Posted on 01/11/2005 10:39:23 AM PST by ZGuy
Gov. Matt Blunt began making good on campaign pledges during his first full day in office Tuesday, rescinding the collective bargaining rights of thousands of state workers and ordering agencies to make several cost-cutting policy changes.
Blunt halted the purchase or lease of new cell phones, office space and non-emergency vehicles. He also closed the state's office in Washington, D.C.
Those were among the first pledges Blunt made when he began campaigning for governor nearly a year ago. The 34-year-old Republican was sworn in at noon Monday — becoming the nation's youngest serving governor and the first Republican governor to take office with a GOP Legislature in Missouri in 84 years.
As secretary of state, Blunt had criticized former Democratic Gov. Bob Holden's June 2001 executive order granting collective bargaining rights to thousands of state employees and allowing unions to charge bargaining fees to employees who aren't union members.
Blunt fought an administrative rule change allowing the fees, but lost a court battle with the unions when a judge said the secretary of state's office must publish the rule, allowing it to take effect. It was to finally go into effect at the end of this month.
But on Tuesday, Blunt rescinded the executive order and withdrew the new rule. Several state employee bargaining units already have the fees included in contracts negotiated by unions. But Blunt said those provisions will have no effect — an interpretation unions may challenge.
Her Republican opposition is Catherine Hanaway and is from St. louis and didn't make the right noises in the right pitch to attract the rest of the state. Also, Carnahan's father was canonized by the Missouri press and is a democrat saint.
Or just click to 97.1-FM Talk and catch Smash's show and then Laura Ingraham at 9! ;)
I love the talk radio, but have to be careful with the kids in the car - that's why I usually DO have a CD in.
God Bless Missouri!! Wish he was our governor.
Proud to say that he is my Governor!
Hi Bobwade. We miss you on Saturdays.
bump for later enjoyment.
bump for a good start, and a governor with balls! about time!
"I don't understand your comment about the long hours that nurses work. My sister retired recently (as a RN) and she never worked more that the 8 hours"
What's hard to understand? The nurses both male and female from two different shifts in one day all told me they were pulling roughly 12 and 16 hour shifts. They didn't say it was due to any emergencies either. I was there during that time due to a terminally ill relative who required round the clock care which BTW the nurse staff could not give.
Yes we will be seeing more in the news from OUR GOV!!!
Looks like I may, once again, be proud to be a Missourian. My enthusiasm did a swan dive during St. Mel's and Big Bucks Bob's regimes. It will, however, take a long time to recover from some of their pathetic judicial appointments.
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