Wisconsin Republicans vote to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights
The story is well known by now: Scott Walker and the Republicans in the state legislature in Wisconsin introduced a bill which would strip public employees from some of their collective bargaining rights in an attempt to help bring the state deficit under control. Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Republicans won last November and took over in part because of this issue.
The budget bill was introduced and debated in the state House but when it became clear that the Democrats were going to lose the debate they fled the state and refused to come back–denying the duly elected representatives of the state to right to do what the people sent them there to do. Barack Obama once famously said that elections have consequences, and as we have all seen on a federal level, he is right.
But when the Wisconsin Democrats did not like the consequences of this election they cowardly ran away rather than doing the people’s business. The Democrats are trying to claim that striping the collective bargaining rights of public employees is undemocratic, while at the same time trying to make the point that refusing to participate in the democratic process is democratic.
Barack Obama also has repeatedly told the American people that we must sacrifice in these times in order to turn this economy around, but the Democrats largest special interest group–the unions–apparently feel as if they are above the sacrifices that the president has called for. (I guess they feel we must sacrifice for them.)
Scott Walker tried to convince the Democrats to act like men and come back to the state to take up the state’s business, but they hid like scared little children. So today the Republicans took action. While spending bills in Wisconsin require a 20 vote majority to pass, all other bills require only a simple majority, so today the Wisconsin Republicans separated the spending portion of the bill from the collective bargaining portion of the bill and voted to strip public employees of some of their collective bargaining rights.
This is certainly a drastic measure and will definitely have repercussions, but perhaps this will bring the Democrats in the state back to the table where they can negotiate something that is more suitable to all.
America's Watchtower 
So if stripping them of their right to bargain collectively is such a significant budget issue, how come they were able to classify it as a non-money bill that didn’t require the super quorum?
Sounds to me like an admission that it has nothing to do with money and everything to do with payback. It also sounds like admission that they have no idea what collective bargaining is – for some reason, they’re so scared of negotiating terms and conditions of work with their own employees they’re banning the practice (except for what looks like showcase bargaining, where the union would have the right to bargain for wage increases no greater than inflation).
As I said, I’ve sat on both sides of the table, and while it can often be a frustrating process, it’s also educational and productive. Walker’s being an incredible fool with this tactic, and I suspect he’ll face a recall election as soon as legally possible (January 2012).
And now they’re waiting for the Dems to come back so that the state can officially welsh on the contract they signed, to pay for a budget gap created by Walker signing a tax cut.
Take good care, and may God bless us all?
TGY
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I’m not sure this was a good move by Walker, but there still is no getting around the fact that the Democrats never should have fled the state because they were going to lose a vote. It is setting a dangerous precedent for all future debates.
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Reagan would have been proud of the Wis. GOP today. It will proably cost most of them their political careers. I hope not. But isn’t it nice to see a few polititicians with the stones to do what is right?
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It probably did cost many of them their jobs, but in the post I wrote earlier today on the federal budget bills that were defeated, I am getting sick and tired of politicians who put re-election ahead of doing what is right and it appears that Scott Walker is doing what he feels is right even if it costs him his job.
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By the way, someone told me a while back that Wisconsin’s term limits laws had eliminated continuity in the statehouse and left the state in the hands of amateurs. Now it’s certain that that’s the case. Consider – the crack leadership of the Wisconsin GOP, so terrified of sitting down at a negotiating table with its own employees that it stripped them of their rights to bargain collectively, took only a month or so to come up with the idea of separating that one provision of the bill and introducing it as “non-budgetary.”
Of course, it stripping collective bargaining rights isn’t a financial issue, then the Governor’s whole rhetorical campaign insisting that it is, is in fact exposed as a lie by the members of his own party.
And may God bless us all!
TGY
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Ouch! How I would love to see more of this. Backbones of steel! Now that is what I have been searching for! 😉
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Whether you agree with him or not, at least he is doing what he said he would do and he is not worried about what happens to his career.
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The people of Wisconsin elected their representatives to make decisions that are in the best interest of Wisconsin. Those decisions won’t always be easy. I’m so sick & tired of hearing or reading comments from indignant liberals from other states – as if it’s really any of their business.
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But celebratory cons from states other than Wisconsin, that’s a different story, eh?
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No. You’re right (thanks for the perspective), and I was wrong to only call out one side. The fact is, if you’re a Wisconsin taxpayer you have a vested interest in this. The precedent it sets may be of interest outside the borders of Wisconsin, but then take it up where you live. The representatives from both sides have been vilified – as have the public servants in Wisconsin – by folks without any direct interest. Debating the merits – or lack thereof – of what’s occurring is one thing, reducing it to the level of cliché characterizations of people based on their party affiliation serves no purpose but the add to the disease of divisiveness that’s going a long what to accomplishing what the Soviet Union couldn’t… Fortunately Scott Walker & the legislature are elected and not king and dukes. That is to say, if this really isn’t what the people of Wisconsin want, then they can correct it. In the end, I suppose I would have been happier with what I’ve seen and read if it came from rationally presented points of view of people that actually live in Wisconsin rather than “sky is falling” comments from outside the state.
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The precedent that this sets is exactly what I am conserned about. I fear that this is now going to happen more often and every time that it soes happen I intend to bring it to light because this is not the way the process is supposed to work. While this case affects me in no way, I am afraid thet someday something like this will happen in New Hampshire because of the precedent.
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This has just moved to a new phase. The union thugs will go to the recall effort. I can only imagine what will happen to people that refuse to sign the petitions. 😛
This is a good thing, obviously, I mean, a great deal of money will be saved. However, the unions are going to spend more and more money trying to punish the people of Wisconsin, but that is money that won’t go to Obama in 2012.
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It will be interesting to see how the recall idea goes; this will be the one true gauge of how Wisconsin voters feel about Walker.
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Walker waited 3 weeks for those fleebagers to come back. It’s about time they moved forward. It’s looks like the Wis GOP tooka step out of nancy Pelosi’s and Harry Reed’s book. Reconciliation anyone? You should switch on MSNBC for the crying about stripping away 50 yars of civil rights in 18 minutes.
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The Wisconsin government has done everything within their power to FORCE one thing, to force the union supporting Democrats that ran away, ran out of state to avoid being defeated in open meeting to return and serve in their elected positions and DO their jobs.
I applaud the Wisconsin Senate and Gov. Walker for having the BALLS to stand up to these union crooks, thugs, goons, leftists, socialists, morons, retards and all around moonbats!
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You are right, Walker has been trying to get the Democrats to come back and they wouldn’t so he had to do something. And by doing this he has shown a courage that most politicians would never dream of.
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The terrible thing is Liberals are calling this illegal. It’s not. 14 Dems fleeing the state should be illegal.
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You now, a lot of people are carrying on about the Democrats’ creative use of the rules to stymie the GOP in Wisconsin. Mr. Boortz this morning pointed something out – he said that if the shoe were on the other foot, and it were a Dem majority trying to restore collective bargaining rights to state workers (as might happen in a year or so), and it were the GOP senators who took an extended vacation to the great state of Illinois (home of the President!), he wouldn’t expect to hear the same people calling for the GOP senators to return.
If you can honestly say that you’d be hollering for the GOP senators to return and vote, that’s one thing, but I think most (not all!) here would support GOP senators if they took the same action to stymie a Democratic action.
I think Steve would be among those calling for them to return.
Remember – the Dems haven’t broken any law or rule.
The GOP has the opportunity to change the rules of the Wisconsin government, or amend the state’s Constitution, to address situations like thing – but I think they’d be reluctant to do so, because they may need to resort to such a tactic in the future.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
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You are correct; if the shoe was on the other foot and the Republicans tried something like this I would not approve of it because above all I believe in the process. During the healthcare debate some people actually did say to me that the Republicans should just not show up–this would not have worked anyway as the Democrats still would have had a quorum and would have led to the healthcare law being passed even quicker–but even if it would have worked I couldn’t support such a misused of the power invested in these politicians by the people. It is simply not the right way to go about ironing out your differences. I often use the example of gay marriage in Massachusetts vs gay marriage in New Hampshire–Massachusetts had gay marriage imposed on them by the courts, not passed by the legislature and now gay marriage law has never been written in Massachusetts. But in New Hampshire the gay marriage law was passed using the proper procedure so I have accepted it as the will of the people of New Hampshire, and that is basically what I am opposed to in Wisconsin.
As for the Republicans trying this in Wisconsin next year, that is exactly what I fear the most–this becoming the norm.
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For clarity, my comment, “…I would have been happier with what I’ve seen and read if it came from rationally presented points of view of people that actually live in Wisconsin…” Referred to the general media – a one-way message, and not this blog or any other discussion.
I’m a rookie blogger.
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No problem Mark. And welcome!
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Walkers ratings may have dropped-temporarily, but nowhere near the level that would justify a recall. It won’t work.
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It will be interesting to watch because those that are asking for the recall are people that didn’t vote for him in the first place; did he lose enough support with those that did vote for him? I doubt it, but you never know.
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Here’s an interesting quote:
“They remind us that where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost. They remind us that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. You and I must protect and preserve freedom here or it will not be passed on to our children. ”
I’m not sure cons will want to learn who said it.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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I happen to know who said that, as a matter of fact I have a picture of him in my sidebar, but I would counter with a quote from THE liberal icon himself (I am sure that you know who I am referring to):
“Meticulous attention should be paid to the special relationships and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the government. All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations … The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for … officials … to bind the employer … The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives.”
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Of course you know! And you know he was right!
Interesting about the remarks you brought to dueling quotes. I believe the speaker was talking about the “traditional” collective bargaining process as being one in which strikes are one of the weapons in the union’s arsenal. Notwithstanding the fact that very few labor disputes (any contract negotiation is technically a labor dispute) result in a strike, many public sector unions are forbidden from striking due to the nature of their jobs. In fact, when Reagan fired the PATCO workers, he did so not because they were in a union, or because he didn’t like collective bargaining, but because they were engaged in an illegal strike.
The opening sentences of your fellow’s letter list many of the things that collective bargaining routinely addresses – wages and fringes, while significant, are often only a small portion of the negotiations. Sometimes employers are clueless about what issues (other than economic) are really important to their workers, and only find out at the bargaining table.
Enjoy what’s left of the weekend – off to see if the Huskies can pull it off!
And may God bless us all!
TGY
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I googled, “why did republicans strip collective bargaining rights”.
Your blog post, “Wisconsin Republicans vote to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights”, came up as the fifth entry.
Amazing. The post of a night time blogger from New Hampshire appears prior to anything from USA Today, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, etc. That to me is democracy.
Anyways. I am very thankful for the posting and your perspective on the issue.
I am becoming a big fan of blogs. Although it has nothing to do with New Hampshire, here is another blog I like. McHenryCountyBlog.com. The author Cal Skinner is a former IL State Representative. McHenry County is a far northwest suburb of Chicago that still has several rural areas. Cal is also conservative.
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That is pretty exciting! While I may be just a small time blogger I like to think that I am part of a network of blogs and that together we can make a difference. I think the bloggers give us another perspective besides what the mainstream media is trying to foist on the American people and the more viewpoints that are out there the better off we all will be. I think you comment about that being part of democracy is right on; blogging gives the Average American a platform to express his or her opinions to a larger crowd than they otherwise would be able to gain. Thanks for the link, I will be checking it out.
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This is why, when coups d’etat take place, or one country conquers another, the very first step the conquerors take is to seize the means of communication.
In our nation, we’re so comfortable with freedom of speech that this seems natural to us. The phenomenon of the internet and the ability of people to speak directly to each other without the government chaperone is terrifying to the despots. Mark, you and Steve are simply carrying on what’s a great American tradition – keeping the debate alive.
Now, as to Wisconsin – why is it we hear (constantly) that we need our right to keep and bear arms to protect us from a tyrannical government, but when some of our fellow citizens go to work for the government, we’re reluctant to give them the protection of being able to bargain with the same state we need guns to protect ourselves from?
We all hear about how the lofty Congress exempts itself from having to comply with the laws it passes for everyone else to follow – now all these states are exempting themselves from having to follow the laws that everyone doing business in their states must follow, but the cons are cheering them on instead of protesting.
How the tables turn when people are driven by ideology rather than by righteousness.
Take good care, and may God bless us all!
TGY
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You ask an interesting question and I would argue it thusly: The right to keep and bear arms is a guarantee specifically mentioned in the constitution while collective bargaining is not. As a states rights advocate I feel that the individual states have the right–under the 10th amendment–to set the rules regarding the collective bargaining rights of public officials. If the federal government were to step in and declare that all states must ban public sector unions I would have a problem, just as I would if the federal government tried to declare to all states that they must allow public sector unions.
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I guess that’s my point as well, in a way. the fact that a right isn’t enshrined in the constitution doesn’t mean that it can be trifled with. The Framers so distrusted government that they set up the Second Amendment, a right today cherished and defended. It seems to me, though, that you’re saying that since the right to bargain collectively isn’t in the constitution, it can be given short shrift.
But let me suggest this – a government intent on dominating the people will start first with those over whom it has the most control – those who depend upon it for their living.
A century ago, when workers were losing their lives because they dared to talk union, governments saw their role clearly enough – their job was to provide business with an endless supply of docile labor.
Are those days returning?
Whimpering that the cost of this or that is too high is no justification for Walker’s action. Teach your public officials to negotiate, and if necessary send a lawyer or two from the capitol to lend a hand.
Otherwise, it seems like “They’re too strong, tie their hands behind their backs.”
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