Republicans Overplay Union-Busting Hand in States Other than Wisconsin
COMMENTARY | Judge Maryann Sumi of Dane County Circuit Court set aside Thursday the controversial union busting law signed by Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, reports the New York Times. The law ended public-sector union bargaining for benefits with exceptions for police and fire workers. As Wisconsin was moving ahead, so were concerted efforts in other states to try to drive stakes to the hearts of unions.
When Republicans in Wisconsin discovered they had sparked a widespread movement from a coalition of citizens fed up with attacks on working people, the backlash made headlines for weeks. In the shadows, GOP leaders in other states trying to move ahead with the same agenda were meeting growing resistance.
Ohio
When the citizens of Ohio elected former Fox News pundit John Kasich to be governor, some of them hadn't realized just how determined he was to balance the budget on the backs of workers and children. Even before his draconian proposals were put into law with the passage and signing of SB 5, citizens began gathering signatures to place the matter in front of voters in a referendum, according to NPR.
The hope of Kasich is that the furor will die down before any vote is held, and the same kind of voter apathy which helped get him elected will set in again. Activists for worker's rights are determined to not let that happen. The court action in Wisconsin will only serve to embolden Ohioans seeking to repeal the measure.
Indiana
Similar anti-union legislation was abandoned in Indiana after Democrats used the same tactic in Wisconsin, leaving the state rather than be bullied into watching workers' rights get stripped away. After winning concessions, the Democrats returned to Indiana and a scaled-back version of the legislation was pursued, according to the Raw Story.
Maine
GOP Gov. Paul LePage so despises workers' rights that he had a mural depicting workers taken down from the state's labor department lobby, notes CNN. The action was seen as mean-spirited and confrontational. A contest was announced to replace names of conference rooms in the building that were named after labor leaders.
While those actions helped focus attention on the legislative actions going on in Maine to deprive workers of their rights, the ruling in Wisconsin might bring light to union-busting in the state. Republicans in the Maine Senate Friday voted to send LD 309 back to committee.
"This bill was pulled out of committee as a clerical error," said Senate President Kevin Raye, a Republican.
Democrats objected to the move, saying it should have been done much earlier. Now they are asserting that Republicans are trying to insert the bill into labor negotiations.
Idaho
SB 1124 may move forward in Idaho in 2012. Stronger even than the Wisconsin law, Coeur d'Alene Press reports 1124 seeks to take away bargaining rights from police and firefighters too.
Other states with Republicans in charge are considering similar legislation, but may find the road to victory over workers isn't as easy as it once appeared. The GOP has been trying to turn workers against each other, encouraging a race to the bottom. But people are waking up.
The biggest factor determining how far anti-union measures advance may come from the federal government.
The budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will have much to say about how far Republicans are able to push their agendas. The part of the Ryan Budget that dismantles Medicare has energized opposition. Even more important, the voting electorate is beginning to see who the Republicans care about and who they don't.
At the federal and state level, tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy are pushed while hurtful cuts to important educational and health programs are proposed. The Republicans overplayed their hand.
When Republicans in Wisconsin discovered they had sparked a widespread movement from a coalition of citizens fed up with attacks on working people, the backlash made headlines for weeks. In the shadows, GOP leaders in other states trying to move ahead with the same agenda were meeting growing resistance.
Ohio
When the citizens of Ohio elected former Fox News pundit John Kasich to be governor, some of them hadn't realized just how determined he was to balance the budget on the backs of workers and children. Even before his draconian proposals were put into law with the passage and signing of SB 5, citizens began gathering signatures to place the matter in front of voters in a referendum, according to NPR.
The hope of Kasich is that the furor will die down before any vote is held, and the same kind of voter apathy which helped get him elected will set in again. Activists for worker's rights are determined to not let that happen. The court action in Wisconsin will only serve to embolden Ohioans seeking to repeal the measure.
Indiana
Similar anti-union legislation was abandoned in Indiana after Democrats used the same tactic in Wisconsin, leaving the state rather than be bullied into watching workers' rights get stripped away. After winning concessions, the Democrats returned to Indiana and a scaled-back version of the legislation was pursued, according to the Raw Story.
Maine
GOP Gov. Paul LePage so despises workers' rights that he had a mural depicting workers taken down from the state's labor department lobby, notes CNN. The action was seen as mean-spirited and confrontational. A contest was announced to replace names of conference rooms in the building that were named after labor leaders.
While those actions helped focus attention on the legislative actions going on in Maine to deprive workers of their rights, the ruling in Wisconsin might bring light to union-busting in the state. Republicans in the Maine Senate Friday voted to send LD 309 back to committee.
"This bill was pulled out of committee as a clerical error," said Senate President Kevin Raye, a Republican.
Democrats objected to the move, saying it should have been done much earlier. Now they are asserting that Republicans are trying to insert the bill into labor negotiations.
Idaho
SB 1124 may move forward in Idaho in 2012. Stronger even than the Wisconsin law, Coeur d'Alene Press reports 1124 seeks to take away bargaining rights from police and firefighters too.
Other states with Republicans in charge are considering similar legislation, but may find the road to victory over workers isn't as easy as it once appeared. The GOP has been trying to turn workers against each other, encouraging a race to the bottom. But people are waking up.
The biggest factor determining how far anti-union measures advance may come from the federal government.
The budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will have much to say about how far Republicans are able to push their agendas. The part of the Ryan Budget that dismantles Medicare has energized opposition. Even more important, the voting electorate is beginning to see who the Republicans care about and who they don't.
At the federal and state level, tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy are pushed while hurtful cuts to important educational and health programs are proposed. The Republicans overplayed their hand.
Published by Jeff Musall
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4 Comments
Post a CommentThe Republicans will do anything to hurt workers, and workers - it seems - will do anything to keep on voting for Republicans.
I am amazed that the Sarah Palin nationwide tour is Virginia, DC, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire! Does she know there's a whole lot more to this nation than DC and the first primary state?
All these Republican congresspeople who are against unions - especially public sector unions - are, themselves, public workers. They are public workers who get pensions and health care (but they don't think others should).
Well, public sectors workers can be fired. November is coming.
Well written! Let me say that I am not a fan of some unions. As a former HR director of large corporations, I have seen abuses heaped on union members by their leadership; But I also have witnessed union leadership that was working hard for their members' fair working conditions when employers treated workers in unfair ways. History tells us that greedy employers tried to (and did) abuse the conditions of workers and there was no oher way to correct the problems than through union negotiations and labor laws. It would be naive to say that now all employers treat their employees fairly and there is no need for the intervention or negotiations that unions offer. I wish it were true, but it isn't.