Wisconsin governor: balance budget by breaking unions

[The Yosemite Bear]

especially when one considers how much money the fucking Kotch bros are thrwoing at this. Those two fucks need to go to jail, for bribery, election fraud, violating tax laws, and since their actions in the last election was so egreegies we should call it a Rico offense too.

[bobalot]

Tea Party plan to impersonate union protesters: “Even if it becomes known that we are plants the quotes & pictures will linger as defacto truth.”

Great thanks to viscous_rumors for linking me to this typical piece of tea bagger excrement, brought to you by radio personality Mark Williams:

That link will take you to an SEIU page where you can sign up as an “organizer” for one of their upcoming major rallies to support the union goons in Wisconsin.

… (1) I signed up as an organizer (2) with any luck they will contact me and I will have an “in” (3) in or not I will be there and am asking as many other people as can get there to come with, all of us in SEIU shirts (those who don’t have them we can possibly buy some from vendors likely to be there) (4) we are going to target the many TV cameras and reporters looking for comments from the members there (5) we will approach the cameras to make good pictures… signs under our shirts that say things like “screw the taxpayer!” and “you OWE me!” to be pulled out for the camera (timing is important because the signs will be taken away from us) (6) we will echo those slogans in angry sounding tones to the cameras and the reporters. (7) if I do get the ‘in’ I am going to do my darnedest to get podium access and take the mic to do that rant from there…with any luck and if I can manage the moments to build up to it, I can probably get a cheer out of the crowd for something extreme.

WARNING: When around these union events do NOT instigate ANY physical confrontation, walk away from anyone who tries to start one with you. These people WILL have a mob mentality and ARE dangerous. [...]

Chances are that because I am publishing this they’ll catch wind, but it is worth the chance if you take it upon yourself to act…there’s only one of me but there are millions of you and I know that you CAN do this!

Our goal is to make the gathering look as greedy and goonish as we know that it is, ding their credibility with the media and exploit the lazy reporters who just want dramatic shots and outrageous quotes for headlines. Even if it becomes known that we are plants the quotes and pictures will linger as defacto truth.

Source

The Tea Partiers, once again showing us they are worthless assholes.

[Eleas]

Tea Party plan to impersonate union protesters: “Even if it becomes known that we are plants the quotes & pictures will linger as defacto truth.”
<snip>

You know, in most Western countries, statements of that kind would be seen as a direct incitement to riot.

[bobalot]

Tea Party plan to impersonate union protesters: “Even if it becomes known that we are plants the quotes & pictures will linger as defacto truth.”
<snip>

You know, in most Western countries, statements of that kind would be seen as a direct incitement to riot.

Not if you are a white christian conservative male in America. You can even attempt to wiretap a senator's phone and get off with a slap on the wrist.

[wautd]

I've found a nice editorial about this story, but it's in dutch so I had to run a dutch -> english translation trough Google. So some sentences might sound weird or downright wrong (eg litteral translation of a saying). Anyway, I found it worth posting here because I think most will understand the gist of it.

I've bolded the things of importance.

Madison, the capital of the state of Wisconsin, in recent days seemed a little bit of Cairo. Thousands of protesters have occupied the state parliament. They would stay there if need weeks, they said. The reason for the protest? The controversial plan by the Republican Governor Scott Walker to silence the union officials.

Walker puts his offensive under the guise of a budget balancing. Officials in Wisconsin would have to surrender not only substantial, their unions would also lose the right to conclude collective agreements for their members. Especially the last shooting them down the wrong way. The unions had already agreed to compromise. It flatly abolition of social dialogue, therefore, they find an attack on their rights.

And so you saw in Wisconsin in recent days surreal situations. While tens of thousands of people demonstrated in and around the capitol building and the Tea Party buses full of demonstrators argued against, the Democratic state senators were untraceable. To a final vote on Walkers besparingswet to avoid, they were collectively the state and fled into hiding in secret locations in neighboring Illinois, where Walker outputted by state police can not compel them to return. They are threatening for days if not weeks to stay away, Walker to cease his attack on the unions. Wisconsin was the first state officials are allowed to form trade unions, so noblesse oblige.

It follows, however: if you get broken unions in Wisconsin, then they will break anywhere. Hence a series of Republican governors in other states, including Ohio (which was also demonstrated), Indiana, Tennessee and New Jersey committed similar offensives in the unions.

Why is that? Obviously not for budgetary reasons. By taking away union rights will save you a penny. Wisconsin even does not have a big budget problem. According to the neutral audit of the state parliament was able to conclude this year with a budget surplus. That is, if Governor Walker in his office with expensive tax cuts not immediately unpacked it. It is a deliberately manufactured crisis as an excuse to break the unions.

What you do in this way, the Democrats sew (edit mine: heh... funny translation. Better translation = screw over the democrats) . After the controversial ruling of the Supreme Court in 2010, which gave companies the right to unlimited donations to political candidates, unions are the only Democratic donors who have some with it. Not coincidentally eyeing the presidential elections of 2012 and Wisconsin is a crucial struggle.

And that's of course. What the Republicans want, not save, but to blow up all resistance to cleaning up the whole social contract where American society is based on.

Witness the offensive in Washington that they introduce the decomposition of various rights and achievements. Republicans won the midterm elections in November under the slogan "Where are the jobs?" Since then, it is not the outstretched finger to create jobs. They are primarily involved in attempts to President Obama's new sickness and Wall Street Reform to revoke the legal right to abortion and to undermine any plans to sabotage America's CO2 emissions under control.

Sixty one billion U.S. dollars to save the Republicans in the new federal budget, a record amount. Apart from the fact that many economists find that a bad idea, because its desperately needed money from the recovering economy is struggling would suck, would also direct costs tens of thousands of jobs in the public sector. Response from the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives John Boehner: an impassive: "So be it" ("That's it so").

That so few weeks after yet another unnecessary tax cuts for the rich enforcing. It is a kind of cowboy capitalism that cowboys would be ashamed.

The Republicans won elections with the slogan "Where are the jobs?" But they have done nothing to create jobs

[FaxModem1]

My dad blogged about this. I posted in the comments section with links about the National guard, the State Patrol, and the illegal vote video.

He's actually in support of this, believe it or not.

[Patrick Degan]

Looks like the State Troopers and the Firefighters have joined with the other public unions. Reports on Democracy Now show 80,000 protestors clogging the streets in front of the state capitol in Madison.

[Steven Snyder]

I keep hearing about how these teachers are grossly overpaid, so I found this:

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/999 ... r-salaries

Basically it's a database on what each and every school employee in Wisconsin makes, if you have a Bachelors it is thirty to upper 40k. If you have a Masters degree you can expect mid 50's. Nothing surprising.

[D.Turtle]

This graph from the Economic Policy Institute also seems relevant:

Those figures are for total compensation, so includes things like health care and pensions.

Oh, I don't remember if it was posted in this thread, but the various unions have already offered to agree to all the cuts proposed - they just don't want to lose their bargaining rights. So anybody who says that this is about the financial situation is simply telling bullshit.

[bobalot]

That's amazing, we have people on this forum who complain about how heavily compensated government workers are compared to private industry and even that's a load of bullshit.

[D.Turtle]

Well, its part of a very effective strategy: Pick out (or make up) extreme examples, and then say that that is representative for the whole.

Reagan used it quite effectively with welfare.

[Patrick Degan]

There also seems to be another game going on, for which the public sector union fight might be serving as a smokescreen. According to a provision way down on the same bill over which the revolt in Madison is being waged (buried on pg. 24 of a 144 page piece of legislation):

SECTION 44. 16.896 of the statutes is created to read:
16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state−owned heating, cooling, and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).

Which means that the Wisconsin electrical grid could be privatised at any time, with no public review or legislative approval necessary. And who might benefit from that little scheme to the tune of some very big dollars? Why, Scott Walker's financiers, of course —the Koch Brothers. Who coincidentally just happen to own, in the state of Wisconsin:

Flint Hills Resources, LLC, through its subsidiaries, is a leading refining and chemicals company. Its subsidiaries market products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol, olefins, polymers and intermediate chemicals, as well as base oils and asphalt. A subsidiary distributes refined fuel through its strategically located pipelines and terminals in Junction City, Waupun, Madison and Milwaukee. Another subsidiary manufactures asphalt that is distributed to terminals in Green Bay and Stevens Point.

Koch Pipeline Company, L.P. operates a pipeline system that crosses Wisconsin, part of the nearly 4,000 miles of pipelines owned or operated by the company.

The C. Reiss Coal Company is a leading supplier of coal used to generate power. The company has locations in Green Bay, Manitowoc, Ashland and Sheboygan.

It's beginning to look like Scott Walker just might be the best governor money could buy.

[Elfdart]

Looks like Walker's m.o. is to lie about the looming disaster, then use it as an excuse to pinch pennies by dumping current employees for newer, cheaper ones:

LINK

Guards win back jobs | Arbitrator rules against Walker's privatization
By STEVE SCHULTZE, sschultze@journalsentinel.com Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Publication: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
Date: Tuesday, January 11 2011

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Milwaukee County must offer to reinstate 26 courthouse security guards who were laid off nearly a year ago when then- County Executive Scott Walker replaced them with private guards as an emergency budget measure, according to an arbitrator's decision issued Monday.

Walker was sworn in as governor last week.

The county did not have a true budget crisis at the time and county officials failed to give the union representing the security guards an opportunity to make some alternative cost-saving proposals before laying them off, according to the decision from arbitrator Amedeo Greco.

Greco's ruling also said the $125,000 annual savings from privatizing the courthouse security estimated by county officials was overstated by nearly $53,000.

"It's another example here of penny-wise, pound-foolish," said Patricia Yunk, policy director for District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. She said Walker's emergency outsourcing move of courthouse security was an example of how his strategy of punishing unions that failed to agree to concessions went awry.

The ruling calls for immediately hiring back the laidoff county workers with back pay, with any unemployment compensation or wages from a new job subtracted. It also called for a guarantee of at least 180 days of work - the amount of time that Greco said should have been given to the security guards' union to react to Walker's privatization plan.

No estimate was immediately available of the cost of the back pay or the number of former county security guards laid off last year who might want their old jobs back. The private firm G4S Wackenhut was hired by Walker to replace the union workers. The Wackenhut guards are being paid up to $10.50 an hour, about $5 an hour less than the union guards made.

The County Board rejected the security outsourcing idea in November 2009, when Walker tried to get the move included as part of the 2010 budget.

But Walker unilaterally ordered it last March, saying the county faced a potential 2010 year-end deficit of about $7 million.

Wackenhut is being paid $1.1 million a year under its contract with the county for security at the courthouse complex, as well as for City Campus, 2711 W. Wells St., and the Vel Phillips Juvenile Justice Center in Wauwatosa.

Acting Corporation Counsel Timothy Schoewe said he couldn't comment on the arbitrator's ruling because he hadn't seen it yet. Acting County Executive Lee Holloway declined to comment. Walker couldn't be reached immediately.

Furlough plans The ruling came down the same day the prospect of five weeks of unpaid furloughs was renewed by Holloway for 2011 for about one-third of the county's work force, or some 1, 700 employees.

The 26 unpaid days would amount to 10% of a year's work schedule and would save the county an estimated $4.8 million.

Same bullshit, different target.

[Zaune]

It's beginning to look like Scott Walker just might be the best governor money could buy.

Without wishing to sound like an extremist lunatic, if I were one of the good burghers of Wisconsin, I'd be doing some deep thinking about the limitations of peaceful protest right now.

[Elfdart]

It's beginning to look like Scott Walker just might be the best governor money could buy.

Without wishing to sound like an extremist lunatic, if I were one of the good burghers of Wisconsin, I'd be doing some deep thinking about the limitations of peaceful protest right now.

Does Wisconsin allow for recalls?

[The Yosemite Bear]

it's farming country pitchforks and torches aren't a public threat.

[Fire Fly]

It's beginning to look like Scott Walker just might be the best governor money could buy.

Without wishing to sound like an extremist lunatic, if I were one of the good burghers of Wisconsin, I'd be doing some deep thinking about the limitations of peaceful protest right now.

Does Wisconsin allow for recalls?

Yes but one must wait one year before one can legally initiate a recall.

[The Romulan Republic]

Without wishing to sound like an extremist lunatic, if I were one of the good burghers of Wisconsin, I'd be doing some deep thinking about the limitations of peaceful protest right now.

Their is no justification whatsoever for violent uprising at this point. Not even close.

Good job on adopting Teabagger tactics, though.

[K. A. Pital]

The limitations of peaceful protest have not been reached. You can peacefully strike, you can peacefully block roads, stop factories and oil storage supply routes, etc. There's so much more one can do if he has enough guts and enough manpower behind him.

[MKSheppard]

No actually comrade Stas. You don't want to block roads. Because then a President could call out and federalize the state National Guard or Milita to clear the blockages and ensure the safe and speedy delivery of the U.S. Mail.

[Patrick Degan]

Does Wisconsin allow for recalls?

Yes but one must wait one year before one can legally initiate a recall.

Walker himself cannot be subject to recall until 2012, but members of the state senate can be recalled at any time, as per Chapter 9.10 of the Wisconsin Code.

[Fire Fly]

Does Wisconsin allow for recalls?

Yes but one must wait one year before one can legally initiate a recall.

Walker himself cannot be subject to recall until 2012, but members of the state senate can be recalled at any time, as per Chapter 9.10 of the Wisconsin Code.

Hmm, I think I was thinking of something else at the time.

[Zaune]

Their is no justification whatsoever for violent uprising at this point. Not even close.

Good job on adopting Teabagger tactics, though.

Well they seem to be working pretty well for the bloody Teabaggers, don't they?

Look, just to be clear, I am not advocating the use of violence to force political change except as an absolute last resort; revolution comes at a hell of a price in blood and treasure and the outcome's a crapshoot. That is not a path I want to see the Left go down until there is absolutely no way a civil war could make things any worse.
What I'm saying is that we can no longer proceed on the assumption that it will never come to that here in the First World.

[Knife]

Their current tactics seem to be working fine. National media attention out the wazzo, the State Senate deadlocked without the 14 Dems there for a quorum, and this legislation is stalled. The possibility of a recall on a lot of politicians and notice to other GOPer Governors who might want to try this same shit. Hell, the longer it goes on, the more the media picks apart why Walker is doing this. yeah, t hey fucked up, the GOPers that is. They even make themselves look like third world dictators with large portions of their populations protesting the very same time protests are going off around the world in actual third world countries for democracy.

[The Yosemite Bear]

my joke about "The Bannana Republican Party" seems to becomming true...