Wisconsin is the birthplace of American public-sector unionism. In the 1930s the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) first organized in Madison. How ironic then that Wisconsin may also be the burial ground for public-sector unionism. Governor Scott Walker and the state legislature confront implacable and intractable union opposition as they struggle to bring Wisconsin’s finances under control. The Badger State has become ground zero in the battle between unions intent on expanding their health and pension plans and state governments determined to avoid bankruptcy.
In 1932, a small group of Wisconsin state workers organized in depression-stricken Madison to “promote, defend and enhance the civil service system,” and to spread the gospel of civil service throughout the country. Their creation, the Wisconsin State Employees Union/Council 24, was soon rechristened the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and in 1936 it received a charter from the American Federation of Labor (AFL): Public-sector unionism was born.
Times are not as tough these days as they were back in the 1930s, but Wisconsin in 2011 is nonetheless in dire fiscal shape, facing an immediate $136 million deficit and a projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall over the next two years. (Wisconsin has a lot of company: forty-four states and the District of Columbia face shortfalls of $125 billion for fiscal year 2012, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.) Simply put, the costs of governing Wisconsin are unsustainable, and one of the primary reasons, according to Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, is the cost of state employee health plans, which have risen 90 percent since 2002.Page 2 Labor
Desperate to avoid layoffs yet still put his state’s financial house in order, on February 11th newly elected Republican Gov. Scott Walker proposed a comprehensive “budget repair” bill. “We must take immediate action to ensure fiscal stability in our state,” explained Walker. “This budget repair bill will meet the immediate needs of our state and give government the tools to deal with this and future budget crises.” Among the bill’s salient features was the shocking suggestion that public employees contribute 5.8 percent toward their own pension plans (roughly the national average) and 12.6 percent toward their health benefits (still well below the national average). These provisions alone would save the state an estimated $30 million in the final three months of the fiscal year ending in July.
As shocking as these measures were to unions, Walker wasn’t done. In addition to asking public workers to pay more for their retirement and health care, the Governor called for sweeping reforms of the state’s collective bargaining system. As a press release from the Governor’s office explained: “[T]he budget repair bill gives state and local governments the tools to manage spending reductions through changing some provisions of the state’s collective bargaining laws. The state’s civil service system, among the strongest in the country, would remain in place. State and local employees could continue to bargain for base pay, they would not be able to bargain over other compensation measures. Local police, fire and state patrol would be exempted from the changes. Other reforms will include state and local governments not collecting union dues, annual certification will be required in a secret ballot, and any employee can opt out of paying
union dues.”
Read the full article here.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.