Public employee union negotiates deal saving taxpayers millions; conservative heads explode
http://www.uppitywis.org/blogarticle/public-employee-union-negotiates-deal-saving-taxpayers-millions
A public employee union representing faculty, counselors and professional staff at the Milwaukee Area Technical College negotiated a one-year agreement with the school, which the MATC board approved. Officials say the deal will save the school $122 million over the next 25 years, due to long-term reductions in early health benefits that will go forward. A one-year deal that saves a nine-figures amount of tax dollars ... Now THAT is good government. Unless, of course, you're a Republican.
Conservative reaction (summarized): This deal is an outrage! Schools can't negotiate with defrocked public employee unions, even if a judge rules they can! The Wisconsin Republican Party made it so!
Conservative action: Sue MATC! That'll make things better, oh yeah. The lawsuit came from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative group managed by Rick Esenberg, a Marquette University adjunct law professor. The suit alleges the college engaged in collective bargaining that's illegal under Scott Walker's anti-union Act 10 law.
...
No, Scott Walker, the Republican Party and the conservative authoritarians in general can't ever allow successful labor negotiations, because that would undermine their argument that collective bargaining and fair labor standards are too costly, and that employee unions are to blame for all the troubles in the world.
