The Wisconsin Death Trip

Freshly elected Governor Scott Walker, who has never held any elected office even at the schoolboard level,kicks off his administration by promising to end collective bargaining and arbitration for public service unions. He instantly threatens to call out the National Guard to deal with any unruly workers.

First problem is that Walker never even asked to sit down and discuss labor problems with the unions or their representatives but simply asserted his position. Second problem is that large numbers of the union members are conservatives and Republicans particularly in the targeted Corrections Officers' union. So rural Republican representatives are fit to be tied as their core constituency--the prison workers--are angry. Third problem, the Wisconsin's state version of the CBO said that if the state did nothing about the workers' it would still have a surplus of over $123 million this year.

Walker's actions and threats galvanized the state. The National Guard shot back at him that they weren't his private political police force. The last time the National Guard was called up in Wisconsin was in the late 1890s where they opened fired and killed striking officers.

When the Green Bay Packers turn against the Governor, you know he's in deep do-do. The Packers came out both at the management and player level to voice solidarity with the public sector workers.

Now the private sector is voicing support for the public sector workers and the UAW and Steelworkers are beginning to show up in support.

Yesterday,thousands surrounded the state capital in Madison demanding the Governors' recall. Today, barricades have been built and the police have cordoned off the capital, which is known to be open day and night for citizens. Symbolically this is considered at the local level as an insult by the Governor, violating the state's open tradition.

Last night 1,000 protestors gathered outside the Governor's private home. Demonstrations were held in every city in the state. 10,000 teachers gathered at a night time rally outside the capital building.

Wisconsin has a long history of progressive politics on both sides of the aisle. ACFSME was created there in 1923. And it was the first state to have kindergarten.The Governors' actions were denounced by conservative Republicans in the state as too radical and a "big government power grab."

The Governor now says that he will use the National Guard to perform the jobs of the public sector. This is only pissing the prison workers off even more. Most of them made the transition to prison work because local manufacturing plants closed down.The prison work pays less but it has some rudimentary benefits and a possibility of a pension. These the Governor wants to take away.

Schools are closed today because the teachers stayed off the job.

The Governors' bill may pass the Republican dominated legislature but there are sure to be ramifications. Next week John Kasich of Ohio is going to try the same thing in an attempt to outlaw collective bargaining and arbitration. He too hasn't asked to talk to any of the unions or their represenatives. Both Walker and Kasich won paper-thin victories in the fall elections but both are committed to govern by ideology and ignore those who didn't vote for them.


Remember, both Governors refused the federal money for the high speed rail projects,the act costing each of their states several thousand jobs.