In November 2010, many states across the nation elected conservative governors, tipped the balance of state legislatures in favor of republicans and sent right-leaning freshmen to the U.S. House of Representatives and like-minded juniors to the U.S. Senate in our nation’s capital.
Here in Wisconsin, our typical purple political hue transformed into a bright red with republican majorities in the Assembly and the State Senate. Atop the new red mound in Madison is our newly elected governor, Scott Walker.
It’s been said that the aggressive agenda of Wisconsin’s governor should come as no surprise to anyone that paid even the slightest amount of attention to the rhetoric and promises made during the gubernatorial campaign. We had been informed of what the then Milwaukee County Executive would do if he were elected to Wisconsin’s top job – or so we thought. We had heard it all – from balancing Wisconsin’s books, to reallocating federal high speed rail dollars to roads and bridges, to killing the Madison – Milwaukee rail link and eating the same brown bag lunch each day.
But then this week, the governor surprised the entire state.
To balance Wisconsin’s budget, Gov. Walker has sought to push forward with legislation that takes away the right of workers to organize and bargain for basic things like health benefits and working conditions. This tactic is on its face, a union busting move and is threatening to workforce as we know it. So why would a governor who campaigned on the promise to create a quarter million jobs in his first term be so unbecoming to the very workers that make state government and community services work?
Former Bush White House advisor Karl Rove said it best. When union membership drops, like it did by over 500,000 from 2008 – 2010, that’s half a million people not paying union dues – which in turn, means that the union political coffers are downsized considerably. Typically, unions endorse and support progressives (democrats) – so busting them up plays a direct financial role in elections and especially presidential elections. The move pulls the plug on a huge fund raising source for democratic hopefuls. Republican Governors in other states like New Jersey and Ohio will follow suit.
I worry most about the tone that is set with the passage of this bill. The wealthy of our state receive a tax break while the middle and working class workers that deliver vital services to the residents of our state take the hit. This is more than about money. This is about the ability of ordinary people being able to have a seat at the table and negotiate with their employers about the conditions in which they work. If they cannot do that, then how will we be able to secure quality teachers, nurses, social workers and the like? This has a trickle effect too. If this bill touches public sector workers, then it may too eventually have effect on private sector workers – and that erases a proud tradition of working relationships between those that work and those that employ.
This bill has already passed in the Joint Finance Committee. I cannot imagine what this will mean for the long-term future of the workforce in Wisconsin and the families of those that work in our state. What does it say about our legislators that would give tax breaks to millionaires only to balance the budget on the backs of those that need every dime that they earn?
We all can appreciate that every worker and every resident shares in the struggles that our communities and our state face together. This budget repair bill though, stripping workers of the ability and the right to negotiate with their employer for the fairest possible deal, is not only unfair, it’s un-American.
Cavalier "Chevy" Johnson is a staff member at the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board.
