Posted on 07/23/2013 5:07:35 AM PDT by rellimpank
Wisconsin's public employees are leaving their unions in droves, which should be no surprise: With passage of Act 10 in 2011, public unions in the Badger State lost many of their reasons for being.
The "budget-repair bill" pushed through the Legislature by Republicans and signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker limited bargaining to wages only, and then only up to the cost of living; it also required unions to recertify each year and barred the automatic collection of union dues.
Relying on federal financial records, the Journal Sentinel's Dan Bice found union membership has declined by 50% or more at some unions, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 48, which represents Milwaukee city and county workers. It has gone from more than 9,000 members and income exceeding $7 million in 2010 to about 3,500 members and a deep deficit by the end of last year.
Walker inherited a budget mess from the administration of former Gov. Jim Doyle. He was facing a sizable deficit and entrenched public sector unions that had big political power bases that they used to protect their members. That often put them at odds with both good government and overburdened taxpayers.
It was necessary to ask more of public workers — to have them pay a larger portion of their benefits. In particular, Walker needed to get control of spiraling health care benefits. But requiring annual certification and cutting out the payroll checkoff? That wasn't about fiscal issues. And if that wasn't political enough, the governor exempted police and firefighter unions from the act's strictures. Public safety workers often are the biggest cost for municipalities. Those unions, not surprisingly, were supporters of the governor.
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
Any idea criticized by “an associate professor from Marquette University” - translation: a moon-lighting lawyer - has to be a superb idea.
This is the biggie! When people actually have to write that check each month it suddenly becomes real to them. Every state, every city needs to do this and congress needs to pass it for federal workers as well.
Reeling to explain away how they’ve been fleecing taxpayers that is..
If we could get even 20% of Republicans to stand on principle like Scott Walker did, we could begin setting this nation in the right direction.
“Republicans executed their political coup at great cost to the state’s political climate and by weakening strong voices for workers. Only time will tell if the savings that school districts and municipalities have realized will continue over the long haul. Only time will tell if the service cuts and slimmer employee rolls are a good thing, on balance, or not.”
Then why did the employees leave the unions in droves? Because they could, they were no longer forced to be union members and pay the dues and they saw no value in the unions.
And hopefully, unions can’t just take from the state treasury anymore. So one special interest of the democrat party defeated by union members.
I agree. All unions should be forced to collect their own dues.
Its one of the good things that Dave Bing tried to do in Detroit but the courts stepped in and stopped it.
But that would require all the Nancys at stewardess school to grow sets of balls. Don’t see that happening in the near future.
In the process, Gov. Walker may have saved the pension system from going belly up, as it has in Chicago. Where’s the thanks he gets for making the hard choices now to prevent bankruptcy later? Leftists have no brains.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ..... inhale .... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ..... inhale .... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ..... inhale .... whew.
Let me be the first to say it ... how does that go again ... oh, yeah
Elections have consequences.
True. And the same goes for withholding of income taxes from our paychecks.
People would be a LOT more critical of government spending if they took the time to physically make the payment.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel attempts to explain Act 10
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
It’
s pretty simple really. If the Union dues are $50 dollars a month and you are allowed to quit the Union, you get a $50 dollar a month pay raise.
Unions love to take the dues right out of your pay, that way you don’t even know it.
The guy has a point here. Cops and firemen unions should not be exempt.
Not likely. So few of us actually pay taxes. Those of us who do know very well how much we're paying.
Scott Walker’s actions left unions reeling
Its a start—but there are many other states that need to follow this lead. For the good of the nation—the unions must be broken and their power limited. Their day is done. They feed upon the host like a super leech —until the host dies. They killed the Twinkie, Hollywood and Detroit. But these will come back once the leech is removed or kept from sucking the life from these once great things.
...and barred the automatic collection of union dues.
This is the biggie! When people actually have to write that check each month it suddenly becomes real to them. Every state, every city needs to do this and congress needs to pass it for federal workers as well.
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