Saying those who didn't see it coming must have been in a "coma," Gov. Scott Walker unveiled sweeping legislation that would severely curtail public employee rights and dramatically change the way Wisconsin negotiates with unions going forward.
Officials alerted the Wisconsin State Employees Union on Friday that expired collective bargaining agreements would be canceled March 13. State unions have been operating under the terms of their previous contracts, an arrangement that can be terminated with 30 days notice.
The news came on the same day the governor unveiled a budget repair bill that would remove nearly all collective bargaining rights for nearly all public employees in the state and make it easier for employers to fire workers that engage in some form of labor unrest.
To union leaders, and many Democratic lawmakers, the governor's moves represent an all-out effort to end the influence of organized labor in Wisconsin.Walker takes broad swipe at public employee unions
The sweet smell of sobriety.
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• Unions raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and raise compensation, including both
wages and benefits, by about 28%.
• Unions reduce wage inequality because they raise wages more for low- and middle-wage workers
than for higher-wage workers, more for blue-collar than for white-collar workers, and more for
workers who do not have a college degree.
• Strong unions set a pay standard that nonunion employers follow. For example, a high school
graduate whose workplace is not unionized but whose industry is 25% unionized is paid 5% more
than similar workers in less unionized industries.
• The impact of unions on total nonunion wages is almost as large as the impact on total union wages.
• The most sweeping advantage for unionized workers is in fringe benefits. Unionized workers
are more likely than their nonunionized counterparts to receive paid leave, are approximately
18% to 28% more likely to have employer-provided health insurance, and are 23% to 54%
more likely to be in employer-provided pension plans.
• Unionized workers receive more generous health benefits than nonunionized workers. They also
pay 18% lower health care deductibles and a smaller share of the costs for family coverage. In
retirement, unionized workers are 24% more likely to be covered by health insurance paid for by
their employer.
• Unionized workers receive better pension plans. Not only are they more likely to have a guaranteed
benefit in retirement, their employers contribute 28% more toward pensions.
• Unionized workers receive 26% more vacation time and 14% more total paid leave (vacations and
holidays).
Yeah! Damn unions. How dare you raise worker's compensation, make sure conditions are safe, and promote an overall better work environment!?!?
www.epi.org/page/-/old/briefingpapers/143/bp143.pdf
So evil! They must be destroyed!
Yeah! Damn unions. How dare you raise worker's compensation, make sure conditions are safe, and promote an overall better work environment!?!?
www.epi.org/page/-/old/briefingpapers/143/bp143.pdf
So evil! They must be destroyed!
It is the taxpayers that pay and the Governor is representing the taxpayers in a proper way
yeah! Yeah! Let's raise taxes, so we can afford those pay increases! That'll help!
Hey, let's giv'em more money. They'll need to educate themselves. :lamo
The historical illiteracy of Wisconsin teachers « Hot Air
If that's what they taxpayers want, then they should receive it. I am only saying, poking fun at the very institutions that made America great and allowed our workers to be some of the happiest in the world is not a proper way.
That statement makes no sense.
Yeah, there are always a few idiots in every crowd. At the Rally To Restore Sanity, some people missed the memo and brought serious signs. It was quite unfortunate, but it just goes to show that idiots ruin all the fun.
I only hear democrats and unions complaining not the Taxpayers. I grew up in Wisconsin and the teachers and other state union members pay little for health insurance or pensions. The state must do what is right to balance the budget. The free ride is over
Perhaps you forgot but democrats pay taxes too!
This type of rabid right wing attack on working people is an ugly but sadly necessary part of the cycle that will renew the American labor movement and cause them to emerge more powerful than ever. It is a sad commentary on human nature that each generation forgets the sturggles and sacrifices of those who helped make their life what it is today.
If unions had not abused their power and become a political machine we would not have this problem
If unions had not abused their power and become a political machine we would not have this problem
The problem with that is that there may be a bit of truth which applies to some unions but you are using a very wide brush to tar all.
You don't seem to mind that the corporations have become a much stronger political machine through the Citizens United decision.
I didn't say you did, however since the decision benefits the right, I just assumed. Am I correct?You don't seem to mind that the corporations have become a much stronger political machine through the Citizens United decision.
Where did I say that?
I didn't say you did, however since the decision benefits the right, I just assumed. Am I correct?
I heard 100,000 people protested in Madison today. I didn't even know there were 100,000 in WI.I only hear democrats and unions complaining not the Taxpayers.
The sweet smell of sobriety.
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Perhaps you forgot but democrats pay taxes too!
No I have been in unions and been a shop steward I know how they work. They are abusing power and have become an arm of the democrat party
Yeah....and Democrat Union members get a 10,000% return on their one dollar contribution........cut from the back of every private market worker busting their asses to keep food on the table and every private market employer bending backwards to keep the doors open.
.........all in the name of providing Union slobs with their bloated salaries, gold plated health care, and diamond inlayed pensions.
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A long overdue message to every Union Slob in this country.........
..................WELCOME TO REAL LIFE!.....................
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This type of rabid right wing attack on working people is an ugly but sadly necessary part of the cycle that will renew the American labor movement and cause them to emerge more powerful than ever. It is a sad commentary on human nature that each generation forgets the sturggles and sacrifices of those who helped make their life what it is today.
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