Tea Party to invade Wisconsin ?

[Exotix]

Tea Party to rally for Wisconsin anti-union bill.

'Meeting fire with fire' after moves by Democrats block Republican vote.

Just in

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41664858/ns/us_news-life/



MADISON, Wis. ~ With Republican state lawmakers stymied over plans to pass an anti-union bill, and Gov. Scott Walker saying he would not compromise, Tea Party activists joined in the controversy by organizing a rally Saturday in support of the legislation.

Drew Ryun, president of American Majority Action, one of the conservative groups planning the demonstration, said organizers were "meeting fire with fire."

"We have buses coming in from all over the state," Ryun said of what was dubbed the "I Stand With Scott Walker" rally.
"We see this as the opening salvo of the 2012 election season.
The Tea Party movement facing off against the unions.
And we like the odds."



Walker on Friday ruled out a compromise proposed by a key union to retain collective bargaining rights in exchange for public workers accepting benefit cuts.

At a press conference, Walker said he could not consider the offer by the largest state workers union because it only covered some public employees and came late in the process.

Walker and other Republicans have been trying to pass a controversial bill that would end a half-century of collective bargaining for most public workers in Wisconsin.

Opponents of the bill staged their largest rally so far on Friday. Police estimated some 40,000 attended, exceeding Thursday's 25,000.

State Senate Democrats said they would stay away for days or even weeks, while Republican efforts to pass the bill in the state Assembly also faced obstacles.

The legislation appeared to be stalled until at least next week.

Across the rotunda in the state Assembly, Republicans aborted an attempt to hold a final vote on the bill without Democrats, who had been in a closed caucus meeting. Democrats sprinted into the chamber yelling to stop the vote, and the GOP leadership retreated. Lawmakers then adjourned until Tuesday.

Republicans had warned since last year's campaign that they would seek major concessions from unions. But for lawmakers in the minority, "The only other option we had to slow things down was to leave."



State Sen. Jon Erpenbach said the decision to flee happened on the spur of the moment as Democrats gathered near the Capitol for a regular strategy meeting Thursday morning.

An hour later, he threw a few travel essentials — a toothbrush, razor and some clothes — into a duffel bag and a backpack.
He took just two or three minutes to pack, and jumped in a car for a prearranged meeting at a hotel in Rockford, Ill., just south of the Wisconsin border.

The lawmakers were concerned that police could have detained them, even though the Wisconsin Constitution prohibits the arrest of state lawmakers while the Legislature is in session, except in cases of felonies, breaches of the peace or treason.

"We knew their jurisdiction ends at the state line, and that's why we came to Illinois," Erpenbach said.

From Rockford, the legislators headed in different directions, most of them traveling to the Chicago area or to other parts of northern Illinois, Erpenbach said.

Since leaving Wisconsin, he said he had not spoken to any of his Republican counterparts.


Students, teachers and prison guards have turned out at the Capitol this week to protest, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the building's hallways, sitting cross-legged across the floor and making it difficult to move from room to room.
Some have brought along sleeping bags and stayed through the night.

In a sign that the commotion might be causing other problems for the governor, he pushed back the release of his two-year budget plan by one week, to March 1.



The governor insists the concessions he is seeking from public workers — including higher health insurance and pension contributions — are necessary to deal with the state's projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall and to avoid layoffs.

Eliminating their collective bargaining rights, except over wage increases not greater than the Consumer Price Index, is necessary in order to give the state and local governments and schools the flexibility needed to deal with upcoming cuts in state aid, Walker said.

Those arguments don't wash with Democrats who say the fight is really about political power and quashing the unions, whose members are longtime supporters of Democrats.

The protests are growing so large that Capitol workers cannot safely move through the halls, Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said, calling the situation "a powder keg."

Republican support for the bill remains strong, he added.
"If anything, what's going on around this building is galvanizing this caucus," Fitzgerald said.



The Wisconsin walkout was similar to a 2003 move by Texas Democrats who were outnumbered by Republicans in a battle over congressional redistricting.

The group got on a bus and fled for the Oklahoma border.

Work in the Texas House was halted for a week, and GOP leaders asked state troopers to find and arrest the 52 absent lawmakers.
It was the beginning of a bitter partisan confrontation that dragged on for months. Later that summer, a group of Senate Democrats fled to Albuquerque, N.M., for more than a month.

In the end, the walkouts only delayed the redistricting plan, which eventually passed and helped give the GOP more seats in Congress.



Back in Madison, some Democrats from the state Assembly went to Walker's office to demand a meeting.

Walker's spokesman said the governor's scheduler would get back to them.

Republicans hold a 57-38 majority in the Assembly, but they need 58 lawmakers present to take up the bill.

That puts the lone independent, Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer, in a powerful position.

Ziegelbauer said he would show up, but hoped to convince Republican leaders to first make changes to the collective bargaining parts of the bill.



Democratic strategist Chris Lehane called the walkout in Madison the boldest action Democrats have taken since midterm elections swept Republican to power in statehouses across the country.

Walker "has been so strident that the way he's engaged he has effectively given the Democrats the high ground in terms of how they're responding," Lehane said.

"What Wisconsin is going through isn't all that different from other states," he added.
"But the way it's being handled is."




What's at stake in Wisconsin

What bill would do ...

1) Eliminate collective bargaining rights for most public workers.
So while unions still could represent those workers, they would not be able to seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum.

2) Unions also could not force employees to pay dues and would have to hold annual votes to stay organized.

3) Local police, firefighters and state troopers would retain their collective bargaining rights.

4) Public workers would have to pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage.
That represents an average of 8 percent increase in state employees' share of pension and health care costs.

In exchange, public employees were promised no furloughs or layoffs. Gov. Scott Walker has threatened to lay off up to 6,000 state workers if the measure does not pass.



Estimated savings ...

$30 million by July 1 and $300 million over the next two years to address a Republican-projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall.


Background ...

The proposal marks a dramatic shift for Wisconsin, which in 1959 was the first to pass a comprehensive collective bargaining law for public employees and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees.

When voters last year elected Gov. Walker, an outspoken conservative, along with GOP majorities in both legislative chambers, it set the stage for a dramatic reversal of the state's labor history.


National significance ...

New Republican governors and legislatures in other states have proposed cutting back on public employee costs to reduce budget shortfalls, but Wisconsin's move appears to be the earliest and most extensive.




Video inside

[Z06PDQ]

gonna be a lot of

[Exotix]

It'll be like todays why do you carry a gun thread ...

[Y2Kvert4me]

I kinda now hope he caves, and sends the layoff notices instead.


The union idiots still won't have a clue, but they can deal with that thought while on the hunt for for a new job.

Good luck to them.

[Exotix]

Glenn Beck ~ Wisconsin Unions, Muslim Brotherhood All Part Of New World Order.



Also the impending return of the Anti-Christ ... Obama

Glenn Beck broadcasts theory that some Muslim leaders want the Antichrist to return

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...st_to_ret.html

YouTube - Glenn Beck: Wisconsin Unions, Muslim Brotherhood All Part Of New World Order

[ChasC5]

Jessie Jackson getting cheers in Wiscinsin; way to go Republicans.

[Peter Pan]

The Gov told everyone what he intended to do when he was running for Gov and now he is just following through with what he was elected to do, get over the libs lost the election, I hear this alot about the 08 election, but then the country does not like the red spending direction and seems another changed occured in 2010, get over it the CC spending is going to end now or in 2012 nationally and the states need to do it now, I am glad Texas will keep our budget in the black as I am taxed enough already, federal, state, and local levels

[Exotix]

Originally Posted by Peter Pan

The Gov told everyone what he intended to do when he was running for Gov and now he is just following through with what he was elected to do, get over the libs lost the election, I hear this alot about the 08 election, but then the country does not like the red spending direction and seems another changed occured in 2010, get over it the CC spending is going to end now or in 2012 nationally and the states need to do it now, I am glad Texas will keep our budget in the black as I am taxed enough already, federal, state, and local levels

You live in redneck-ville Texas so why does Wisconsin matter to you ?

[ChasC5]

Originally Posted by Exotix

You live in redneck-ville Texas so why does Wisconsin matter to you ?

Big Texas or Little Mexico.

[Z06PDQ]

Originally Posted by Exotix

You live in redneck-ville Texas so why does Wisconsin matter to you ?

and he believes Gov. Goodhair when he says we have a "balanced budget."

[Exotix]

Wis. governor says union bill is 'incredibly fair'
Walker says he doesn't want to see 'thousands upon thousands' of job cuts

Today

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41703174/ns/us_news-life/


MADISON, Wis. — A bill that would abolish most of public employees' collective bargaining rights was "incredibly fair" and would help the state avoid sweeping job cuts, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker said in an interview with msnbc's Chuck Todd aired Monday.

On day seven of the continuing protests against the bill at the Wisconsin Capitol, Walker insisted it was not political and was designed to make savings to help balance the budget.

"We're broke. Like nearly every other state across the country, we have a major deficit," he told Todd on The Daily Rundown program, saying they were going toward a $3.6 billion deficit.

Walker said removing some collective bargaining rights would save money and help stop people being laid off.




http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/41702690#41702690

[Z06PDQ]

WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Monday, February 21, 2011 10:14 AM

This is all about union busting and not about closing budget shortfalls.




WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
By UTU International President Mike Futhey
The right of workers to join a labor union and bargain collectively with employers over wages, benefits and working conditions is the foundation of workplace democracy.
Brave and dedicated trade unionists before us risked their lives, freedom and economic security fighting for collective bargaining rights, achieving victory first in 1926 with passage of the Railway Labor Act, and then the National Labor Relations Act in 1935.

For public-sector workers, the struggle took longer. Wisconsin was the first state to grant its workforce a right of collective bargaining in 1959. Federal workers gained a collective bargaining right in 1962.

It is ironic that Wisconsin was the first state to sanction public-employee collective bargaining because it is Wisconsin's governor who this month invited massive civil unrest in his state by attempting to revoke that right.

Similar legislative efforts are underway in Ohio and Tennessee, and the movement to curtail public-employee collective bargaining rights could spread.
If the effort is successful, private-sector workers could then find their own collective-bargaining rights under attack. We are witnessing in Congress and in many state legislatures an anti-union animus stronger than it has been in decades.

To close our eyes to the struggle of state workers in Wisconsin, Ohio or elsewhere is to wake up finding our own collective bargaining rights gone.

That is why union members from across America -- many from the United Transportation Union -- have been participating in rallies, telephone and e-mail communications efforts, petition drives and other activities in support of public employees whose collective bargaining rights are under attack.

Wisconsin State Legislative Director Tom Deneen and Ohio State Legislative Director Glenn Newsom are coordinating joint action with the targeted public-employee unions.

As a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Committee, I am working with the federation's Transportation Trades Department to identify additional actions that might be taken to assist in fighting state attempts to restrict or eliminate public-employee collective bargaining.

The outrage is not that public employees must participate -- with all segments of society -- to close massive budget shortfalls.
The outrage is that Wisconsin Gov. Rick Scott wants to revoke the right of public employees to bargain over healthcare, pensions and working conditions, plus Scott wants to impose significant costs on workers and their unions by requiring annual representational elections and cancelling the state's collection of union dues through payroll deduction.

This is all about union busting and not about closing budget shortfalls.

In fact, Christopher Policano, an official with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said the union is willing to negotiate concessions with Gov. Walker, "but he wants to throw out the bargaining table."

Wisconsin is not the only state with a big budget deficit. By contrast, in California, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania, governors are collectively bargaining with state employees to find the least painful alternatives to balance state budgets.

In Pennsylvania, a spokesperson for Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, told The New York Times, "We'll begin negotiations with the public-sector unions and anticipate we'll conduct those in good faith."

Many UTU members have enquired how they might join in solidarity with public employees under siege.
Begin with an AFL-CIO sponsored website, "States of Denial," which provides opportunities for different levels of involvement. Click below to link to the "States of Denial" website:
States of Denial
Click on the following link to see how you might help in Ohio:
UTU: News
And certainly consider joining, or increasing your contribution to, the UTU PAC, which works to elect union-friendly lawmakers to state legislatures and Congress.

[VITE1]

Originally Posted by Peter Pan

The Gov told everyone what he intended to do when he was running for Gov and now he is just following through with what he was elected to do, get over the libs lost the election, I hear this alot about the 08 election, but then the country does not like the red spending direction and seems another changed occured in 2010, get over it the CC spending is going to end now or in 2012 nationally and the states need to do it now, I am glad Texas will keep our budget in the black as I am taxed enough already, federal, state, and local levels

The Governor should decertify all the public employee unions int he state.

F*&k them.

Public employees were excluded by FDR because he felt they were a danger to the people.

Text of FDR Letter Opposing Public Employee (Government)*Unions - Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog - A Conservative Blog

My dear Mr. Steward:

As I am unable to accept your kind invitation to be present on the occasion of the Twentieth Jubilee Convention of the National Federation of Federal Employees, I am taking this method of sending greetings and a message.

Reading your letter of July 14, 1937, I was especially interested in the timeliness of your remark that the manner in which the activities of your organization have been carried on during the past two decades "has been in complete consonance with the best traditions of public employee relationships." Organizations of Government employees have a logical place in Government affairs.

The desire of Government employees for fair and adequate pay, reasonable hours of work, safe and suitable working conditions, development of opportunities for advancement, facilities for fair and impartial consideration and review of grievances, and other objectives of a proper employee relations policy, is basically no different from that of employees in private industry. Organization on their part to present their views on such matters is both natural and logical, but meticulous attention should be paid to the special relationships and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the Government.

All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress. Accordingly, administrative officials and employees alike are governed and guided, and in many instances restricted, by laws which establish policies, procedures, or rules in personnel matters.

Particularly, I want to emphasize my conviction that militant tactics have no place in the functions of any organization of Government employees. Upon employees in the Federal service rests the obligation to serve the whole people, whose interests and welfare require orderliness and continuity in the conduct of Government activities. This obligation is paramount. Since their own services have to do with the functioning of the Government, a strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government until their demands are satisfied. Such action, looking toward the paralysis of Government by those who have sworn to support it, is unthinkable and intolerable. It is, therefore, with a feeling of gratification that I have noted in the constitution of the National Federation of Federal Employees the provision that "under no circumstances shall this Federation engage in or support strikes against the United States Government."I congratulate the National Federation of Federal Employees the twentieth anniversary of its founding and trust that the convention will, in every way, be successful.

Very sincerely yours,

JFK allowed Federal employees to unionize by executive order and since then many others have allowed it. It was a pay off by the Dems to secure a partner in their quest to grow government power.

[Z06PDQ]

Originally Posted by VITE1

The Governor should decertify all the public employee unions int he state.

F*&k them.

he can't. the right to collectively bargain is a federal law & always will be. FECK that ignorant POS.

[Y2Kvert4me]

Originally Posted by Z06PDQ

he can't. the right to collectively bargain is a federal law & always will be.

Incorrect.

Did you not even read the lengthy article you posted earlier in this thread?

[Z06PDQ]

Originally Posted by Y2Kvert4me

Incorrect.

Did you not even read the lengthy article you posted earlier in this thread?

did I miss that the right to collectively bargain is a federal law? how the hell did I [you] miss that that?

[Y2Kvert4me]

Originally Posted by Z06PDQ

did I miss that the right to collectively bargain is a federal law? how the hell did I [you] miss that that?

Federal law for Federal employees?
Federal law for private sector employees?
Federal law for State public sector employees?

[Z06PDQ]

Originally Posted by Y2Kvert4me

Federal law for Federal employees?
Federal law for private sector employees?
Federal law for State public sector employees?

oh.... depends on the state. ok we'll fix that. give us time.

[Y2Kvert4me]

Originally Posted by Z06PDQ

oh.... depends on the state. ok we'll fix that. give us time.

Yeah, we could soon be just like Texas.

[Exotix]

The other part of the Scott Walker plan: Firesale of Wisconsin state.

More explanation of why big corporations like Koch Industries are going to such lengths to support Gov. Scott Walker's budget.

Today

http://www.sheboyganpress.com/assets...0170515216.PDF


The lion's share of attention regarding Scott Walker's legislative proposal has been paid to the effort to revoke Wisconsin public employees' collective bargaining rights, but the 144-page bill (Above) is a far more exhaustive and inclusive list of the fundamentals of Republican politics in the 21st Century.

~ 16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state-owned heating, cooling, and power plants.
(1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state-owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state.

Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).


If this isn't the best summary of the goals of modern conservatism, I don't know what is.

It's like a highlight reel of all of the tomahawk dunks of neo-Gilded Age corporatism: privatization, no-bid contracts, deregulation, and naked cronyism.

Extra bonus points for the explicit effort to legally redefine the term "public interest" as "whatever the energy industry lobbyists we appoint to these unelected bureaucratic positions say it is."

Walker's budget—and his intention—goes well beyond crippling public employees' unions.

He's selling the state to the highest bidder (or more like it, the largest campaign contributor, since bids won't be required for the acquisition of state assets).

The new slogan: What's good for the Koch brothers is good for Wisconsin.

Breaking the back of labor is one part of that end goal, but not the whole of it.