Bradley Foundation Behind Latest Attack on Unions, Public Education

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments on Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case that could devastate unions across the country. Sadly, it appears that the conservative court is leaning towards ending mandatory dues collections, which mean that union members could reap the benefits of union representation without paying their fair share. In other words, if the court rules against the unions, it would legalize freeloading nationally and set up the country for a complete return to Right to Work.

Brian Mahoney, writing at Politico, found that the whole lawsuit is being funded by the Milwaukee-based dark money funding group, the Bradley Foundation:

The conservative Bradley Foundation has spent millions over three decades to smash labor unions. Now an investment that could barely buy a house in Washington may bring it closer to that goal than ever before.

The vehicle is a Supreme Court case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, to bar public employee unions from compelling payments from nonmembers. The lawsuit, about which the high court will hear arguments Monday, was brought by Rebecca Friedrichs and eight other California public school teachers who declined to join the union that represents them in collective bargaining. But the lawsuit's true author looks to be the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

The Bradley Foundation funds the Center for Individual Rights, the conservative D.C. nonprofit law firm that brought the case; it funds (or has funded) at least 11 organizations that submitted amicus briefs for the plaintiffs; and it's funded a score of conservative organizations that support the lawsuit's claim that the "fair-share fees" nonmembers must pay are unconstitutional. When CIR first filed the case in a California federal court in 2013, the Bradley Foundation posted the news on its website under the tab, "What We Do."

Bradley isn't the sole conservative philanthropy to bankroll CIR. Others have included Donors Capital Fund and Donor's Trust, two vehicles frequently used by the Koch brothers; the Dunn's Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking; the F.M. Kirby Foundation; the Lillian Wells Foundation; and the Carthage Foundation, according to Conservative Transparency, a project of the liberal opposition research nonprofit American Bridge.

But it's Bradley - with an endowment estimated at $800 million - that's provided the most conspicuously extensive support to Friedrichs. Since 1989, CIR (which bills itself as the conservative alternative to the American Civil Liberties Union) has received more than $2 million from the Bradley Foundation, according to data compiled by Conservative Transparency. Bradley continues to fund CIR through a general operating grant, CIR President Terry Pell told POLITICO.

The Bradley Foundation has a long history of wanting to smash unions and had bankrolled Scott Walker's gubernatorial campaigns in order to bust the unions in Wisconsin. They were so invested in making sure that Walker won and did what they hired him to do that Michael Grebe, then head of the Foundation, became Walker's campaign chair.

But the Bradley Foundation's goal isn't just to bust the unions. In fact, busting the unions - especially the teachers' unions and other public sector unions - was just a step in their bigger agenda. The Bradley Foundation wants to get rid of unions in order to get even more money and more power.

With the teachers' unions out of the way, it would make it easier for them to accomplish another goal - privatizing the public education system. Three years ago, the liberal watchdog group One Wisconsin Now, reported that the Bradley Foundation had already spent $31 million to support groups that wanted to privatize from public education. I'm sure that they consider that money well spent since Walker has already spent nearly $2 billion in tax dollars for private schools.

As the gentle reader already knows, these private schools have already shown themselves to be utter failures. They not only perform worse than public schools, but the education profiteers are already complaining that they need even more money.

But the failure of privatized schools are not necessarily unintentional.

Decades ago, the Bradley Foundation paid $1 million to Charles Murray to write The Bell Curve. In that book, Murray basically says that the poor - especially African Americans - aren't worth spending a lot of money on so that they could receive a quality education:

The explosive conclusions of The Bell Curve are now common knowledge. What is less well known is that the country's leading conservative foundation paid co-author Charles Murray $1 million to write the book. Foundation funding of research is nothing new. But Murray's support from the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation is an example of the highly ideological research that conservative foundations favor as they seek to mold public policy. Even in the marketplace of ideas, it takes money to compete.

The Bell Curve's key educational policy recommendation dovetails with the Bradley Foundation's top education priority: support for school choice, including public funds for private and religious schools. This bolsters the case of those who argue that despite the rhetoric of choice, many voucher advocates have abandoned the vision of a quality education for all children. Says Robert Lowe, associate professor at National Louis University and an editor of the journal Rethinking Schools:

The Bell Curve is a smoking gun. It maintains that the poor—including the majority of African Americans—are generally incapable of benefiting from education....

C.J. Prentiss, an Ohio legislator (Independent/Democrat) who has been active in the African-American community opposing vouchers, also notes that voucher advocates have tried to win converts by arguing that vouchers would improve educational opportunities for the poor:

You have to be suspicious of someone who argues that on the one hand, African Americans are dumber than whites, and then, on the other, comes into the Black community and says, `We are going to make you as bright as you can be, here are some vouchers.... I believe vouchers are simply a way to dismantle public schools and use tax dollars to fund an elitist private school system. But voucher advocates know it would be suicide to say that openly.

So there you have it with all the dots connected.

The Bradley Foundation and other groups like them want to do away with the unions to make it easier to privatize and profiteer from public education. To increase their profit margins even more, they will not provide a quality education because poor people - especially the minority ones - well, they're just not worth it.

Is it any wonder that Wisconsin and other states under the influence of dark money are in an economic and social free fall?

Fascism Comes To Wisconsin In A Clown Car

Unless the gentle reader has been living under a rock for the past few days, you are aware that on Friday, State Senator Scott Fitzgerald announced the full scale assault on Wisconsin workers by stating they are going to try to ramrod through a wage theft bill.

Despite all of his transparent lies that he did not want the bill and that it would never happen, Scott Walker gleefully announced that he would sign it after all.  This should come as no surprise to anyone.  Walker made it painfully clear four years ago that this was one of his main objectives:



But taking away workers rights isn't enough for Walker and his cadre of corporate cretins. They want to criminalize our rights:

Requiring anyone to join a union or pay dues to one as a condition of employment would be guilty of a class A misdemeanor under the right-to-work bill draft released this afternoon by Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald's office.

Here is the Legislative Reference Bureau's summary of the bill:

"This bill creates a state right to work law. This bill generally prohibits a person from requiring, as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment, an individual to refrain or resign from membership in a labor organization, to become or remain a member of a labor organization, to pay dues or other charges to a labor organization, or to pay any other person an amount that is in place of dues or charges required of members of a labor organization. Any person who violates this prohibition is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor."

And even this is not enough for them. Fitzgerald, who is as much a corporate servant as any of these damn fools, wants to insult our intelligence. On Friday, Fitzgerald announced that they are fast tracking this piece of offal, having a hearing on Tuesday and a vote on Wednesday. Then he pulls this stunt (emphasis mine):

"My experience, as leader, is when you have the votes, you go to the floor," Fitzgerald continued. "You don't wait around."

Asked whether he was worried senators might change their minds given more time to consider a vote, Fitzgerald said he worries about that "all the time." He mentioned rumors that some Republican senators would have been targeted with ads in an effort to pressure them not to support right-to-work.

Fitzgerald said he called Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, Friday morning to go over plans for the extraordinary session with her and to ensure there is no perception that the GOP majority is "rushing this bill through."

Who the hell does he think he is kidding?

The reason for them rushing this through now is because there was about to be a ad run educating people about the damage that this wage theft bill will cause. Even without the ads, the unions' efforts to educate the people were having was already quickly cutting through the fascists' propaganda and eroding the bills popularity every day.

karoli was also partially correct in that Walker's desire for this bill was to elevate him in the standings among the fringe extremists on the right. In other words, he wants to sell our rights to his corporate and big money overlords.

There is, however, a second motivation for Walker to do this. When they attacked the public sector workers four years ago, Fitzgerald admitted that it had nothing to do with repairing the budget or saving money (especially since it did neither!):



The only reason Walker tried to kill the public sector unions was a futile effort to keep Obama from winning in Wisconsin. The only reason that they are attacking the private sector unions now is another futile effort in helping Walker try to win his own state.

It won't help though. Polling shows that Hillary Clinton has a commanding lead over Walker in Wisconsin.

Hell, Walker can't even win with his own party. The same polling shows that Paul "Lyin'" Ryan fared better than Walker even after Ryan said he wasn't going to run.

If you are a fellow Wisconsinite, please call your state senator at 1-844-334-3438 or email them or sign the petition. Better yet, do all three!

Fascism Comes To Illinois

Bruce Rauner ran for governor of Illinois on the platform of being another Scott Walker. Despite this warning, he was still able to use his millions to buy the election. And now Illinois is going to pay for it:

Gov. Bruce Rauner stepped up his campaign against government employee unions by eliminating so-called “fair share” dues paid by workers who don’t join a union.

The Republican said Monday he has signed an executive order erasing what he says is a “critical cog in the corrupt bargain crushing taxpayers.” He says forcing non-union employees to pay union dues requires them to fund political activity they don’t agree with.

He says he took action after a U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year that found the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act violated the First Amendment by mandating involuntary union dues.

Rauner has called for ending political contributions by unions.

Rauner’s executive order has no effect on those who wish to remain in unions.

Never mind the fact that workers always had the federally protected right to opt out of union membership. Never mind the fact that any political contributions come from money voluntarily paid from the workers above and beyond their dues.

This is nothing but pure union busting so that Rauner and his country club chums can further profiteer off of the taxpayers.

The unions have responded sharply. From AFSCME Council 31:

“Child protection workers, caregivers for veterans and the disabled, correctional officers and everyone else employed by state government has a right to a voice at work and in the democratic process through their union.

“Bruce Rauner’s scheme to strip the rights of state workers and weaken their unions by executive order is a blatantly illegal abuse of power.

“Perhaps as a private equity CEO Rauner was accustomed to ignoring legal and ethical standards, but Illinois is still a democracy and its laws have meaning.

“It is crystal clear by this action that the governor’s supposed concern for balancing the state budget is a paper-thin excuse that can’t hide his real agenda: Silencing working people and their unions who stand up for the middle class.

“Our union and all organized labor will stand together with those who believe in democracy to overturn Bruce Rauner’s illegal action and restore the integrity of the rule of law.”

I hope that the union members in Illinois have their marching boots at hand. A strong and direct action is the only thing that fools like Rauner - and Walker - understand.

Wisconsin's Race To The Bottom Not Fast Enough For Scott Fitzgerald

A few days ago, I pointed out how state Republicans thought that they had reached a compromise between Scott Walker's presidential aspirations and the greedy wants of their corporate masters by deciding to introduce a plantation economy in piecemeal fashion instead of one fell swoop.

Now, State Senator Scott Fitzgerald is again pushing to have a Rob The Workers bill passed in its entirety - at least when they are able to fill Glenn Grothman's seat.  I find it interesting that even though the Republicans hold the majority in the state senate, Fitzy isn't comfortable trying for it.  Obviously there is some dissension in the ranks.

Walker, who tried to delay any such bill, calling it a distraction, is now again voicing support for it.  Make no mistake about it, Walker has been for it all along, but he is worried about how the inevitable protests are going to hurt his image as he runs for president.

So why this revived push to send the state's economy completely over the cliff?

Aw, c'mon! We're talking Republicans so the answer is an easy one.

That's right! Money!

Fitzgerald’s latest comments came only hours after Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s largest business organization and a powerful influence on state spending and policy, released results of a poll it conducted that showed 69 percent of respondents supported a right-to-work law.

WMC’s steady drumbeat for passage of a right-to-work law is backed up by the group’s big spending to support Republican candidates in legislative and statewide elections. WMC has spent an estimated $18.4 million over the years mostly on negative ads to smear Democrats and support Republican candidates, including $700,000 to back Senate Republican incumbents and candidates in the 2011 and 2012 recall elections.

In addition to outside electioneering activities, WMC boasts a membership of 4,000 businesses from a wide range of special interest groups. Manufacturers and businesses contributed about $137,000 to Fitzgerald’s campaign between 2011 and July 2014.

During that time, Fitzgerald’s top individual contributors were Jere Fabick, Oconomowoc, owner of Fabco Engineering, $15,000; Paul Schierl, Green Bay, a retired paper industry executive and president of the Cornerstone Foundation, $6,000; and Daniel McKeithan, River Hills, chairman of Tamarack Petroleum, $5,250.

Well, the gentle reader knows that the Republicans' motivation is not to stimulate the economy or to help the citizens - and definitely not the workers, otherwise they wouldn't be pushing so hard for something that is known to be so detrimental:

However'[Dr. Robert] Bruno [a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois] said those who do have jobs under a “right-to-work” system typically are paid less, and that hurts the economy.
“There is a significant loss in income to the state – in the billions of dollars – as a result of right-to-work laws lowering wages,” he said. “Of course, when those workers, those citizens, have less money to spend, then it becomes a drag on the overall economy.

Bruno said “right-to-work” laws also make people more reliant on services from the government, which has less money, because workers are paying lower income taxes.

Emily Twarog, an assistant professor of labor and employment relations at the U of I, said the evidence is clear from studies the university has done that “right-to-work” laws are not beneficial to workers.
“There’s really been no evidence in any other state where there’s right-to-work that demonstrates that right-to-work is beneficial to workers,” she said.

Bruno said “right-to-work” laws are good at weakening labor unions, and their ability to negotiate better wages and benefits for workers, as such laws lead to lower unionization rates.

Ironically, Scott Walker and the Republicans might end up biting the hand that feeds them if they pursue their folly of plantation economics.

A group called the Wisconsin Contractor Coalition has formed. The Coalition already has nearly 400 contractor companies from around the state in it and it continues to grow rapidly.  The Coalition opposes the Republican push for plantation economics.

Besides using Walker's argument that it is a distraction and that the results of such laws are not good at all, the Coalition also argues that it is an example of big government interfering with a private contract between a company and the unions.

They also point out that it will cost taxpayers much more because they would have to foot the bill for training and certification that the unions currently cover themselves without any government assistance.

In other words, when and if the Republicans pass this piece of offal, it will take money out of our wallets twice.  Once through the lower wages and again with the higher taxes.

With so much negative aspects to it, one has to wonder about those that would support such a maleficent piece of legislation.

The Piecemeal Implementation of Plantation Economics in Wisconsin

We are all aware of Scott Walker's attack on teachers and other public sector workers in 2011 in the form of Act 10. We also are well aware that Act 10 was nothing more than an introduction to plantation economics, sometimes referred to inaccurately and inappropriately as "Right to Work."

The predictable and predicted negative impact to the state happened with the passage of Act 10. Tens of thousands of people lost their jobs. Many more saw a reduction in their take home pay.  Businesses struggled to stay open and many didn't survive.  The state's economy sank so low that Wisconsin was last in the Midwest and in the bottom tier nationwide in most economic indicators.

Last year, when Walker and his Republican cohorts gained an even stronger stranglehold on the state government, many of the Teahadist legislators wanted to quickly finish off the unions and the economy with full implementation of their plantation economics.

Walker, already kicking off his presidential campaign, said that he did not want the legislature to pursue this, calling it "a distraction."

Sadly, the only distraction was Walker calling their economic agenda a distraction.

In the past few days, Walker and his allies have introduced the very same plantation economics agenda.  However, instead of introducing it one fell swoop, they are planning on implementing it in piecemeal fashion.  Walker's hope is that this new version of divide and conquer will leave different groups of people focused on the attacks to their own areas of interest and not seeing the big picture.

Walker himself has announced the higher education version of Act 10, as he seeks to cripple the University of Wisconsin system.

A few days ago, State Representative Rob Hutton introduced the part of their plantation economics designed to go after the building trades unions:

Today, State Representative Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) unveiled Repeal Prevailing Wage legislation to eliminate the state’s prevailing wage law, allowing for broader participation in the governmental bidding process at wage levels that more accurately reflect market conditions. Prevailing wage is an artificial rate set by government that contractors are required to pay their workers, often times at inflated wage rates. These elevated costs are then passed along in the form of higher taxes to Wisconsin citizens.

“With tight municipal budgets, the elimination of prevailing wage will provide local governments with a critical tool to reduce costs associated with capital budgets,” stated Rep. Hutton.

“It is my hope that the Legislature takes a serious look at this issue, especially at a time when we are trying to make the best use of taxpayer dollars. Any discussion about additional investments in Wisconsin’s infrastructure must include prevailing wage reform. As good stewards of our state budget, we owe this to Wisconsin taxpayers,” said Rep. Hutton.

This will drastically cut the wages earned by the people that erect our buildings, build our bridges and help maintain our infrastructure. Not only will this do even more serious harm to the state economy by cutting workers' wages, but it opens the door for out-of-state companies to come in and take those jobs away from Wisconsin workers.

Not done there, two more of the most rabid and most racist of the Teahadists, State Senator Alberta Darling and State Representative Dale Kooyenga, have introduced the most offensive and most racist piece of plantation economic legislation that this state has ever seen. The bill would include the following:

The economic development proposals would:

■ Eliminate the corporate income tax for companies locating in needy urban zones. The tax cut would apply only if the business is from an industry not already represented in Wisconsin by existing companies, such as auto manufacturing.

■ Establish zones in which labor unions and private employers would not be able to reach agreements that require workers to pay union dues. Some Republicans are already pushing to make this so-called "right-to-work" approach the law statewide.

Opponents of the proposal question whether the state would have the authority under federal law to implement right-to-work in some parts of Wisconsin but not others.

■Eliminate in those zones the so-called "minimum markup" law, which prevents retailers from selling their products at a loss. The markup requirement would still apply to fuel sales.

■ Allow the formation of for-profit limited liability companies that could operate more like nonprofits. The companies would not be tax-exempt, but they would not be obliged to pursue only profits for their shareholders, leaving them more legal flexibility to work on behalf of their communities.

Other education proposals from Darling and Kooyenga include:

■ Streamlining the process for allowing high-performing charter schools to open additional schools.

Allowing high-performing charter schools run by MPS or non-MPS entities to automatically add new schools without official approval, if their students' average reading and math test score results beat the district average for two years in a row.

■ Convert the approximately $40 million MPS receives each year for school integration efforts within the system to a block grant with no state mandates.

This is pure plantation economics where they are giving every advantage to corporations and the wealthy while exploiting the workers.

Keep in mind that states with a plantation economy have average wages less than $5000 less than union states, they have higher levels of poverty, poorer education systems and higher numbers of work-related deaths and injuries.  This is what Walker and the other Teapublicans want to do to all of us.

Make no mistakes about it, the so-called "Right  to Work" agenda is coming to Wisconsin even as you read this.  Are you ready to fight it?

D-Day For Unions?

There is a case that is currently in front of the U.S. Supreme Court that has not been getting anywhere nearly the attention it should be getting.  The case is called Harris vs Quinn and it stems from a case in Illinois.

To put the case in a nutshell, in 2003, the State of Illinois passed a law stating that people receiving government funding to take caring of loved ones should be considered to be public employees.  This automatically made them union members.

An anti-union front group that supports the misnamed Right to Work laws and which is sponsored by Big Business has fought this all the way to the Supreme Court, which is expected to release their decision as soon as Monday.

Depending on which way the Supreme Court rules, and how general or specific their decision is, it could mean very bad news for unions all across the nations.  If the decision goes against the unions, as is expected, it would set up a national scenario much like we've seen here in Wisconsin after Scott Walker dropped his Act 10 bomb on the state.  It would greatly weaken the unions and open the door to more exploitation of workers, lower wages, higher levels of poverty and the same stagnant economy we have here in Wisconsin.

Ironically, the bright ray of hope for the unions is the usually anti-union Justice Antonin Scalia:

Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia could prove to be the swing vote, experts say.

In a 1991 Supreme Court case, Scalia argued it is reasonable for unions to collect fees from non-union members to cover their negotiating costs. Then, during oral arguments for Harris vs. Quinn in January, Scalia's questions led some believe he is leaning in this direction once again.

Eisenbrey called Scalia “the hope.”

“In this case, Scalia may actually end up being a swing vote who actually sides with the more liberal members of the court and, of course, workers,” said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project (NELP).

Even if the Supreme Court does rule against the unions, don't for a minute consider it a kill shot, as some are hyping it to be.

Sure, it will make things more difficult for the unions, but just ask Scott Walker or Chris Abele about how crippled the unions are. Just brace yourself for the outburst of profanities that comes out of their weaselly mouths when you do.

Act 10 Continues To Crawl It's Way Through The Legal System

Amongst the Good Friday news dump was a blurb about Act 10 and how how a panel of three federal appellate court judges upheld it.

Actually, it wasn't union rights that were struck down as much as it was the rights of individual workers:

In their lawsuit, the unions noted they could normally ask for raises no greater than inflation under Act 10, while individual employees could seek increases of any size. They argued that differential treatment is unconstitutional, but last fall Conley found it was allowed.

In other words, the Appellate judges said that cronyism and nepotism were perfectly fine in their eyes.

In practical terms, what this means is that there will be a lot more lawsuits being filed for discrimination and unfair labor practices which is going to cost taxpayers even more.  So much for conservatives being fiscally responsible or people of integrity, but we already knew that.

And if the gentle reader wonders how the judges could make such an egregious indiscretion in their judgement, just look at who they are:

The decision was written by Joel Flaum, an appellate judge appointed by President Ronald Reagan. It was joined by appellate Judge Ilana Rovner, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and by Virginia Kendall, who normally serves as a federal district court judge in northern Illinois and who was appointed by President George W. Bush.

This story will not be as interesting as the Wisconsin Supreme Court's ruling on the Colas decision.

Constitutionally, the Colas ruling should stand.  However, David "Chokehold" Prosser and his other Big Money-owned justices have already shown that they do not really care about the law.

Even though many people expect the four conservative, company-owned state justices to follow their orders and vote against the unions, even in violations of the law.

And where it will be most interesting when that ruling comes out is Milwaukee County.  As I have explained before, it's a lose-lose situation for Emperor Chris Abele.  He'll either have to start respecting the workers (the thought just makes him shudder) and admitting that they have rights or he will have to find the money as 1,200 workers are suddenly eligible to retire.

Add that to the other lawsuits that Abele is losing and he will have a lot of explaining to do to the voters.

The Act 10 Legal Roller Coaster Takes A Few More Turns

A year ago, the Honorable Juan Colas ruled that parts of Scott Walker's union-busting bill, Act 10, was unconstitutional.  For the past year, Walker has thumbed his nose at the judge and his ruling by continuing to enforce the law, even though he was admonished not too.

On Tuesday, Judge Colas clarified his ruling and again admonished the state to stop enforcing the parts he ruled to be unconstitutional.  But in his clarification, he also muddled things up again.  The part where things hopped back on the crazy roller coaster is here:

In his decision Tuesday, Colás agreed his original ruling barred the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission from enforcing key parts of Act 10 for all local government unions.

"The question here is not whether other courts or non-parties are bound by this court's ruling," Colás wrote. "It is whether the defendants are bound by it. Plainly they are, as all parties to a lawsuit are, and in a case in which the statute was found facially unconstitutional they may not enforce it under any circumstances, against anyone."

But Colás declined to issue an injunction against the state. That's because the state is not enforcing the provisions of Act 10 that have been struck down against the unions that brought the case.

The state is enforcing those provisions against other unions, but Colás determined he could not issue an injunction because they are not parties to the case.

"The defendants may be causing irreparable harm to others, who are not plaintiffs in this case. ...Though the defendants are bound by the court's judgment, even with respect to their actions toward non-parties, the court cannot issue the requested injunction," Colás wrote.

What he is saying is that even though his order forbid the state from imposing the unconstitutional parts, such as the recertification vote, he wasn't going to put an injunction on the state regarding unions that aren't part of the lawsuit.

In other words, he's saying that even though what the state is doing to the unions is illegal, he's not going to enforce that ruling except for the two unions that brought the lawsuit.

This will require all the other unions to file their own lawsuits or join together to file a class action lawsuit. The unions are guaranteed to win since the case has already been heard and the arguments are going to be the same. Indeed, Kenosha Educators Association, which joined other unions like AFSCME in refusing to play by Walker's corrupt and unconstitutional laws, could soon file their own lawsuit:

Just last week the Kenosha Education Association became the latest teachers union not to seek recertification after it let a deadline pass. Christina Brey, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Education Association Council, said “the majority of our affiliates in the state aren’t seeking recertification,” noting that Act 10 limits union collective bargaining to base wage increases, which are tied to inflation.

Pines said he expects he will file a new lawsuit on behalf of the Kenosha teachers union, which he also represents.

“There will be consequences to these (WERC) commissioners ignoring this order,” Pines said. “We’ll look at what our options are, but in the meantime we’re not going to allow a union we represent to be decertified. They don’t get to ignore the law, and that’s what they’re saying they’re going to do.”

While this ruling will have obviously have a statewide impact as unions are rushing to get to court and/or trying to get their respective employees to finally sit down at the negotiating table again, the place where the ruling will have the most impact is Milwaukee County.

When Act 10 was wrongfully enacted, Milwaukee County Emperor Chris Abele, emulating his hero Walker, declared that the unions were decertified and that he would not deal with them. But by doing so, he made about 1,200 county employees eligible for the Rule of 75. The Rule of 75 means that when an employee's age and years of service adds up to 75, the employee is eligible to retire with full benefits.

In light of Judge Colas' ruling on Tuesday, Abele has a couple of options to choose from.

• He could acknowledge the law and admit the unions are not decertified.  He then could sit down and negotiate a new contract with the unions and try to get them to agree to give up their lawsuit.
• He could hold off and wait for the State Supreme Court to make a corrupt ruling based on campaign donations instead of the law of the land.  This will only buy him a little time at best while the case makes its way through the levels of the federal courts.  

But even if Act 10 is held up, then Abele is back in the same spot he is now, which could easily cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.  

I don't know, but I'm not holding my breath for Abele to do the right thing for the workers or the taxpayers.  He hasn't so far and probably doesn't want to start doing something new now.

Solidarity Fish Fry, Week 27 Has Been Tabled

Last week, I had the unpleasant task of informing the gentle eater that even after 25 weeks of our ongoing show of solidarity, even after being advised by the
Milwaukee Area Labor Council that they would pull all of their union business and after getting reprimanded by the National Labor Relations Board, management had Serb Hall was still being led by their greed.

In an effort to educate them and get our message into their heads, we called the management's negotiating team to advise them that we would also pull out our support of their business if they did not return to the negotiating table and start bargaining in good faith.

And that's just what we did with amazing success.

Sadly, Serb Hall still doesn't get it.

They have not returned to the negotiation table.

And if they won't return to the table, we won't return to their table.

For this Friday, eat at home, get a pizza, or go somewhere else.

But we shall send them another message by showing them that we hold true to our word, even if they won't hold true to theirs.

It was not an easy decision to make, but it was one that had to be made.

Even worse was Randy Bryce's reaction when he realized that there would be no tartar sauce:

He was inconsolable until I reminded him that other restaurants also have fish fries and have tartar sauce.  I also reminded him that we would be back at Serb Hall as soon as they return to the bargaining table.  Then Randy was all this:

So yes, we are taking this week off from the Solidarity Fish Fry.  Next week, we will consult again with our union brothers and sisters at Local 122 to review the matter and see what our next action will be.

Solidarity Fish Fry, Week 26: Six Months And Done?

As advertised, this was the twenty-sixth week - a full six months - of the Solidarity Fish Fry.

It was a bittersweet occasion.  It was bitter because we knew it might be the last one.  Even though management has been at the negotiation table, they were not bargaining in good faith.  They are still trying to bust the unions.

Even though the unions had already made some steep concessions, management claimed it was not enough - I think that nothing would be enough for them - and called an impasse.

But it was also possibly the best night we ever had.  Not only was the solidarity as strong as it's ever been, but we also had some VIPs lending their clout to the day.

The solidarity fish fry started even before we got there:

Angie Aker, Ellen Monahan Holly,
Gigi Molini, and Charlene Fell Staples

I knew it was a success when just our group alone took up two long tables:

Making up the group was some old friends that have been participating in the Solidarity Fish Fry all along.

Linda and Hippy Rick Rumpel

Gary and Christine Ballewske 

Chris Rockwood

The wonderful and talented Kelley Albrecht,
who will be ousting Robin Vos in the next election.

There were new friends who came with old friends:

Kimberly Wilke, Wendy Strout,
Tanya Lohr, Lashell Drake

Jasmine Gladney, Luz Sosa

And then their were the esteemed dignitaries:

Annie Wacker, Goddess of Labor and Vice-President of
the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, with her arm candy,
John Kaye

Kimberly Wilke, Lashell Drake (Class of 2012 and Board member), Kelley Albrecht (Class of 2013), Wendy Strout, Annie Wacker (Board member), Tanya Lohr (Class of 2012)

Phil Neuenfeldt - President, Wisconsin
State AFL-CIO

We also made sure that management got the message on why we were there:

There was one other thing about the evening.  To be more accurate, there was one thing missing from the evening.

Randy Bryce was absent.

People kept turning to me asking, "Where's Randy? Where's Pope Tartarsus? Where, oh where, is the Tsar of Tartar?"

I didn't have the heart to tell them the truth.  I made up some silly story about Randy having a family obligation.

But my guilty conscience is bothering me and I must tell you why Randy missed tonight, possibly the last night for the Solidarity Fish Fry.

As the gentle eater is aware, last week, we were joined by Ed Fallone and Janet Protasiewicz.  Despite my worries, Randy managed to be very well behaved through the evening, for the most part.

But Randy was pretty excited about meeting Fallone and Protasiewicz.  He was also full of the Easter Spirit.

And then it happened near the end of the evening.  Our distinguished guests had already left and we were about to do the same.  In a moment of very bad timing, the buffet attendant suddenly came out with not one, but two large bowls of tartar sauce.

It was enough to send Randy over the edge.

He jumped up and yelled, " Solidarity - Tartar Style!"

He then grabbed both bowls and ran off and into the hallway.

I gave chase the best I could.  But when I hit the hallway, what I saw caused me to yelp in terror and run back into the dining area:

I won't go into all the sordid details of what happened next.

But I will say that the good doctors at the Mrs. Paul's Tartar Sauce Detox and Rehab Center say that Randy is making good progress and might be released soon.

As to whether there will be a Week 27 next week, I don't know yet.  It depends on how management responds.  But it just might be time to let them know how much a drop off in business they would have without us.  Or it might be time to take other actions.

Stay tuned and I'll tell you as soon as I know.

Solidarity Fish Fry Call To Action: To Phones And To Forks!

Six months ago, the members of Local 122 - the union that represents the waitstaff and bartenders at Serb Hall in Milwaukee- came to the Milwaukee Area Labor Council to ask for our support.  They told us how management at Serb Hall was
trying to bust their union, making unreasonable and unconscionable demands of the union.

Shortly after that, not knowing what kind of response I would get, I asked for you, the gentle reader, to help send a message to the management at Serb Hall.

I should have known not to worry.  The gentle reader became the gentle eater and the response was overwhelming.

And thus the Solidarity Fish Fry was born.

Over the course of 25 weeks, we've learned just how poorly management was treating their employees.  They were bargaining in bad faith, they were harassing their workers, they were threatening their workers, and they were illegally discriminating against job applicants who were eligible to join the union - to name just a few of things.

Things were so bad that the National Labor Relations Board had to step in and sanction management for their illegal behaviors.

Sadly, I must report that Serb Hall's management has not figured it out yet.

Tonight, there was another meeting of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.  And just like six months ago, the members of Local 122 were there to report on their plight.

What they reported was outrages and angered every delegate that was present.

They reported that on Tuesday night, they had a lengthy negotiation session with management.  They reported that even though they had offered many concessions, including pay cuts, giving up sick time, giving up bereavement time and many other things, management said it still wasn't enough and declared negotiations to be at impasse.

They said that they were no longer going to honor the contract.  They said that employees who had faithfully worked for them for decades would be treated no better than a new recruit who hadn't even been trained yet.  Things, such as working banquets, that were won over the years through good faith bargaining were no longer being considered.

To add insult to injury, we also learned that management had done their own version of Divide and Conquer by printing out a list of all their employees and their salaries.  They did so for no other reason than to cause dissension among their own workers.

In other words, they are still actively trying to bust the unions.

The members of Local 122 thanked us for our overwhelming show of support over the past six months.  They also asked us for further support.

And so, my cohost, Randy Bryce, and I are asking for a special call to action this Friday.  We need to make management understand just what they are risking with their belligerent ways.

On Friday, we would like you to call the people representing management in the negotiations and ask them in a very polite but a very firm manner to return to the negotiations table and to start bargaining in good faith.  If they do not do this, let them know in no uncertain terms that they will not see one more dime from you or any organization you belong to.  This is especially true if you are a union member.

The people you need to call and their phone numbers are:

• Tom Miller at 414-331-2219
• Mike Malsted at 414-241-4018 
• Don Fluyevas at 414-545-6030

Miller and Malsted are members of the Board of Trustees.  Fluyevas is the Office Manager.

And yes, Miller is the same guy that was witnessed by many, including myself, to be openly harassing and threatening workers while in front of customers.  He is also the same boor who was caught on video telling paying customers that he would not let them influence the way he runs his restaurant.

Then, after you make the calls, follow the usual rules of the Solidarity Fish Fry:

1. Go to Serb Hall in Milwaukee anytime between 11:30 am and 9 pm.
2. Tell the host you want a union table - the servers are usually Michelle, Victoria and Sandra
3. Enjoy a fish fry or buffet
4. Leave a good tip and make sure they know it's in support of the union workers
5. Move along so the other union supporters can get their fish fry on too.

And in case they decide to pull some more shenanigans, such as saying there were no union servers, be prepared to leave without eating. (Just don't go to Meyer's Family Restaurant.)

It is important that we do both the phone calls and attend the fish fry and to do so in force.

If we make the calls without showing up, they will figure that it's no great loss.  If we show up without making the calls, they will figure that we will just keep showing up no matter what they do to our brothers and sisters.

If we do both, then maybe, just maybe, they will understand how much our business does mean to them.

So again, first to your phones to let those three people know that we support our union brothers and sisters and want them to return to the table to bargain in good faith.  And if they don't want to do this, we will gladly take our business elsewhere.

Then show up in force to let them know just how much they would miss us if we do leave.

And tell them that Cog Dis sent you.

In solidarity!

This Is What Fascism Looks Like!

Today, in Michigan, the Teapublicans showed their true colors.

The lame duck fascists introduced a Right To Bust Unions Law and passed it through both houses, all within hours.  They did so because some Republicans were breaking ranks and they had lost a lot of seats in the last election, so they felt it was now or never.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who said he wouldn't sign it, already has his pen out and will sign off on it the minute it hits his desk.

To keep the people from having a voice in the matter, they took a page from Scott Walker and the Wisconsin fascists by locking down their capitol and assaulting people exercising their Right of Free Speech.

David Dayen at FDL has a very good break down of what happened and how it happened.

Or, for the illiterate (see Teapublicans) here it is in a nutshell:

So where do they go from here? Who knows?

Odds are that this has been done illegally and that they already have attorneys digging into it looking for every possible way to take it down. 

I just wonder if the people will wait long enough for it to work it's way through the courts.  This is exactly the sort of fascism that causes open revolts and general strikes.

At the risk of speaking for my co-authors, Cog Dis stands in Solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Michigan.

Also, take this to heart.  If you haven't realized that you cannot trust the Teapublicans by now, you're either one of them or a fool, but I repeat myself.  You can fully expect that Walker and his cohorts in corruption and crime will not only pass Right to Bust Unions Law, but also end same day registration, dismantle the GAB, allow the mining companies to rape the land and pollute the waters and air, and just about any other nightmare you care to name.

Are you ready to do what is necessary when that time comes?

Is Palermo's Ripping Off The Taxpayers?

Sure looks that way:

The AFL-CIO Center for Strategic Research today released a new report that questions whether Milwaukee-based Palermo Villa Inc. has lived up to its commitments to create family-supporting jobs after receiving $26 million in government subsidies.

The report is titled, “Too Much Pork in the Pepperoni Pizza?: Tax Credits For Palermo’s Highlight Need For More Transparency, Accountability at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.”

The report the company has received from city, state, and federal subsidies for economic development and job creation.

In return for substantial public assistance, the Milwaukee-based frozen pizza manufacturer made specific commitments about job creation and economic development, the report said.

“Due to a lack of transparency in the administration of the Wisconsin Economic
Development Corp., we cannot know whether Palermo’s has kept its promises,” the report stated.

The report called for the WEDC to improve public disclosure about the company’s accountability.

The report said a disclosure document obtained during the research for the report was “heavily redacted” by the WEDC.

“The public has a right to know whether companies benefiting from public dollars are meeting their economic development obligations. Annual reports should be comprehensive and responses to public records requests should not be so zealously redacted as to render it impossible to evaluate a particular subsidy or tax credit,” the report stated.

“Palermo’s appears to employ fewer people today than it did before it qualified for almost half a million dollars in job creation tax credits with a promise to create 56 full time, permanent positions,“ said Julie Farb Blain of the AFL-CIO’s Center for Strategic Research.

“I worked at Palermo's for over 5 years and only earned $7.50 the hour,” said Flora Anaya of the Palermo Workers Union. “That is not a living wage. I couldn’t support my children and sick parents with so little.”

“Good public policy requires that the details of incentive packages be disclosed, and the effectiveness of incentives be measured. Public policy makers must be held accountable for their decisions based on evidence,” said Cheryl Maranto, chair of the Department of Management at Marquette University.

Send A Message to Metcalfe's

From the inbox, another company trying to bust the unions:

Brothers and Sisters,

Workers at Metcalfe’s Market need your support. After years of stable and mutually successful labor relations, Metcalfe’s Market has hired the most anti-worker law firm in the state to attack their meat department workers who are fighting for a fair contract. These workers are proud members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1473 and deserve a fair wage and benefit package.

Click here to send a message to Tim and Kevin Metcalfe. Encourage them to respect their workers and stop their intimidation tactics.

The reason for the attack is simple: GREED. The company is willing to spend unlimited amounts on union-busting lawyers to silence their workers instead of bargaining in good faith with their employees. The Company has even unilaterally implemented a 600% cost increase to employees in health insurance premiums alone!

Click here to let the Metcalfe family know that you want their destructive tactics aimed at silencing their workers to stop.

Last June, meat department workers at Metcalfe Market’s newly acquired store in Madison voted for union representation. These employees are fighting for their first contract and need our support.

These union-busting tactics will not silence the voices of workers. Let’s join together in solidarity and support our brothers and sisters at Metcalfe’s Market. All workers deserve a family sustaining wage with good benefits which is achieved through collective bargaining. Tell the Metcalfe family to stop the unnecessary legal games and get back to selling groceries in the successful business that their employees helped build.

In Solidarity,

Phil Neuenfeldt, President
Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer

Drop The Pig

Management at the Piggly Wiggly in Sheboygan took a page out of Scott Walker's playbook and refused to negotiate a new contract with its union. As soon as the old contract ended, they started to claim there was their version of a fiscal emergency and started slashing employee hours. This was grieved and won by the unions.

However, despite winning an injunction on an appeal, the company is now threatening to close the store and lay off over a hundred people. The union has asked for the stores financial accounts to show the need. So far, there's been no opening of the books, just a lot of bluster from the company and the store's manager.

The reason that they don't want to open their books is because then they'd have to explain why there isn't a financial need to break the workers' backs except for pure, unmitigated greed:

Earlier this year, company officials said that heightened competition from non-union grocery stores in Sheboygan had placed increased pressure on the south-side Piggly Wiggly. New Pick'n Save and Festival Foods groceries have opened nearby in the past year.

Despite that, David Livingston, a Waukesha-based grocery analyst, said he was shocked by the announcement, as the Piggly Wiggly store had historically been one of the company's top performing locations in the state, though he figures rifts with the union and increased competition may have changed that.

"It's always surprising when you have a nice store, doing historically well, that's suddenly closing," Livingston said. "It's just unfortunate."

The company's announcement to shutter the store follows what's been a long and increasingly bitter fight between the company and the employees' union, which has filed more than 120 unfair labor practice allegations against Piggly Wiggly Midwest.

We know that the manager is trying to bluster his way out of this by two things.

One, he's been running the most successful Piggly Wiggly store in the region. Things don't go belly up that fast, even in Fitzwalkerstan.

Secondly, his stated concern of competition is rubbish since Pick'N'Save is a union shop as well. They have to pay the same wages as Piggly Wiggly. If the Pig's manager says he can't compete on a level playing ground, it shows that he's either lying or or unbelievably incompetent.

I know that Charlie Sykes and other right wing nut jobs have been trying to pin this on the unions, but the fact is that this is nothing more than greed and attempted union busting by the manager. If there was a real issue with being competitive, the manager would open his books to prove his case, as is required by labor laws.  Then he could negotiate for the concessions he is seeking.

We can help our union brothers and sisters out, even if we aren't in Sheboygan.  All we have to do is call the local Piggly Wiggly and tell them that we will stop shopping at their store if they don't call the Sheboygan manager and tell him to sit down and negotiate in good faith.  Then follow through with it.  I'll be calling the Piggly Wiggly store that I go to and doing just that.

Scott Walker's Expensive Entitlements

Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

- Abraham Lincoln, 1861

Elizabeth DiNovella, who had been covering CPAC (Conservatives Planning Absolute Corporatism) and writing about it at Dane 101, also gutted it out by listening to Scott Walker's address to the convention. In her piece, she quoted Walker's take on collective bargaining:

“Collective bargaining is not a right. Collective bargaining in the public sector is an expensive entitlement,” he said. This line got the biggest applause of the night.

When I read that, I damn near did a spit take on my monitor.

There is so much wrong with that short blurb that it will never be right.

Collective bargaining is a right, and that right might very well be extended into the public sector, as I wrote about nearly a year ago:

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman affirms that collective bargaining rights cannot be overturned by governmental edict. Guzman told the Legislature “it had no business trying to interfere with collective bargaining” according to Marvin Gittler, an attorney representing Local 727 of the Teamsters.

Guzman held that the National Labor Relations Act preempts the Legislature from dictating terms for unions working at McCormick Place. This ruling is similar to the finding of The International Commission for Labor Rights, which has said, in part: The ICLR identified the right of "freedom of association" as a fundamental right and affirmed that the right to collective bargaining is an essential element of freedom of association. These rights, which have been recognized worldwide, provide a brake on unchecked corporate or state power.

Now, before anyone points out that the NLRA is for private sector unions, read on:

While the NLRA covered US employees in private employment, the law protecting collective bargaining in both the public and private sectors has developed since 1935 to cover all workers "without distinction."

The other problem with Walker's false statement is what he is calling an "expensive entitlement." He's saying that the people of Wisconsin no longer should be afforded things like weekends off, not having their kids working in sweat shops, eight hour work days, forty hour work weeks, holidays off, living wages, vacations, equality in the work place or safe working conditions.

In other words, he wants to weaken the unions, both private and public, to help maximize the profits of the corporate interests who have been funding his campaigns and who, he hopes, will buy him the Presidency of the United States.

But it doesn't end there, gentle reader.

Walker has also been bantering about the phrase "legacy costs," which is something he started in Milwaukee County, with the aid of the plutocrats at the Greater Milwaukee Committee, an old boys (and girls) club for Milwaukee's wealthiest people, who see Milwaukee has their toy thing.

By "legacy costs," Walker is speaking about health care insurance and pensions.

Health care costs are through the roof, especially in Southeast Wisconsin, which has one of the highest rates, if not the highest, in the nation. And workers should carry their fair share of the costs. But when CEOs of insurance companies and health care agencies are getting compensated in the millions of dollars, there is an obvious problem which needs to be addressed.

Of course, it is Walker and his ilk that are opposed to fixing the system. Guess who are big donors to their campaigns.

It should be noted that Walker, if the reader will remember, was swept in as Milwaukee County Executive on the heels of a pension scandal enacted by his predecessor, Tom Ament. The gist of the scandal is that it provided a super enhancer to the pension of people that had been with the county for a long time. It also included a generous backdrop that would allow retirees to take a large lump sum at the time of retirement and a smaller monthly pension payment. Some county employees walked away with a million dollars when they retired. Ironically, most of these big money beneficiaries were non-represented employees. That means Walker could have stopped it at any time, but chose not to.

But of course he didn't want to stop these payments. One, it was a great political hammer to wield. Every time Walker was caught with a budget problem (which he usually contrived), he'd just blame the pension scandal, regardless of how long ago it was. Secondly, he was appointing most of his cronies to these positions and wanted to make sure they were rewarded. (Here's food for thought, Darlene Wink, who was convicted of only misdemeanors, is eligible for her pension.)

Oddly, the pension fund, pre-Walker was sufficient that it could have covered the enhanced pension pay outs. However, the two recessions during the Bush/Cheney administration took a big bite out of it, like it did for most people. Unlike the people that had 401(k)s, the public sector had their pensions protected for the most part.

In spite of the need for Milwaukee County to contribute to the pension fund for the first time in years, Walker, as county executive, chose to short change what the county owed to the fund and instead use it to reward campaign donors with sweetheart contracts. By shorting the payments to the fund, Walker only exacerbated the situation. It would be much akin to not making the minimum payment on a credit card. Not only do you still owe the balance, and the next payment, they add on fees and interest to make the next payment exponentially bigger.

To deal with this self-constructed problem, Walker tried to get a pension obligation plan pushed through. The wheeler and dealer behind this plan was a man name Nick Hurtgen, a GOP operative who eventually got busted himself in a kickback scheme. Fortunately, the County Board preempted Walker's move by making it a referendum question which the voters killed.

Walker did give Hurtgen a $300,000 contract to restructure the county's debt. In return, Hurtgen gave Walker a $25,000 campaign fundraiser.

Now Walker wants to convert the state's pension system, which is a defined benefit system and is fully funded and in good shape per all reports, into a defined contribution system. (They are looking at trying to do the same thing in Milwaukee County, even though there is no proven need for it.)

This is, as you might suspect, preposterous.

First of all, as I mentioned above, the pension system is fully funded and not a problem for tax payers.

Secondly, Walker can't complain about expenses, since his forcing public sector workers to "pay more" for their pensions is nothing more than a scam, since public sector workers are already paying 100% into their pensions:

Out of every dollar that funds Wisconsin' s pension and health insurance plans for state workers, 100 cents comes from the state workers.

How can that be? Because the "contributions" consist of money that employees chose to take as deferred wages – as pensions when they retire – rather than take immediately in cash. The same is true with the health care plan. If this were not so a serious crime would be taking place, the gift of public funds rather than payment for services.

Thus, state workers are not being asked to simply "contribute more" to Wisconsin' s retirement system (or as the argument goes, "pay their fair share" of retirement costs as do employees in Wisconsin' s private sector who still have pensions and health insurance). They are being asked to accept a cut in their salaries so that the state of Wisconsin can use the money to fill the hole left by tax cuts and reduced audits of corporations in Wisconsin.

By implementing Act 10, Walker is docking the workers' paychecks, because he can, and diverting the money.

But that diversion isn't enough for him or his campaign contributors. They want more. Hence the idea of converting, or fixing, the system, even though it's not broke or broken.

But while it might be sound like a good plan to your average squawk show listener, the reality is that it would not only stick it to the workers, but also to the taxpayers:

And governments are concerned about delivering on the promises that they have made to their citizens and to their employees as tax revenues shrink amid a weakening economy. In this environment, some have proposed replacing traditional defined benefit (DB) pensions with 401(k)-type defined contribution (DC) retirement savings plans in an effort to save money.

But decision-makers would be wise to look before they leap. To deliver the same level of retirement benefits, a DB plan can do the job at almost half the cost of a DC plan. Hence, DB plans should remain an integral part of retirement income security in an increasingly uncertain world because they offer employers and employees the best bang for the buck.

So why do it if it's not good for anyone? Well, it does benefit the fat cats on Wall Street, who in turn, reward Walker for being a good employee for them.

The real kicker of this is, as I just pointed out with the above cited passage, is that if Walker gets his way, it's going to really stick it to the people of Wisconsin.  Why? Well, in Walker's own words, in sworn testimony given before a Congressional committee:

After an unresponsive answer by Governor Walker, Kucinich pressed, “Did you answer the questions? How much money does it save, Governor?” 

“It doesn’t save any,” admitted Governor Walker. 

Kucinich then requested permission to enter into the record a letter from the State of Wisconsin’s Legislative Fiscal Bureau (page 3 specifically), a nonpartisan state budget agency that confirmed Governor Walker’s efforts had no effect on the state’s budget. 

“The Bureau was asked to identify provisions in the Governor’s bill that are non-fiscal; non-fiscal policy items that have no state fiscal effect. This letter confirms the obvious; that Governor Walker’s effort to repeal the rights of state workers is a non-fiscal policy item. No effect on the state budget shortfall,” said Kucinich.

The only expensive entitlements involved here are the ones that Walker wants to take with our money so that he may give it to his campaign contributors and cronies.