I support unions and their right to collectively bargain. Let me start by saying that.
Are unions perfect? Of course not. I have my share of concerns about how some unions operate and the tactics some of them use … and I do not support every reform they propose and every position they take.
Still, in the end, I believe in unions and believe strongly that workers should have the right collectively negotiate a fair and equitable contract with their employers when it comes to wages, benefits and work rules.
Knowing that, of course I have big problems with Gov. Scott Walker’s union-killing effort announced on Friday, a plan to gut organized labor under the guise of fixing the state budget. The proposal is draconian and mean-spirited, more political payback than sound policy, as it unfairly vilifies the workers who deliver the services we use every day and wrongly dictates to local governments how we should do business.
So, yes, I think his plan is bad for the state.
But, more importantly, I think his plan is bad for South Milwaukee.
At its core, I hate the fact that Walker is telling us what to do. He and the legislature should leave us alone and let city leaders – all local governmental leaders across the state, for that matter — decide what is in the best interest of our community.
- Why is it OK for the state to dictate what we can and can’t collectively bargain for with our unions?
- Why is it OK for the state to tell local governments that they must force union workers to pay more for their health and retirement benefits?
- Why is it OK for the state to tell local governments that they cannot give pay raises to union employees more than the consumer price index?
The answer? It’s not. Walker and state lawmakers should stay out of our business.
I hope many of my readers will at least agree with me on that point, no matter what you might feel about Walker, unions and what path the state should take to solve our budget crisis.
But, to me, this is much more than an argument in theory about local control. Walker’s proposal will have real negative impacts on how our city is run.
Will South Milwaukee save money on employee costs under his plan? I’m anxious to see the numbers, but I assume we will, especially because these changes will impact all city employees, not just unionized ones. Keep in mind that we typically pass the same wage increases and other important benefit changes on to our non-union workers that we do to our represented ones, so union worker restrictions are really restrictions on all employees.
At what cost do these savings come?
Consider, for instance, the linkage between pay raises and CPI. Consider what we would basically be telling our employees should the legislature pass Walker’s plan: No matter how hard you work, no matter how sound the city’s finances are, no matter the economic outlook of the city, you will never receive a pay raise higher than 2%, give or take a few bucks.
What message does that send to our hard-working city employees, the people who make the city go, the people who plow your streets, pick up your garbage and keep the city safe? What message does that send to the people who teach our children?
And how will that message resonate if and when these workers consider their future in the public sector vs. employment in private industry?
Of course, that’s just one concern I have with Walker’s plan. There are others, such as the proposal that public safety unions, the same unions who supported Walker during his campaign, be exempted from many of its provisions. This sets up a “have and have nots” scenario pitting employee vs. employee, where one class of workers receive more favorable treatment (not to mention wages and benefits) than the others. This benefits no one.
Then there is Walker’s plan to require yearly union certification and no longer require public workers to pay dues to their unions – two tried and true union-busting techniques that have nothing to do with fixing the state budget and everything to do with Walker’s vendetta against organized labor. The fact that Walker even included these provisions in his proposal at all show the real aim of his “budget fixing” plan more than anything.
Indeed, this much is clear: Walker is out to put unions out of business.
However, I urge you to keep in mind who these public workers are. They are your friends, your next-door neighbors, the people you sit next to at church. They are taxpayers. They are us … and they should not be made scapegoats and political commodities by elected officials who on one hand espouse small government and on the other impose new, unfair and unwelcome regulations on how local communities run their operations.
How hypocritical.
South Milwaukee Blog 
I prasie Scott Walker and his plan to bust unions and their job destroying practices. If his plan is not passed, he will be forced to lay off at least 1500 workers and then he will be chastised for killing jobs. That’s whats hypocritical. Its the long term bullying by unions that got us here in the first place. My property tax bill in the City of South Milwaukee is one of the highest on a percentage basis in the entire state of Wisconsin and yet the roads I drive on to go to work everyday are some of the worst in the city. The fact that South Milwuakee has consistently had declining enrollment in its school system doesnt explain why my tax bill goes up every year. Maybe its because the city workers are paid to much and have a ridiculously generous benefit package. Unions have single handedly destroyed labor in Wisconsin and have created the budget deficit that we face now. I am a well educated chef at a coutry club and guess what, I havent had a raise in 4 years, my health insurance premiums have doubled in that time and my hours have been cut because of the recession. I make less money than most union government workers and am required to pay 20% of my health insurance premium, have no pension at all and you expect me to to be in favor of unions and the exorbitant wages and benefit package they receive so that my tax bill can go up yet again. I think not. Have you ever been to a government run business or do you just turn a blind eye to the inefficianceies of most goverment programs? Going to a DMV is worst than a root canal and you want these workers to continue to get a free ride?! And when my garbage is picked up and half of it is left in the street, do you feel that this is a hard working goverment employee? How about every year my mailbox get taken down by a snowplow or my front yard has a long strip of sod missing from the same plow.
Despite the inefficiances of city, state and federal goverment, its high time that these workers start paying their FAIR share when it comes health insurance and retirement savings just like everyone else. The unfair regulations you speak of are only “unfair” to union goverment workers that have long been on a gravy train and it needs to stop. Im sure the 95% of us with giant tax burdens that are not union or government workers would agree with me. I dont ever wish that someone loses their job but that is what is going to happen is this bill is not passed. Governor Walker can’t possibly raise taxes to continue to pay for high wage and benefits for Wisconsins government workers. If he does raise taxes, more buisnesses will leave the state and we will have less jobs altogether which means less tax dollars altogether and then the tax burden on all of Wisconsin citizens will have to go up and I’m pretty sure the people already pay their fair share. Its time for EVERYONE to pay their fair share!
I have never understood why anybody can possibly be in favor of any labor union in the first place. Were talking about organations whose sole purpose is to strong arm their employers into high wage and benefit packages that in the long run bankrupt the buisness! Then when the buisness wants to move to another state without giant tax burdens and no unionized labor, it comes as a suprise to its workers that they no longer have jobs?! A buisness is in buisness to make money and when the labor union no longer allows said business to be profitable, they either move or close. Its called capitalism. Now I realize that goverments are not your typical buisness whose sole pourpose is make profit but I also dont think they should be spending more than they take in and that happens because its workers are over compensated.
I voted for Scott Walker and would do it again in a heartbeat! You sir need to get in touch with all of your constituents and not just the ones that work for government.
Mark: I appreciate your perspective, and I certainly agree with parts of it, including your concerns with the efficiency of certain government programs (DMV was a good example) and your concern that governments should not be spending more than they take in (we don’t in South Milwaukee). I just disagree with your assessments of unions and, more to the point, union workers. I hate the fact that we continue to demonize public employees and their supposedly “exorbitant wages and benefit packages,” as you put it. I have yet to see a municipal employee who isn’t middle class. They, like me and most of my constituents, live modestly, working hard to feed their families, put a roof over their heads, educate their children and maybe enjoy a vacation now and then. Taking away that middle-class lifestyle — and their ability to bargain for that middle-class pay and benefits — is not the way we should be balancing the state budget. And it’s certainly not something that should be dictated to elected officials in South Milwaukee from Madison.
I actually like the League of Wisconsin Municipalities position on this. It’s more reasonable and would help fix the state budget without decimating public employee unions and unfairly hurting union workers. Check out the league’s testimony on the Walker budget plan here: http://www.lwm-info.org/vertical/Sites/%7B92F7D640-E25A-4317-90AD-4976378A8F8D%7D/uploads/%7B92DD37C5-3FE3-47F2-A36D-39651FEEC2A9%7D.PDF
is it fair that only non union workers have to pay 25% of there benifits while union get them all paid, if they would pitch in as the rest of us maybe taxes wouldn’t have to go up. The union teachers who care for their students are really showinig by not working, they only care about themselves, not the kids, if they don’t get what is wanted then all the kids suffer bby no school. and what about the parents who now have to find other places for the kids to go to while the teachers are strking,, isn;t that againest the union contracts for orginized work stoppages?
Pingback: What Others are Doing to Stand up for Public Employees … and Against Union Busting | South Milwaukee's 4th District