Public employee union (gasp!) talked with Milwaukee County about getting same pay raise as non-union
employees.
Submitted by Man MKE on Tue, 04/23/2013 - 11:29am
Okay, it's official. Wisconsin is now a political Wonderland, where illogic and craziness reign supreme.
The lead, page-one story in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provides the evidence, in an oversized headline: AFSCME District Council 48 allegedly negotiated a contract in secret with Milwaukee County! Shocking! Say County Executive Chris Abele and other conservatives, that's just plain illegal! Because, Scott Walker's union-busting Act 10 caused the union local to become "decertified."
Never mind court decisions that, at least for now, permit formal contract negotiations. Circuit Judge Juan Colás sided with unions last fall, striking down portions of the law as unconstitutional. The law allowed unions representing police, firefighters and state troopers to continue collective bargaining as usual, but banned other public employee unions from negotiating over anything but wages, limited any negotiated increases to the rate of inflation unless voters approved higher raises in a referendum. The judge overturned that ban and the state's attempt to stay the effects of his ruling were rejected.
So, unless and until a higher court disagrees -- public workers can lawfully negotiate over a wide range of issues, such as workplace safety, without limits on raises. And, indeed, a number of unions representing public school teachers have done just that.
http://www.uppitywis.org/blogarticle/public-employee-union-gasp-talked-milwaukee-county-about-getting
