Quote:
Originally Posted by IrishLake
In this economy, everyone has to make sacrifices, union members included.
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I totally agree.
What's perplexing is that union members have agreed to take the "pay" cut (really, a cut in benefits) and Walker is still not willing to negotiate.
Also interesting is the clause within the Senate Bill 11 that states that the Governor may fire any public employees involved in “concerted activities to interrupt the operations or services of state government” if the state were in a State of Emergency. (A state of emergency is, of course, declaired by the Governor). Consequently, if the bill passes, Walker has the power--without any system of checks or balances--to fire any public employee. This is something that (a) has nothing to do with balancing a budget and (b) is far too much power for any one man, especially when it extends to
any public employee in the State, not simply the ones he hired.
Finally, Mr. Walker has attempted a similar move in the past, when he fired Milwaukee County courthouse security in the name of budget conservation. He hired a private security firm, Wackenhut, which turned out to be less than ideal (http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/90958499.html). Milwaukee County also ruled that "the county did not have a true budget crisis at the time and county officials failed to give the union representing the security guards an opportunity to make some alternative cost-saving proposals before laying them off" (http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/113212479.html), forcing the city to rehire the employees and pay all of their missed salary. This move cost the City of Milwaukee an additional $430,000, which is not something you want when fiscal conservation is the goal.
I want the state budget balanced as badly as anyone else. I want my kids to grow up in a fiscally secure environment and I want to have true job security when I return home. I just really don't think the budget or the safety of my state is what is going on here.
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