The following is chronicling Wisconsin’s new governor, Scott Walker. From the Journal Sentinel:
In addition to the changes on health care and pensions, the bill would eliminate the ability for most public workers to negotiate over anything but wages. Raises could not exceed the increase in the Consumer Price Index unless approved by referendum. They would also have to hold annual votes to keep their unions intact.
The bargaining law changes would apply to all public workers except police, firefighters and state troopers. The unions for state troopers, Milwaukee police officers and Milwaukee firefighters all endorsed Walker. [This is why political interest groups need to find support in both parties. -m.z.] Most other unions, including most other law enforcement unions, endorsed his Democratic opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
From another story:
Speaking at a Capitol news conference, the governor also said the National Guard is ready to take control of state prisons if correctional officers illegally strike or obstruct work. Union officials said they had no such plans.
But many of the other changes to bargaining – such as prohibiting government employers from collecting membership dues for unions – would save the government little or nothing, he said.
“That’s a clear attempt to bust the unions,” Wineke said “That’s shameful.”
And for icing on the cake,
The proposal would allow Walker’s Department of Health Services to change state laws dealing with medical care for children, parents and childless adults, prescription drug plans for seniors, nursing home care for the elderly, and long-term care for the elderly and disabled outside of nursing homes. The programs affected would include the BadgerCare Plus and BadgerCare Core plans, FamilyCare and potentially SeniorCare.
“It’s a shockingly broad delegation of legislative authority to the Department of Health Services,” said Jon Peacock, research director for the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. “This is the authority to do almost anything to substantially reduce eligibility for children, parents, and childless adults, to increase premiums, to change renewal processes, to reduce services, and to change rates. It covers everything.”
The Medicaid plan is just part of the broad budget proposal, which also eliminates a statewide registry of home health-care workers and all bargaining rights for their recently chosen union.
This has come about with the election of a Republican governor coupled with a sweeping Republican majority in the State Assembly and a majority in the State Senate. These are their priorities.
Update:
I think this is the final word on the topic:
We know that it is teamwork on and off the field that makes the Packers and Wisconsin great. As a publicly owned team we wouldn’t have been able to win the Super Bowl without the support of our fans.
It is the same dedication of our public workers every day that makes Wisconsin run. They are the teachers, nurses and child care workers who take care of us and our families. But now in an unprecedented political attack Governor Walker is trying to take away their right to have a voice and bargain at work.
The right to negotiate wages and benefits is a fundamental underpinning of our middle class. When workers join together it serves as a check on corporate power and helps ALL workers by raising community standards. Wisconsin’s long standing tradition of allowing public sector workers to have a voice on the job has worked for the state since the 1930s. It has created greater consistency in the relationship between labor and management and a shared approach to public work.
These public workers are Wisconsin’s champions every single day and we urge the Governor and the State Legislature to not take away their rights.
Signed by a number of present and former Green Bay Packers. The Players Association also offers their support.
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