Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Walker vs The Unions: Round 4

Two unions in the state have filed lawsuits against Scott Walker and the State of Wisconsin because - surprise, surprise - Walker refuses to bargain in good faith:
Two public employee unions that won very limited collective bargaining powers in November are now filing unfair labor practices complaints alleging that state officials have refused to meet or negotiate.

The 260-member Wisconsin State Attorneys Association union filed its complaint Monday, vice president Nancy Wettersten said Tuesday.

Under Act 10, the state's controversial 2011 collective bargaining law, most public sector employees lost their legal union rights, but some recertified with the ability to negotiate for cost-of-living raises, but nothing else.

"We didn't like Act 10, but we played by the rules, and our union was overwhelmingly elected, but now we have talked to them (several) times about beginning negotiations, and we have been met by silence," Wettersten said.

The complaint says the union sent five requests for negotiations between Dec. 16 and Feb. 19, but has been given no dates or times for talks to begin.

The 650-member Professional Education and Information Council union also filed with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, said commission counsel Peter Davis.
Well, of course he's not going to sit down and negotiate with the unions! It's an election year and his political future is on the line. His poll numbers keep dropping and people are tuning out his endless stream of lies. And at every turn of Walkergate, it becomes increasingly apparent how embroiled he was and is in the corruption. He's not about to sit down and look weak in front of his base, his only hope of having his terminal political career extended ever so slightly.

How can I say this? How do I know? Remember, I've been through it all before, more than once. This is actually Walker's fourth big go around with the unions.

About the time that Walker was making his first run for governor, Walker had his first bout against the unions.

At the time, the contract between Milwaukee County and AFSCME needed to be negotiated. Walker refused to sit down to the table and bargain, much less do so in good faith. After God told him to quit the race (it had nothing to do with that he was getting zero support and raising no money), he returned to Milwaukee County, suddenly ready to negotiate.

In usual Walker style, he tried to claim that he drove a hard bargain and saved the taxpayers a bundle. Well, he did save taxpayer money, but the contract that he finally signed was the same one crafted by David Reimer, who was sent in by Governor Jim Doyle to help Walker out and that the union had already tentatively agreed to. Walker was so anxious to have the contract signed that he did change one part. He added a $250 signing bonus for each worker:


Round One went to the unions.  Unfortunately, Walker's stunt had cost taxpayers millions in unseen savings while he played political games.

His second round came shortly thereafter and was set up similarly to Round One.  He was already gearing up for his next run for governor.  Walker had been touring the state to hit all of the Lincoln Day dinners and using his taxpayer-sponsored Harley Davidson campaign rides.

Again, Walker refused to negotiate with the union.  Instead, he would hold one press conference after another, demonizing the workers and claiming that there was going to be a huge deficit.  He said that the only way that the budget could be balanced without a crippling tax hike was for the workers to take a huge cut in pay, like he advocated with Act 10.

But Walker would never come to the table with his list of concessions he wanted from the unions.  He never did so for two reasons.  First, it would take away his straw bogeyman of the evil public sector worker.  Secondly, he knew that if he tried to do this, it would never have stood up in arbitration and the union's proposal would prevail again.

So grandstand he did.  The union rallied back with a directive to "Negotiate! Don't Dictate!"

Now, before you go blaming the unions for taking concessions which were "reasonable contributions" to the pension and health care costs, remember the unions could not agree or reject to something that wasn't presented on the negotiating table.  Since Walker wouldn't sit down with the unions, much less make a proposal, there was nothing for the unions to do.

Claiming that there was a $15 million deficit, Walker then tried to impose an indefinite work reduction.  This failed in arbitration, since it went beyond his authority and because it was shown that there wasn't even a deficit.

Undaunted, Walker then imposed an excessive amount of furloughs, up to 26 days in one year.  This too backfired.  To make it worse, it has recently been revealed that this was nothing more than a campaign stunt, as shown in an email by Cindy Archer, his top aide.

Taxpayers again ended up losing tens of millions of dollars over the years due to lost savings.  To add insult to injury, the illegal furlough days will cost taxpayers at least another $6 million because the county has been ordered to make the workers whole and repay them the lost money.

While the jury is still out on Round Two, we already know that the taxpayers lost again.

Walker's third round, Act 10, doesn't need a lot of explanation since we are living through it now.  The total damage due to this is not known yet, since it's still racking up bills from law suits, lost jobs and economic stagnation for the state.  Not to mention the recalls.

As with the first two rounds, Rounds Three and now Four will probably end up with both Walker and the unions claiming victory.  The only thing we know for sure is that this has already cost Wisconsinites too damn much, from schools on the brink of disaster to record job losses to higher taxes to the loss of invaluable civil and human rights.

Who knew that tyranny and oppression could be so expensive?  We must stop Walker if we are to stop the damage from getting worse and to stop the costs from climbing even higher.

23 comments:

  1. I love it. I haven't lived in Wi since '56,although there are still family in the state. Walker sent me a begging-for-bux letter.
    Sent it back with his stuff in the envelope-they can pay the damn postage. or Kochs can, actually. Hope they send more.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have a question, Seems the teachers unions worked for many years without a current contract under Jim Doyle. How did he get away without negotiating new contracts? he got a pass because he was basically on the "Doyle" if you'll pardon my pun.
    I did enjoy the article though, some creativity on your part, "schools on the brink of disaster" should read school unions on the brink of disaster. And to claim act 10 cost WI lost jobs is quite a stretch. Seems states like Illinois and Ohio without act 10 are laying off far more employees. I would also add that the political instability of recall elections has had more to do with depressing economic activity than any new law that was passed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I disagree with your comments Imustberacist. It IS "schools on the brink of disaster". Have you seen how many of them are cutting classes and important items that are needed?
      Layoffs are not the only indicators of the destruction caused by Act 10. Wisconsin lost jobs in 2011.....and we were the one state who took the biggest hit.
      As far as the recall elections, many Wisconsinites felt there was no other course of action that could stop Walker's tyranny.

      Delete
    2. But they're cutting less because their budgets were helped by act 10, I contend. I am interested in hearing more indicators of the destruction caused by act 10 though.
      I dont agree with the recalls, the latest attempts by CRG included. I thought the mining bill would have helped the economy in the state but I dont blame tyranny for its demise. I hope there is debate in the fall to change the way recalls are used in WI.

      Delete
    3. See, in college, I had many good friends who were going into teaching at some level. It even comes down to my own relatives, too.

      Now, I don't know what radio station or source you may hear it from, but the friends I've made in WI have had more employment success finding teaching jobs in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota.

      I'm dead serious, I can only think of just a couple that are teaching in Wisconsin. And it's not a pay issue, it's simply not that many job openings.

      But, there goes all the Wisconsin education expense to the other states, though. I mean, Wisconsin invested in the education of many fine people, and they get better (and most importantly A JOB) treatment.

      Delete
    4. The mining bill would have led to an explosion in people with pick up trucks, camper trailers, and all the ammo they can carry ending up parked in the northern communities.

      Mining is still available, the out of state company, Caterpiller, W.M.C., that Walker was making deals with got too greedy.

      Like good Republicans, these "job creators" will put you to work but the it will be a lot more profit for the owners.

      Have fun with those 16 hour days and I hope the company doesn't take too much money away for living expenses off that pay check!

      Delete
  3. As for the schools, you were commenting all over one of the posts that I wrote showing that all the school districts are having problems.

    Also, you fail to admit that WI laid of nearly 14,000 public sector workers. I would call that a massive layoff.

    But I am glad to see you admit that Walker has failed to allow WI's economy to grow with the rest of the nations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Schools are having funding problems across the country. That isn't a factor of act 10, in fact I say the legislation has made it easier on the schools. Its true 14000 is a large hit to the public workforce, but what would that number be without taking away the unions ability to influence budgets.
      And yes, I will grant you we could have better short term results if we borrowed and played a shell game with the budget similar to Illinois, but the bill does eventually come due. Will Cook county be able to make good on its pensions? It doesn't look to good for union workers there. And by the way, by most news accounts they will probably change to a (gasp) 401K system soon. Didn't you equate that to "giving the pension fund to the Koch brothers"? Maybe Governor Quinn is on the take too?

      Delete
    2. Dude, ain't you got anything better to do? Are you unaware that debating politics is a waste of time, especially online? You'll never change anyone's mind. I suggest you go outside and enjoy the warm weather if you have so much free time. Or are you on Skippy's payroll too?

      Delete
    3. Dude, (with that one word, I know more about you than you do me) its not a waste of time. Even if I dont change their mind it confirms my beliefs. And as far as online, better here than at the workplace, dinner table, or basically anywhere. I suggest you "waste" a little more of your time and get informed.

      Delete
    4. LOL! You're telling someone else to get informed? You ignore facts in front of your nose, because the won't confirm what you want to believe is true.

      Delete
    5. As opposed to spinning the facts to try to prop up my view of the world? Maybe I do ignore some of whats in front of my nose. But from all sources. Everyone is biased, the trick is to see past their bias and interpret what the truth is.

      Delete
  4. Imustberacist: I would also add that the political instability of recall elections has had more to do with depressing economic activity than any new law that was passed.

    I call Bull Shit! The massive layoff is a direct result of the law, as Wanker intended all along. In reality, the "political instability of recall elections" are the only thing giving hope to the residents of Fitzwalkerstan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're not playing cards here! Illinois has no such law, nor does Ohio, even liberal havens such as New York and California have laid off more public employees than us.This may give a bit of insight as to why that is: http://buckeyeinstitute.org/the-liberty-wall/2011/10/03/new-york-government-layoffs-show-how-public-sector-unions-often-work/
      I say Walker saved jobs with act 10.

      Delete
    2. Y'know, that article only enforces what I'm saying. Dictating conditions doesn't work. Negotiations do.

      Delete
    3. Im glad to hear you agree with the article. I re read it thinking maybe I missed something but no.

      Delete
  5. Walker would save the taxpayers a lot of money if his staff actually did government work on the taxpayer dollar rather than GOP fundraising (see the John Doe investigation). Talk about mis-using tax dollars!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The depressed economy has little to do with the "instability" of the recall. In fact, one could argue that it is the instability of the economy that is driving the recall.

    Businesses goal is to make money. They make money when customers purchase. If customers are not purchasing, they are not making money.

    Public sector workers participate in our economy. The little that SOME taxpayers saved is going toward the inflationary costs of basic needs. Pulling 14,000 people out of the economy, and reducing the pay of tens of thousands employees does not compute. Add in the shrinking wages of the private sector and you have a weak economy.

    The economy is all about revenue. Dwindling jobs and declining wages cannot support federal or state budgets. Declining home values cannot support local government. Governmental budgets can no longer support corporate welfare. That is, the taxpayer should not be taking on debt for employers that pay low wages and expensive benefits. Employers, that pay little to no taxes, but tear up our roads, uses our public sector resources, and at its worst, pollutes our environment.

    Both private and public sector workers, union and non, could rock this economy if Corporate America put more back into the economy than they suck out.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear Imustberacist: You misapprehend what happened under Doyle. His administration certainly played hardball in bargaining with unions, despite GOP fantasies to the contrary. But his administration never flatly refused to bargain; under Doyle, OSER kept the negotiations open, and had reasonably frequent and mostly respectful sessions with the unions. The two sides often had a hard time agreeing and in some cases contracts did expire, but the sides always did end up with retroactively binding agreements, which usually had some stuff the unions liked, and stuff the state liked. As it should have been. That's not at all like what Walker has done, starting even before he took the oath to become governor, and even back when he was Milwaukee County executive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suppose I can understand that the unions deal was so sweet, why would they rock the boat.

      Delete
  8. Another fact free post by one of the best spinners in the cheddersphere.

    Philadelphia Fed Report Forecasts Solid Economic Growth in Wisconsin Over Next Six Months

    Forecast Marks the Best Turnaround in the Nation; Best Forecast for State Since 2003

    http://www.philadelphiafed.org/index.cfm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't worry, I'm working on that right now. The truth shall set you free.

      Delete