what I don’t understand is why Walker is looking for economic changes to the union contracts that are valued at $300 million over two years when he is facing a $3600 million deficit. That is less than 10% of the total and I’m sure that payroll represents a lot more than 10% of the total budget. It puts into perspective that this is truly a “modest contribution” from unionized public employees and not an assault
what I don’t understand is why Walker is looking for economic changes to the union contracts that are valued at $300 million over two years when he is facing a $3600 million deficit
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A) Walker has to start somewhere;
B) This bill is only one step in making WI a ‘right to work’ state - in order to attract businesses back to the state after Doyle drove them out.
B) This is just the first of many budget bills to come;
C) WI State labor costs are 60% of the budget, so I’ve heard.
This is just the start. Firefighters and law enforcement were exempted - for now. They'll be on the chopping block eventually. That's why Dems are fighting so hard to keep the camel's nose out of the tent. Once the nose gets in, it's only a matter of time before the entire camel is in there. Then the indirect funneling of taxpayer money to public sector then to union bosses then to sympathetic Dem politicians will end.
Public sector unions are the lifeblood of the Dem party-not only in funding, but in activism. There is no commensurate group with funding enough and people enough to fill the vacuum left by unions.