NYT: Wisconsin, Workers and the 2016 Election

[Omaha Steve]

Union members and supporters at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Tuesday. Credit Ben Brewer for The New York Times


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/opinion/wisconsin-workers-and-the-2016-election.html?_r=0

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD FEB. 26, 2015

The Republican-dominated Senate in Wisconsin passed a bill this week to weaken the state’s private-sector unions. Similar to “right-to-work” laws in 24 other states, the bill would prevent unions from requiring dues or other fees from workers they represent in collective bargaining, a crippling constraint. The Republican-run Assembly is expected to pass the bill next week, and Gov. Scott Walker, who stripped Wisconsin’s public employees of collective bargaining rights in 2011 and is now eyeing the Republican presidential nomination, has said he would sign it.

In a nation where the long decline in unions has led to a pervasive slump in wages, Republicans’ support for anti-union legislation is at odds with their professed commitments to helping the middle class.

Right-to-work laws do not attract businesses and create jobs, as proponents claim. Rather, they are linked to lower wages, fewer benefits and higher poverty. Right-to-work legislation wins support among conservative lawmakers not because it is in the public interest but because cutting labor costs is a priority of far-right groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is tied to the Koch brothers. The Wisconsin bill is almost verbatim from a model provided by ALEC.

Wisconsin is hardly alone; 13 other states have pending right-to-work bills, and in Illinois, the Republican governor is trying to disable the state’s public unions by executive order. In addition, at the behest of the construction industry, legislation is pending in 18 states to repeal “prevailing wage” laws, which require private-sector bidders on taxpayer-financed construction projects to pay wages that are in line with those for comparable work in the locality. Prevailing wage laws, which are enforced by federal statute on federal projects and by 32 states on state projects, prevent lowball bids from depressing wages. Without them, taxpayer money would be routed away from workers’ paychecks and into corporate coffers.

FULL story at link.

[guillaumeb]

1. In spite of this news

and in spite of the efforts of many unions to educate their members, a certain percentage of "values voters' with union cards will continue to vote for the GOP while they wonder why their paychecks are shrinking and their children cannot get good jobs.

Thank god for low information voters or the GOP would cease to exist.

[randys1]

2. The person telling them to hate unions also tells them it is OK to hate Gays and AfAm's

Also tells them that we all hate Women if Women want power over their own bodies.


Your average teapartier is not informed on any of the issues, what they are informed on is who hates minorities and who doesnt.

[postulater]

3. You are right. Instead of Blue and Red states we should reframe it

to be Blue and White states.

[randys1]

5. First time I have heard it phrased that way, I like it, I am going to steal it for a tweet

thanks

[Wellstone ruled]

4. You nailed it.

Remember the late forties when Wisconsin lead the Nation in creating Union Jobs. We did not have our Churches beating up people verbally as they are now. This bullshit about abortion and gay bashing started in the late sixties by some Pentecostal ass in Kansas or Missouri and the rest has been a nightmare for the real truth.

[blkmusclmachine]

6. Unfortunately, we don't have a Democratic Party that gives a damn about the 99% anymore.

[guillaumeb]

7. but they are almost as good

as the GOP at sucking up corporate money. When 1% of the people have 99% of the money we can all see how it works out.

[Cha]

8. K^R!