Wisconsin Bill to Strip Collective Bargaining for Public Employees Part of a Pattern

[nashville_brook]

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/02/14/wisconsin-bill-to-strip-collective-bargaining-for-public-employees-part-of-a-pattern/

Wisconsin Bill to Strip Collective Bargaining for Public Employees Part of a Pattern
David Dayen


Since Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced that he would not only seek legislation this week to end collective bargaining for most public employees without hearings or debate, but also send in the National Guard to either quell unrest or fill in during a walkout, the labor movement has organized. This is a pretty good rundown of events. There are rallies and lobby days and a host of other actions scheduled over the course of the week. The Wisconsin AFL-CIO is running the above ad in heavy rotation across the state for the next several days.

The press has begun to take notice. Walker’s action was slammed in the Capital Times of Madison, which quoted even some state Republicans who testified to the radical nature of the scheme:

The governor’s budget repair bill, which includes a plan to gut collective bargaining protections for state employees, does not seek to get the state’s fiscal house in order.

Rather, it is seeks a political goal: destroying public employee unions, which demand fair treatment of workers and hold governors of both parties to account when they seek to undermine public services and public education.


(snip)

But while Walker’s scheme is definitely extreme, it’s not even unique. Ohio’s Governor John Kasich has the same bill, which would similarly roll back collective bargaining for state workers. And they’re not alone. Walker’s invocation of the National Guard makes him the most showy about it, but this is a coordinated effort to strip public employees of their rights.

(snip)

[meegbear]

1. I was reading about what's going on in WI ...

the gov is using the "state of emergency" BS and threatened to call out the National Guard on them if they protest.

Gonna be a looooong two years.

[nashville_brook]

6. here's a good article on the use of force against collective bargaining from the Green Bay Gazette

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110211/GPG0101/110211052/Public-workers-in-Wisconsin-reeling-from-anti-union-bill

[EnviroBat]

2. Same bull-s%^t happening here in Ohio.

It's the beginning of the end my friends. This is how the killing of the middle class is going to go down. They've all ready fucked over as many of the non-union, and un-employed middle class people as they can. Now they are coming for those who are able to make a living wage and have some level of protection.

[ladjf]

3. Most definitely. One of the major components of the Rich in

the "great heist" is to weaken labor unions and public education.

At some point, the non-wealthy all over the world are going to have to find ways to fight back otherwise life on Earth will be reduced to abject poverty and almost unlivable environment.

I believe that the protests in Egypt were the leading edge of a world-wide synchronicity centered on the realization the the tyrannical rich must be stopped, the sooner the better.

In America, raise the taxes on the very wealthy, only elect politicians who realize that the wealth gap situation is the most dangerous thing facing mankind.

We will have to stop allowing ourselves to be distracted by wedge issues, i.e. prayer in the schools, family values and other rote phrases that aren't actually connected to anything.

[nashville_brook]

8. i think Egypt has energized the US -- that's why the Glenn Becks of the world

are having hissy-fits about it.

[ladjf]

9. Exactly!

[Bettie]

4. So, they protest, then Walker fires them.....

...hires contractors, giving a sweetheart deal to a friend or donor...

Sounds like the Republican playbook to me.

Sad, really, really sad.

[Goblinmonger]

5. The bill has a component that says if you are absent

for 3 days of work without permission, you can be terminated so that we cannot even organize a work slowdown. As a teacher, I am about ready to start doing what the right accuses me of doing--only working from 7:45 to 3:45 every day and taking summers off. Wonder how happy they will be when their kid's essay never gets graded (how do they seriously think we get all this stuff done in 8 hours?)

[Bettie]

7. I always wonder at people who think teachers have an "easy" job

They have to deal with 20 or more of the kids, in a group all day long and then usually with their own kids at home, while managing to grade all the papers and prep lessons for the next day/week or whatever.

Oh, and deal with discipline problems that many parents don't want to deal with or choose to ignore among other things.

I could never be a teacher and I have great respct for people who are able to do it. You have enless patience for a largely thankless job.

Oh, and I'm hoping a lot of the idiots who voted for Walker are now saying "HUH? This isn't what we expected!"

[Greybnk48]

10. K&R