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MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Republicans and Democrats in the Wisconsin Assembly have agreed to a deal that will limit further debate on a bill taking away collective bargaining rights for public workers and lead to a vote on the measure later Thursday.

There is no legitimate role for government unions. Public servants — meaning government employees — don’t work for greedy miscreants exploiting them for personal profit. They work for democratically elected officials representing the will of the people. This is just one reason why there is no legitimate role for government unions, and there should be no collective bargaining rights for public servants. Since public servants work for the people, their wages, benefits, and working conditions are set in accordance with the will of the people, as determined by the democratic process. This is why it is not legitimate to ask...

"Bob Chanin, General Counsel to the National Education Association, recently retired after 41 years of service. In his farewell address to the NEA convention earlier this summer, Mr. Chanin said the following: Despite what some among us would like to believe it is not because of our creative ideas; it is not because of the merit of our positions; it is not because we care about children; More.. and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. The NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power. And we have...

Alternate headline: “Apparently, Mitch Daniels not running for president.”

(CNSNews.com) - According to an analysis of Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed changes to his state’s collective bargaining rules by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (WLRB), state employees would maintain the ability to collectively bargain for wages as long as the union’s proposed wage increases are no greater than the annual change in the consumer price index (CPI). Additionally, a greater increase could be obtained if approved by a referendum and passed by the voters of the state. On its Web site, the WLRB explains the sections of the bill pertaining to the collective bargaining process. “This bill limits the...

INDIANAPOLIS — The absence of Democratic legislators from the Indiana House extended into the afternoon with several hundred union members at the Statehouse protesting Republican-backed labor bills. Speakers at a midday rally today told the union members that Republicans had declared a “war on labor” with proposals restricting teacher collective bargaining and so-called right-to-work legislation.

MADISON, WIS. - President Obama thrust himself and his political operation this week into Wisconsin's broiling budget battle, mobilizing opposition Thursday to a Republican bill that would curb public-worker benefits and planning similar protests in other state capitals. Obama accused Scott Walker, the state's new Republican governor, of unleashing an "assault" on unions in pushing emergency legislation that would change future collective-bargaining agreements that affect most public employees, including teachers. The president's political machine worked in close coordination Thursday with state and national union officials to get thousands of protesters to gather in Madison and to plan similar demonstrations in...

Democrats may soon be loading up those buses in Madison and heading their mobs toward Nashville. The Tennessee state senate Education Committee voted Wednesday to abolish collective bargaining with teachers. Tom Humphrey of Knoxnews.com reports: House Republican Caucus Chairwoman Debra Maggart of Hendersonville hailed the Senate vote as a sign of legislative readiness to 'wrestle away control from the selfish interests of the unions and give it to parents and teachers.' 'This General Assembly has the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to throw off the shackles of the union bosses and be a legitimate difference-maker in the classroom.' The bill can now go...

Gov. Jerry Brown has dropped a lawsuit filed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that asserted his right to impose a minimum wage order on state workers during a budget stalemate. Brown's Department of Personnel Administration filed the stipulation for the suit's dismissal on Monday in Sacramento Superior Court. Schwarzenegger sued Controller John Chiang, a Democrat, in August 2008 when Chiang resisted the former Republican governor's efforts to chop state worker pay to the federal minimum of $6.55 an hour. . . . Schwarzenegger argued that a 2003 state Supreme Court decision gave the administration legal grounds -- during a budget...

MILWAUKEESTAN - Milwaukee Public Schools on Tuesday sent a district-wide email that ordered teachers and other employees not to skip school to attend rallies protesting Governor Walker's controversial budget bill. "For the remainder of this week, monitor and record requests for absence, date and time received, notice of request and reason," the email read. "Any staff member who is absent without prior approval is to be coded AWOL (Code 91). Principals are not to approve absence for personal reasons (code 23 or code 69) during the next three days." 32 Rufus King High School teachers called in sick Tuesday morning...

A Santa Barbara-based organization that wants to end union representation of California government employees has revved up its campaign contribution collection machinery for a run at putting the idea to a statewide vote. [snip] ... to put up a ballot measure that would end collective bargaining for all city, county, regional and state employees in California. The reason, he says, is that unions have too much influence and the pay and perks their members receive are leeching money from government services, like education. There is precedent for this: At least 18 states forbid collective bargaining for some categories of government...

Three major retailers on Saturday laid out broad details of an alternative proposal they hope will fend off a deadlock over a hotly contested bill making it easier for workers to unionize. Starbucks Corp., Whole Foods Market Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. are opposed to portions of the labor-friendly Employee Free Choice Act, which would take away the right of employers to demand secret-ballot elections by workers before unions could be formed. Under the legislation, unions could gain representation if a majority of workers sign cards authorizing it. Still, the companies say they recognize that simply opposing the bill might...

Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen let loose with a rant on the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement last week. It didn’t get a lot of attention nationally, but it raised eyebrows in league circles. Bowlen admitted in Denver’s Rocky Mountain News that every team in the league, even his large-market club, is feeling the sting of the labor agreement that was signed before the 2006 season. “Cash is an issue in the National Football League,” Bowlen told the paper. “I think it’s pretty common knowledge our last labor agreement is not our smartest move, and that we’re way beyond, and I’m...

Colorado Republicans have reacted to Gov. Bill Ritter's executive order establishing limited collective bargaining rights for state employees by "squealing like a stuck pig," as we say in Eastern Colorado. Some degree of GOP fury is understandable. Instead of bringing such an important public policy decision to the legislature, where it could be debated with full input from interested citizens, the governor made his move at 3:30 p.m. on Friday after talking almost exclusively to the union leaders who helped elect him. As Republicans learned with their notorious 2003 "midnight gerrymander," such attempts to slip partisan power plays under the...

When Coloradans elected Bill Ritter as governor, they thought they were getting a modern-day version of Roy Romer, a pro-business Democrat. Instead, they got Jimmy Hoffa. Ritter campaigned under the guise of a moderate "new Democrat" but now we know he's simply a toady to labor bosses and the old vestiges of his party — a bag man for unions and special interests.

When Coloradans elected Bill Ritter as governor, they thought they were getting a modern-day version of Roy Romer, a pro-business Democrat. Instead, they got Jimmy Hoffa. Ritter campaigned under the guise of a moderate "new Democrat" but now we know he's simply a toady to labor bosses and the old vestiges of his party — a bag man for unions and special interests. The governor on Friday unveiled his plan to drive up the cost of doing business in Colorado by forcing collective bargaining on thousands of state employees. We're concerned this may be the beginning of the end of...

Gov. Bill Ritter has signed an executive order giving state government's 49,000 workers the right to join unions or other employee associations but said strikes remain illegal under state law. Ritter said his order authorizes "partnership agreements" that will make better use of workers' abilities and allow them to meet with management to discuss concerns. Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, said "partnership" is another word for collective bargaining that would hurt state government. "This is indeed collective bargaining," Tony Gagliardi, Colorado state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, reacted strongly against the executive order. "Like reactions in the...

FReep This Poll! - Would you support a grocery workers' strike? Yes No Not sure

We're grateful to our police officers. We count on them. We're proud of them.  Our state is going broke paying for them.  Same goes for teachers. We wish we could afford them, but we're having trouble.  We're having trouble paying for New Jersey's nearly 500,000 public employees. Especially at their current salaries and fringe benefits. Especially with New Jersey's property taxes among the steepest in the nation and rising.  Especially now that state officials have closed a $4.5 billion budget gap by raising taxes and cutting services while sidestepping the subject of how we compensate unionized public workers.  This isn't...

What NFL owners divide among themselves isn't really a pie, not any more. It's more like a wedding cake -- with multiple tiers. You've got money from TV and radio, money from ticket sales, money from Official League Gear, money from computer games. So many revenue streams coming from so many directions, it's a wonder owners don't have to pass a swim test. George Halas, who lived only long enough to see the first player strike in 1982, would be amazed at the revenue flowing from such sources as club seating and, potentially, the NFL Network (not to mention team...