Not a joke. They’re ducking a vote on union benefits and may have fled the state.
MADISON, Wis. – Police officers were dispatched Thursday to find Wisconsin state lawmakers who had apparently boycotted a vote on a sweeping bill that would strip most government workers of their collective bargaining rights.
The lawmakers, all Democrats in the state Senate, did not show up when they were ordered to attend a midday vote on the legislation.
As the story notes, the GOP has a majority but needs one Dem to show up to make a quorum for the vote. And there’s no word on when any of them plan to return. They would rather gum up the state’s government than deal with how unions are bankrupting state and city governments everywhere.
Democratic Minority Leader Mark Miller released a statement on behalf of all Democrats urging Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans to listen to opponents of the measure and seek a compromise. His statement did not address where Democrats were or when they planned to return.
This reminds me of what the Democrats in Texas did when they lost power about 8 years ago. A vote on redistricting came up that they knew they would lose, they just couldn’t bear to face the fact that their minority status meant they couldn’t unilaterally wield power anymore, so they bolted for Oklahoma. My guess is the Wisconsin Dems will hole up in Chicago. It’s not far from Madison and run by their fellow liberals. It’s time for the WI GOP to put these senators’ faces on milk cartons, run radio and TV ads that sound like missing persons alerts, and mock these Democrats without pity or mercy.
This, by the way, is a joke — or should be.
“The story around the world is the rush to democracy,” said Democratic Sen. Bob Jauch of Poplar. “The story in Wisconsin is the end of the democratic process.”
So it’s only democracy when Democrats and unions get their way?
YOU SUCK!
“unions are bankrupting state and city governments everywhere”
What a load of BS. It certainly isn’t the case in WI.
Who are bankrupting our country? The BONUSES of the CEO’s on Wall Street would pay for the deficit in 49 states. GREED, GREED, GREED – it isn’t the middle class American workers.
Methinks it is time for 14 recalls
I agree with the first two to comment. This not about unions anymore they offered 100K back in December.This is about freedom being taken away!
WAKE up middle class – you are the small fish and the SHARKS are eating you up! Don’t fall for it! When push comes to shove they won’t care about you! It is time to stand up and fight for your rights!
GO PACKERS!!!
I’m curious, what freedom is being taken away?
You should have been around 50 years when people fought to have their voices heard.
I like the missing persons idea. I hear they were spotted on a short bus.
Oh, and Benjamin… Very insightful. Thanks for contributing to the discussion.
Glad to see WI going down the path of sound economics. Unions did good things early in the 20th century, but have been the driving force in the massive decline of American manufacturing. Right to Work states prosper where as unionized states are in a stagnation or decline. Every worker should have the right to work without joining a union. They have also destroyed the American education system by focusing on the teachers and their benefits rather than the children.,
Well said, RealAmerican.
RA, the bill is in the legislature, elected by the people of the state to represent them by voting, not by running away. The voters also elected Walker, who is not a one-man government as you’re portraying him, but an elected official who can be unelected next election cycle. That IS democracy as we have practiced it in this country for centuries.
BRYAN,
Please refer to US History. This country is a REPUBLIC not a DEMOCRACY! Also, I don’t know what part of the state you live in, but the people north of Eau Claire are not fairly represented by our current government. I vote we become annexed by Canada.
Oh God. Please tell me you’re not a Political Science major.
I don’t know how you figure they focus only on their wages. I don’t know of too many professions where someone with a masters degree earns a whopping $50 grand a year! How about all the teachers who have to buy their own supplies in order to have an adequate teaching environment. Shame on you!
Is the level of compensation germaine? If you have a masters and are underpaid, don’t work for the government. Get a job at a private company or get comfortable making $50k/yr.
Let’s see, I know many teachers who last year payed over $1000 out of their pockets for extra materials to spend in the classroom. There are thousands of teachers who have donated money, time and given of themselves for students. The top worst paying careers for current college graduates are in teaching. I could be a dog hairstylist who is in her 20′s in northern Minnesota and make more then I do with a Master’s Degree and 30 years of teaching experience. Have you ever taught in a classroom? Have you ever watched the clothes of a student or spent your money buying them new clothes? Have you ever listened to a young man talk about being locked in a closet or beaten up by his father? How little you know of so many teachers who teach because of their love of kids and learning!! It isn’t about the paycheck. If we wanted to be rich we would have chosen another career.
The right to collectively bargain. Democracy the right to debate. This guy doesn’t listen he dictates. He if told you jump off a bridge with a brick in your hand would you. Or would you debate about jumping without the brick or even jumping at all?
Why does everyone assume that collective bargaining is a right!?
Why do you assume it isn’t?
I don’t assume it isn’t I know it isn’t. I can only bargain collectively in a union shop state by taking away someone else’s right to work.
Unions are always full of thieving scum, they are always conspiracies against the public.
You republicans always blame unions for everything. I live in Madison, and the unions were willing to make give backs and and have for the last couple of years. You blamed the unions for the auto companies too, but what about the people making the real money like the CEO’s. And what concessions are the lawmakers making?
Hallelujah, finally someone who makes sense!
First, CEO’s are the leaders of a company, and don’t stage boycotts,walkouts, or strikes. They are sought after and paid what they ask. Union thugs do indeed stage demonstrations, strikes, and boycotts. And auto workers make $28 per hour on average with benefits/pensions of around $40 per hour.
Also, when it comes to teachers, blame administrators who keep money from going into the classroom. Blame teachers for demanding pension packages at the end of their tenure. Teachers work less than 200 days of the year and make on average 45K. I have no pity.
No, the CEO’s are the greedy *&%$#@ who will do everything in their power to keep their ill-gotten gains and not pay their fair share.
Real America Wrote “CEO’s are the leaders of a company, and don’t stage boycotts,walkouts, or strikes. They are sought after and paid what they ask.”
The bank CEOs nearly ran America into the ground. The government bailed them out. The union worker, that does not receive bailouts, also seeks a decent living and the Union helps them secure a decent living.
How can you state that a union person is greedy for earning $28 hourly, while the CEO of that company may take away $10,000,000 annually or $4,800 hourly?
“The union worker, that does not receive bailouts, also seeks a decent living and the Union helps them secure a decent living.”
Government Motors union’s got a bailout, thank the Democrats. The bank’s CEO’s got a bailout, thank the Democrats.
None of them deserved it, we can’t afford it, we can’t afford unions.
One reason for the bailouts were to help middle class Americans keep their homes, keep their retirement packages, keep their 401k’s, and help the middle class from not going under. NO one fathomed that the CEO’s would be so greedy and the companies so ruthless.
Whether or not the Democrats and Unions of our fair state agree with Governor Walker and the legislation they are *required* to vote on today, it is ridiculous and absurd for them to literally run away. Democracy isn’t something you can only do when YOU have the power. They cannot refuse to vote. That is autocratic and idiotic. The Democratic Senators who have supposedly FLED the state should be stripped of pay and power. They are an affront to democracy and an embarrassment to their state. Period.
I disagree with you. What the Democrats are avoiding is a rush to a vote that their constituents have voiced, very loudly I might add, disagreement with. Why rush to vote, what are the Republicans afraid of? That they might be wrong? Budget cuts yes, an end to collective bargaining…not so much.
Where were you when the Democrats were pushing ObamaCare through without any GOP input, and before anyone had even read the bill?
Bryan,
Would you like a little cheese with your whine? It’s not my fault the Republicans were too dumb to disallow the vote.
Actually, I think you’d find it’s much harder to prevent a vote in the House or Senate under the rules in effect, ie, reconciliation. In fact, the Democrats pushed it through under those rules, stretching them nearly to the breaking point in the process, to prevent the Republicans from interfering with the vote.
Wow UWM Student, where have you been? Isn’t Walker forgetting about democracy here? He is abusing his power by not allowing democratic due process! Walker never stated a willingness to talk to the unions or the people. All of us know the state has financial troubles but the state workers aren’t the cause of it. The unions offered 100 million in concessions in December, but he’s not interested in that.
I give your comment a grade of D+. You sound like a bright student, do a little research, and don’t give up on college like Walker did.
The Republicans who started a session 5 minutes early should also then be stripped of their posts.
Maybe the WI Dem congressmen should unionize — then they could just call a work stoppage instead of running to hide from a vote.
I’m really tired of hearing about this assault on WI workers. I’m employed in WI and nobody is “assaulting” me. I support this bill; I took a 10% pay cut, lost a week’s vacation, and had no 401K match. Do you know what I did; I exercised my right to find employment elsewhere. Also, to all you that claim the Republicans are uneducated, I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Ops Management. While the pay cuts have altered my spending, I live within my means and don’t rely on anyone but myself to take care of me. Oh ya, I also have a family to take care of. Which by the way, my stay at home wife and I are seriously considering home schooling or private school as I’m losing faith in the public system. Now only if I could get my tax dollars back that are paying the teachers’ salaries….
I wasn’t going to comment but some of the posts here are vivid examples of of the kind of thinking that has so many states facing ruination. For openeres, everyone in Wisconsin should be ashamed of the Democrats in the state senate. On the most basic level they too are state employees themselves and are paid to show up and legislate. It’s obvious that the Dems are in hiding hoping that the public union’s increasingly thuggish tactics will intimidate the governor or Republic legislators to cave in.
As to the plight of the teachers (“buying their own supplies”) I could care less. I have no problems with teachers making good money with fantastic benefits. I have no problem with them wielding their huge political clout in the Democratic party. What I can’t stand is their constant retreat behind that “We’re only thinking of the children” whine. Their unions can act like knee-capping Gambino family members all they want but don’t ask me to swallow that crap that the only concern they have is “for the kids.” I can’t stand it when some teachers union apparatchik insists that all of his members are characters out of an old Reader’s Digest “My Most Unforgettable Character” article. The “children” mean totally zip to most of these people. And lets not forget its not just the teachers. Public schools are probably some of the most overly-administered entities on earth. The bureaucracy that attends public school systems is amazing. School administrators are unionized too, make more money than most teachers and haven’t taught a kid in years. You oculd weed out about 60% of all public school administrators without any visible effect on the quality (such as it is) of a child’s educaiton.
As for the public unions generally they too are bound both by the rule of law and by economic reality. What will they do if the state goes into bankruptcy? (A number of states, led by California, are now facing the abyss.) That would abrogate nearly all of the contract provisions so near and dear to the hearts of AJ, American First and UWStudent (above). A receiver would pay the union members what he or she thinks the state can afford and nothing more. It won’t be what they’re getting now. The golden goose would be well and truly cooked then.
I live in Ohio where we are facing massive state deficits and a critical need to be realistic about the state’s finances. The public sector unions have already been frantically smearing Governor Kasich in the same way Wisconsin union members are smearing Governor Walker. The teachers and the public union types better learn that the party is OVER. A lot of people are waking up and finally asking the question “Do public employees work for us or do we work for them?”
You live in Ohio! LOL! Enough said! You obviously shouldn’t be typing a long book about something you have no insight on. Enuff said…
Really! I suppose I am also disqualified from oberving that California is in a wee bit of fiscal trouble? When was it necessary to live in a state in order to observe that it was heading over the cliff. The public unions in Ohio could probably teach their confrers in Wisconsin a thing or two about brass-knuckle political arm-breaking. Our Dem legislators share one thing with their Wisconsin colleagues. They are scared out of their wits by the clout of the public unions.
And let’s not forget that other mid-western states such as Illinois and Michigan are also circling the bowl because of the demands put on them by public employees. Governor’s like Walker, Kasich and Rich Snyder in Michigan were elected to stop the bleeding. If your head-in-the-sand attitude is typical of the Dairy State then be prepared for some rather grim surprises very soon.
For once I am ashamed to be a republican. Republicans were elected to office to make real changes for the better, not for the worse. Passing laws to break unions is not legal, is not moral, and is irresponsible. How many conssions have unions made to help offset budget issues? Don’t blame unions for budget problems the wages that will be saved will hardly put a drop in the bucket of the proposed budget short fall! I voted republican in 2010 and for that matter all my life, I guess that ends today! I will have to vote democrate in the next election!
“Passing laws to break unions is not legal, is not moral, and is irresponsible.”
Union shops are an abomination, immoral in and of themselves, and is the very best thing that could be done.
What unions are is a “scab” driver just trying to make a living getting shot in the head every couple of years in WV. It’s sprinkler fitters union goons sneaking onto a work-site and throwing the cutouts down the assembled piping or cutting the wiring on the tamper valves.
Unions are violent, thieving scum every time, all the time, and you can never scratch a union man without seeing communist blood. That’s my personal experience with unions.
Evil thieves, every one.
Passing laws to break unions is not legal,….
I’m guessing there is at least one word in that sentence you don’t actually understand.
I think those of you who do not currently live in Madison and have no idea of the “real” story behind what’s going on should have no room to comment on the thread. Walker is an idiot who wants to take away from hard working middle class employees and there are a bunch of idiots out there who are all for it! I was at the capitol and i saw the passion that people had in their eyes. I’ve also been sitting at work and have seen co-workers who have been here for 20-30 years nervous and unsure of what will happen in the near future. And what kind of a Governor threatens to lay off 6,000 state workers if his bill doesn’t pass? How about listening to the people of Wisconsin instead of stroking his own ego and insisting that lawmakers “do as i say or else…” I’m pretty darn confident this bill isn’t the only way to cut the deficit. Give me a break!
Fixed it for you.
“Walker is a man who can see the red in the ledger who wants to take away from overpaid employees and give relief to taxpayers tired of paying for it!”
When the Dems left in january, the books were in the black, now all of a sudden we are in the red & have to pass a bill instead of talking to the constituents? Proof? Here you go: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/wisconsin-gov-walker-ginned-up-budget-shortfall-to-undercut-worker-rights.php
The only thing that site can show, is that the state wasn’t out of money yet, but that it was inevitably headed that way.
Your “evidence” hopelessly contradicts itself in the first paragraph.
“Unlike true austerity measures — service rollbacks, furloughs, and other temporary measures that cause pain but save money — rolling back worker’s bargaining rights by itself saves almost nothing on its own. But Walker’s doing it anyhow, to knock down a barrier and allow him to cut state employee benefits immediately.”
By definition, cutting benefits immediately saves money immediately, because even if the benefits are projected future payments, its keeping today’s borrowing costs lower. You and your article are too economically stupid to have any attention padi to them, and they are no better than I expect from a leftist propaganda outlet like TPM.
Go fish, dummy.
The only thing that site can show, is that the state wasn’t out of money yet, but that it was inevitably headed that way.
Your “evidence” hopelessly contradicts itself in the first paragraph.
“Unlike true austerity measures — service rollbacks, furloughs, and other temporary measures that cause pain but save money — rolling back worker’s bargaining rights by itself saves almost nothing on its own. But Walker’s doing it anyhow, to knock down a barrier and allow him to cut state employee benefits immediately.”
By definition, cutting benefits immediately saves money immediately, because even if the benefits are projected future payments, its keeping today’s borrowing costs lower. You and your article are too economically stupid to have any attention paid to them, and they are no better than I expect from a leftist propaganda outlet like TPM.
Go fish, dummy.
More idiocies from the lefty propaganda mill, what
“Reality Check” claimed are special interest payoffs:
” * $25 million for an economic development fund for job creation, which still holds $73 million because of anemic job growth.”
And now that the state government is not in the hands of Democrats, the development fund may actually have some use, there is also no sign the moneys are going disproportionately to the governors friends.
” * $48 million for private health savings accounts — a perennial Republican favorite.”
Oh I get it, they are claiming that letting people keep their own money and thereby letting the government spend less is a special interest payoff. This measure is debt neutral and pro liberty.
” * $67 million for a tax incentive plan that benefits employers, but at levels too low to spur hiring.”
No such thing exists, all moneys not taken to be less well spent by government–all it can do because government money is spent for political reasons at best in addition to economic ones–are monies which will spur economic and thereby job growth. It won’t be centrally planned or lefty approved, but that’s a feature, not a bug.
You and the left are just too stupid, morally ugly, and dangerous for words to adequately describe the mess you’ve got us in.
Walker is in good company. Other “leaders” that have stomped on unions include Lenin, Mao, and Hitler…
Walker has been Godwinned. That didn’t take long. You might want to brush up on your history, though.
Why doesn’t anyone ever mention the 140 million dollars of new spending Walker approved in January for special interests?
Spent the 140 mill in January, then cry he’s 136 million short in Feb.
Sounds like a C average drop out student worked out that one!
Prove it.
Are the MIA Dems in violation of any state or federal laws, and if so, which ones?