He'd have my vote.

I didn't think there would be anything legal to stop this, but that won't stop them from looking. Afterall in California a duly voted on law passed by the majority of Californians can be overturned in court.

Witchking - no one abolished unions. So stop with the rhetoric.

What this is actually about is a reminder to every state government that they have a fiduciary responsibility to ALL of the taxpayers - and not just the union members.

This is a major victory for the taxpayers and it's all about common sense.

Paddy - Yea they're about 10% of the taxpayers, the greediest, whiniest, most self-centered 10%.

See there, you guys told me everything Hitler did was awful. He did some good things; built the Autobahn, built the VW, and abolished unions. See there is a light at the end of every tunnel

Witchking

Walker didn't abolish unions. Get over yourself and your ignorant comparison.

"Union leaders blasted the court's decision. Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, called it "an affront to our democracy."

The Unions don't want "democracy" -- they want their own little dictatorship.

Dig a hole!!!

Ray W,

Hitler NEVER built the VW bug. He said he wanted a people's car to the people. Ferdinand Porsche made the mistake of designing one. The only "WWII" VW's were pre-production prototypes.

BTW, some of the design engineers for VW (and later the KampfWaggen, think VW Thing) were Jews, just like the slaves used to built V-1 and V-2 rocket bombs. Even citing a NAZI AND FASCIST reveals a lot.

BTW, If you don't think that the ability to negotiate your wage is significant, look at Appalachia from 1870 to 1960, or talk to at three people age 65 or older/ And if you dpn't think this happen to you??? Good Luck...

Change I can live without- Walker 2012. The republicans have violated open meeting laws, ignored the constitution by getting rid of Sec. of state, gutted public education, now changing child labor laws, cutting medicaid which helps disabled people and nursing home patients, cutting transportation, yet is giving the rich tax cuts and redoing roads that don't need fixing at a cost of $1.7-2 billion, making it impossible for small breweries to exist. He's taking from the poor, giving to the rich, and making the middle class pay.

The backlash speaks for itself. Elections have consequences, which includes Governors appointing activist judges to the bench. I suspect the people of Wisconsin will vote differently from here on out.

The recalls will move forward, and the balance will shift. This will eventually be repealed.

Finally a win for the American ability to compete. For year now we have watched as Unions destroyed the car industry. Allowing Union thuggery to dictate the terms of it's own employment. We have watched as Union loafers were handed jobs because they were willing to pay the Union Bosses for them. The Car industry, Steel industry, Construction fields and even service industries have been assaulted by and taken over by those who expect paid to get and keep jobs while loaning money to Mobs and paying for what they consider scabs to be physically assaulted. Unions have long been a harbor or those in organized crime. To give their brand of "Business" a legal face and a pile of money from wich to set out on their schemes.

Unions are an obsolete necessity of a long past era. An era when there were no labor laws, when there was no OSHA or Federal Statutes to manage those who would own and run sweatshop work houses. Unions now only exist to make their Bosses powerful (just like the Marxists like it). They drain jobs from the masses and give them to those who pay for them and neither compete for, nor earn the right to them. Competition breads excellence... NOTHING the unions have done in 35 years smells of excellence... In fact... all I have seen of Union involvement in American industry leads to stagnation and the inability of business owners to compete and remain on these shores. Unions have provided a few jobs for those willing to pay for them yet sent MILLIONS of jobs overseas where THOSE Nations people get them... Down with the Socialist/Marxist Unions forever... Jimmy Hoffa is dead and so should it be for the Unions!!!

Wow, am I ever getting sick of the term "common sense." It is always used by zealots to advance any cause they support and against any cause they oppose. It's like conservatives feeling like they have a monopoly on the terms "Freedom," "Liberty" and "constitution." All this rhetoric is making these terms meaningless.

Unions DESTROYED the car industry? Someone has watched one too many Top Gear episodes without realizing that the three "presenters" are "gits" (idiots). Unions did not destroy GM or Chrysler, or AMC or Packard or Tucker or Studebaker or Maxwell or Dodge (Yes, it once was a separate company, and bigger than Chrysler,) or REO or ... well ask Jay Leno what's in his collection. And ask him how many companies the union killed as opposed to market pressure, dirty-deals, and BAD management. No senior manager or CEO will admit a mistake while pulling down $100's of thousands, but "greedy" $12-25/hr employee ruined the whole thing. Who are they going to blame now that factories are automated?

Walker is a PIG and will be recalled. CEO's and Unions are one and the same. We pay these FAT CAT CEO's to screw our country and blame the Unions. Just crazy.

Walker WILL be Recalled and this law will be reversed.

AZPADDY - let me say this again, slowly, so that maybe you will be able to comprehend my comment this time around.

If you could actually read, you would see that my comment used the words "ALL TAXPAYERS." See, the word "All", as used in this sentence, means "everybody."

Are you with me so far?

And "everybody" INCLUDES union members.

Still with me? Good, good.

But see, this is where things might get tricky for a person of your apparently limited intellectual ability. Union members make up about 11% of the population. What democrats and union members want is to soak all of those non-union taxpayers, so that THEY can have pensions and healthcare benefits while the rest of us struggle to pay for those things ourselves, WHILE we also pay to support all of you.

But the governnent owes a fiduciary responsibilty to ALL the taxpayers, EVEN THE NON-UNION members, much as union members might not want to hear that.

There now, that wasn;t so hard, was it?

This is a great day for Wisconsin and perhaps a signal that the American public are no longer powerless to control the stranglehold the unions have on our local and federal government. A glorious day indeed!

Funny how MSNBC Buried this article. I"ll bet if the Court had overturned the law, it would have been a BANNER HEADLINE on the MSNBC website.

Wonder if the union thugs will descend on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court, along with those socialistic physicians, passing out bogus "sick notes" to teachers who were diagnosed with the "blue flu".

Union leaders blasted the court's decision. Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, called it "an affront to our democracy."

How's that Phil? Oh, that's right. You meant your union democracy. You could give a rat's ass about the Wisconsin Constitution and the powers granted by it to the Legislature. Freakin toad.

Hopefully this decision will get Wisconsin back to the state's business instead of babysitting the unions. Great ruling by the WI supreme court. Now, which state is next?

Eric> Since there is no federal law involved here neither the DOJ nor the White House will be filing anything. This issue is over. It's in the books.

No Dick, YOU are the brainwashed and ignorant one here.

Because the fact is that state governments have a fiduciary responsibility to ALL of the taxpayers - not just the union members. There is no good reason why union members should be a protected class, while everyone else deals with reality.

I am really sick and tired of the "they have it better than us" argument...if you and others are so unhappy with your compensation, rather than drag others down, why don't you fight for or find better compensation?

"Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi overstepped her authority when she declared the law void"

Is there a process for removing Circuit Judges? Sumi is obviously not capable of being impartial.

especially if you can spell 'sense'

Can you say a legal beat down for the Progressive Judge whose son worked for the union. This lady should have disqualified herself.

Judge Sumi was first appointed by REPUBLICAN Gov. Tommy Thompson. She couldn't have been so progressive if he appointed her.

Eric> Since there is no federal law involved here neither the DOJ nor the White House will be filing anything. This issue is over. It's in the books

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of
the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Like I said, the backlash speaks for itself. The recalls will be telling for the Republicans here in Wisconsin. You've just handed the state over to Obama for the 2012 elections, and to the Democrats for the foreseeable future.

Thanks for the leg up. The Supremes will be replaced in Wisconsin with left leaning judges and out with the right leaning judges.

Grilledcheese, you say that unions shouldn't be a protected class and they, like everyone else should deal with reality. That reality includes being abused and misused by employers in the name of greed. That is why unions were and are necessary. Welcome to the bold new GOP age where workers in the US, the unionized workers who, to a large degree, built your country, are now going to be treated as badly or worse than workers in the developing world, with little collective bargaining rights. Plus, a big financial supporter to the Democrats will no longer be able to compete with the Corporations support (purchase) of the the GOP. The political landscape is tilted towards the GOP, so politically no one will speak for the middle class anymore.

Sorry, how again is this a victory? How is it a step, one would presume, for common sense?

It's the like the old saying " Give them enough rope and they will hang themselves" they never look at the consequences of their actions,like Ron White, a wise philosopher said " You can't fix stupid' !

This decision is a victory for the Taxpayers of WI and it put Liberal Judges on notice. It is time to stop Union bullying. It is not the Union's "right" to give their members "upper class" wages at the expense of taxpayers, most, who are making less than them in the private sector.

goparefools - the reality is that democrats in almost every state worked very hard to pad public union membership because it created a whole lot of constituents for them. They used taxpayer money to lavish taxpayer-funded benefits on their constituents and unions were "bargaining" with the same people they were voting for.

That is the very recipe for corruption of the highest order. The bottom line is that it's DEMOCRATS who created the mess that led to the need for this kind of legislation. They got too greedy, abused their positions and promised far too much to far too many and simply outpaced the taxpayer ability to shoulder this outrageous burden.

It is not the republicans who are to blame for this - it's the unions and their democratic representatives.

Try working at a Big Box store. You'll rapidly find that unions are necessary, but sadly absent where they are needed most.

Agree, you may have a point when it comes to "You can't fix stupid," poetic and insightful in many ways.

Food for thought...unions collectively bargain and work for the member securing benefits, wages and working conditions. Excluding job training/certification has anyone considered political parties are equally unionization? Why? Does the public per candidate choose and vote for their elected representatives wages, benefits and established job qualifications? No! Political members vote for their own wage and benefit compensation including pushing party affiliated qualifications. So political party membership basically is to belong to a union. Now add the law applies to all not just non-political public workers. Public workers serve the people and politicans are no exception to the rule. Voters now per this law should have an even greater voice/power over their elected representation. I think the phrase " one size fits all," and the "bigger they are the harder they fall," is aptly suited.

composer - no one is forcing you to work at a big box store. Those with skills and training will be able to command better wages and benefits. Those without, won't.

But unions perpetuate the myth that everybody is the same, that all work should be equally valued and compensated - and that people are entitled to get paid $60,000 a year, with paid benefits and pensions- even if all they are doing is, say, collecting tolls in a toll booth.

1 down and only 49 more states to go....

smarty pants, the collective bargaining was their way of fighting for better compensation. you can't really be THAT dumb can you?

jnessler, ron white a wise philosopher? and i suppose larry the cable guy is an intellectual as well?

You can yell and scream all you want, the real truth will come when they actually TRY to recall the Republicans. The Unions/Public employees make a lot of noise.... that's what liberals are good for making noise. The actual amount of people actually recalled after filing you can count on one hand! They are like us here in Michigan, we elected these people to do just what they are doing. And regardless of what the left says..... things are being completed that prior democratic administrations have not been able to do. We actually have a balanced budget here in Michigan something we have not had in years. So the real indicator will be how many actual recalls get past the vote. There is a history with this process and it does not favor actual recall!

This is all such myopic hullabaloo...

I've worked for the Federal Government for 18 years. Our wages and benefits are generally set across the board, without the "benefit" of collective bargaining. Guess what? Things ARE FINE!

Most states have a set of disparate benefits, negotiated by Union thugs who deliver or deny votes to politicians based on who gives them the most taxpayer money. This prostitution of politics has bankrupted many states (e.g., CA, NY, NJ, IL, WI). When the unions over reach in the private sector, the company goes out of business, but not so Government, at least not yet. Although the images of protests in Wisconsin reminded me of the unrest in Greece as that country implodes.

We need leaders in America, like Walker, Kasick and Christie not linguine spined politicians like Doyle, Strickland, and Corzine.

This law will be in the books for less than a year since the Wisconsin Senate will have Democrat majorities after July's recall and once the Governor has been in office for 365 days come January he'll be recalled as well. Forcing extremism in a just-recent purple state will turn it blue in a heartbeat. You can pull that white trash BS in Texas or in the deep south but not in regions where the populace have functioning brains. In 2012 it will be toxic to be in the GOP in Wisconsin.

Bet on it on Intrade!

whether you're a republican or democrat it's pretty stupid to make predictions when you don't know every person in the state or how each of them will vote.

i hope it gets overturned but i'm not dumb enough to make predictions that it will be. people have surprised me too many times before to do so.

Brian - you are seriously delusional. There are a lot more non-union members than there are union members. And they have gotten the message LOUD AND CLEAR that union members care for no one but themselves. No one's getting recalled.

Liberals and union thugs were also posting here on MSNBC about how this law would be struck down by the court. Gee, that didn't happen either.

Number of teacher let go in WIS after this law was passsed 0

Number of teacher let go in NYS because no concessions were given 25,000+

But it's for the kids right?

Brian P, your ignorance for of the rest of the country is amazing!

Grilled, this actually has a lot less to do with Unions or Union members than it has to do with right-wing anti-American extremism. The party of very rich white men ( not registered Republicans - but the power elite who control elected Republicans like the Koch bros.) who don't want to pay taxes and wish to throw the majority of the 95% off the cliff will reap what they sow. Every single poll within Wisconsin indicates what I wrote in the post you responded to. I'll save your ID and message you in July and in January to remind you! You probably think Obama won't win re-election, Jesus are you in for a bad 5 years!

Brian - you don't REALLY believe those polls, now do you? Is there really a person left alive who hasn't figured out by now how rigged those "polls" are? My, aren't you charmingly naive.

And Obama isn't going to get re-elected unless he can magically create millions of jobs.

Oh, and btw? I won't be holding my breath waiting for that message of yours.

John,

You may not have noticed but the states with the lowest standards of living, health care, infant mortality, lowest pay and benefits, collect the most federal dollars and pay the least are all right to work anti union states. The top ten standards of living and who pay more taxes in than they recieve in return are all blue pro union states. In virtually any measurable category of economic and social advancement the bottom 15 states are Solid Red right to work states. The only categories possible to deem positive are low costs of living, low property values and taxes and a pro-business atmosphere (tax breaks, cheap plentiful labor, low safety and environmental standards). If you actually care to see which states have the highest standards of living and which states pay all our bills use the US Census data for a snapshot use the Tax Foundation.

jkh

This is a good day for the people of Wisconsin and hopefully for people in other states. As for the unions, they have no one to blame but themselves. Yes, there was a time when unions were needed but the problem is that their very structure is self corrupting.

Their use of heavy handed tactics by mandating membership and creating adversarial and contentious relationships with business is a driving force for many companies to relocate elsewhere. The unions usually rail on about how companies do this out of greed but I suspect the primary motivator is their own overbearing posture.

It seems there are a lot of unhappy union dregs here judging from the number of collapsed posts.

Democrat and Union thugs in Wisconsin are really class acts. First they protest a Special Olympian gathering and now they threaten violence. Is it safe to travel to Wisconsin? Even the Brits are reporting on it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2003825/Congressman-Fred-Clark-caught-tape-voter-hung-him.html

The interesting thing here in Wisconsin is, despite a lot of noise from Team Donkey on how they're going to "take back their state", the Wins keep stacking up in Team Elephant's column. It started in Nov when WI went RED. Not just a little but all in Governor, Senate & Assembly RED. And in 6 months time, our "Evil" governor has started reversing policies that were chasing employers from the state. Our unemployment number has improved. Companies are starting to look seriously at WI as a place to do business. The Supreme Court seat that was supposed to be a Team Donkey cake walk to victory after the CB bill was signed into law stayed with Team Elephant. The horrid evil CB law that was supposed to be shot down by a county judge with strong union ties was upheld by our SC. We have a proposed budget under debate that creates a SURPLUS instead of a deficit for the first time in 12 years. Do you suppose Team Donkey will get the hint if they fall on their faces during the recall elections in July or are they going to keep trying? Either way, it's a good time to play for Team Elephant in Wisconsin!

I am not opposed to unions - it seems like a basic right to free assembly.

But then unions get the right to demand you assemble with them (if you work at a union shop)

Then they want to intimidate union votes (with card check)

Then they demand payment from all workers (in a union shop)

They they excercise monopolistic and trust operations (being the only labor and collectively bargained for rates - ignoring replacement workers during strikes)

Then they organize civil work force, and become a lobbying force at the negoitiating table in front of the very people who they're negotiating with. The unions get money from the politicians, then use that money to ensure the next round of politicians with favorable views. Seems like a normal cycle of political free speech, but it's being done with money strong armed from the government - collectively the people.

Unions served a purpose in history and might even be needed today. But, they have become such corrupt organizations, with violent protests and low handed tactics (flyers to business extorting their support - or else!).

I think that the concept of unions have been perverted by leaders in the unions, and the members are being used as soldiers, in a bad battle.

Sadly, it looks as though the battles fought at the beginning of the 20th century need to be fought all over again. Unions -- and public workers -- are not the enemy. The "moneyed elite" are creating red herrings.

It is hard for me to believe that so many Americans are buying into the rhetoric of the corporate/political oligarchy. Where is our common sense? Or our historical memory?

The Labor movement brought to American workers the weekend, vacation time, and the right to bargain collectively with employers for fair treatment. Anyone who thinks that we do not need unions -- especially given the economic climate right now -- needs to think again.

And read Jim Hayes' post. Again, if you read it once already. Think about it. He is correct.

I'll end with a quote that is provocative but -- again -- true. If you want to read the whole article, go to www dot hightowerlowdown dot org slash node slash 2680. It is worth the read.

"The ugly truth is that these despicable governors and lawmakers are willingly trashing teachers and butchering our public budgets simply to spare the privileged and plutocratic few from paying what they owe to sustain a just, democratic, and truly prosperous society."

-- Jim Hightower

I wonder who on this vine believes it is appropriate for public unions to negotiate over pay with the very same politicians they will be voting for in elections? I would like to hear from those that do and your reasoning.

This is really funny. Republicans bashing Democrats and vice versa. All of this regurgitation of party lines. How stupid can both sides be? I live in WV, we have a balanced budget, we even had excess funds that help us make it through the financial crisis, we are a pro-union state, our teachers actually got a pay increase this year. We have done this with both Republican and Democratic leadership. It's not about the party, its about the people. If you vote in people who can do the job, then they will do the job. Maybe we are just more fortunate than others when it comes to this. Or maybe we don't trust a politician of any flavor and they know we don't, which helps to keep them in line.

YAY! I love how the WI Supreme Court TROUNCED that state judge who declared the law void.

YIPPEE! Sometimes the Supremes need to remind the LOWER courts that their job DOES NOT INCLUDE MAKING LAW.

PS - for once, msnbc presents a pretty balanced article instead of slanting it left.

I wonder who on this vine believes it is appropriate for public unions to negotiate over pay with the very same politicians they will be voting for in elections? I would like to hear from those that do and your reasoning.

I know you did not ask my opinion but to confirm, I DON'T THINK IT IS APPROPRIATE.

My next post will be to my state legislators and GOVERNOR MOONBEAM. I heard they passed a budget but the press says it will come apart at the seams. I want them to do a "Wisconsin."

Something needs to be done in CA before we start civil unrest ourselves.

@ goparefools - interesting post to grilled cheese, unfortunately, you are throwing out Union talking points and not the truth. 1st. Out of the top 15 contributors to political campaigns in the last 20 years, 13 out of the 15 were Unions and they contributed more than 90% of their funds to the Democrats. So we have Unions at the bargaining table with the people they helped elect, while the taxpayer, the ones the Unions are abusing are very much absent. Removing Union money from the picture would make the playing field much more fair than it is now. We just had a Presidential election where Union money was used to elect the President, then the President handsomely rewarded the Unions for this and now are starting in to do it again for 2012. Isn't that Chicago politics? Second, this business about abusing the American worker... Is it OK to take from the private sector worker to pay for the bloated salary and bennies of the public sector union employee? I believe the abuse is by the Unions against the 89% other American workers being hurt by Union greed. Additionally, the reasons Unions were necessary in the last century do not exist now. We have govt. programs to take care of any new problems, the Unions are just a drag against the bottom line and totally out of touch with what is going on in the real world. Their time is past and they need to die a long-overdue death.

HATR-

Thank you for the laugh...you may want to read my post again...and if you still don't understand why I am laughing at you then you need to work on your reading comprehension.

I find it funny that some of you have already predicted the recalls will all go in the favor of Dems. If you truly think that then you are in lal la land. Look at the very last person elected. Who was it on a state wide vote???? It was the last Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Who voted him in???? The people of Wisconsin on a majority vote.

To start a recall procedure in the state for a Rep you only need 15,000 signatures. That only means that there will be a new election it does not stop the current candidate from running for the same office.

Also to try to recall Walker there will need to be approx 500,000 signatures. Again this will not stop him from running and winning again.

However, I think when the people see the true benefits of forcing the Govt union workers to pay more into their health care and retirement they will decide otherwise. In a state, where the average govt union worker is making about $17,000 more a month than the private citizen workers, this move was way past due.

Does the average government union worker make $17,000 more than the average working citizen who is represented by a union? Or the average working citizen who is not represented by a union?

I think this is an important question. Everyone should have the option to be represented by a union. Everyone should reap the benefits of collective bargaining!

Too many people are blaming the unions for the current mess. Of course, unions are not perfect. However, people who do not have a union representing them tend to get lower pay and/or fewer benefits, feel less secure in their jobs, and have little or no recourse against unreasonable demands. They are afraid to even think about unionizing.

I will re-post Jim Hightower's words. This is the issue facing us!

"The ugly truth is that these despicable governors and lawmakers are willingly trashing teachers and butchering our public budgets simply to spare the privileged and plutocratic few from paying what they owe to sustain a just, democratic, and truly prosperous society."

-- Jim Hightower

Few words need to be added except, that salary-exempt are next. Ask yourself who costs more? In a world full of degreed professionals, they have become comodities, ans getting cheaper every year.

They are just echoing the administrations strategy of divide and conquer. When you create an official strategy of labeling your competition "extreme" you obviously realize that being divisive outweighs your own selling points.

Now, now, now it is only polarizing when you decide against the left.

It's not the media that decided this was polarizing, it was the people. After the recalls, wait and see what happens.

Again ....look up how many actual recalls have been successful!

It's funny how MSNBC buried this article.

I"ll bet of the Courts had overturned the law, it would have been a BANNER HEADLINE, prominently featured on the MSNBC web page, instead of an obscure hypertext link.

I believe this will be a long term boon to the Democrats and Progressives. This decision will lead to more activism and more financial support much of which is coming from people and groups who had never donated to PACS or pro labor groups. These governors like Walker, Scott, Kasich and Christie have poll numbers falling like a rock in their own states much like the buyers remorse for the new GOP house majority. Sometimes it takes a while to see what these pocket Napoleons are all about but when it becomes self evident the backlash is intense. This will only stoke the recall movements and provide terrific fundraising ammunition. If you look at the the last Wi Supreme Court election it is amazing that the Dem came so close. The GOP judge in December had an almost 2-1 advantage in the polls and eventually with tremendous amounts of outsider money outspent the challenger by 50% and won by a few hundred votesthis would seem to bode well for Dems and Progressives.

jkh

We will see what happens in the 2012 elections....What the gop/teabags don't get is:When You step over that invisible line,the line when you go after the AMERICAN middle-class & working poor,THEIR PAYCHECKS,THEIR BENEFITS,THEIR LIVELYHOODS-FAMILIES,NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY HAVE I SEEN THE FASCIST POWER GRAB BY ONE DECEIVING MAN:scott"facsist"walker..US WISCONSINITES KNOW THE "BROWN-BAG BASTARD VERY WELL!...MAJOR RECALLS WILL BE IN EFFECT IN WI.OH.IN.FL. ALL BATTLE GROUND STATES and the PRESIDENCY will stay in the blue column.This is not just about unions,this is going after(full force)the AMERICAN PEOPLE,BECAUSE EVERY DAY THEIR GETTING ASSAULTED BY THESE LIARS/HATERS OF THE MIDDLE-CLASS,WORKING POOR! IN THE LAST TEN YEARS SINCE THE BUSH TAX CUTS HAVE BEEN IN EFFECT,THE RICH HAVE NEVER BEEN WEALTHIER!..So yea all these zombied out gop/teabaggers could thank themselves for going against their own interests...but it's back firing because all these battle ground states(up-coming elections) WI,OH,IN,FL....Especially WI. WILL HAVE MAJOR RECALLS IN EFFECT & WILL VOTE FOR DEMS. BIG TIME!..EVEN A LOT OF REPUBS WILL TO BECAUSE THEY GOT THEIR BENEFITS SLASHED IN WI. ALSO!:IT WASN'T ONLY THE UNIONS IN WI THIS scott"fascist"walker went directly after the working man & woman & their children of all walks of life:police,fire-fighters,teachers,correctional-officers,transit,commerce dept,secretary-of-state's office,NOT EVEN ELECTED...YES I SAID ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THEIR OWN DISTRICTS HAVE FINAL SAY IN RULES-REGS. OF THEIR OWN DITRICTS:THIS FASCIST gov. went after scholl children(800 million dollar cut),child earn income credit....AND A HOST OF OTHER PROGRAMS FOR THE SENIORS,DISABLED...etc. A FULL FRONTAL ASSAULT of the AMERICAN WORKING MAN & WOMAN & THEIR CHILDREN,THEIR PAYCHECK,BENEFITS,RIGHT TO BARGAIN...NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN POLITICS HAVE THE MIDDLE-CLASS,WORKIN-POOR HAVE BEEN TAKING DOWN!....THAT'S WHY MAJOR RECALLS ARE IN EFFECT,THAT'S WHY THE BATTLE GROUND STATES OF WI.OH.IN.FL. WILL STAY IN THE BLUE COLUMN.....I walk around the WI. capital last night and their is this 4 block tent city set up by whom?....AMERICANS.......WORKING AMERICANS OF ALL WALKS OF LIFE:DEMS,REPUBS,INDEP....BECAUSE THEY HAD THE FAINTEST IDEA THAT THIS REGIME WAS GOING STRAIGHT AFTER THEM:THE WORKING MAN & WOMAN!.......THATS' WHY scott walker is going down...EVERY TIME A DAM0AS GOP GETS ELECTED THEY PILLAGE THE ELECTORATE AND LEAVE THEIR STATE IN SHAMBLES,just look at t-paw,mitt,w,scott walker,and the oh and fl gop gov. they leave behind their sitates in shambles after the corperate,wealthy @!$%#s have their fill...then it takes years to undo what they did.....all these gredy bastards will have to answer up to god one day,and i know they can't sleep at night or look at them-selves in the mirror,the gop is destroying the fabric of are way of life in this country of ours...NO-WHERE IN TIME HAVE THEY NEVER BEEN RICHER AS OF NOW!....When are we going to realize that!.....can't you all see that we are going on 10 years with tax-cuts for the rich$...and no "trickle-down effect has happened?!..only the oppisite....do you think all those fix-noise pundits have your back?..when they are off the set,they get to go home to their lovely families in their muti-million dollar homes,eating @!$%# we could only dream of......never have i seen the low-info voter be so against their own interests.....what is it going to take? for you and yours to have barrels around you,to loose everything to them? why?....THAT'S WHY I KNOW THIS PRESIDENT WILL BE REELECTED BY A LAND SLIDE AND THE HOUSE WILL FLIP BACK AND ALL RECALLS WILL FLIP OUT THE ASS0WIPES WHO DIRECTLY ASSAULTED THE MIDDLE-CLASS!..............Obama/Biden 2012

Kenn

I think you got to the heart of the matter.

Only problem is some organization (ACLU or SEIU for example) would fight the issue in court.

Or, legislatures would disregard any voter approved initiative. In my State, voters approved tax reduction issues, and our elite Democratic legislatures snubbed their noses and went ahead and raised them anyway.

Back to the article....I can hear the whining by the Union protesters, in State and out of State, all the way to the West Coast.

Would never work. California, for instance has voted on many issues, and the voters found there votes didn't matter in the end as many issues were never allowed to proceed according to the votes (huge majorities in many cases). There is always enough money and enough buyable judges to thwart the voting process.

Good idea, are you in favor of raising the pay of city garbage collectors to $150,000 a year. To do so we will have to raise your taxes by 20%.

Ray W.

What an absurd statement.

Karen,

How about private contracts, like sale of state property or paving 20 miles of state roads? Do you honestly think that a teacher or Wisconsin DOT hourly worker is stealing nearly as much as as the contractors? Indiana barred so many paving companies, they had to change the law. Indiana ran out of pavers!!! Or at least honest ones. Wait until you find the back half of all this was that Koch and others could buy up Wisconsin state assets for as little as $1 for the UW-Madison power plant and you now owe millions a year for electricity.

The backlash from this is already evident. There was no common sense here, the union accepted the financial reductions. This was all about anti union policy, plain and simple.

Thanks for delivering Wisconsin to Obama.

Eric-913730....

The Union fought tooth and nail till the eleventh hour on the pension and healthcare contributions. The "concessions" made for good talking points and sound bites for the media, but the parts of the law that had union bigwigs panties all in a wad were:

That the State would no longer automatically take the dues out of the members paychecks and deposit into the union coffers. Instead the member would actually have to write a check and send it in to the union. The union would have to keep track of which members were paying their dues. Many members will be thinking twice when they sit down to write that $100 check every month....Hmmm....

Union membership was NOT mandatory to get a job.

Members have to vote to re-certify their union every year.

It also gave the local school boards the ability to shop for healthcare coverage and not be saddled with the insurance carrier that's in bed with the union leadership.

The only paycheck the union leaders are worried about is their own.

Win, win, for the taxpayer and the those forced to join a union just to get a job. The ones that love their union can just keep mailing their dues in.

What about Wisconsin's other public business? Isn't anyone concerned about what Wisconsin pays to ALL their vendors? Or just employees>

Just a short review of why the issue is as hot as it is ! My neightbor (retired teacher) is receiving about 80k in retirement here in Michigan. She retired because the school system told her she would have to pay 25% of her benefits for the rest of her life if she didn't retire this past year. I would love to be able to retire with that kind of money!

ray w, what are you in favor of? paying them in trident layers? my comment was just as ridiculous as yours.

Actually, Kenn, that's part of what this bill does. It allows for collective bargaining for wages up to the CPI. Beyond that, it has to be voted on by the tax payers. FINALLY, we get a say at the bargaining table.

Suzy, thanks for the thoughtful insight, perhaps this will be a guideline for other states...it's not that we don't want our Public Union friends to live well, it's that they live better than most of us and we can't afford to keep paying for that life style...so yeah, let us vote on it!

Crappy decision, and after this the public will elect people that will support left leaning judges, bet that the balance will shift in Wisconsin.

Excellent decision indeed! A great day for America! Now that the Unions have been sent a strong message that they can't hold tax payers hostage it's time to concentrate on enforcing our immigration laws, protecting our borders and deporting illegal aliens.

Eric, you say that with such confidence, but how did that Prosser/Kloppenburg race turn out? And it'll be 2 years before the next Supreme Court election. 2 years is an eternity in politics. If we continue the course toward fiscal improvement in the state, do you really thing the majority is going to want to see that undone? Well, actually, you probably do, but that's just cuz your side makes the most noise. Those of us who actually care if we can continue to afford to live in this state will sit quietly by, watch your tantrums, and continue to vote for fiscal sanity.

Mike - Shocking isn't it that a legislature is allowed to do their job? Imagine that!

Surely Obama will have the justice Department look into this, he didn't rob the public to payoff the unions just to watch them succumb to their own greediness.

Those republicans won't be so smug when they get recalled. Most people can see how republican policies destroy the middle class.

A duly elected legislature is suppose to follow the law when they are legislating, not do whatever they want. Because at the present this state and this country is still a democracy. If the republicans are so stupid that they don't follow the law, they have themselves to blame.

amy-2075139... The Wisconsin Supreme Court disagrees with you and the 14 democrats that fled the state, in that the duly elected legislature did follow the laws and longstanding rules and procedures.

Funny though that 2 of the fleeing democrats, years ago, wrote the Rule 93 that the republicans used to vote in "Special Session".....ha-ha !!

Mike- I agree completely. BTW the article said-

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller said Walker and Republicans' push to enact the law "resulted in months of legal wrangling, unprecedented political divisiveness and millions of dollars of lost budget savings." Isn't this the same person who RAN out on his JOB causing POLITICAL DIVISIVENESS over a childish tantrum because they weren't gonna get their way?!?!? I mean really, you're gonna run away and hide then bit*h about divisiveness?!?!?

Yeah, why not, linda? Let's just go full-blown fascist and drop the flimsy pretenses.

MICHAEL - only someone on drugs would believe that blather you just wrote - because Democrats do not represent the non-union middle class. Their constituents consist of union members, those who don't pay taxes and illegal immigrants. The Democrats do NOTHING for my middle class family - except steal the money we work so hard for so that they can use it to buy the votes of their REAL constituents.

Gee...my REPUBLICAN governor sure doesn't seem to have a problem with foreign workers. He just vetoed a bill that would have made it illegal for logging companies to hire canadian workers....

Who said anything about foreign workers? who is your governor and what else was in the bill?

Michael was there a lot of lead paint in your house growing up? Those Republicans just like holding onto their money. They don't like their taxes being raised every time some Democrat enters into an incestuous relationship with some union.

Paul LePage

I just told you what was in the bill....I don't think any more details are necessary...logging companies would not have been permitted to hire canadian workers.

I find it interesting that he vetoed this bill. I don't see much of a difference between foreign workers and illegals...they both take our jobs, isn't that what the republicans have been telling us? So...if you think the republicans are really going to get rid of the illegals in this country-don't count on it. If you think about why LePage vetoed that bill, it's pretty obvious...it's cheaper for businesses. They don't have to pay insurance, etc, etc....and the same goes for illegals.

That's completely retarded lol. You do realize that drug testing everyone on welfare would completely obliterate any sort of savings by eliminating positives?

Typical nonsensical zombie, to be honest. Not much else to term you.

nly someone on drugs would believe that blather you just wrote - because Democrats do not represent the non-union middle class.

BS...the dems represent me and I am non union middle class.

Grilled, Lindav, Ray W,

Have you no access to US history or economic data? From 1938 through 1980 the US and its middle class experienced unparallelled growth in every measurable statistic. We went from a largely agrarian nation where 70% of non urban areas had no electricity and horses were still commonly used for both work and transportation. The rise of unions and Democrats in power turned us into the wealthiest, most educated economic force since the height of the Roman Empire. This occurred in the space of 40 years 32 of which had a Democratic president and all but 4 years of a Democratic House and Senate. Starting with Nixon in 68 through Bush in 2008 political power has shifted an so too have our economic fortunes. The GOP have held the oval office for 28 of the 40 years with two moderate Southern Democrats filling the other 12. The GOP controlled the Senate House or both for 20 0f the 40 years entirely changing Americas economic direction. Nixon took us off the gold standard and instituted price and wage controls Ford did nothing to stem the economic flow believing that markets adjust themselves and that economics were cyclical and that they were best dealt with on an individual basis hence Whip Inflation Now buttons. In the space of 8 years they went from 3.8 unemployment, 4.2 inflation, federal spending of 178 billion a debt of 369 billion to 8.2 unemployment, 8.7 inflation a budget of 327 billion and a debt of 629 billion. Carter a lousy president was given the s----y end of the stick but did little to better things in his 4 years inflation stood at 13.5 an unemployment at 5 .8 spending 591 debt 909. He did a good job with employment in a bad economy stemmed the rate of growth in the federal government and debt all of the above numbers EXPLODED under Reagan excepting inflation as a result of his Heritage Foundation economic plan which destroyed revenue as a function of GDP ran double digit unemployment claiming an economic miracle when he reduced unemployment to 6.2 .4% higher than he found it, spending almost doubled to over a trillion and the debt almost tripled to 1.6 trillion. I tire of producing stats but the long and the short would be that the Clinton years showed restrained spending an incredible reduction in the rate of the growth of the debt all while creating more jobs than the 3 GOP administrations before him and the one that followed.

The bottom 90% of taxpayers saw family incomes grow from the mid 1940s by 100% while the top 10% saw an increase of 30% since 1980 income for the 90% has increased by 10% which when adjusted to the cost of living is a net loss of over 10% while the top 10% has seen an increase of 285% in income and almost 400% in net wealth. Trickle down, Reaganomics,Supply Side, Free Markets, Laissez Faire, Service Economy or however else you want to dress it up has been a disaster for 90% of the people in the nation. We have gone from # 1 in percentage of college graduates in 1980 to #9 in 2008 from # 1 in healthcare to # 19. We experienced our first negative trade balance under Gerald Ford rising to 1.9 billion by 1980 when Reagan left office it stood at 1.32 trillion reflecting his slaughter of US industry, unions and the middle class.

From 2000 to 2008 GDP rose 40% while total government revenues (local, state and federal) rose by less than 7%. Guess who got the balance? Please feel free to dispute any of the above if we survive as a nation the economic villiany of the Rise of the Robber Barons, sweat shops, cops, state and federal troops as strike breakers and the Era of Good Stealings will look like Sunday at a Quaker meeting.

jkh

Jim, Thanks for putting that all together to help those that can't be bothered with facts.

That sucking sound is getting louder by the minute.

grilledcheese, you have made some of the most inane posts on this topic of anybody, but this one takes the cake. You right-wingers go on and on about how awful the unions are, and that they are only ten percent of the population, then you post that only union members support Democrats? Hey, math wiz, tell us all how 10% of the population manages to get anybody elected...go for it.

As previously stated, you people are supporting a party that is in it for the wealthy, using every means possible to screw the middle and lower classes, but have the temerity to tell people how good the Republicans are for the middle class. What a joke. Yeah, let us know when you win that lottery or your rich Aunt Bertha dies so you, too, can enjoy the benefits of being a true Republicans.

Left WIng - whenever I get attacked by simpletons like you, I know that I have struck a nerve, and done my job well.

The truth hurts, doesn't it?

boba-893372

Wisconson just steped back into the 18th century,

It's about time, the Feds took the same step back in the 70s.

boba maybe you shouold boycott Wi for their law......happened to us.

What they still have the right to bargain for the key thing salary. Most the other things are just a hidden extension of salary. If you want a funded pension go on strike and ask for enough money to fund the pension out of your check. The main things that go away are rules that protect people who everyone pretty much agrees need to be fired.

The key part the union leaders don't like is that they cannot force people to join the union and they do not get their fat paychecks on the back of workers. The union must now EARN the dues from the workers or they will choose not to pay them. Unions will now have to represent all the members rather than supporting rules that favors a small subset.

Wisconson just steped back into the 18th century

Why? Because they simply adopted the same outlook on the unions as the federal government and several other states?

they have the right and should have the right to bargin

Every union dealing with private companies can still bargain all they want. Unions can no longer use collective bargaining for certain things with the state government. There is a very simple, logical reason to have things this way.

1. Unions give money and vote for politicians
2. Politicians influence and at times (through budgets) can effect the amount of pay and benefits Union members get
3. Unions can basically BUY better benefits and pay by getting the right politicians into office.

Because of this the taxpayer is left picking up the tab for a political favor given to the unions since they voted for a politician. The politician is suppose to do what is in the taxpayers best interest and with unions politicians tend to do whats best for their re-election campaign instead of whats best for taxpayers.

Pegging their pay to the index's is fair and legit. If they want more money the taxpayers (the true bosses of union workers) get to decide.

Now of course when the law was passed the republicans thought about their re-election campaign and that is the reason the public safety unions were not part of the law, because Gov. Walker won in great deal due to the support of the fire and police unions.

It's called rolling back social progress because there are those who will benefit from the roll back i.e. there's money to be made by somebody with a politician in their pocket. Conservative judges upholding a fellow conservatives actions. Nothing new there. It the same reason Anti-Trust laws and regulations set upon Wall Street after the Great Depression have been eliminated over the last 20 years. So the greedy could make more money while they roll the US taxpayer once again. Our legistalure and even the Presiden don't really work for the coomon citizen. They serve those who fill up thier election campaigns with the multi-millions that they need to run these days. The only way your in politics these days is if your rich or your a rich persons lackey.

So, boba, you're saying the all unionized federal workers who don't have collective bargaining (thanks to Carter) are in the 18th century, too? All of them?

All the people in the right-to-work states are stuck in the 18th century, too? How about all the non-union workers in the entire country (the vast majority), they're stuck in the 18th century, too?

Amazing.

But at your work, you don't get to vote on whether your boss keep his job and to donate millions of dollars to his re-election campaign so he will rubber stamp your raise. Even FDR said it was a bad idea to let public employees unionize. It is your basic incestuous relationship.

lame name - "It's called rolling back social progress"

What in the world could you possibly believe that unions "progress" us towards these days except bankruptcy? Should we have dinosaurs roam the earth again begin you have romanticized their extinction into a "rollback of progress"?

Bankrupting the country will never be "social progress" no matter how many liberals get their "free" handout.

Seems there was an issue about layoffs throughout the state's public employees, seems there was a budgetary shortfall of almost 3.6 billion dollars. Would it be better for people to get laid off?

I've switched to wine and non-Wisconsin cheese. Indiana makes both, AND I DON'T RIDE A MOTORCYCLE. The Wisconsin Dells are just pissy and broken when I last checked, YOU DIDN'T SPEND THE MONEY to keep up your only tourist site.. TOO sad!

John, the public employees have the right to bargain for up to a cost of living increase in their salary. That's it. And they already pay 100% of their pension in deferred compensation instead of cash. Now they will be paying 150% which equals a pay cut.

And Homestudy: Just change a word in your post. Instead of union put corporations. They do the same thing. Corporations buy republicans, and expect them to do what they want. Walker is a prime example.

how this for bargaining.....

you either work for the pay you sign up for, or you quit and get another job.

ta da!

WI union members still have the right to bargain; Individually, not collectively. Don't confuse a benefit and a right.

@pjam09. Yeah your totally right. It was unions and not tax breaks for the wealthy that bankrupted the country.

@Jason in KY. Yeah says the person who doesn't have to work in 1900's working conditions. Your punishment is to read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair as your education is obvioulsy lacking.

Actually, NO the argument was about PROPER NOTICE. If I tell you that we're going to meet on an issue in ONE HOUR, when the LAW says I have to give TWENTY-FOUR hours notice, the one hour meeting is illegal. Even my church board has agreed, head is a District Court JUDGE, who agreed, reluctantly that that, lacking specific church by-laws, public code prevailed. And you expect LESS from your STATE LEGISLATURE?

Actually representative Peter Barca -D was there. And it was a violation of the open meeting law. 24 hour notice has to be given except in a case of an emergency which this wasn't. Then a 2 hour notice has to be given. The notice was less than 2 hours. The republicans were stupid. If they wanted this to pass the should've done it as legally as possible. If had, all this wouldn't have happened. They have themselves to blame.

Thanks Amy for adding the details,

The irony, of course, being that if they'd held the vote 24 or 48 hours later, it wouldn't have changed a stinkin' thing. The democrats had 3 weeks and a lot of concessions offered to come back, do their job, debate the bill and record their "No" votes. And at every turn they refused because they were still not going to get what they wanted in the deal. Because this was a special session, the meeting needed to be posted to a legislative bulletin board. Which it was. They committee also noticed all members via email, a step that was not necessary. The meeting was broad cast by several local radio and TV outlets so hardly kept from the public eye. And the penalty for violating an open meeting law is a fine, not reversal of the law that resulted from that meeting. When the meeting was held is really a silly issue to focus on when there would have been ZERO difference in the end result, don't you think?

soazDan

Wisconsin's polarizing union law to take effect

I'm not, must be someone else...

Unions need more accountability, [what doesn't in this phony political country] but this law will have a polarizing effect. Needs more work. These workers will fight back and something better may be worked out. If.......republicans give back. Republicans are polarizing this country beyond belief. Know what their end game is. Don't agree with their methods. Believe can have same outcomes without doing it on the backs of working people. Convinced there is enough money and wealth on this planet to go around that no one should have to suffer. Unions are just a tiny thread in the corrupt fabric of this country. The powerful wealthy are OUR biggest advisaries and they are primarily white folks. Long live the Union!

Yeah, no bias from MSNBC, they're as impartial as a quasi-liberal network can get.

Actually, I doubt you'll get anything less prejudiced, one way or another, from any other network or website. Some will celebrate, and others will condemn. But I think the RECALL ELECTIONS will also be devisive, or is that also biased?

sjl678

Public workers down, (for now) now the private sector is next. Soon we all will be working for nothing and without health care or retirements options. RIP working Americans, our days are numbered.

The private sector's been down for a while, the public sector has catching up to do...

Wait, wait, wait!! Where are the private sector jobs that have pension and benefits paid by the taxpayers?? I'm in the private sector and I pay for my own bennies.

Gee PJ, I'm in the public sector and I pay for my own bennies. 11% pension contribution and I don't take the health care. My wife, in the private sector gets a much better deal. Find out the facts for yourself, and stop believing only what the Koch brothers want you to believe. They do not have your best interest at heart.

Right, but George Soros has YOUR best interests at heart, huh, dave?

Oh, Dave. Inferences that I don't think for myself don't bother me even a little. Unclear as to what your pension contribution has to do with the original poster's liberal meme. In this case, the claim that the Governor's work to balance the state's budget now turns to the utter control and destruction of the American worker as we know it. Quite a stupid leap, you must agree. Or, did Trumka tell you that the Koch brothers are evil? I'm glad that the private sector bennies are so good that they can carry your medical, but if that company's financial outlook were like the state of Wisconsin's, you'd be facing some severe changes.

I am in favor of the Koch Brothers spending 1/10 the money of Soros on the next campaign !!

Dream on, Rodent!

hampster cracks me up - I think he just spins around and around on his little wheel while consuming large amounts of acid - it's the only thing that can possibly explain the blather he constantly posts on these boards.

grilled, agreed. He can't be posting this stuff sober.

hampster - Why would Wisconsin voters be that stupid? If they wanted to go bankrupt they could have just left the previous Dems finish what they started.

The liberal voice is way louder than its actual bite. I have a lot of Center to Right friends in Wisconsin and they are looking forward to the recall, in his words "There are going to be a lot of very angry Liberals in Wisconsin"

Just wait until you see the petition for a Primary prior to the recall elections. Your grundies will all be in a bundle . . .

If you're going to call folks simpletons, you should at least try using the correct "they're" in your post.

I have always been appalled that, if my choice of career is as a teacher in WI, I am FORCED to give money to a union that then takes my money and gives it to a political power I may or may not agree with. Sounds damned corrupt to me!

Closed Shops should be outlawed, too.

exactly :/

Clinton> A government that can grant benefits can also take them away. That's the way government works. It works best when it always stays within its constitutional cconfines which is precisely what happened here - despite the intervention of a trial court judge who was overruled.

hey Bill, don't you have Monica and a dress to do?

Clinton - Are you actually that ignorant?

"I can tell how to live & take away what we want from you."

Who do you think pays the public union salaries and benefits, the cash fairy?

"yes to a "Police State""

You do know that if Obamacare is not repealed you are about to see Americans begin being fined for living because they didn't purchase health insurance, don't you?

What computer industry do you work in? If you dont keep up with your cetifications you will be out on you arse in a few years. Oh wait you probably work for the unions, no wonder........

SRM

What did you do in IT that didn't require a Certification? My guess is Document Handling. You know Decollating, Bursting and Delivery.

fine, if you want the same collective bargaining rules then we bar ALL unions from contributing to political campaigns or parties. End the corrupt incestuous dealings between unions and the Democratic Party.

If being a teacher is so bad why are there so many people trying to become one?

A lot of people don't "try" to become teachers. A lot of people are told that a college education is a great thing so they go to college and get a degree in psychology, language, liberal arts, sociology, etc. and then later find out they can't get a job with degrees like that. So, they take a couple of extra courses and become teachers, not because they have a passion for teaching, but because there is nothing else they can do with their worthless degrees. In the end you end up with a work force that has not truly been trained to be professional teachers, don't have a passion for the job, and are not well suited for any other profession. They have a job just like a burger pusher but expect to be paid a lot more for it.

The people most affected by this are the students who suffer poor quality education from people who were not properly trained to teach and who as a consequence of their inability to do their job rely on gang rule to maintain a high level of benefits and collectively fight for higher wages through exploitation of union representation.

To answer yourquestion, there is nothing wrong with becoming a teacher if you have a passion for the job and are truly qualified to fill the position. If you become a teacher as a job of last resort then that, like any other last resort decision, is bad for the person and the people they serve.

Collective Bargaining isn't a right.

Robtice - You are correct. Union teachers should be able to demand as much money as they think is fair pay. Also they should be protected from getting fired because of poor performance. If the union members are not happy with any portion of their employment then they should be allowed to shut down the schools until their demands are met. This is about freedom - freedom to put a gun to the head of local government until they roll over. LOL

But by law, corporations cannot contribute millions to political campaigns. Unions can contribute millions to election campaigns then hit up those same politicians for raises weeks later. Corporation can lobby but cannot contribute money directly to campaigns. Look at some of the lobbyist who went to jail in 2007 and 2008. Again stop union from campaign contributions to officials who pass their raises. It is called buying votes.

And what do you call the millions the health care industry, the financial industry and other corporate institutions who became "citizens" by a lunatic supreme court decision? Wake up. For the elite, the wealthy, etc. This republican based decision just give them more power. Don't be naive. Look at the other republican governors who are systemically taking away the rights of the middle class? You all should consider, this time they didn't go after you....how can you be so sure thate Walker, the Koch Brothers, and the others won't be coming after you? The middle class of this country need to wake up and demand these people be recalled. Shame on Walker and his cronies.

I believe it is the Democrates that believe they should tell you what to do, like buying health insurance.

Rick in the forest: public employees will be able to bargain for up to the cost of living increase. Nothing more. And a lot of the employees have not had a raise in 3 years and have taken 2 weeks of furlough (unpaid vacation) for the last 2 years. A cost of living increase will probably take them up to what they would've earned 3 years ago- not to the present cost.

cutter - You are confused. I don't know of any companies or corporations that collect dues from their employees and use it for political contributions.

Union workers have their dues collected and the union thugs decide which candidates to support. Does that sound fair?

Technus> None of those things were taken from the workers and they will still be able to bargain collectively for wages. The government granted the workers the rights to bargain for more than wages in the first place. Why would you think the government might not also have the ability, later on, to change the rules?

Technus, where does the law say that people should not be able to get a pension, good health care and a decent pay check? This law had nothing to do with breaking the public employees unions. The law is about bargaining rights just like federal workers and public workers from at least 20 other states have.

Technus - Were you educated by union teachers? Please read the facts. No one, absolutely no one is going to loose their health-care and pension benefits. And there has been NO reduction in pay to the teachers.

This levels the playing field with all the current federal government workers.

alpha, how do you become one of those paid republican posters?

Actually Alpha, it's the Obama administration that's actually paying private firms to "create the illusion of consesus" on sites such as these.
How much did you get from them?
http://slapblog.com/?p=9736

okay alpha, the obomonites have paid posters, see amf1211 link. Again, how do you become a paid republican poster?

Well, sorry to disappoint you, but many Americans ARE that stupid. For example, health pamphlets are written at at 5th grade level because otherwise, most people would be able to comprehend them.

Wow, most americans are so stupid that they can only read at a 5th grade level. To bad there aren't any teachers out there to teach them how to read.

Christy - the issue is that we HAVE lots of teachers and that we are paying a FORTUNE for our schools - yet we STILL have a whole bunch of barely literate adults.

I would say that the obvious conclusion is that we are not getting value for the money we're spending. You apparently have poor reasoning skills.

How much do Soros and the Union Thugs pay you?

If it is the teachers...then why are only some illiterate?

grilled cheese...I agree with that reasoning. It seems the more money they get, the lower the scores.

Liberal.ies...you have brought up a good point.