Free Republic

State workers and their families will pay more for medical care starting Jan. 1 under the latest changes to emerge from a state law that wiped out most public employee union rights. The changes in the state health plan require 183,000 participants to pay 10 percent of their bills for doctor visits, tests, surgeries and hospitalizations up to an annual maximum of $500 for single people and $1,000 for families. Health plan administrators have explained the new system previously, but they expect to get a lot more questions when workers begin reaching into their pockets. "I think the reality will...

Susan Flood says she will gladly subtract $4,000 in pension and health premiums from her take-home pay next year in exchange for not having to pay roughly $800 in union dues. Few of her fellow teachers at Brookwood Elementary School in the Genoa City District share her view of Wisconsin's new public sector labor law, which soon will affect the paychecks of thousands of public employees, Flood said. But she is a Republican who has been required for 19 years to pay dues to a union she views as promoting mediocrity and high taxes. So when the law stripped public...

The Democratic Party and the committee to recall state Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) are confirming that state Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay) will challenge Darling in a possible recall election. Gillian Morris, a spokeswoman for the party, confirmed that Pasch would run, as the Journal Sentinel reported in Thursday's paper. Separately, Kristopher Rowe, organizer of the recall campaign, emailed the Journal Sentinel announcing Pasch's candidacy and praising her as someone who "believes in voting rights, workers rights and she believes in finding solutions together with her colleagues. "She is hard working and most importantly — she listens to the...

Wisconsin Republicans on Sunday upped the pressure on Democrats who fled to Illinois to return home and vote on an anti-union bill, with the governor calling them obstructionists and a GOP lawmaker threatening to convene without them. Gov. Scott Walker said the 14 minority Democrats who left Madison on Thursday were failing to do their jobs by "hiding out" in another state. And Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said his chamber would meet Tuesday to act on non-spending bills and confirm some of the governor's appointees even if the Democrats don't show up -- a scenario that should outrage their...