Massachusetts House votes to curtail government union collective bargaining privileges
Wait a minute — Massachusetts isn’t run by teabaggers, isn’t dominated by union-hating corporatists, and isn’t even a right to work state. So what gives?
The 111-to-42 vote followed tougher measures to broadly eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees in Ohio, Wisconsin, and other states. But unlike those efforts, the push in Massachusetts was led by Democrats who have traditionally stood with labor to oppose any reduction in workers’ rights.
Clearly, the unions didn’t issue enough violent threats. But isn’t it curious, that Democrats in Wisconsin fled the state to block a bill that, in Massachusetts, was brought up by and approved by Democrats?
Unions fought hard to stop the bill, launching a radio ad that assailed the plan and warning legislators that if they voted for the measure, they could lose their union backing in the next election. After the vote, labor leaders accused House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and other Democrats of turning their backs on public employees.
As you might expect, the AFL-CIO is unhappy that the Democrats didn’t stay bought.
“It’s pretty stunning,’’ said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “These are the same Democrats that all these labor unions elected. The same Democrats who we contributed to in their campaigns. The same Democrats who tell us over and over again that they’re with us, that they believe in collective bargaining, that they believe in unions. . . . It’s a done deal for our relationship with the people inside that chamber.’’
Isn’t all this curious — Democrats in Wisconsin fled the state, with the backing of the Obama administration, to block the eeeevil Republican bill that’s awfully similar to the bill that Democrats brought up and passed in deep blue Massachusetts.
I literally had to check the date. This sounds exactly like something you’d read on April Fool’s day. As a serious story, I find this stunning.
Preference cascade. Everyone has come to the realization that public employee unions act against the interests of the public, but nobody had thought they were vulnerable….
We’ll see if it actually amounts to anything. It still has to make it past the senate and then must be signed by the governor. You also need to read the fine print to see if there are any stipulations that make the bill toothless. In that case it would all be political theatre to make voters think the Dems are reformers.
“These are the same Democrats that all these labor unions elected.”
Umm Don’t you mean the citizens of the state of Massachusetts elected? Last I knew the whole state wasn’t paying union dues (yet).
Apparently, MA is not quite as cobalt blue as some might think. We did get 4 consecutive R governors here from 1990-2006 and a[n admittedly right-of-left-of-center] R now occupies the former Kennedy seat in the Senate. Our tax structure is not nearly as oppressive as many of our blue-belt cousins and our state budget, while having significant deficit problems, is nowhere near the crisis situation of CA, IL or NY.
MA is not a mini CA, that’s for d@mm sure!