Collective Bargaining and Public Employees

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The efforts to undermine the collective bargaining rights of public sector workers in Wisconsin led by Republican Governor Scott Walker – and the widespread resistance of unions, workers, and supporters – represents, perhaps, the most important domestic issue in the United States at the moment. The Wisconsin protests have become the center of national media attention as tens of thousands of union workers and their employees crowd the State Capitol. The story certainly deserves the spotlight, as what happens in Wisconsin may very well spread too much of the rest of the nation. However, what is often lost in the storylines is what the protesters really are fighting for in their efforts. According to Governor Walker (R-WI) and many conservatives the protesters are simply trying to hold on to unsustainable wages and benefits that they have gained through collective bargaining negotiations in the past. The legislation Walker is attempting to push through would require public employees to contribute a much larger sum toward their pensions and health insurance plans, and therefore lessen the burden of the state. However, Walker's bill would also permanently strip the unions of their collective bargaining rights. It means that in the future public employee unions would not be able to negotiate benefits, and could only ask for pay raises at the rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Ten years from now if the economy is fully recovered and the state of Wisconsin is running a surplus the unions would still not be able to negotiate for better benefits or higher pay raises than the CPI because their rights to collectively bargain will be taken away. Then, maybe there is a different reason rather than economical hidden behind Walker’s ag...

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McCartin, J. (March 2, 2011). “Convenient Scapegoat: Public Workers under Assault”.

Retrieved March 8, 2011 form http://dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=3825

Pennington Randy (March 8, 2011). “Why Public Sector Unions Could Became Extinct”. Retrieved March 2, 2011

from http://www.penningtongroup.com/blog/2011/03/why-public-sector-unions-could-became-extinct

Spreading Anti-Union Agenda (February 22, 2011). The New York Times.

Retrieved March2, 2011, from

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/opinion/23wed1.html?_1&hp=&pagewanted=print

Witt, Ryan. (February 19, 2011). “What the Wisconsin protests are really all about”. Retrieved March 10, 2011

from http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/what-the-wisconsin-protests-are-really-all-about

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