@@taysgranny,
I agree. and this is very interesting to read.
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/9999...

Who really cares if Unions contribute to a cause they believe in? Why is that any different than Lobbyists pimping /contributing to certain elected officials on behalf of their causes?

taysgranny - I would argue that the UAW Union is/was a different animal that the AFSCME or WPPA Unions with regards to slackers.

It's no surprise that the union is filing charges. They always file charges when they don't get their way! I was in a union for 20+ years and though it helped in some respects, it truly helped the slackers that did a half-a$$ed job. I've also worked for non-union, and would gladly take that anyday over working for a Union. If you do your job, take pride in what you do, show respect where respect is due, you will do fine. Do your job, show up on time, don't take advantage of your employer, all should be good. But most of these "crying foul" are Union workers who have the "I am entitled" mentality. Get over yourselves and do what it takes to get our state back on track after the former Dem. Gov, senate & assembly passed the buck and didn't choose to make the hard decisions that should have been made over the past years!

As for the protesters.....what a joke! Many are up there just hoping they get their 15 minutes of fame on TV. Those still up there, obviously don't even have jobs as they are there everyday, all day.

This is just truly becoming pathetic!

The complaint by the Union would have more authority if they had been willing themselves to come to an agreement with the previous governor...
.
Oh wait.. If the unions had come to an agreement with Gov. Doyle none of this would be happening.

Can somebody answer me how Walker thinks that laying off thousands of public workers is going to be cheaper than keepin us employed when Wisconsin is just going to have to pay us all unemployment? Plus, if Im laid off, I will qualify for Badgercare as well as foodshare...all coming out of Wisconsin's budget. Not so smart on Walkers side dont you think?

Why no hue and cry about the fact that Walker thinks the local elected officials are to stupid to bargain? This bill makes it illegal to bargain anything but base wages. Will he punish the local government that tries to do otherwise?

Walker may be a viable presidential candidate IF he sticks to his guns and does what the voters want. He will RUIN his chances if he gives-in to the criminal elements.

I think all the haters are just clueless how the real world really works.

walker for president! The free ride is OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gogreen--PLEASE COPY ANND POST THIS AS WELL

The labor-politician negotiations are never fair when the unions siphon tax dollars into the coffers of Democratic Party candidates. Victor Gotbaum, a leader in the New York City chapter of AFSCME, summed up the problem brilliantly: "We have the ability... to elect our own boss."

We are witnessing the long overdue end of the Democratic Party’s philosophy, which is: Americans’ tax dollars exist to make public sector unions happy. When we run out of other people’s money to pay for inflated contracts, salaries and pensions (which are always negotiated outside of public view between union officials and the politicians that union officials helped elect), then we just need to steal more from taxpayers.

Please don't pick on Joel_Rodgers. English is neither his primary language, nor his second or third. Quite frankly, I’m not sure what language he speaks.

It's of course for the kids, move along...

Whatever.

YAWN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joel, These are public workers from Mississippi and what we will soon have in Wisconsin. Glad to know you support your Unions, keep it up.

I like Scott Walker.
He is good man and never lie.
I hate arm twister unions.
I think that it is funny to use mentally handicapped people to ridicule people that I disagree with.
Can you guess who I am?

Joel,
You complain about our education in Wisconsin quite frequently. I wonder though if you received your education in Wisconsin, because it sure does not appear that way.

Our public education in Wisconsin is top notch, and it would be wise to keep it that way.

Come on people!! You sound like a bunch of kids that just got their X box taken away and now you have to go find something else to do.
Your not giving up all that much. You will still have a job. Ask the many thousands of people without jobs what they think of this.
I`ll bet they would love to have your job union or not as long as they can support their families.I read one person say they would have to give up the luxery things like cable cell phones and big vacations. WOW! how will they survive? I`ve put up with insurance increases all my life. And always contributed to my own retirement account. I once had a union. It was good for some things and not so good for other things.It sure didn`t keep my job from going out of business. I now have a job without a union and I love it. Sure there is no bargaining for wages but it`s a job.The trouble with most Americans is they live above there means.Houses they can`t really afford ,cars they can`t afford. Instead of trying to pay these items off they buy more and more thinking that job will always be there.Well most of us learned it won`t.
Stop whinning.

I know some public employees pay around $30 to $40/month. It can depend on wages,etc. There must be some site to see how much Unions are worth. Busypeabody must get to work and find out.

"The complaint filed Monday by the Wisconsin State Employees Union asks the state labor relations board to extend its contract and require Walker’s administration to engage in collective bargaining." GOOD! Give him a dose of his own medicine! See how he likes it! I hope more come out and take legal action against good ole' Scotty boy! Busypeabody, I can tell you that my hubby pays a whole whopping $2 a month for union dues and he is retired from GM. I don't know for sure what public employees pay.

righton - now thats the funniest post I have ever seen. LOL

cynicaleye - So according to you, if you don't support unions, you must hate teachers. You must hate public employees and aren't thankful for the work they do. Are you really that delusional? Why do you assume people hate them because they disagree with unions? Do you hate people that are in the private sector? The majority? Do you care about the majority that are struggling?

Correction: I meant to ask what was the total amount of union dues collected from all the employees at GM for a month or year? It would be interesting to know.

It would be very interesting to know the amount of union dues collected from each employer in the State of WI. How much did the GM plant collect in Union Dues in a year? If someone out there knows a site, please list it.

Instructor,
What I was trying to portray was the banding together of a group to gain strength and a voice in an arena where the individual would be dismissed as unimportant and ignored. Unions have their place, they are not perfect but then again what is? Unions have been a huge part of what has made this country as great as it is like it or not.
The balance between labor, corporations and legislature has always a precarious balance but remove one of the 3 pillars and you have seen historical precedents in places like Soviet Union, Iraq and Iran.
In my America we solve problems by discussing the issues and finding ways to settle on a middle ground where nobody is perfectly happy with the outcome but everyone can live with the decision that is how you do things in a democracy, not calling each other names and repeating the same diatribe endlessly hoping somehow it will come true.

"Why do you people hate teachers so much? Why do you hate the very people who are providing an education to your children? Why do you hate public employees who plow the roads, pick up your garbage, provide essential services? Why do you hate the police and firefighters who save lives and property? If you want to live in a country where there are no unions, go to China, Cuba, Egypt, Libya, or some other third world dictatorship. I for one am thankful for the public employees and teachers who work hard every day."

So do I. However, nothing in life is guaranteed.

We don't hate these folks, we hate their entitlement mentality. Give me, give me, give me. We hold a more special place than everyone else.

cynicaleye,
why do you assume "everyone" who opposes either some or all of the benefits offered by unions, "hate" the people covered by the same?

A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest

Bargaining-getting the best price for something. In this case, getting a lot of benefits for a very small price, at the expense of the taxpayer paying for most of it.

Ever notice that people tend to not care about something they don't pay for?

cynicaleye.. I'm for them too and I like the fact that my mail comes everyday and the trash gets picked up each week, the snow get's plowed after a storm. If you want to be cheap and not pay much for services go live down in mexico.

Why do you people hate teachers so much? Why do you hate the very people who are providing an education to your children? Why do you hate public employees who plow the roads, pick up your garbage, provide essential services? Why do you hate the police and firefighters who save lives and property? If you want to live in a country where there are no unions, go to China, Cuba, Egypt, Libya, or some other third world dictatorship. I for one am thankful for the public employees and teachers who work hard every day.

Can anyone tell me what these people are paying for union dues per paycheck ?
Collective bargaining is really nothing more than keeping the unions meet payroll, or the ability to disperse monies to the people who will do them the most good and maintain their evil existence

n00b-Seriously? The Founding Fathers comparison to unions? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were Eyster. I know you're not Eyster because of your ability to type.

I do agree with you in the last part of your post in that the vast majority of union members are not of the "gotta get mine mentality." I've seen first hand the thought process of "Screw the new people and their jobs, I'm keeping my raise." Unfortunately, that minority and the union clowns themselves are the loudmouths.

forgot to provide the link -- it's an excellent column no matter where you stand on the issue
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/article...

for all of the anti-walker dire warnings that "he is coming after all of us," here's what former governor doyle did (courtesy patrick mcilheran - mke journal sentinel):
***** Two years ago, just as the recession hit, then-Gov. Jim Doyle also faced a deficit. A Democrat armed with Democratic control of the Legislature, he raised taxes. He proposed a two-year budget in which spending rose 10%. He and the Legislature then raised taxes by $3.14 billion.
***** They raised taxes on an astonishing breadth of things. They raised them on home sales. They raised them on music downloads. They added a hospital-room tax in a scheme to milk more out of the feds. They raised them on cigarettes. And gasoline. And investment returns. [this despite his promise the "never raise taxes" back in 2003]
***** Really big chunks came from changing how corporate income is taxed and from adding a new top income tax bracket for families making $300,000 or more. That rate went from 6.75% to 7.75%.
***** In other words, Wisconsin just finished taxing corporations and the rich harder. [guess that didn't work out so well after all]
***********
austerity is coming. i for one, welcome it and encourage governor to cut spending, balance our budget, reduce our massive deficit and get this once great state back on its feet.

vatoloco - if you noticed, it wasn't the teacher's union that filed this; but once again you are willing to jump on the teacher bashing bandwagon. If it is such a cushy job, why are you not teaching? Couldn't you pass college like Walker? Stop the throwing stones if you don't know the facts. When you group all teachers into one lump overpaid, freeloaders that whine and call in; you are doing what Hitler did by saying all Jews were the root of the problem in Germany. Please stop referring to all teachers it gets sickening!!

How is failure to negotiate an unfair labor practice?...there is no labor involved. Where in stone does it say unions have any rights at all?...oh yea.. they dont, People have rights here in the USA, not unions, gangs, mobs...etc. They have no special rights. I dont understand how they think they do????

"What I know is the Unions fund the Campaign of public leaders. Then once they are elected the Union sits across the table from those same leaders to discuss a labor contract.
We are forced to pay for a blunt scam.
Some smells wrong with that."

Cass-This is the part that I do not get. This relationship should not exist because it is a blatant political conflict of interest.

It is like me giving money to my boss so I can get a raise and special benefits from him/her.

Cass, assuming what you say is true, is that a better or worse fate than the Koch brothers sitting across the table?

Most union members aren't millionaires either.

Let’s see I think “unions” started in the late 1700’s when some wayward group of individuals wrote something called the Preamble to the CONSTITUTION of the United States of America!
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
This was an effort to protect themselves from the British and the French who were trying to impose Tax’s on their wages and goods.
If we examine what they were trying to protect themselves from we will see why “Unions” are still needed today.
Establish justice (so that Governors/Corporations cannot change the rules at will)
Insure domestic tranquility (so armed uprising is not necessary)
Provide for the common defense (Union brothers and sisters defending each other)
Promote the general welfare (representation through elected union officials)
Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity (protect wages and benefits)
Before you explode I am not now nor have I or my wife ever been a union member.
Yes everyone will have to admit unions do protect some people who the majority would deem as unworthy but then again so does our legal system when we release criminals due to a technical error made by an arresting officer. 90% of union workers just go to work each day and earn their paychecks just like you and I.

Most union members will see nothing wrong with that but will holler all day long about corporate donations to candidates. Not to mention the government payroll system is used to deduct the money! Nice double standard.

uh oh walker.. is this bringing back memories of when you fired the milwaukee county court house security gaurds? They won in court after you hired some schmuck agency that ended up costing more.. nice try once again

Troll it wouldn't work. Kool-aid has become generic vocabulary like kleenex, jello, and ketchup.

If I owned Kraft foods I'd be suing people for their derogatory use of the name Kool-Aid.
You're decreasing market share by scaring parents into not buying it for their children. THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!
What fun would growing up be without artificially colored lips and tongues, and a big red monster pitcher giving you nightmares?
That's how I see it anyway.

Retiredfed.......Yeah--you're absolutely right. The non-union members of the BMW plant in the right to work state of South Carolina are so much worse off than the union members of the GM plant in Janesville, aren't they?

I agree with johnny. It is not fair when your union dues do not support all union members. Unions have endorsed elected officials that not everyone in the union supported. When workers want out of a certain union and/or change unions, unions make it very difficult.

Timothy- "Does anyone believe the union's will ever understand that they are not the ones that control government?"

Most of the people understand very well who is running this government. Billionaires from in state and out, like the Koch brothers and Diane hendricks. Lets not forget Rupert Murdoch brainwashing all the Fox News watchers.

Union all the way

johnnyreb6977, if union membership is required at a workplace and someone doesn’t want to pay dues, they should resign and find work in a non-union setting. Anyone who works at a place with a union and accepts the wages, benefits, and working conditions negotiated for by the union without paying dues are benefiting from the dues paid by others, how is that far to the people who pay the dues? What you are talking about takes place in right-to-work states. As a result, the wages, benefits, and working conditions for all workers suffer.

They can talk all they want. Walker has never had a problem with talking. However, mark my words there will be no negotiating on the collective bargaining issue.

Keep drinking the Walker Kool-Aid
He'll be coming after everyone else next.
I hope he is at least forced to talk to the unions, something he has refused to do.

I use to be a very stong democrat but this past week the democrats who blew the state put a very sour taste in my mouth and will not vote for them next time. I hope the rest of the state feels the same way except union workers who believe every thing should be handed to them on a platter.

The unions are claiming Walker is being unfair?
How is the unions making people having to pay union dues for a union that they don't want to belong to but have to because they are employed somewhere fair??????

Wow, where can I file a complaint against some of these lying teachers who called in sick when they were supposed to be at work teaching? The nerve these bums have.

Does anyone believe the union's will ever understand that they are not the ones that control government? Who in the heck do they think they are? Their employee's belong to monopolies and they think they can continue to hold the taxpayer hostage. Where is the collective in that type of bargaining? They aren't used to dealing with someone like Walker. All Doyle ever did was pay them off for their support at taxpayer expense. Go Scott Go!!!!