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Andy Manis / AP
Protestors of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many state workers pack the rotunda at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. on Feb. 17, 2011.
AP reports:
MADISON, Wis. — Police officers were dispatched Thursday to find Wisconsin state lawmakers who had apparently boycotted a vote on a sweeping bill that would strip most government workers of their collective bargaining rights.
The lawmakers, all Democrats in the state Senate, did not show up when they were ordered to attend a midday vote on the legislation.
The proposal has been the focus of intense protests at the Statehouse for three days. As Republicans tried to begin Senate business Thursday, observers in the gallery screamed "Freedom! Democracy! Unions!"
Andy Manis / AP
Wisconsin Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, talks to the media at the State Capitol in response to 14 Democratic senators who boycotted a session blocking a vote on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many state workers.
Msnbc.com story: Democrats leave state to foil Wisconsin anti-union vote
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State lawmakers better wake up. Unions are still part of our workforce. Collective bargaining is part of the process.
I hope other states follow Wisconsin's example. Unions have destroyed businesses and communities in many states, like CA, Illinois, and especially NY
Do you work for a living?
if you wonder if unions are worth it just ask the upper mang of GM they made a killing off there work and asking for the world
I'm not a big fan of unions, I think they have mostly outlived their usefullness. On the other hand, it seems a little execessive to take such a sweeping action all at once. No matter how you feel about the issue at hand though I think that it's unacceptable for either party to try and circumvent the process by not showing up for a vote you are going to lose. We shouldn't sacrifice our democratic principles to appease special interests...
Special Interests? These are the interests of the thousands of people packed in and out of the capitol.
Public unions are a special interest group.... It's not a derogatory term. There may be thousands of state employees but it's still a fraction of the population. I don't really care one way or the other if the law is passed but I can't defend anyone on either side of the aisle trying to subvert the political process... The ends do not justify the means. I'm not willing to give the missing legislators a free pass just because I happen to agree or disagree with their position on the issue. Next time it might be legislation that you support being blocked by these same tactics; I wonder if you would feel the same way then?
If the other side did in the name of the people and not the corporations I would stand by that decision as well. I just don't understand giving billions to corporations who don't pay their fair share of pie then when faced with balancing the budget they blame the people for being greedy. All the people want is to be treated right that shouldn't be asking too much.
I hope Scotties buddies in other state's get to see him go and they can hang back from trying to do what he did.He is what people call, a jack **s.
Jimimadison says
"I hope other states follow Wisconsin's example. Unions have destroyed businesses and communities in many states, like CA, Illinois, and especially NY"
So quick to point the finger you are. Did you know that over 2/3rds of WI corporations pay ZERO state income tax? Seems fishy to me. All in all WI corporations account for only 3% of total collected state taxes all while using a much higher percentage of state resources. All I ever hear about is how WI tax rates are horrible but the truth is corporate tax rates have fallen by half since 1981. And Walker himself even stated that debt restructuring could bring in $165 million dollars by the end of June. Making these concessions by Union members completely unnecessary. It really does amount to a partisan attack on the working class for the purpose of exerting power over a large section over the population.
All this is is a power grab meant to destroy unions. Without unions in this country we wouldn't have a 40 hr work week or overtime pay, child labor laws, safety standards and much more. To decry union workers is to decry the american public and it's proud history and tradition.
All you liberal union thugs' days are numbered. the days of spending our states into an unsustainable coma are coming to an end. you can't keep spending other people's money. oh and by the way the governor was elected precisely to do this! So your rent a mob protestors with the dictator signs are pathetic. right out of the commie play book. and it's not on the wage part of compensation it's on the benefits. why can't you pay your fair share for pension and health care?
Wake up!
What don't the residents of Wisconsin get about this cost cutting measure? If this doesn't pass then the happy union members will face layoffs which means no paycheck but by God they'll be a union member now and forever.
loopie926 says
"What don't the residents of Wisconsin get about this cost cutting measure? If this doesn't pass then the happy union members will face layoffs which means no paycheck but by God they'll be a union member now and forever."
We get it very well. The corporations apparently are more important than the good folks that work in them. I live here in madison and at the rally there are just as many conservatives protesting the measures as there are liberals. It affect just about everyone here in the state which is why the protest is so large. Walker has yet to even try to negotiate with the union. He just says he has no option when there have been plenty of valid counter offers made. He refuses to listen to any of them. That's not how good leadership conduct itself. That's someone who is looking after his own self interests in the name of the people not the good of the state itself.
I'd also like to add that this is a perfect example of "big government" which I thought was something that true conservatives were against. The democratic lawmakers aren't "running away" this is civil disobedience in action, they are standing up for the working class in this state. And I applaud and thank them for their service.
This is the biggest protest in Wisconsin since the Vietnam War Protests. Fall where you may on the issue, bu this is history in the making. It is partisan politics at both its worst and its best. The People have the right to speak out and are doing so. This is not about money - but about the right to bargain, the right to have influence over ones work conditions. It's about questioning the wholesale of the middle and working classes for the benefit of special interests, corporations and the uber-rich.
It is OK to cut Social Security and Medicare but don't touch the unions, give me a break
Dr. Hot and Dustboy...You go!!! My mother would have lost her job (a single mother rearing two children on her own) because some supervisor had a whim about her, had it not been for a labor union rep. Freedom is having the right and ability to choose. This is another attempt to destroy the middleclass.
I have read lots of people whining about unions online, as if they are the reason for everything that has gone bad. The reason everything has gone bad is corporate greed. Productivity has doubled in the last 30 years, but all of the gains from that have been taken by the wealthy.
This nation is doomed if that continues, but the Wrong Wing wants to convince you that it is all the worker's fault. Now THAT is propaganda, tell you lies that say the people that are at fault are innocent and the hard working people that want a decent living are at fault...do NOT fall for those lies. Fascist propaganda will always try to convince you something harmful to you is good for you. Hate the unions and the capitalists may trickle down a few crumbs to those that sell out.
I know exactly what you mean about fascist propaganda from groups like moveon.org and other far left-wing groups. Society needs to done something about these groups. They are ruining this country. Example: just look at what a failure Obama has been.
Fascism is when corporations control the government and have large influence over public policy as they do now and is classified as extreme right-wing by nature. You sir are an idiot for believing that move-on and "other left-wing groups" spout fascist propaganda when they are the product of average progressive people in this country who want to make a positive change. Maybe if you actually read their stuff you might find some ways of helping the country as well instead of posting drivel that provides no substance to the debate at hand. Fascism is alive and well in this country unfortunately and it rests squarely on the right.
Skip Smith......we are talking about people like YOU! You support the corporations r a p ing all of the American workers.
Hope you don't work for a living, or depend on income from people that do. What you have expressed here is support for corporate fascism.
Looks like Tahir Sq. Also while I'm not fond of lawmakers in general +1 props to the Wisconson democrats on this maneuver. After all you can't have a war if one side doesn't show... hahaha.
There are more working class people that are not in a union than are in a union. The unions have flexed power for to long. The public employee unions have acted a little bit on the sleazy side over the past 25 years. They lobby for tax increases so that they can get raises and more retirement security. In this vain they are hurting the majority of the working class by causing higher taxes that cause small businesses to close, corporations to cut back, and reducing the buying power of those who still have jobs. It is time for the unions to share the load with the rest of the country.
People that belong to unions are not bad people. Sometimes they have no choice. Forcing people to join unions to work for the goverment is wrong. People should have the right to work as a teacher or truck driver without paying union dues to one of the many corrupt union leaders.
Are you saying that public employee unions are sleazier than the corporations who rake in billions, export jobs, corrupt politicians, slash employee programs, and trash the environment? (which to be fair is not every corporation but there seems to be a lot these days)
don't confuse Skip with facts.
This is akin to saying that you cannot have a lawer represent you if you're suing the government. The govenor doesn't wish to bargian in good faith, so deprives all of his employees of all rights to bargain.
Whine away,union lackeys,but the day of reckoning is upon you. The Dem.Lawmakers should be found,arrested and forced out of office. The state has to fix it's broken finances.Union thugs about to lose their ability to rob the sheep(members) are crying the loudest. I for one hope that this passes,and sweeps the nation.Long overdue.
Republicans pull the same tactics, they were the ones who shutdown congress back in the nineties and are threatening it again this spring. So I guess we should arrest them too huh? (rolls eyes)
As long as there are Koch brothers there needs to be unions.
Well said Ray
A MEN!
I seriously doubt that this will pass in the state supreme court anyway. Asking for responsible pay, or increasing contributions is one thing, and that can be debated. Forcing people to give up rights is quite another and should rightly be raised in the courts once the governor has finished postulating.