Wisconsin previews 2012 chaos
Walker appeal to out-of-state donors for Republican recall races
Emotions flare over state budget at Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Finance Committee budget hearing in Neenah
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
How Wisconsin Republicans Respond to Their Critics
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All eyes are on Wisconsin
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Wisconsin union law published despite court order
Demonstrations across US express solidarity with Wisconsin protesters
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Wisconsin : Anti-Union Bill Published Despite Restraining Order ...
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Protesters march at Wisconsin Capitol
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Wisconsin labor protesters refuse to quit | The Associated Press ...
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Sitka union supporters rally for Wisconsin workers
Green Party of York County rallies to support Wisconsin unions
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Wisconsin labor protesters refuse to quit | The Associated Press ...
Saturday, March 12, 2011
LATEST WISCONSIN NEWS
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0312/Wisconsin-has-a-new-law-but-future-of-unions-still-a-hot-issue
Enlarge A day after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed an act that strips collective-bargaining rights from public employee unions, protesters in the state capital made clear that they don't think the fight is over.
Thousands of union members and labor supporters rallied in the state capital, Madison, determined to continue opposing the new law.
In fact, the epic political battle in Wisconsin appears to have only accelerated, not decided, a national debate on the role of labor unions for public-sector workers.
Skip to next paragraph
IN PICTURES: Wisconsin Capitol protests
Within Wisconsin, labor unions and their supporters are ramping up efforts to hold recall elections designed to oust state senators who voted for the governor's plan, and Mr. Walker himself could face a recall push in 2012. (Petitioners in Wisconsin can't mount a recall drive until an elected official has held office for one year, which for Walker will be next January.)
The act also faces a legal challenge over tactics used by the state's Senate Republicans to pass the bill.
And the machinations in Wisconsin – public protests, the out-of-state flight by Democratic senators opposed to the bill, and more – have captured national attention at a time when many states are wrestling with budget shortfalls.
Those immediate budget troubles largely reflect the lingering impacts of recession. But because many public pensions are underfunded, the fiscal problems have also heightened debate about whether public unions are creating a fiscal time bomb for states or not.
Walker has galvanized unions nationwide to defend their turf. But other states, including Ohio and Iowa, are debating their own measures to scale unions back.
In Iowa, the Republican-controlled House approved a bill Friday to reduce worker bargaining powers. But the bill is not expected to pass the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority.
In Ohio, where Republicans control both legislative bodies and the governorship, Republicans are pushing their own plan to curb union bargaining power. But like the recall effort in Wisconsin, passage of the bill could prompt opponents to try to repeal it via referendum.
All this has opened a renewed battle to win American public opinion on the issue.
"The People’s Party is growing across America – and the actions of Scott Walker and his Republican colleagues are giving it even greater momentum," former Labor Secretary Robert Reich opined in a blog post this week.
Walker, for his part, says he believes support for his measure will grow as the public sees government becoming more efficient.
"What we're doing here," he told the Associated Press Friday, "is progressive. It's innovative. It's reform that leads the country."
Critics of collective bargaining in the public sector argue that government workplaces are inherently different than the private sector.
They argue that, where bargaining between a private firm and a union is framed by the employer's profit potential, public-employee unions are negotiating with an employer that has no competition, the power to tax, and that often reaps benefits (campaign contributions) from the unions.
Labor movement supporters argue that unions, in all sectors of the economy, can help lift up the wages and benefits of all workers, without bankrupting private firms or governments.
They also say unions have shown willingness to make concessions -– in Wisconsin and elsewhere – as the recession has taken a toll on state budgets.
IN PICTURES: Wisconsin Capitol protests
Gov. Scott Walker has prevailed so far in his effort to strip public employees of most collective bargaining rights. The epic political battle in Wisconsin has accelerated the national debate on the role of labor unions.
Despite the cold, protesters turned out in the hundreds to rally on Saturday, March 12, against Gov. Scott Walker's budget bill repealing most collective bargaining rights for public employee unions.
Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor
Thousands of union members and labor supporters rallied in the state capital, Madison, determined to continue opposing the new law.
In fact, the epic political battle in Wisconsin appears to have only accelerated, not decided, a national debate on the role of labor unions for public-sector workers.
Skip to next paragraph
Family Farm Defenders and the Wisconsin Farmers Union drove a tractorcade to the State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, March 12, 2011.
Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor
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Gallery: Wisconsin protest signs
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Gallery: Wisconsin Capitol Protests
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Within Wisconsin, labor unions and their supporters are ramping up efforts to hold recall elections designed to oust state senators who voted for the governor's plan, and Mr. Walker himself could face a recall push in 2012. (Petitioners in Wisconsin can't mount a recall drive until an elected official has held office for one year, which for Walker will be next January.)
The act also faces a legal challenge over tactics used by the state's Senate Republicans to pass the bill.
And the machinations in Wisconsin – public protests, the out-of-state flight by Democratic senators opposed to the bill, and more – have captured national attention at a time when many states are wrestling with budget shortfalls.
Those immediate budget troubles largely reflect the lingering impacts of recession. But because many public pensions are underfunded, the fiscal problems have also heightened debate about whether public unions are creating a fiscal time bomb for states or not.
Walker has galvanized unions nationwide to defend their turf. But other states, including Ohio and Iowa, are debating their own measures to scale unions back.
In Iowa, the Republican-controlled House approved a bill Friday to reduce worker bargaining powers. But the bill is not expected to pass the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority.
In Ohio, where Republicans control both legislative bodies and the governorship, Republicans are pushing their own plan to curb union bargaining power. But like the recall effort in Wisconsin, passage of the bill could prompt opponents to try to repeal it via referendum.
All this has opened a renewed battle to win American public opinion on the issue.
"The People’s Party is growing across America – and the actions of Scott Walker and his Republican colleagues are giving it even greater momentum," former Labor Secretary Robert Reich opined in a blog post this week.
Walker, for his part, says he believes support for his measure will grow as the public sees government becoming more efficient.
"What we're doing here," he told the Associated Press Friday, "is progressive. It's innovative. It's reform that leads the country."
Critics of collective bargaining in the public sector argue that government workplaces are inherently different than the private sector.
They argue that, where bargaining between a private firm and a union is framed by the employer's profit potential, public-employee unions are negotiating with an employer that has no competition, the power to tax, and that often reaps benefits (campaign contributions) from the unions.
Labor movement supporters argue that unions, in all sectors of the economy, can help lift up the wages and benefits of all workers, without bankrupting private firms or governments.
They also say unions have shown willingness to make concessions -– in Wisconsin and elsewhere – as the recession has taken a toll on state budgets.
IN PICTURES: Wisconsin Capitol protests
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
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Tuesday, March 8, 2011
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Tuesday, March 1, 2011
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
WAR IN WISCONSIN
FOLLOW THE WAR LIVE HERE
“Democracy Uprising” in the U.S.A.?: Noam Chomsky on Wisconsin’s Resistance to Assault on Public Sector, the Obama-Sanctioned Crackdown on Activists, and the Distorted Legacy of Ronald Reagan
ED SHULTZ ON THE WAR
Wisconsin State Capitol: STANDING UP AGAINST TYRANNY
Senate Democrats flee to Illinois!
punkrawker4783 said...
"The Governor sees no other options" Fire HIS ass! Who hell does he think he is stabbing his own workers like that, he will never get that respect back from all those people.
February 17, 2011 12:48 PM
Budget Battle: Barrett 'Never Seen Anything Like This'
By Jay Sorgi
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee's mayor, who ran for governor against Scott Walker and lost, has mixed opinions on what Walker's budget bill is doing.
"I have never seen anything like this in 25 years of public service," said Mayor Tom Barrett on 620WTMJ's "Wisconsin's Morning News" about Walker's budget bill which would cut many unions' abilities to negotiate their benefits, and the protests against the bill in Madison.
He says he gets the need to cut costs when it comes to state employees.
"Public employees have to pay more towards pension and health care," he explained, but he didn't agree with Walker's methodology of doing so in the bill
"Where you really have a fundamental shift here is denying the fundamental right to organize. It think that's wrong. You can't just deny people the right to organize."
Another thing he called wrong was the exemption of unions that exempt Milwaukee police officers and firefighters, "which ties us up in mediation and arbitration for years, because it goes issue by issue by issue.
"It's like a family. When you have a problem, everybody's got to be part of the solution."
He considers what Walker is doing at least partially motivated by politics.
"I just don't think this is the time for a political payout," said Barrett.
The Milwaukee police and fire unions both supported Walker's political campaign for governor.
Barrett also calls it wrong for his city's public school teachers to call in sick and go to Madison to protest the budget bill during school hours.
"My wife is a teacher. I think the teachers should be in the classroom."
STANDING UP TO THE ELITE
DEMOCRATS BOYCOTT WISCONSIN SENATE
THOUSANDS MARCH IN WISCONSIN
“Democracy Uprising” in the U.S.A.?: Noam Chomsky on Wisconsin’s Resistance to Assault on Public Sector, the Obama-Sanctioned Crackdown on Activists, and the Distorted Legacy of Ronald Reagan
ED SHULTZ ON THE WAR
Wisconsin State Capitol: STANDING UP AGAINST TYRANNY
Senate Democrats flee to Illinois!
punkrawker4783 said...
"The Governor sees no other options" Fire HIS ass! Who hell does he think he is stabbing his own workers like that, he will never get that respect back from all those people.
February 17, 2011 12:48 PM
Budget Battle: Barrett 'Never Seen Anything Like This'
By Jay Sorgi
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee's mayor, who ran for governor against Scott Walker and lost, has mixed opinions on what Walker's budget bill is doing.
"I have never seen anything like this in 25 years of public service," said Mayor Tom Barrett on 620WTMJ's "Wisconsin's Morning News" about Walker's budget bill which would cut many unions' abilities to negotiate their benefits, and the protests against the bill in Madison.
He says he gets the need to cut costs when it comes to state employees.
"Public employees have to pay more towards pension and health care," he explained, but he didn't agree with Walker's methodology of doing so in the bill
"Where you really have a fundamental shift here is denying the fundamental right to organize. It think that's wrong. You can't just deny people the right to organize."
Another thing he called wrong was the exemption of unions that exempt Milwaukee police officers and firefighters, "which ties us up in mediation and arbitration for years, because it goes issue by issue by issue.
"It's like a family. When you have a problem, everybody's got to be part of the solution."
He considers what Walker is doing at least partially motivated by politics.
"I just don't think this is the time for a political payout," said Barrett.
The Milwaukee police and fire unions both supported Walker's political campaign for governor.
Barrett also calls it wrong for his city's public school teachers to call in sick and go to Madison to protest the budget bill during school hours.
"My wife is a teacher. I think the teachers should be in the classroom."
STANDING UP TO THE ELITE
DEMOCRATS BOYCOTT WISCONSIN SENATE
THOUSANDS MARCH IN WISCONSIN
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