Posted on 02/22/2015 12:28:03 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Almost immediately following Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald's announcement that the Legislature will take up a right-to-work bill next week, speculation about the size and intensity of the opposition from unions and labor allies arose.
That speculation will end on Tuesday noon when the first of two rallies planned by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO takes place at the Capitol in Madison.
"Republicans are planning to ram this legislation through in an extraordinary session at lightning pace. An extraordinary session changes the rules, limits debate and makes a mockery out of our democracy," reads a statement on the WI AFL-CIO blog. "A Right to Work bill could pass both houses and be signed into law by the Governor in days."
A pair of noon rallies on the State Street corner of the Capitol Square are scheduled for Tuesday, when the bill will first be debated by the Senate Committee on Labor and Government Reform, and Wednesday, when the bill is anticipated to reach the Senate floor.
Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, expressed concern this week that the legislation could lead to unsafe conditions at the Capitol.
"The Democrats said months ago if we decide to take up right-to-work it will be another Act 10 or possibly even worse," Nass said to a WISC-TV reporter Friday. "So knowing that, I think I have an obligation, and Sen. Fitzgerald also, to make sure that people in this building are safe."
Nass' statement aligns with statements made by Gov. Scott Walker which paint labor activists as intimidating and potentially violent in their opposition to legislation like Act 10, which effectively eliminated most collective bargaining rights for public workers in 2011. Debate over that measure brought tens of thousands of public employees and their supporters from around the state and country to the Capitol, with many activists living in the building for several days.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, objected to those statements on Friday.
"I don't expect Act 10-level protests, but at the same time when you have Sen. Nass saying the timeline is to protect people's lives around the Capitol, that's a real eighth-grade way to look at something," Erpenbach said to WISC-TV.
Fitzgerald's openly stated reasoning for fast-tracking the bill — the Senate plans to take it up in an extraordinary session with special rules late Wednesday or early Thursday — was to push it through before unions could apply much pressure to Republican senators.
Right-to-work laws end the practice of tying union membership to employment and automatic union dues collection from paychecks in the private sector.
Labor unions hold that right-to-work laws lead to the dissolution of collective bargaining and, along with it, a decline in protections, wages and benefits for workers. Meanwhile, conservatives insist workers desire more freedom to choose whether they want to join a union. Allowing employers to function outside a collective bargaining framework allows them to create more jobs and be more flexible in their hiring and management practices.
"Claimed advantages of Right to Work are unproven," reads the WI AFL-CIO blog. "Nationally recognized economists agree Right to Work provides no discernible economic advantage. By lowering wages, Right to Work would weaken consumption and may undermine Wisconsin’s small businesses which depend on workers having wages to spend."
Note: They’re not protesting tomorrow (Monday) when temps will be sub-zero. *Rolleyes*
Doing it fast and hard saved us from too much damage in Michigan.
It was only about 5 days from the first vote to the governor signing it and that includes a weekend off.
Unions - Nobody has a right-to-work unless we say so. Understand?
The Capitol? Couldn't they find Governor Walker's second cousin once removed's house to protest in front of.
Of course, it's more an ego thing, and the march will be about the union exerting power against democracy.
This isn’t a democracy (mob rule.) This is a republic.
This isn’t a democracy (mob rule.) This is a republic.
Michigan led the way. On Wisconsin. And when finished? Come down here to Jeff City and tell these “pseudo-Republicans” how its done!
Walker wins again!
Hopefully, a President Walker will eliminate gov’t unions at the federal level as well!
Elections have consequences. We won. Move on.
“Claimed advantages of Right to Work are unproven,” reads the WI AFL-CIO blog.
That’s a ridiculous statement. Southern RTW states are doing just fine.
And weren’t protestors NOT allowed inside? Correct me if I’m wrong.
Cowboy bob wrote:
“Unions - Nobody has a right-to-work unless we say so. Understand?”
Actually, unions are good for all the non-working paid guidos and their families’ corruption.
How is it that Walker is the only person running for President that understands that public-sector unions will bankrupt the country. The guy seems to be the only politician willing to address the elephant in the room.
Here it comes. The March of the Union Knuckledraggers.
Unions - Nobody has a right-to-work unless we say so. Understand?
If you don’t understand, they’ll *help* you understand.
I look for the union label, then look for an alternative.
They were locked out of the chamber so they couldn’t harass members on the floor.
They did get an emergency injunction to get in but the judge warned them that if they caused trouble he would lift the injunction and they would be locked up permanently.
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