[eXpat]

Wisconsin National Guard Preps For Worker Unrest After Governor Unveils Emergency Budget

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, unveiled an emergency budget proposal Friday to deal with the state's growing budget woes. Wisconsin has a $137 million deficit this year, and faces a projected $2.9 billion budget shortfall for 2012 and 2013.

Under Walker's plan, public employees would lose all of their collective bargain rights, except a limited negotiation of wages. State workers would also have to contribute more to their pension and health care benefit plans.

Unions erupted in outrage as they learned about Walker's proposal. The Governor told Milwaukee Public Radio that he has briefed the Wisconsin National Guard to prepare them for any worker unrest today.

http://www.businessinsider.com/national-guard-is-prepared-for-state-worker-unrest-in-wisconsin-after-gov-unveils-emergency-budget-plan-2011-2

[eXpat]

Thousands To Converge For Rallies, Hearing On Union Bill

MADISON, Wis. -- Thousands of people converged on the state Capitol on Tuesday for rallies and to attend a public hearing on Gov. Scott Walker's proposal doing away with collective bargaining rights for public employees.
A rally at the Capitol that began at noon lured thousands to the Capitol Square area to voice their opposition to the governor's plan. Meanwhile, proponents and opponents are speaking about the governor's plan before a committee of legislators inside the building.

The point of controversy is Walker's plan. The governor argues the workers are getting by easy compared to private sector employees and they need to be forced to pay more for health care benefits and their pensions. He's proposing that their rights to bargain over everything except wages to a limited extent be removed. Walker said the changes are needed to help deal with the state's projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall. Walker said he has nothing to negotiate with the unions over because the state is broke.

Union leaders and Democratic critics say Walker has declared war against middle-class workers and his proposal would devastate the state's economy.

The hearing, held before the Joint Finance Committee, on his bill was expected to last all day Tuesday. The hearing began at 10 a.m.

Teachers, nurses, prison guards and others staged protests Tuesday, chanting "Save our state!" and "Kill the bill!" while a parade of witnesses testified before lawmakers about the potential impact on families.

http://www.channel3000.com/news/26858747/detail.html

[eXpat]

Commentary: Leaders Don't Need To Alert National Guard

Gov. Scott Walker has seemingly declared outright war on state and local government employees and is threatening to call out the National Guard to back him up.

Introducing his "budget repair" program Friday, the governor asked the legislature to end the right of state and local workers to bargain for benefits and other non-salary compensation, require any unions which manage to survive his onslaught to be re certified each year and to allow “any state employee” to opt out of paying union dues.

He went on to demand that state employees pay 12.6 percent of their health insurance premiums, doubling the contribution they now make, and pay 5.8 percent of their salaries toward retirement.

While he was at it, he suggested the Department of Administration consider changing the Wisconsin Retirement System – one of the best-run retirement systems in the United States.

Since state employees – and unions in general – are often unpopular among those who are neither state employees nor union members, it's worth while stopping here to raise a question.

Is it so unreasonable to ask government employees to contribute more to pension or retirement programs?

Of course not.

The problem is that Walker is not "asking" government employees to do anything. He's imposing these cuts by fiat and demanding the employees be prohibited from ever having a voice in future employment terms. He's also asking for the right to fire any employee who doesn't show up for work for three days or who participates "in an organized action to stop or slow work."

It absolutely boggles the mind.

Oh, yes, one other thing: the governor says he has asked the Wisconsin National Guard to be ready to respond to any situations that might result from these actions like, for example, staffing the prisons.

http://www.channel3000.com/news/26858747/detail.html

[Ferretlover]

Just because it is written, doesn't make it so. For instance, "Of the People, By the People, and For the People."
OH, wait......

[Fishman]

Love this gov. The REST of the people of the state expect him to do his job, balance the budget. We've overspent, now the adults have to clean up the mess.

It absolutely boggles the mind, really, that the state unions would not expect such drastic action when the state is so financial broke. Unicorns will not swoop in and save them.

[vision-master]

Ain't gonna happen bc it violates federal labor laws. He's just pimping the public.

[TreeFarmer]

Most public discussion of finances and budgets goes something like this: we'll put this here, move that there, make this investment, the money fairy will drop by, work the accounting, and we'll all be rich.

TF

[Fishman]

Not so much
"The rights of private sector employees to pursue collective bargaining are protected by the National Labor Relations Act, Bender said. Public employees are not guaranteed such Constitutional rights by the states, although President John Kennedy signed a law in 1962 to guarantee collective bargaining rights for unions doing business with the federal government."

[gollum]

I think anyone can see public employees are going to have to take a hit, I do think that republicans seem to be hell bent on destroying unions though both in the public and private sectors. Working people need to remember that whatever their evils before unions we had 60 hour work weeks, no retirement, no paid holidays, no health insurance, no workplace saftey standards, no child labor laws, no minimum wage.

[Ludi]

Working people need to remember that whatever their evils before unions we had 60 hour work weeks, no retirement, no paid holidays, no health insurance, no workplace saftey standards, no child labor laws, no minimum wage.

The Free Market would have straightened all that out.

[vision-master]

Not so much
"The rights of private sector employees to pursue collective bargaining are protected by the National Labor Relations Act, Bender said. Public employees are not guaranteed such Constitutional rights by the states, although President John Kennedy signed a law in 1962 to guarantee collective bargaining rights for unions doing business with the federal government."

So much for 'good faith' in bargining

The rethugs have no morals or honor!

[PrestonSturges]

Did anyone keep track of how many hours it took for the tea baggers to go from "fighting tyranny" to threatening to get their way at the point of a bayonet?

Wisconsin allows recalls after one year, and I'm sure the governors recall is already well underway. I think it will be interesting to see how many of the rest of the tea baggers get swept out.

[careinke]

Did anyone keep track of how many hours it took for the tea baggers to go from "fighting tyranny" to threatening to get their way at the point of a bayonet?

Wisconsin allows recalls after one year, and I'm sure the governors recall is already well underway. I think it will be interesting to see how many of the rest of the tea baggers get swept out.

Dream On. My bet is Zero. "How many of the rest", Did some "tea bagger" already get swept out? Who?

[Hawkcreek]

Working people need to remember that whatever their evils before unions we had 60 hour work weeks, no retirement, no paid holidays, no health insurance, no workplace saftey standards, no child labor laws, no minimum wage.

The Free Market would have straightened all that out.

Sorry, I don't agree with that one. The free market allows a small percentage of people to accumulate everything in a type of Monopoly game, and when they own everything, they can buy the politicians to change the rules to make sure they keep it.
There is no such thing as a free market in our country.
Unions are directly responsible for the benefits all working people enjoy today, even if they did screw everything up when they got too much power and money.

[Cog]

Most states would function just as well by slashing their state employees wages by 50% and getting rid of 25% of their employees. What the people have voted for is the size of government that their taxes can support and not a bit more.

Only a true libtard believes you can continue to operate these bloated government staffs in a post-peak world.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Unions are directly responsible for the benefits all working people enjoy today, even if they did screw everything up when they got too much power and money.

Absolutely right. So it should be about moderation -- with unions, AND IMO - with many key issues. But today, most politics seems to be unreasonably polarized. And, unsurprisingly, outfits ilke Fox News and MSNBC inflame this by their entertainment shows (called news or commentary) aimed at their base. Naturally, they claim the other side does this and that they don't do it -- all part of the show and because their base wants to hear it.

What discourages me is that MANY on BOTH SIDES fall for this hook, line, and sinker. They actually believe this stuff, become enraged at the other side, etc.

Assuming you have spent much time reading sites like this or blogs where there is any opportunity for political threads to start up, IMO, this conclusion should be inescapable.

As a moderate though, I'm often ROUNDLY attacked either because I point this out (and get attacked by one side claiming their side is honest and the OTHER side is liars and does this) , or because I take one side of a particular issue (and then folks assume my entire political outlook is wedded to that one issue).

[vtsnowedin]

I think anyone can see public employees are going to have to take a hit, I do think that republicans seem to be hell bent on destroying unions though both in the public and private sectors. Working people need to remember that whatever their evils before unions we had 60 hour work weeks, no retirement, no paid holidays, no health insurance, no workplace saftey standards, no child labor laws, no minimum wage.

No Republicans don't hate unions or their members. They would have no problem with them at all if the unions contributed as much to Republican campaign coffers as they do the Dems. Busting unions is just punishment for them placing all their bets on the opposing team. There must be consequences for bad behavior don't you know. "politics isn't beanbag".
Republican or Democrat the leaders of every state will have to face the fact that the private sector middle class tax payer has taken a major hit to his income and can no longer support either the number of public employees or the levels of pay and benefits they have grown accustomed to. The longer they wait the more draconian the cuts will have to be so they best get on with it.

[Fishman]

Gotta love that "at the point of a bayonet" comment. Now if you try to balance the budget you are acting violently, what a joke, and now the country understands the failure of the left. So if they (conservatives) aren't recalled with the next election (like they got elected under the Obama which wasn't supposed to happen)? This looks very bad for the future of the left to me, as expected. Peak oil, financial decline, makes for a move to conservativism. Will libs heads explode? More news to follow.

1+ there Cog

[Livewire713]

If the conservatives really want to balance the budget then how do you explain John Boehner and Eric Cantor voting to keep funding for the 2nd engine for the F-35 when the military didnt want or need it.

[mos6507]

If the conservatives really want to balance the budget then how do you explain John Boehner and Eric Cantor voting to keep funding for the 2nd engine for the F-35 when the military didnt want or need it.

Traditional neocon hawkishness in addition to being buddy buddy with the MIC ala BuschCo.