WI Dems Punish Private Unions To Hurt Gov. Walker
It’s no longer a secret: the Republican Party is the party of working and union families in Wisconsin. Last week, Democrats in the Wisconsin State Senate carried the day in a 17 to 16 vote rejecting a mining bill that would have brought 3,000 union jobs and a flood of economic activity to the state. The bill also would have been a boon for two of the world’s largest mine equipment manufacturers: Bucyrus and Joy Global (P&H) are both located in southeastern Wisconsin.
All 16 Democrats voted against the bill. Public employee unions AFSCME and WEAC instructed Democrats to vote against the mining bill because its passage would have made their arch-enemy, Governor Scott Walker, look good.
The legislation would have led to a $1.5 billion Gogebic Taconite iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin’s Penokee Range. Gogebic Taconite President Bill Williams said his company has pulled the plug on the project and will be moving elsewhere.
Wisconsin, which has a coat of arms on its state flag depicting a miner and the state’s strong mining heritage, now ranks among the bottom 10 places in the world to conduct mining. Since 1997, the Fraser Institute has been conducting an annual survey of metal mining and exploration companies to determine how public policy affects their ability to conduct business in 79 jurisdictions around the world. In their 2010-2011 report, Wisconsin ranks as one of the three worst, below even Madagascar, the Congo, and Venezuela. After the mining bill vote by Democrats, perhaps Wisconsin will come in last in next year’s survey.
The iron deposit in Iron County is one of the largest in the United States, and mining it would not have created environmental concerns. Minnesota, just to the west of Wisconsin, enjoys a thriving mining industry yet has no environmental problems.
Wisconsin’s mining laws were developed to regulate sulfide mining, which utilizes chemicals in its mining and refining processes. The ore deposit in Iron County is a ferrous (i.e., iron) deposit, not a sulfide deposit. The process relies on water and magnets rather than chemicals. Additionally, the Department of Natural Resources would have issued a permit for the mine only after it had confirmed that the mine would operate in an environmentally responsible manner.
Senator Bob Jauch voted against the bill; most of the jobs would have been created in his district. Senators Tim Carpenter, Lena Taylor, and Chris Larson voted no against their unionized constituents who work for the mine equipment manufacturers located in and around their districts. Amazingly, the 16 Democrats voted against the wishes of five major private sector labor unions.
Amazing. Never did see this mentioned in the MSM. Considering the socialist history of Wisconsin, it is not too surprising. Union solidarity, allegiance to the collectivist credo, disdain for capitalism, is the bedrock of the liberal left in the Cheese State. Once algae mining takes off, they’ll be in hog heaven. Solidarity forever.
Carla, the article clearly states that the the mining and manufacturing unions were FOR the bill. Against it were environmentalists and government unions.
And will the GOP kick these folks out of office?
If environmental degradation is needed for political reasons, it will be found. And prevented, if possible. Even if it wouldn’t really happen.
Huh?
Come on what is the rest of the story? No one is this stupid. Why did one Republican vote against?
Why did one republican vote against it?
Look up the political words “bribery” and maybe “RINO”
Better yet, look up the word “politician”
Democrates are not really for Unions, per se.
They are for government, first and foremost…so long as Unions can provide muscle in the form of strikes/violence/intimidation/mobs to advance the cause of expansionist Government Democrats, they will be fed from the trough.
Democrats like Unions for the dues that are their campaign contributions. They sell billions in our dollars to these non-productive-black-hole-make-work (govenrment) Unions in exchange for mere millions in kick-back contributions.
Like the thief who sells thousand dollar laptops for 50 bucks apiece, Democrats care not a bit for the waste and loss of such transactions, because they were never “their” laptops to start with. The losses incurred by turning billions into millions, is OURS…and as long as they get a taste, they feel we can afford it.
As soon as a Union is private, and productive, the honeymoon is pretty much over, because they have nothing in common with democrats. Union guys in the Trades are usually not left environmentalists, they spend time in the REAL outdoors, hunting and fishing. “Environmentalists” are predominantly air-conditioned office paper pushers, working for government agencies, who’ve seldom seen a tree outside a park, and NEVER suffered a stone in their shoe on an actual “walk”.
Nor are Trade Union Guys typically for Gun Control. Gun control activists are usually Urban Yuppies who have gym memberships, maybe yoga classes, but no fighting street smarts, and thus no clue about the danger of Statists..or they ARE Statists. Union coal miners, steel workers, heavy equipment operators and the like generally know which end is up in a fight, and dont like to be on the bottom.
So, no matter who their leadership greases with their forced dues, these guys generally arent voting the Liberal Line anyway, so no votes are really going to lost by sticking it to them with this maneuver.
In short, The Dems dont really need the private unions right now. They get plenty of kickback from the Government unions, and the compliant media will work the narrative to make Walker the bad guy. Its a cinch.
Dont forget, the Private Union Bosses dont dig, drive or climb..or usually care how many of their guys cant to feed their families…They will forgive and forget next election cycle, get wined and dined, and donate their victims (oops! “members”) forced dues to whichever side sells the most taxpayers money… even if its only Millions for Thousands in a (deepening) recession.
The Dems have a lock on that, every time.
The unions and Democrats have apparently implemented their very own “Nero Decree”. I suspect it won’t be any more successful than its WW II counterpart.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_Decree
These fools are like a violent ex-husband or boyfriend: “If we can’t have Wisconsin, then nobody else will have it either.”
I hope that this story hits Rush, Sean and others so it can be publicized.
Absolutely disgusting, that a jobs bill would be killed.
So maybe the government unions in Wisconsin don’t want jobs coming in, which can be taxed, to pay for the government unions.
Better yet, drop a bomb on Wisconsin and turn it into a parking lot, and be done with all the BS
barry1817: If you think “Rush, Sean and others” are the leaders that will bring change to this country…OR my state you are deluded and, frankly a big reason that the “left” is now steering the public debate in the USA. It is a prime example of why the “right” cannot win! I’m saying this as a lifelong conservative and Wisconsin resident. The vote was, as usual in WI, a travesty. Dale Schulz is the WORST kind of RINO; but the state, like the country is so closely divided that this is what we’ve come to. The Wisconsin Dems are all in the pockets of the public sector unions, always have been. But for you to say “drop a bomb on Wisconsin” shows me how little hope there is for this country.
“Better yet, drop a bomb on Wisconsin….”
Man, that’s pretty harsh.
When I lived in Jersey (born and raised) I wouldnt have minded going up in the fireball myself, as long as the state house and everyone in it was part of it….
Trenton, Camden, Newark……blow them all to kingdom come, as long as it gets done.
Wonder what 3M thinks about this bill and the outcome of the vote. You know the huge company that stands for Minnesota mining and manufacturing, famous for Scotch Brand tapes of all types, wire nuts, many electrical trade products, one of the largest companies in the United States, I bet they are unhappy with the legislation’s outcome!
“All 16 Democrats voted against the bill. Public employee unions AFSCME and WEAC instructed Democrats to vote against the mining bill because its passage would have made their arch-enemy, Governor Scott Walker, look good.”
So thousands of people will not get good jobs and two of the largest companies in the state will not be able to do better financially, thereby earning more revenues for the state, just because the employee unions don’t like the governor? If ever unions should be shunned it is now. The very economic future of this nation depends on it. If they can do this to one state, imagine what they are doing on the Federal level. They are scum and all Americans should know it by now.
It took a Republican TRAITOR to stop the bill. We are looking for someone currently to replace that TRAITOR!
What purpose does the Democrate party serve in the Badger state? It’s an anachronism and should simply wither away.
I love how the Dems accuse the GOP of being political. We have this incident, the Keystone pipeline, and cutting off Medicaid funding to Texas programs for women as proof that the Democrats are not the party of statesmanship. Both parties play this game to the detriment of the American people. I don’t see how it’s going to get better.
The common phrase is that the Democrats are “For the little guy”. Actually they are only for the little guy in the sense that they need to keep the little guy voting for them. How do they do that? By keeping the “little guy” little.