"What is actually being proposed in Wisconsin?"

[Clio the Leo]

What is actually being proposed in Wisconsin?
By Ezra Klein

Reading the commentary, I think a lot of people are confused about what's actually being proposed in Wisconsin. So let's go through it.

You can find Gov. Scott Walker's proposal here. It's called "the Budget Repair bill." The section that's attracted all the anger is "State and Local Government and School District Labor Relations."

In it, Walker proposes that the right to collectively bargain be taken away from most -- but not all -- state and local workers. Who's left out? "Local law enforcement and fire employees, and state troopers and inspectors would be exempt from these changes." As Harold Meyerson notes, these are also the unions that happened to be more supportive of Walker in the last election. Funny, that.

Walker tries to sell the change in collective bargaining as modest. "State and local employees could continue to bargain for base pay, they would not be able to bargain over other compensation measures." But that's not really true. Read down a bit further and you'll find that "total wage increases could not exceed a cap based on the consumer price index (CPI) unless approved by referendum." In other words, they couldn't bargain for wages to rise faster than inflation. So, in reality, they can't bargain for wages and they can't bargain over other forms of compensation. They just can't bargain.

The proposal doesn't stop there, though. "Contracts would be limited to one year and wages would be frozen until the new contract is settled. Collective bargaining units are required to take annual votes to maintain certification as a union. Employers would be prohibited from collecting union dues and members of collective bargaining units would not be required to pay dues." These rules have nothing to do with pension costs or even bargaining. They're just about weakening unions: They make it harder for unions to collect dues from members, to negotiate stable contracts or to survive a bad year.

more...
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2011/02/what_is_actually_being_propose.html

[Swede]

1. More here:

The Budget Repair Bill, in Section 239, would repeal this entire section. There is no replacement. It is apparently no longer necessary. After 40 years, it has outlived its usefulness.

The Budget Repair Bill requires the employee to pay half of the contribution to the pension fund, whether that is ETF, a county fund or even a private fund, and contains law changes that make it illegal for any employer, state or municipal, to pay the employee’s share of the pension contribution. The provision would nullify any contractual provision to the contrary.

There are non-statutory provisions included in the bill as well. Section 9115 of the bill provides changes to Employee Trust Funds. Section 1 applies to health care coverage. If the bill would pass, the premium would increase to $84 per month for an individual, and $208 per month for family coverage in Tier 1. Tier 2 would be $122 and $307, and Tier 3 would be $226 and $567.

These changes would apply to all state employees. There are no exceptions.

Section 9115, Part 3 would establish a committee to study the creation a defined contribution plan as an option for participating employees. Currently, we have a defined benefit plan. The difference is that a defined benefit play pays based on years of service. A defined contribution plan only has a cash value. This has been something that conservatives have advocated for years, and it looks like the door may be opening.

The study under Section 9115, Part 3 also would examine modifying the supplemental health insurance premium credit program under subchapter IX of Chapter 40 of the statutes. To put that in plain English, that is the sick leave conversion program.

http://www.wlea.org/

[Historic NY]

2. I yr contracts cost everyone money.& frozen money would have to be paid..so what did he win.."0"