Collective Bargaining | InvestmentWatch

VIDEO: Obama Calls For ‘Democracy With A Small D’

A 1995 video depicts Barack Obama calling for “democracy with a small ‘d,’” while pushing a society based on collectivism and “common good.”

In the video unearthed by KleinOnline, Obama hails unions and collective bargaining as encapsulating the societal “common good” of which he speaks.

Obama urges society to collectively move “forward” – a word that would later serve as his 2012 campaign slogan.

Obama was speaking in an Aug. 11, 1995 interview [...]

NJ city drops police department amid budget woes

Crime-ridden Camden, New Jersey – often referred to as the most dangerous city in the United States—is getting rid of its police department.

In the latest example of a cash-strapped municipality taking drastic measures to deal with swollen public sector liabilities and shrinking budgets, the city plans to disband its 460-member police department and replace it with a non-union “Metro Division” of the Camden County Police. Backers of the plan say [...]

CONSERVATIVES LOVE CORPORATE FRAUD AND CORPORATE WELFARE – FOX REFUSES TO ADDRESS THAT!

Power to the people – END CORPORATE FRAUD AND CORPORATE WELFARE IN THE $10‘s of TRILLIONS.

GOALS:

· Get THE BRIBERY out of politics
· Tax the rich and corporations
· End the useless wars, bring the troops home, cut military spending
· Protect Social Safety Net, Strengthen Social Security and Medicare for all
· End corporate welfare for BANKSTERS, BIG 0lL and the REST
· Transition to a clean energy economy – STOP THE 0lL DRAIN ON [...]

Pension votes in cities put pressure on Gov. Brown

After voters in San Jose and San Diego, two of California’s largest cities, rolled back public employee pensions in Tuesday’s election, pressure is mounting on Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature to take similar action to deal with financial crises that are crippling state and local governments.

But don’t expect politicians in California to attack the collective bargaining rights of public unions as they did in Wisconsin, experts said Wednesday. The [...]

Warning shot for Obama: Scott Walker wins Wisconsin recall election with clear majority in boost for GOP

Republican fights off recall challenge from Mayor Tom Barrett
First governor in U.S. history to keep his job in the face of recall challenge
Overwhelming voter turnout giving GOP hope that Romney will prevail in Wisconsin in presidential election

Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin increased his majority in a recall election victory that delivered a warning shot to President Obama and showed that Republican politicians can face down unions and survive in office.

Walker [...]

Wisconsin recall leaders struggle to gain momentum

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Amid signs that the effort to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker is losing ground, Wisconsin Democrats and union leaders are preparing a fundraising and get-out-the-vote push to regain momentum in the final weeks before the June recall election.

Opponents of Walker are concerned that the governor, aided by a huge influx of money from conservative supporters nationwide, has opened a lead in a race that had been [...]

In the 1970s, Governor Brown sewed the seeds of the problem that he and all of California reap today: public union collective bargaining rights.

by David Cary

The Educational Employment Relations Act of 1976, established collective
bargaining in California’s public schools and community colleges

·
The Ralph C. Dills Act of 1978 established collective
bargaining for state government employees

·
The Higher Education Employer-Employee
Relations Act of 1979,
extended collective bargaining to the state university system.

Today, California public employee salaries, pensions and
benefits are out of control.

Why is collective bargaining by government employees a bad idea? Let
FDR explain it:

“All
Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining,
as usually understood, cannot be [...]

California a right-to-work state? Stop effort now

There is a sneaky initiative on the November ballot that would put California on its way to higher poverty and lower wages. Dubbed the “Stop Special Interest Money Now Act,” this initiative could increase the number of uninsured workers, double the wage gap, and cut your annual income by almost $6,000.

Also known as the “Paycheck Protection” initiative, the measure would put California on a path to becoming a right-to-work state, [...]

Wisconsin’s Property Taxes Drop for First Time in 12 Years

Milwaukee, Wisc. – According to Wisconsin’s Department of Revenue, property taxes on homes in the state of Wisconsin have decreased for the first time in more than a decade.

Governor Scott Walker’s pledge to balance the budget without raising taxes was a key plank of his 2010 campaign, and his fulfillment of that pledge will be a major campaign theme leading up to the June 5 recall election. “Our reforms have [...]

Gov. unions are a gun-toting fascistic cancer against the private sector

Franklin D. Roosevelt

112 – Letter on the Resolution of Federation of Federal Employees Against Strikes in Federal Service August 16, 1937

“….All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully [...]

Wisconsin Governor Wants To Introduce Fee To Protest: Exercising First Amendment right will cost $50 per hour per Capitol Police officer

Steve Watson
Infowars.com
December 2, 2011

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is making it the official policy in the state to encourage demonstrators to pay a fee in advance of any protest event, as well as applying for a permit.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that protesters will be expected to pay a fee of $50 per hour, per every extra Capitol Police officer that is required to properly police the event.

Walker administration officials contend the [...]

Battleground Wisconsin

“Don’t retreat! Recall!” declared Wisconsin’s Democrats after failing to take back the State senate through a special election this August. Now, backed by their allies in public sector unions, they are trying to heed their own slogan, repurposing their efforts in a bid to recall their principal hate figure, Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Early media hype has cast the state’s recall campaign as a showdown not only over Walker’s efforts to [...]

Recall effort against Wisconsin Gov. Walker begins

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Jubilant opponents of Republican Gov. Scott Walker launched their effort Tuesday to try to recall him from office, starting a 60-day blitz to gather more than half a million signatures to force an election next year.

The drive to collect an average of 9,000 signatures a day, fueled by anger over Walker’s successful push to take away nearly all public worker collective bargaining rights, began with pajama [...]

Cain Supports Collective Bargaining for Public Unions?

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Herman Cain said he supports the “right” for public employees to bargain collectively. In other words, he is in favor of unions on the taxpayer dime. Cain also said federal workers have unions, meaning the right to collectively bargain, but they do not.

On the issue of collective bargaining, Cain said he supported the right of public employees to bargain collectively.

“But not collective [...]

Most teachers exchange security for salary increases

When offered raises of up to $20,000 in exchange for giving up some collective bargaining rights, four out of five “highly effective” teachers in D.C. took the cash.

More of the top-rated teachers eligible for bonuses took them this year than in 2010, when 40 percent declined the awards to keep some job guarantees.

“People realize this is actually happening, we’re really going to pay them and [...]

NYPost: State of the unions: How public opinion turned so sharply and suddenly against worker groups

This summer, something remarkable happened: 45,000 Verizon workers went on strike, and no one — save a few customers dealing with service interruptions — much cared.

The communications behemoth wanted more than 100 concessions on health care, pensions, sick days and outsourcing. Unions representing the workers said Verizon sought to void 50 years of collective-bargaining gains for middle-class workers, despite posting a 2.8% jump in [...]

What Republicans USED TO THINK ABOUT LABOR:

1. EISENHOWER IN THE 1956 REPUBLICAN PLATFORM.

“Workers have benefited by the progress which has been made in carrying out the programs and principles set forth in the 1952 Republican platform. All workers have gained and unions have grown in strength and responsibi

lity, and have increased their membership by 2 millions. ”

2. REAGAN ON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS:

“They remind us that where free unions and collective [...]

New Jersey Makes It Official: The Slashing Of Public Employee Benefits Has Begun

New Jersey lawmakers voted to pass Governor Christie’s sweeping cuts in public worker benefits last night.

Despite the 8,500 protesters outside the capital building and a loud public outcry, the bill passed with a vote of 46-32.

It now goes to Christie’s desk for his signature.

According to the Star Ledger, opponents of the bill successfully convinced lawmakers to remove a provision restricting workers access to out-of-state medical care, but [...]

T.S.A. Screeners Choose Their Union

WASHINGTON (AP) — Airport screeners around the county have chosen the nation’s largest federal employee union to represent them in collective bargaining talks with the government, federal officials announced Thursday.

The American Federation of Government Employees won a close runoff vote to represent about 44,000 employees at the Transportation Security Administration in the largest union election for federal workers in history.

Federal officials tallying the votes say A.F.G.E. received 8,903 votes, or [...]

WI – (Dane County) Judge grants extension on Democratic recalls; no delay for Republicans

Madison – A Dane County judge on Friday granted state officials a week to determine whether three Democratic senators should be recalled, but declined to delay elections for six Republican senators.

Later Friday, the Government Accountability Board certified recall elections for July 12 for the Republican senators. Any recall elections for the Democrats would be held a week later, on July 19.

Dan Hunt, who [...]

Breaking: Judge strikes down Wisconsin law that takes away collective bargaining rights from state workers

Democrats Strip Unions of Bargaining Rights… UNIONS IRATE

Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, said the union would fight the legislation “to the bitter end.” (M. McDonald for The Boston Globe)

House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly last night to strip police officers, teachers, and other municipal employees of most of their rights to bargain over health care, saying the change would save millions of dollars for financially strapped cities and towns.

The 111-to-42 vote [...]

Mass Democrats Vote to Restrict Public Sector Union Collective Bargaining

It seems Gov. Scott Walker’s ideas are catching on, even in Massachusetts. From Boston.com:

The 111-to-42 vote followed tougher measures to broadly eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees [...]

Firefighters union to halt contributions to Democrats

WASHINGTON – The nation’s largest firefighters union and one of the Democrats’ most reliable sources of campaign money says it will quit donating to federal candidates this year because members of Congress are not doing enough to support organized labor.

International Association of Firefighters President Harold Schaitberger says there is a more urgent need to spend money defending anti-union measures sweeping GOP-controlled statehouses across the [...]

Scott Walker Admits Union-Busting Provision “Doesn’t Save Any” Money for the State of Wisconsin

Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) and Peter Shumlin (D-VT) to testify in a hearing titled “State and Municipal Debt: Tough Choices Ahead.” Much of the hearing was spent probing Wisconsin’s spate of anti-union restrictions it recently passed.

At one point, Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) confronted Walker about his crackdown on public employee unions. The congressman referenced [...]

What’s happening is a global class war

http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/webfeatures_viewpoints_global_strat_labor/
A Global Strategy for Labor

“The overwhelming majority of people in this world must work in order to live. The definition of Labor in the global marketplace includes those who are unionized and those who are not. It includes those who work in cities and those who work on farms. It includes those both in the formal and informal sectors. It includes those who work at home and small business people [...]

Scott Walker’s administration gave a state job and a 26% raise to the son of a major supporter

by Atypical

Wisconsin Republicans claim that their state is broke, and have used that claim to justify stripping state workers of their collective bargaining rights. And yet, even though they claim to be broke, Scott Walker’s administration just gave a state job, and a 26% raise, to the son of a major supporter who has no college degree, no relevant experience, and two drunk driving convictions.

JS [...]

Ohio House begins debate on bill to limit collective bargaining; passage expected today – Dispatch.com

via dispatch.com:

House Speaker William G. Batchelder called it a day to end three decades of no changes to collective bargaining in Ohio, which have led to “expensive, overly restrictive union contracts which are simply unsustainable.”

“This state cannot pay what we’ve been paying in the past,” the Medina Republican told reporters prior to today’s House session. “Local governments and taxpayers need control over their budgets. This bill will give control back [...]

Wisconsin Union Law To Take Effect Despite Judge’s Ruling

Wisconsin officials can’t seem to agree on whether the publication of its law stripping public employee collective bargaining rights is about to take effect.

The nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau published the law Friday despite a court order that had blocked the secretary of state from doing so. Publishing a law typically allows puts it in effect.

Read the rest @ ABC News

Wall Street Front Group President Sneers At Protesters, Says Public Servants Are Paid Too Much.

by Lee Fang

On Friday, two dozen protesters gathered outside of an event for the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, where U.S. Chamber of Commerce president Tom Donohue gave a lunchtime presentation about the economy. As ThinkProgress first reported in April of 2010, the U.S. Chamber operated as a front group for banks like J.P. Morgan and Bank of America to kill Wall Street [...]

UNIONS THREATEN BUSINESSES

By Charlie Sykes

Story Created: Mar 10, 2011

Story Updated: Mar 12, 2011

UPDATE: Welcome Drudge readers; You can also follow events in Wisconsin by following me on Twitter @SykesCharlie.

That’s a nice business you got there. Pity if anything were to happen to it if, say, you didn’t toe the line and denounce Governor Walker like we’re asking nice-like.

March 10, 2011
Mr. Tom Ellis, President
Marshall & Ilsley Corporation
770 N. Water Street
Milwaukee, [...]

18 GOP senators in Wisc report death threats after union vote

The threat was sent in an e-mail late Wednesday with the subject, “Death threat!!!! Bomb!!!!” according to a copy of the letter released by Grothman’s office. The e-mail also was addressed to Sen. Pam Galloway, R-Wausau.

Grothman, R-West Bend, said the e-mail is the latest example of “a new height in incivility.” He said in recent weeks he has received obscene phone calls at all [...]

Reuters: Wisconsin governor cancels layoffs after union vote

(Reuters) – Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said on Friday he was canceling the layoff warning notices he sent late last week to public sector unions after lawmakers approved his proposal to restrict the collective bargaining rights of those unions.

Walker said the new powers for state and local government in the bill, which he is expected to sign into law as early as Friday, would [...]

For public workers in Wisconsin, thereâ€™s more bad news: Having lost the battle on collective bargaining, they may soon be asked to make more financial sacrifices.

Via Penson Pulse.

Mary Williams Walsh of the NYT reports, The Burden of Pensions on States:

For public workers in Wisconsin, thereâ€™s more bad news.

Having lost the battle on collective bargaining, they may soon be asked to make more financial sacrifices.

The stateâ€™s workers offered to start picking up part of the cost of their pensions and health insurance early in their showdown this year with Gov. Scott Walker. [...]

Wis. state assembly passes legislation to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers. DEVELOPING

The Wisconsin state AssemblyÂ on Thursday afternoonÂ passed a controversial bill that curtails most state workersâ€™ collectiveÂ bargaining rights, one day after state Senate Republicans used a technical procedure to get around the intentional absence of 14 Democrats and pass the measure.

Throngs of people upsetÂ at the developmentsÂ have been protesting on the grounds of the Capitol throughout the day.

The bill will reach Gov. Scott Walker’s desk for final approval. The bill [...]

InvestmentWatch