Remember: When a Republican says, “We have no other choice,” what he means is “Because I would never in a million years tax the rich instead.”
I wish I could understand why people are so willing to cooperate in the stripping away of workers rights, instead of insisting that they have them, too. That kind of thinking is a sorry part of human nature — “If we can’t have a good job, nobody should!” Oh well:
Gov. John Kasich and Republican lawmakers made it clear this week that big changes are coming to the public employees collective bargaining law as the state looks to close an $8 billion budget gap. “All of this is an effort to reduce the cost of government to reduce the tax burden on families and job creators,” said Rob Nichols, spokesman for Kasich.
Kasich said Thursday if lawmakers don’t dismantle public employees collective bargaining then he will. “All this is rooted in job creation.”
It’s a fight shaping up with unions in states across the country, particularly those with Republican-dominated governments that are in fiscal trouble. Indiana, Idaho and Tennessee all have legislation in the works that would scale back or eliminate collective bargaining.
A study by the Buckeye Institute, a conservative think tank*, found Ohio’s public workers made more than private sector counterparts. Liberal counterpart, Policy Matters Ohio, released a report Thursday that found Ohio’s public employees are paid less than those in the private sector. More than 300,000 public employees in Ohio belong to unions, including teachers, police, firefighters, municipal employees and state workers.
* “Conservative think tank” — as always, a contradiction in terms.
Wisconsin’s new governor, Scott Walker, is trying the same thing, and announced he has already alerted the National Guard to be ready to put any recalcitrant state workers in their places (jail?) if they try to protest.
Walk like an Egyptian? Might be very difficult in this form of democracy here in the US.
Would our soldiers hold back on using force, guns??? Even National Guard soldiers?
Walker and alerting National Guard.
Walker may take axe to public unions, NYTimes today.
Is this legal? Can they really do this?
Walker says he won’t negotiate with unions.
Uh, voters, take note: Elections do have consequences. Some more than others.
But, again, are Walker’s and other Repub Govs’ approach LEGAL? Are there no national laws protecting collective bargaining which are applicable or have they been gutted as well?
I recently discovered a site that’s doing a fabulous (if miserably depressing) job of documenting our new governor’s efforts to destroy my adopted state: http://www.plunderbund.com.
I hope this comment goes through. The one I left a few posts above saying the video of the Egyptians celebrating in Queens brought tears to my eyes got lost in the ether.
Thanks Ohio Mom for the link. I too live in Ohio, and was listening the other morning, to a nutjob on 700 WLW, saying this had to be done to save the state. He had some teatard on with him, encouraging all tea party members to go support this, by attending the hearings on this.