Time to Rein in Public Sector Unions [Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker did this in 2011] "...........Conservative Labor Reforms
This transformation of the union movement should make government labor reforms a top conservative priority. Government unions are a powerful institutional force opposed to limiting the size and scope of government. They make top conservative (and politically popular) priorities—from tax relief to school choice—very difficult to enact. Creating them was a mistake that states should rectify.
Several states—such as Virginia and North Carolina—never permitted collective bargaining in government. States that did should return to this example.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker did this in 2011. He signed legislation eliminating the power of unions to bargain over government benefits and work rules, and strictly limited bargaining over wages. This enabled Walker to transform a $3.6 billion budget shortfall into a surplus and $2 billion in tax cuts. Savings came not just from cutting government pay, but also from operating more efficiently.
Wisconsin school districts, for example, saved tens of millions of dollars through lower health insurance premiums. Previously, the Wisconsin Education Association (WEA) had required school districts to buy health insurance through WEA Trust, a union-backed insurance provider. Once school districts were allowed to shop around, they got lower rates.
Similarly, Wisconsin unions can no longer force their work rules on the state or local governments. The seniority system that forced Milwaukee Public Schools to fire Megan Sampson a week after naming her their “Outstanding First Year Teacher” has now become optional.
Unions threatened to end Scott Walker’s political career for taking them on. They failed miserably. Walker won a union-backed recall election handily. He won his regular re-election bid by almost the exact margin he first won in 2010. Walker’s reforms cost him no political support.
Exit polls in 2014 showed that Walker won the political argument over the role of unions in government. Wisconsin voters view government unions unfavorably by a 52–44 percent margin................"
President Obama Slams GOP Congress In Labor Day Message (VIDEO)
The 2011 Wisconsin protests were a series of demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States beginning in February involving at its zenith as many as 100,000 protesters opposing the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, also called the "Wisconsin Budget Repair bill." Subsequently, anti-tax activists and other conservatives, including Tea Party advocates, launched small pockets of counter protests. The protests centered on the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, with satellite protests also occurring at other municipalities throughout the state. Demonstrations took place at various college campuses, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. After the collective bargaining bill was upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on June 14, the number of protesters declined to about 1,000 within a couple days...."
"The protests were a major driving force for recall elections of state senators in 2011 and 2012, the failed recall of Governor Scott Walker in 2012 and a contentious Wisconsin Supreme Court election in 2011."