Wisconsin Governor Set to Gut Collective Bargaining Rights
Feb 15, 2011
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview recently that he will propose removing nearly all public employee collective bargaining rights in an effort to close a $3.6 billion hole in the state budget. And he’s prepared to bring in the National Guard to help do it.
Yes, you read that right. Since being sworn in on January 3 he has refused to negotiate with unions and has gone on record as stating that, since the state is “broke,” there’s nothing to negotiate. And he’s gone so far as to brief the Wisconsin National Guard and other state agencies in preparation for any “problems” that could lead to a disruption in the delivery of state services.
Union leaders and even some Republicans are shocked at the scope of his proposal. Under Walker’s immediate plan, all collective bargaining rights would be removed for state and local public employees starting July 1, except when it comes to wages. But any salary increase these employees may seek would be limited to the consumer price index. Contracts would be limited to one year and wages would be frozen until the next contract is settled. Public employers would be prohibited from collecting union dues and members of collective bargaining units would not be required to pay dues. Walker would even go so far as to prevent workers from negotiating over safety issues.
Although the right of private sector employees to be members of unions is governed by US federal law, state and local unions are covered by Wisconsin law. The right to bargain collectively is covered by that legislation – the State Employment Labor Relations Act – and the legislature can add or remove negotiable issues by changing it. Wisconsin Democrats are literally powerless to stop this, as Republicans control both the State Assembly and the Senate.
Walker claims the changes are necessary to prevent the layoff of up to 6,000 of Wisconsin’s approximately 39,000 state employees and the removal of more than 200,000 children from the state’s Medicaid program. If the bill is passed, the Department of Health Services would have the power to make any changes to Medicaid it deems necessary to reduce costs, regardless of current law. Any changes it makes would only need to be approved by the legislature’s budget committee.
This draconian proposal would effectively cut the wage of the average state employee salary by 8 percent. Walker is also calling for these employees to contribute 5.8 percent of their salaries to their pensions as of April 1. And they would have to contribute at least 12.6 percent toward their health care.
Bryan Kennedy, President of AFT-Wisconsin, the union that represents state workers, calls Walker’s proposal a “shocking development,” and says that it “ends collective bargaining for public employees in our state, after 50 years of management and workers solving problems together.” This is truly a sad spectacle. One can only hope that reason prevails and this ridiculous and draconian bill is defeated in its entirety.
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SSSHHHH. Don't give the Manitoba Tories any ideas!
Froster - -0001-11-30 00:00
I think that any type of action such as this could be the beginning of total loss of control of our rights and liberties to bargain in good faith and look after our own destiny. Let get out and support our local union shop and get ACTIVE in OUR UNION so the GOvernment sees that we are a solid group . ATTENTION BROTHERS AND SISTERS NOW is the time to act.
steve smith - 2011-02-15 22:05
This is truly shocking. Shows how much worse it could be here in Manitoba and how fast politicians can work to destroy what took workers decades to build up. I hope the government workers of Wisconsin band together and stand up for their rights.
Jerry - -0001-11-30 00:00
Without the MGEU I could not have been required to work 60-80 hours in 7 (mostly 12 hour) nights. With standard employment provisions I might still have a career instead of no income and a damaged professional reputation. Now is the time to get SERIOUS about protecting the members you still have.
Sharon Cramer - 2011-02-18 02:09