Wisconsin union membership plunging as workers exercise new rights

Washington Examiner ^ | April 9, 2013 | Sean Higgins

[grundle]

Two years after the protracted, bitter battle that pitted Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker against the state's public-sector unions and their allies, one thing is clear: Those unions are now shrinking rapidly.

The Badger State battle was over a law called Act 10 that reined in most state and local government employee unions, primarily by the ending the automatic deduction of union dues from workers' paychecks.

Before Walker's reforms, it didn't matter if, say, a city hall clerk or a public school teacher wanted to support a union or not. They had to pay if they wanted to keep their jobs. The money was taken directly out of their paychecks just as if it were a tax.

Big Labor feared -- and conservative groups hoped -- that without this legal requirement a lot of union members would simply drop out. That assumption has turned out to be correct.

According to Labor Department data, membership at Wisconsin's American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 40 -- one of AFSCME's four branches in the state -- has gone from the 31,730 it reported in 2011, to 29,777 in 2012, to just 20,488 now.

That's a drop of more than 11,000 -- about a third -- in just two years. The council represents city and county employees outside of Milwaukee County and child care workers across Wisconsin.

The drop was even starker for Wisconsin's AFSCME Council 48, which represents city and county workers in Milwaukee County. It went from 9,043 members in 2011, to 6,046 in 2012, to just 3,498 now.

The numbers came from annual filings the unions must make to the Labor Department. In other words, these membership numbers come from the unions themselves. The numbers have to hurt since the union was founded in Wisconsin.

[AppyPappy]

Pretty soon, they’ll have 9 year-olds working in the textile mills for 60 hours a week at 10 cents an hour. It’s coming. #democrat

[tiki]

Thanks

[spodefly]

... it didn't matter if, say, a city hall clerk or a public school teacher wanted to support a union or not. They had to pay if they wanted to keep their jobs. The money was taken directly out of their paychecks just as if it were a tax.

The most unbelievable part of this whole mess is that quote. How in the hell could anyone think that is fair, appropriate, deserved? How did it ever come to that in the first place? I understand full well why the unions wanted to keep the government-enforced extortion racket they had set up, but who in the hell that could call themselves American could ever support such a thing?

[proudpapa]

Liberals aren’t too bright. I totally expect them to increase the dues to help offset their dwindling numbers. And as a result their numbers will continue to dwindle prompting yet another increase.

And within 5 years the union will be dead.

Lol.

[ez]

Let’s see how elections change in WI now that the unions have less money to throw at them.