Current unrest points to state's labor history

By Catholic Online
3/4/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Wisconsin to celebrate 100th anniversary of first labor victory

The actions of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who is moving to end certain aspects of public union collective baragining must be viewed in light of the state's history of championing workers' rights. The year 2011 will be the 100th anniversary of when Wisconsin became the first state to pass a law guaranteeing workers' compensation. Wisconsin was a major fighter in the early 19th century for the eight-hour workday and school curriculums include the state's organized labor history.

Workers view Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's bill as a way to quash their rights to negotiate for better work conditions and decent wages.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The actions of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who is moving to end certain aspects of public union collective baragining, must be viewed in light of the state's history of championing workers' rights. The year 2011 will be the 100th anniversary of when Wisconsin became the first state to pass a law guaranteeing workers' compensation. Wisconsin was a major fighter in the early 19th century for the eight-hour workday and school curriculums include the state's organized labor history.

Many public union workers view Walker's bill as limiting their right to negotiate for better work conditions and decent wages. Fourteen Democratic lawmakers left the state in protest. Similar political and union battles are underway in Indiana and Ohio, where bills would end or substantially weaken public unions.

Protests in both Wisconsin and Ohio have drawn people from across the country, turning the debate into a national tug of war. The issue has also drawn out critics of public employee unions who say that organized labor strikes disrupt public services and inflate wages at a rate that strains economies and taxpayers.

"The reason these protests have drawn so much energy from people across the country is that on a gut level, banding together to defend how you work has historically felt like a fundamental right to many Americans," Patricia Greenfield, a professor at the National Labor College says.

"I teach my students that what's happening in Wisconsin is a historical pattern," Greenfield says. Other historians, including Nelson Lichtenstein, the director of the Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy agree.

"You can take it all the way back to the 1800s or the early 1980s -- when there's been a perception by the working class that they are being threatened from the right or the left, unions will push back," Nelson Lichtenstein, the director of the Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy says. "That doesn't mean things always end well for the workers," he added.

Lichtenstein drew a parallel to President Ronald Reagan's firing in 1981 of more than 11,000 air traffic controllers when they went on an illegal strike. Gov. Walker has threatened massive public worker layoffs if the budget reform bill isn't passed.

Replacing a highly specialized workforce, replacing teachers, police officers and other public workers could be just as tough, historians say.

"Unions know this. They understand their leverage and what employers, generally, want to avoid," Greenfield said. "It wasn't like the beginning where if you even thought about joining a union, you were toast."

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General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
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Keywords: Wisconsin, labor relations, Scott Walker

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1 - 8 of 8 Comments

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2 years ago
Rob, I just have a friendly reminder that your Holy Unions caused millions of dollars in damage to the state capitol building. The Taxpayers are stuck with the Repair Bills. The State is broke enough without adding on more problems. The Holy Unions don't care because, Hey, it's everyone elses money. They like all Marxists get their money from 'Everyone Else'.
Bob Keller
2 years ago
Hi Rob,
I've got a possible answer (or at least food for thought) for your commentary of March 4, 2011. Check out the following: "De-Funding Education: it really is about theocracy versus democracy" at http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/5/16037/25573 and "Evangelicals and Unions Part 1: Evolutionary Scientists to Blame for Gilded-Age" at http://thesocialconversation.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/evangelicals-and-unions-part-1-evolutionary-scientists-to-blame-for-gilded-age/ I've not decided whether I agree with the premise yet but see what you think.
Rob
2 years ago
Thank you Bob, but to Jonsey's point, it realy is an issue for Wisconsin voters to decide. Jonsey, is there any evidence that Wisconsin has the problems New York does? Because I've not read or heard anything that suggest that.
Bob Keller
2 years ago
A couple of URLS from March 3&4, 2011 that folks might wish to peruse:
"Wisconsin Poll: Support for Budget Cutting, Not for Weakening Collective Bargaining Rights
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_state_surveys/wisconsin/wisconsin_poll_support_for_budget_cutting_not_for_weakening_collective_bargaining_rights "
"Wisconsin Governor Walker: 43% Approval Rating
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_state_surveys/wisconsin/wisconsin_governor_walker_43_approval_rating " suggest to me anyway that Jonesy's assertions are not accurate regarding the wishes of Wisconsin voters.
Then there's the New York "rubber rooms". Here's an article from April, 2010 that informs us that "rubber rooms" are history as of fall 2010.
"Teachers Set Deal With City on Discipline Process" http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/nyregion/16rubber.html . Further, the story informs us that prior to eliminating the "rubber rooms" "the number of teachers in rubber rooms has grown. There are now about 550, costing the city $30 million a year."
Jonesy
2 years ago
@Rob - The good people of Wisconsin support the governor - maybe you haven't seen the polls, but even if you haven't you should recognize that the voters chose Walker and a state assembly that overwhelmingly supports him. The taxpayers are tired of supporting an elitist class of overpaid and underperforming public educators. More to the point, Governor Walker is not attempting to bust the unions. They will retain their right to negotiate for wages. What they will not retain is their right to prohibit a teacher from being fired under any circumstances. New York has some 2000 teachers who have been found to be unfit to teach for crimes such as molesting children and drug usage. They cannot be fired, because the union contract prohibits it, so the teachers sit in a room all day and collect their salaries for doing nothing. Wisconsin taxpayers do not desire to be New York taxpayers. Since a minority of union bought Democrats refuse to show up and vote, it is entirely appropriate that Walker lay off some of their union supporters. Perhaps the Democrat senators who do not want to face fiscal reality and reintroduce themselves to sanity in labor negotians will hire the newly unemployed union members to cut their lawns at $75 per hour with no ability to fire them when they fail to perform. I wouldn't hold my breath.
Patricia McCann
2 years ago
Given the state of the economy, the drop in home values, the unstable cost of oil, and the loss of Federal funding to a wide variety of things that benefit individual states, yet another drastic increase in unemployment around the nation was inevitable. In 2009, we all watched the bad news when yet anther 600,000 Americans lost their jobs and created the highest rate of unemployment in history since the Great Depression. Many of those Americans have yet to find work as we clearly are headed for yet another massive layoff on a national scale. It was inevitable because our economy has not improved while all of government continued to spend money it did not have.

For example, my county of Winnebago and city employees were all given a 12% raise in Feb 2010--which they voted for themselves in the city county and county board meeting. This 12% raise was approved when my county had at the time the highest unemployment rate in the Midwest of 28%! The Mayor got his 12%, the City Commissioner got his 12%, but then they wanted to cut firefighters and police staff by 20% and claimed the union was too greedy. Within 30 days the Illinois legislators all voted themselves a 12% raise as well.

During my 35 years as a union worker, not once did we ever get a 12% raise--not even in the best of economic times. There were many years of no raises at all.It is because of unions that all Americans have improved working conditions today and laws that protect those conditions. Employers are not inclined to educate their employees on labor laws--it is simply not in their best interest to do so.

If Americans allow collective bargaining rights to be rescinded for any group of workers, all Americans stand to see a return to the 80 hour work week without any provisions for safety, heat, air conditioning, without any provisions for sick leave,maternity leave, protection from sexual harrassment in the workplace, and a lng list of others.

Collective bargaining is when both parties agree to come to the table to ome to agreement on working conditions, benefits, and wages. That agreement is signed, notarized by both parties. Without that right for bargaining collectively, all of America is looking to the return of sweat shops, intimidation, and a hostile work environment. No worker deserves that. None should become the scapegoat for the economy that we see.

When local, state, and federal elected officials continue to enact laws they cannot afford to enforce, print money as needed, blaming the worker is unconscionable.
Mabal Zarhairi
2 years ago
Dig a bit deeper and you'll find that the collective bargaining going on is not between employer and employee but union and government agreeing to divide taxpayer dollars between themselves. Mandatory union dues withheld from members paychecks by the government and handed to the union in exchange for campaigning efforts by the unions to keep the incumbents in office. Taxpayers aren't even at the table in these "negotiations".
Rob
2 years ago
Since the governor has received the fiscal concessions he wants, why is union busting part of the budget? So to get his way, he's going to lay off people? Ideology at all costs, is that how it works? He is literally going to cause turmoil in people's lives merely because he wants to insist on this controversial law? I'm sorry, but this guys is too much. Guess we'll have to see how he fares in the next election now the good people of Wisconsin understand what he is about.

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