The Assault on the American Worker: Wisconsin Is the Beginning - FDL

[WillyT]

The Assault on the American Worker: Wisconsin Is the Beginning
By: David Dayen
Friday February 18, 2011 9:40 am

<snip>

If you’re wondering why only the State Senate Democrats and not the Assembly walked out in Wisconsin, protesting the budget repair bill that would strip collective bargaining rights for public employees, it’s because Republicans and one independent are enough in the Assembly for a quorum. Bob Ziegelbauer, that one independent, seemed noncommital on going to work today, but leaning in that direction. The Assembly Democrats are in a caucus at the Capitol.

As we’ve been saying, Wisconsin is kind of a launching pad for conservatives who want to break public employee unions. Other efforts are happening in concert. Tennessee just passed a bill out of a Senate committee stripping collective bargaining for teachers. If you weren’t aware that the tea party push to elect Republicans was more about union-busting than liberty or freedom, you weren’t paying attention:

Walker’s gambit has rightly elicited outrage, but considering the breadth of the attack unions are facing nationally, it is only the tip of the iceberg. Right-to-work legislation has been filed in twelve states; this is in addition to the twenty-two that already have such laws on the books. In technical terms, this legislation makes it illegal for employers to condition employment on union membership or the equivalent dues payments even when a majority of workers vote to form a union; practically speaking, it makes building and maintaining a strong union very difficult, which in turn makes it harder to organize new workplaces because there are few positive examples of unions to point to. In Virginia, the corporations and right-wing ideologues decided that the existing right-to-work law wasn’t sufficient, and introduced a measure to embed the right-to-work provisions in the state Constitution. Three more states—Montana, Ohio and Wisconsin—are expected to have bills introduced converting their legal status to right-to-work.

Alabama passed legislation in January that bans public employee unions from collecting dues unless the unions first prove that none of the money will be used for supporting election campaigns. In every subsequent year after the initial certification, the union must submit itemized reports accounting for how its money is being spent. This law, sold as “paycheck protection” by the right but known as “paycheck deception” among union activists, has been introduced in four other states this year, including Arizona, Kansas, Mississippi and Missouri. In California there has already been ballot initiative language submitted to do the same. Using a variety of legal tools, these measures prohibit the use of union dues for political activity. Union advocates are expecting twelve more states to file bills or initiatives banning the collection of union monies for politics.

Read on, http://www.thenation.com/article/158640/labors-last-stand it’s incredibly detailed on the attacks toward unions from multiple different angles.

<snip>

More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/02/18/the-assault-on-the-american-worker-wisconsin-is-the-beginning/

:kick:

[kohodog]

1. Maybe Wisconsin is the beginning of the beginning of people waking up

If this doesn't stir outrage, combined with Ohio, Michigan and a possible government shut down nothing will. I choose to believe that this is a beginning of real change. Something is up all over the world, and hopefully Americans also will seize the moment. If not now, when? If not you, who?

Let's have our own Days of Rage!

[midnight]

2. No union dues for political activity? Does that also mean the Chamber of commerce union

will be unable to donate as well... They better define union/dues and make sure the language has a mirror reference to those other Republican unions...

[madmax]

3. This is bullshit

"Alabama passed legislation in January that bans public employee unions from collecting dues unless the unions first prove that none of the money will be used for supporting election campaigns. In every subsequent year after the initial certification, the union must submit itemized reports accounting for how its money is being spent".

Yet, Citizens United allows guys like the Koch brothers to do whatever the fuck they want.

Where the hell am I??

[toddwv]

4. The assault began while Reagan was in office.

Wisconsin is an important battle in a war that has been going on for decades.