts a teacher at about $25,000 and the average teacher with ten years in might get an annual in the mid-$40s. Get your BA and Masters and you’re cookin’ whith gas in Wisconsin. Where are you going to spend those big bucks? That union collective bargaining sure has resulted in a jackpot life style for Wisconsin teachers.
MG – he must be short on collections for the year…
Jack, that ole counter argument to the low salary is that it is for just 10 months work. Most should be able to augment their salaries by 2500-5000 during their summer breaks, and still take 2 weeks off.
The great splintering is well underway. Yes, Tarp, Stimulus, QE1, QE2 and the refusal of government to prosecute widespread fraud has greatly benefitted the wealthy and powerful. It has also kept main street from collapsing as well as retirement accounts and pensions from vanishing (so far). The wrongs that have been done don’t make the protestors right.
LOL.
Okay, now I take offense at that! I admit that Grienke cracking a rib playing basketball has taken some of the luster off the Brewers, but Fielder is playing for the mega contract next year and Braun, Hart and Weeks are all getting paid good money to keep things going and I expect the Brewers will be around in October. The Wisconsin Badgers will go dancing, likely as a number 3 seed. While they will not win the national championship and will likely not be in the final 4, they should be a sweet 16 team. Marquette should also be in the tournament although I expect they will make an early exit. While I do not expect that the Bucks will provide much excitement–nor will their owner–and Badger football will not be as good this year as last, we do have a very exciting 11 day music festival in late june in Milwaukee which can get very exciting–particularly when the gangs come to the white side of town to hear hip-hop acts–and although the sturgeon spearing season is over, we still have the spring and fall turkey hunt , inland fishing season and of course deer hunting season in November. So there is plenty of excitement coming, not to mention that we have an election to the state Supreme Court on April 5 which if the challenger wins will shift the balance of power from the conservative GOP to the liberal Democrats. Guess who will rule on the constituionality of the recent legislation? Personally, I think the bill is a trick. Walker will sign it, the Democrats will come back from Illinois and then they will pass the original GOP bill and the one passed last night won’ matter, but what do I know–I am from a boring state
Here’s a data file that identifies each teacher and other position holders by name in the Wisconsin school systems. Salaries and benefits are provided. You don’t have to enter a teacher’s name to see the list. Select your position category and the names pop up, then click on each one to note the salary and benefits.
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/99999999/APC0110/80221166/-1/datamine/DataMine-Search-Wisconsin-teacher-salaries
Here’s a data file that identifies each teacher and other position holders by name in the Wisconsin school systems. Salaries and benefits are provided. You don’t have to enter a teacher’s name to see the list. Select your position category, click on Search, and the names pop up. Then click on a name to see the salary and benefits provided.
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/99999999/APC0110/80221166/-1/datamine/DataMine-Search-Wisconsin-teacher-salaries
I am old enough to remember the late 60’s and early 70’s in Madison and the Vietnam protests never occurred in winter. It is extremely impressive to get the opposition out in the weather they have had. Madison does also get violent as the bombing of the Math Research building reminds us. I see little evidence of that sort of mentality this time around–of course a lot of the protestors are in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s–not late teens early 20’s. The real key is that most polls show upwards of 60% of the voters opposing taking away the bargaining rights. The question is not what the unions do, but those folks. Do not forget that the end game of this is every municipality and every school district is going to have to cut programs and services. Mommy and daddy may really like to see their property taxes stay level and those overpaid teachers get their come uppance, but when little Susie is in a class of 45 rather than 25, does not have help in learning to read and can not play sports or learn a foreign language and the garbage gets picked up every other week instead of every week and there is a suden increase in neighborhood rodents, it will not just be union members who are upset.
Rusty, growing up in the Midwest as part of the baby boomers, I can tell you that when you talk teachers you get what you pay for. My high school trig and calculus teacher had a bachelors degree in music. I realize there is a relationship between math and music, but he got his math training as a naval officer during WWII. there was not a day that went by when he was not more confused than at least half the students and we did not have many math geniuses in a gritty industrial town. He was not the exception and it really did not matter because less than 20% of my graduating class went on to any sort of post high school education. Many of them stayed on in my home town and became the cops, city workers, insurance agents, grocery store workers etc. Of course most went to work in the factories, almost all of which are now closed. The expression then was “Those who can do and those who can’t teach” It was very accurate and Walker is determined to put us back there not because of the budget, but because unions are a source of funding to the Democrats and if that dries up the corporate interests will not have to pay as much to buy elections. Wisconsin will be just like Mississippi or Texas without the weather.
I had excellent teachers all the way through, even though my first nine years was at a small school with very little money.
The Mrs. and me sat down one night and traced through all of our teachers, and the vast majority, despite not having a union, worked a full career and retired on schedule.
Incompetent teachers, a very few, were fired. Bam.
Maybe times have changed too much.
I agree with ILSM on this, the mixing of short term budget, short term management and long term pensions issues is not legitimate and makes a mess of the discussion.
So things have changed since the 50s and 60s. I am not opposed to teachers unions, just contracts that are out of balance.
Mission Accomplished was a good short film. All 10 minutes and 42 seconds. Thanks for reminding us!
Fantastic so now we’re up to almost $50,000 for a job that requires professional level schooling and continuous continuing education. Let’s throw in the personal monnies spent by virtually every teacher in order to augment the pathetic school budgets for routine education supplies.
But Jack, teachers only work til 3:00PM. Right, and they get home just in time to do another two hours of preparation for the next days work and then there’s papers to grade and individual student evalutation reports to write.
It’s stupid remarks like we’re seeing on this thread and being voiced by state legislators across the country that belie how little the public knows about the profession of teaching. If the job is such a soft touch why isn’t it continuing to attract large numbers of qualified graduates? Oh, I forgot. They’re public employees so their jobs and their careers are expendable based on budget constraints. I guess so too is the education of your children. Or have yours already been through the system and now you can sit back and say screw the rest of you I’ve gotten mine.
One of the worst conversations I ever had. About a mandatory government class for high school seniors.
Me: He is a terrible teacher. Everybody knows it. Every semester all of the students have “Ds” on the last day of class and magically on the grade cards everybody gets a “B.” It is dishonest. I observed his class. He cannot stitch together two coherent sentences.
Prinicpal: mumble, mumble
Me: Can you fire him?
Principal: No
Me: How can you get rid of him?
Principal: In three more years he will have his 30 years in and he can retire.
Me (getting angry): You keep an incompetent teacher for 30 years and then give him a full pension?
Principal: Yes, that’s about it.
Mrs. R: I can get fired any time, even in the middle of a shift. If I make a mistake somebody dies. You keep an incompetent employee for 30 years?
Principal: mumble, mumble, mumble
The teacher worked four more years and then retired.
Mission Accomplished was a good short film. All 10 minutes and 42 seconds. Thanks for reminding us!
Do not know. There were some really good teachers of course–the guy who taught algebra and Chemistry was excellent, but overall nothing to compare to the quality of the teachers who taught my daughters
Here’s a data file that identifies each teacher and other position holders by name in the Wisconsin school systems. Salaries and benefits are provided. You don’t have to enter a teacher’s name to see the list. Select your position category, click on Search, and the names pop up. Then click on a name to see the salary and benefits provided.
And now MG provides us with the evidence of yet additional indignities that the teacher’s in Wisconsin face. There it is for any ass in the country to look up, the persopnal income information of your friends and neighbors. You’re a public employee so now your personal information is on public display. That should really encourage other to flock to the jobs.
Then why wasn’t the principal doing his/her job of observing and evaluating that teacher? Been there and done that. Twenty-three years at a public mental health setting. Unionized and civil service law requirements. The only thing you had to do to terminate an employee was to take the time to demonstrate the what, why and when of the employee’s deficiency. If managers haven’t been doing their jobs to train and observe their staff then fire them. I’ve been hearing the bull shit stories for years. I’ve been working private industry now for over twenty years and guess what! There are screw ups in the private sector that don’t get canned for what ever reason suits their supervisors.
The stories that are told sound much like those told by the buzzard to the monkey while flying through the sky. “You’re story’s so touching, but it sounds just like a lie.”
Of course I meant the remake featuring W on a little taxpayer funded aircraft carrier photo op. Lot of right wing arrogance around that one too.
Terry,
In my youth. I lived in Minnesota, when Bud Grant was coaching the Viks.
Wisconsin will always be distant second.
I do not think any public service unions run closed shops. I could find no info on Wi.
Refusing the collect union dues is just a mean thing to do.
It’s passed in the Assembly. Now, it just needs the governor’s signature. From here: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-wisconsin-assembly-vote-20110311,0,4873965.story
Well that explains everything. When I was a kid, my dad actually had tickets at Lambeau. I rember him taking me to games and watching Tarkenton run around for about 300 yards and then throw a touchdown pass. Of course Bud’s greatest succss was with Joe Kapp who was certainly not pretty but did manage to beat the Packers regularly. One of my best right wing friends is from the Twin Cities–actually born in Fargo –and his dad coached some small college ball. He still gets a far away look in his eyes when talking about Bud Grant. Nevertheless, I do not know how someone from a state where the idea of a good time is ice fishing when it is 25 below without considering the wind, can call Wisconsin boring
Well Jack, there is another point to this whole exercise. IMHO not only will the best teachers leave the profession reducing the quality overall, but those same talented teachers will look for jobs in the private sector and I daresay some of the screwups who have avoided getting canned all these many years will not welcome the new competition from people who actually know what they are doing. Nobody wins except the corporate and wealthy interests who pay less taxes, send their kids to private schools anyway, need to spend less to buy the politicians who will look after their interests, and have a large influx of the best and the brightest who they can underpay for making them more money. Is this a great country or what? At least we are not France.
seems like a small price of entrance to me.
ILSM, this is the second time today you have forced me to research and correct a statement. Taft-Harley outlawed “closed shops” but then allowed for “union” shops. Union shops still require union membership after a wait period. From Wiki: “The Taft-Hartley Act outlawed the closed shop. The Act, however, permitted employers and unions to operate under a union shop rule, which required all new employees to join the union after a minimum period after their hire. Under union shop rules, employers are obliged to fire any employees who have avoided paying membership dues necessary to maintain membership in the union; however, the union cannot demand that the employer discharge an employee who has been expelled from membership for any other reason.”
WI law allows public employees a modified version: “Fair Share Agreement” wherein employees pay the costs for union representation which usually equals dues. See page 5 here: legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/pubs/wb/98wb6.pdf
Isn’t it nice discussing other subjects than…
I changed PDF readers and here is the important clause: “Some states have “right to work” laws, which provide workers cannot be forced to join or financially support a union in order to keep their jobs. However, in Wisconsin, private employers may enter into “union shop” agreements in which all workers must pay union dues, whether or not they formally become union members. In local and state government, employees may vote to institute “fair share” agreements whereby they must pay their proportionate share of the cost of collective bargaining and contract administration (usually an amount equivalent to the dues assessment) regardless of union membership.“
Public sector employees would not have formed unions in the first place if all had been honky dory. If unions had made no difference, would the people have come out in such numbers fighting for the right of collective bargaining, after they had made concessions and had accepted salary cuts? Unions in the private sector are practically eliminated and the goal now is to eliminate the unions in the public sector. Why brake the unions if they are so weak anyway?
We have had years of teachers union bashing. In good times unions are not appreciated, but after years of stagnant wages and high unemployment things are changing. To break up the unions is really an assault on democracy, it is pitting the people against each other in an effort to weaken and destroy the democratic voter base. It is the destruction of the working middle class. A $50K a year salary for a family of four is hardly enough to make ends meat and not much more.
No matter how you slice it, Walker and the Republicans are devious, they had all the financial concessions and collective bargaining is not a budget factor at all. Privatizing will not save any money either. Private contractors will have to hire employees and pay wages and salaries and make a profit on top of it. Most likely the service will cost more and be of lesser quality.
It is all about power, the Republicans will do everything they can to get back in power, no matter what happens to the nation. We may well see riots in our streets yet.
That is what it is all about.
it is pitting the people against each other in an effort to weaken and destroy the democratic voter base.
I think you need to capitalize the ‘D’ in “democratic voter base.”
CoRev
How brown is that shirt you keep in the closet behind the uniform you used to wear?
At present the Reactionary Party is riding high on the crest of big money donators like the Koch Bros and their ilk. It is true to form that circumstances have to get worse before they get better, but a new high tide seems to be forming. We can only hope for the freedom and equality that that tide may carry with it.