Wisconsin union charges governor with unfair labor practices
MADISON, Wisconsin |
MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) - The Wisconsin State Employees Union (WSEU) accused new Republican Gov. Scott Walker of unfair labor practices for refusing to bargain in a complaint filed Monday with a state employment commission.
The legal challenge comes amid a standoff between Walker and state legislative Democrats over a proposal to limit bargaining rights and require yearly recertification votes for many public sector employees represented by unions.
"Instead of trying to find real solutions to the challenges facing the state, the governor is attempting to dictate terms. This not only in ineffective, it's against the law," AFSCME Council 24 Executive Director Marty Beil said in a statement.
The standoff has sparked two weeks of protests at the state capitol building in Madison, including one that drew more than 70,000 on Saturday, the biggest local protest since the Vietnam war.
The union asked the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to require the state to bargain with the WSEU and to extend the current contract until the matter is resolved.
The majority Republican Wisconsin Assembly approved the bill containing Walker's proposals last Friday after a 2-1/2 day debate. All 14 Senate Democrats had left Wisconsin earlier to prevent a vote on the bill in that chamber.
The WSEU had reached a tentative new labor agreement in December. But then-governor-elect Walker announced his opposition and actively opposed approval by legislators.
The Assembly voted to approve the agreement, but the Senate failed to adopt it after a tie vote.
The state has notified the union that it intends to end the extension of the current agreement on March 12.
(Reporting by David Bailey. Editing by Peter Bohan)
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Gov. Scott Walker is playing with fire and may end up in jail for collusion with the Koch brother and/or other private business enmities in relation to trying to kill the Labor Unions and insert private business employees mixed into the State Government jobs with the intentions of beating down the labor wages and benefits while at the same time bringing in private worker to do the work of union help. This is an unnecessary unfair sabotage of worker livelihoods being perpetrated by this selfish Governor to appease private business and possibly receiving perks for himself at a later date. At the least it is using collusion with probably special favors to the Governor to help private business unfairly route our State worker and satisfy the desires of their private business by allowing private businesses to fill those job vacancies. At the least it is unethical, un-American, greedy and ruthless and possibly criminal. I hope it is criminal. This Governor should be fired.
It should never be illegal for peoople to stick together for a common cause they believe in or to select someone to represent them as one voice in negotiations.
Now if the government only has a certian amount of money they can afford to spend, then they staff accordingly and lay off the rest. Those that are left will have to take up the slack. Private business does this all the time so what is the issue here?
But lets not forget … Government by the people, FOR the people… not for Big Government or Big Business or Big Campaign contributors.
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