Expired Collective Bargaining Agreements in Wisconsin Canceled March 13; Union Extortionists Begin Rallies

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is doing something that needs to be done in every state in the union - getting rid of collective bargaining agreements with public unions.

Please consider Walker takes broad swipe at public employee unions

Saying those who didn't see it coming must have been in a "coma," Gov. Scott Walker unveiled sweeping legislation that would severely curtail public employee rights and dramatically change the way Wisconsin negotiates with unions going forward.

Officials alerted the Wisconsin State Employees Union on Friday that expired collective bargaining agreements would be canceled March 13. State unions have been operating under the terms of their previous contracts, an arrangement that can be terminated with 30 days notice.

The news came on the same day the governor unveiled a budget repair bill that would remove nearly all collective bargaining rights for nearly all public employees in the state and make it easier for employers to fire workers that engage in some form of labor unrest.

WSEU executive director Marty Beil, whose union represents about 22,000 state employees, did not return calls Friday. But AFT-Wisconsin President Bryan Kennedy said Walker's move is part of a nationwide effort to kill labor unions.

"It is a power grab, a coordinated effort to kill the union here," said Kennedy, whose organization represents 17,000 state employees. "This is essentially the governor saying, 'Sit down, shut up and do what you are told.'"

Look at how ridiculously ass backwards that comment is from AFT-Wisconsin President Bryan Kennedy.

This is definitely not a power grab by Walker. This is an attempt to eliminate unjustified, unworkable power grabs by public unions. The Governor and citizens are tired of pandering, coercion, bribery, whining, and petulant demands of the unions.

Union Busting?

Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, was shocked by the proposal. He said the governor seems to be "union-busting."

"State employees have the right to negotiate in good faith with the state. Without a willingness to even discuss what concessions need to be made with state employees, the governor comes across more like a dictator and less like a leader," Risser said.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers said Friday they expected Walker's bill will move quickly through the Legislature, perhaps being passed as early as next week. Republicans control the Assembly 60-38-1 and the Senate 19-14.

Good Faith?

Senator Risser calls this "union busting" as if that was a bad thing. Unfortunately, Walker is not getting rid of any unions in this proposal. Hopefully that will be the next step.

Furthermore, the idea that unions negotiate in "good faith" is one of the most preposterous statements in history. Under collective bargaining agreements the state must deal with unions. This leads to one-sided negotiations and extortion by unions.

Collective Bargaining is Extortion

Please consider Why Collective Bargaining is Extortion

'Collective bargaining' is not what its name indicates. In fact, it means exactly the opposite of what you'd guess. Collective bargaining refers to the obligation of an employer to recognize the elected representatives of a group of workers and his further obligation to negotiate with those representatives. This last part is what makes 'collective bargaining' extortion.

Under collective bargaining laws, employers have to recognize an elected union and have to negotiate with them.

Imagine if the tables were turned and employers had the right to 'employer bargaining', under which the employer could demand whatever pay reductions or workday increases he wanted, the employees had to negotiate with the employer, and employees couldn't quit!

Such an arrangement could only be classified as slavery.

The right to terminate the employer-employee relationship is a fundamental right of both employer and employee. Employment should be mutually beneficial to employer and employee and open to termination by either when it becomes non-beneficial (limited of course by any voluntary contractual agreements).

Second, the misnamed term 'collective bargaining' has given an aura of moral righteousness to the unions who pretend to be fighting for true American values like the freedom of association. However, they are fighting for values quite foreign to the United States, values that come from Marxist collectivism, i.e. the expropriation of the property of employers and the negation of their rights.

Union Extortionists Begin Rallies

Fox News reports Wisconsin Laborers Rally Against Gov. Walker's "Union-Busting" Bill

"We have people who are working in the courthouse. We have the snowplow drivers. We have people who do just about every kind of work you can imagine,” AFSCME Council 40 Staff Representative James Mattson said.

But Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) has a warning. "In 5 days, this legislature and governor could eliminate 60 years of collective bargaining history,” Jauch said.

It is possible, Senator Bob Jauch says, through a new bill from Republican Governor Scott Walker. If it becomes law would forbid most contract discussion and punish resistance to the change.

"They would have no rights to deal with these issues as they have in the past,” Mattson said.

Milroy says Gov. Walker will not sit down for a discussion with union officials and that his bill would hurt Wisconsin families and communities.

"For a lot of people this is going to mean a 5-10% cut in their take-home pay,” Rep. Nick Milroy (D-Superior) said.

It's time to send senator Bob Jauch and Rep. Nick Milroy packing. Taxpayers are fed up. They are sick of extortion by unions that give union workers wages and benefits most taxpayers will never see.

Bill Will Drive Workers Away?

Sometimes I wonder what planet people are on. The opinions expressed by "experts" in a ridiculously slanted article in in the Journal Times is a case in point.

Please consider Experts: Walker's budget bill would likely drive workers away

The bill proposed by Gov. Scott Walker to restrict collective bargaining for most public employees would likely drive workers from the public sector and the state, according to legal and economic experts.

Those experts said the bill would keep public employee wages down, create contentious and protest-filled union-employer relations and cause confusion about labor issues, all culminating in public employees eventually leaving for private sector jobs or work in other states.

"People will leave the public sector and as a whole the state of Wisconsin will be looked at as a place where there is less stability and, frankly, as a more backwards state," said Marianne Robbins, a Milwaukee-area lawyer specializing in public and private sector labor law.

Employee groups could bargain for wages but any wage increases would not be able to exceed the increase in the Consumer Price Index unless approved in a referendum.

That means there likely won't be decent-sized wage increases, if there are increases at all, said Robbins and Andrew Reschovsky, professor of public affairs and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"So some (public workers) with options will think about taking jobs elsewhere," said Reschovsky, who is among the University of Wisconsin System staff that would be affected by Walker's bill. "Retirement will look better to some state workers. The most experienced will leave and there could be real costs in lost experience."

Departing workers might look outside Wisconsin, leaving the state with less experienced and lower quality workers, Reschovsky said, especially when it comes to new school teachers and UW System faculty who can take their research and business-growing efforts elsewhere.

Walker's bill would also lead to more contentious relationships between unions and employers, Robbins said. There will likely be confusion about what can be talked about and with whom because of restrictions on what can be negotiated, she added.

"Everyone will be completely distracted by all these issues instead of taking care of what public sector employees do: Clean the streets, teach the children, guard the prisons," she said.

Workers may also be distracted by continuing demonstrations against the bill, said Paul Secunda, associate law professor specializing in labor and education law at Marquette University 's Law School. He said time would also be spent by employees and unions challenging the bill on statutory and even constitutional grounds, in particular relating to language in the law that prohibits labor protests, Secunda said, explaining that could violate freedoms of speech, expression and association.

Such challenges to the bill as well as protests may even come from those who work outside the public sector, Secunda said.

"It's not just about the public sector," he said. "It's about all workers and their inability to have any say over wages, hours and terms and conditions of their employment."

Amazing Collection of Misguided Union-Apologist Opinions

That is one of the most amazing collections of one-sided union-apologist opinions I have seen anywhere.

For starters, the idea that union members will leave the state is preposterous. Where are they going to go? Illinois? New Jersey? Right-to-Work states in the South? California?

It would help if these union-apologists would think before spewing massive amounts of nonsense.

Next, I hope unions do take these cases to court. Indeed, I hope they are foolish enough to spend every last dime they have taking these issues to court because they will lose. Then the unions will be out of money that would otherwise go to bribing officials, running fear-mongering campaigns, etc.

"Everyone will be completely distracted by all these issues instead of taking care of what public sector employees do: Clean the streets, teach the children, guard the prisons" said Robbins.

The remedy to that, should it happen would be to privatize it all. Indeed, Wisconsin should privatize it all before it can possibly happen.

The idea the we need public union workers is preposterous in and of itself. In fact, that is precisely why Walker's proposal does not go far enough. Exempting public safety workers from the proposal was lame.

Role of Government vs. Role of Unions

The role of government should be to provide the most services at the least cost. The role of unions is to provide the fewest services at the most cost. The unions succeeded.

Then the ungrateful extortionists piss and moan and bitch and whine about how underpaid they are.

Well if they are underpaid, they have a choice. They can leave. And that is exactly what New Jersey Governor Christie tells union members who whine in that state.

Here some Chris Christie articles to consider

• Chris Christie on Teachers' Unions, Vouchers, Union Dues, Change: "We are going to lead the way!"; Ron Paul-Chris Christie for President, VP
• Governor Christie Calls Unions "Crass Bullies of State Street"; Says Unions Have a Choice "Givebacks or Layoffs"
• NJ School Superintendent Bitches about Making $175,000 a year, Gov. Christie says “Let Me Help You Pack”

The reality is few public union workers will leave. And if they do, there will be 5,000 people out of a job willing to do it, probably better, and for less money to boot.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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