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Monday, February 28, 2011

Unions Debate What to Give to Save Bargaining - NYTimes.com

Wisconsin 1718, approximate modern state area ...Image via Wikipedia
Unions Debate What to Give to Save Bargaining - NYTimes.com:

"Some of Wisconsin’s major public sector unions, faced with what they see as a threat to their existence, have decided to accept concessions that they had been vigorously fighting: they said they would agree to have more money deducted from workers’ paychecks to go toward their pensions and health benefits, translating into a pay cut of around 7 percent.

But Mr. Walker is not settling for that. He said that those concessions were “an interesting development, because a week ago they said that’s not acceptable.”"
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Christie Pension Moves Increase Public-Worker Retirements - Bloomberg

Chris ChristieImage by Marissa Babin via Flickr




Christie Pension Moves Increase Public-Worker Retirements - Bloomberg:

"New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s proposals to cut pension benefits and raise government workers’ health-insurance payments contributed to a 60 percent jump in retirements in 2010 as more than 20,000 people filed to leave.

The number of applications is the most in at least a decade, according to data from the state Treasury Department. Teacher retirements surged 95 percent, the largest increase of any public-sector group, as 7,132 educators submitted papers last year, up from 3,663 in 2009."
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Walmart workers speak out about abusive working conditions

Keynesian Economics and the Great Depression

Experiences from bank runs during the Great De...Image via Wikipedia



Keynesian Economics and the Great Depression
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Chris Wallace Clings To Canard That Government Spending Has Not Helped The Economy | Media Matters for America

Composition of American Recovery and Reinvestm...Image via Wikipedia
Chris Wallace Clings To Canard That Government Spending Has Not Helped The Economy | Media Matters for America:

"Chris Wallace pushed the myth that government spending has not helped the economy in order to dismiss a Goldman Sachs report concluding that the House GOP budget plan would be a 'drag' on the economy.

But economists have said that the economy would be far worse today without the 2009 stimulus."


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50 Photos from the 50-State Rallies to Save the American Dream | MoveOn.Org

Capitalism!Image by Captain Victor via Flickr
50 Photos from the 50-State Rallies to Save the American Dream | MoveOn.Org:

"On Saturday, February 26th, Americans in all 50 states rallied to show solidarity with the people of Wisconsin, and to save the American Dream. It was a beautiful, powerful sight"
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Ten Things Americans Waste the Most Money On - 24/7 Wall St.

service-goods continuumImage via Wikipedia
Ten Things Americans Waste the Most Money On - 24/7 Wall St.:

"The ten categories of unnecessary purchase can be balanced against the ability of Americans to save money or pay off debts.

The “average” American household which has an income of $63,000 spends more than $8,000 on goods and services it does not actually need.

The credit crisis might not have been so bad if all that money had been put into savings accounts between 1989 and 2009, but the period would not have been nearly as fun."


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Sunday, February 27, 2011

BREAKING NEWS: NBAPA Exec. Director Billy Hunter & Milwaukee Buck Keyon Dooling Stand w/ Wisconsin Workers | The Nation

BREAKING NEWS: NBAPA Exec. Director Billy Hunter & Milwaukee Buck Keyon Dooling Stand w/ Wisconsin Workers | The Nation:

"“Last night’s vote by the Wisconsin Assembly was an attempt to undermine organized labor and the men and women across the country who depend on their unions for a voice in the workplace,' said Hunter.

'The NBPA proudly supports our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and their stand for unequivocal collective bargaining rights.”"

Scott Walker could use history lesson from FDR

Scott Walker could use history lesson from FDR:

"Walker decisions have further fueled partisan fire. Despite the sizable state deficit, he pushed through a tax cut immediately after his inauguration.

Brothers Scott and Jeff Fitzgerald lead the Republican majorities in the Senate and Assembly. Walker has appointed their father Steve, almost 70 years old, to head state security services.

Fire fighters and police are exempt from the reforms. Walker argues that their work is essential. Their unions supported him in the election."

Saturday, February 26, 2011

economies & extravagances







The petty economies of the rich are just as amazing as the silly extravagances of the poor.
 

Groups rally in St. Paul to support Wis. workers - chicagotribune.com

Groups rally in St. Paul to support Wis. workers - chicagotribune.com: "Covered in layers of coats, scarves, hats and gloves amid frigid temperature and snow, rally goers in St. Paul chanted 'Workers' rights are human rights' and waved signs that read 'United we bargain, divided we beg' or 'Save the American dream.'

'The right to collectively bargain is an American right,' Eliot Seide, executive director of AFSCME Council 5, told the crowd as he introduced speakers. 'You can't have American democracy if you don't have a strong trade union movement.'"

Protesters Across US Decry Wis. Anti-Union Efforts : NPR

Protesters Across US Decry Wis. Anti-Union Efforts : NPR:

"Union supporters organized rallies from New York to Los Angeles in a show of solidarity as the protest in Madison entered its 12th straight day and attracted its largest crowd yet: more than 70,000 people.

Hundreds banged on drums and screamed into bullhorns inside, while others braved frigid weather and snowfall during a rally that spilled into city streets."

At Capitol, union advocates rally for Wisconsin workers | Richmond Times-Dispatch

At Capitol, union advocates rally for Wisconsin workers | Richmond Times-Dispatch:

"'Pensions are deferred compensation,' he said. 'They are not taxpayer handouts.'"

Off-duty cops join protests in Wisconsin - USATODAY.com

Off-duty cops join protests in Wisconsin - USATODAY.com:

"Wausau police Detective Cord Buckner, 42, stoically stood in the cold with an American flag wrapped around his face and holding a 'Cops for Labor' sign as thousands of demonstrators marched around the Capitol.

'I'm here to support all the unions' rights,' he said. Saturday was his fourth day demonstrating in Madison since protests began, even though members of his union, the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, won't be affected directly by Walker's bill."

End of Bargaining in Indiana Informs Wisconsin’s Push - NYTimes.com

End of Bargaining in Indiana Informs Wisconsin’s Push - NYTimes.com:

"Andrea Helm, an employee at a children’s home in Knightstown, Ind., said that soon after collective bargaining was ended and the union contract expired, coveted seniority preferences disappeared.

“I saw a lot of employees who had 20, 30 years on the job fired,” she said. “I think they were trying to cut the more expensive people on top to make their budget smaller.”"

It's 1968 All Over Again, and King's Fight For Unions Is Still Essential

WASHINGTON - JANUARY 17:  People march during ...Image by Getty Images via @daylife
It's 1968 All Over Again, and King's Fight For Unions Is
Still Essential

by Michael Honey

ColorLines

February 23 2011

http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/02/its_1968_all_over_again_and_kings_fight_for_unions_is_still_essential.html

In light of the clash of wills in Wisconsin, we should
remember the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One of
King's slogans that we rarely hear is this one: "all labor
has dignity."

King spoke these words in Memphis on March 18, 1968, in the
midst of a strike of 1,200 black sanitation workers that had
lasted over a month. After rousing them to a fever pitch,
King called for a general strike by all workers to shut the
city down on behalf of the sanitation workers.

What was the demand of these workers? Improved wages and
benefits, yes, but their key demand was that the City of
Memphis grant collective bargaining rights and the
collection of union dues, without which they knew they could
not maintain their union.

These are the very two items that Wisconsin's Gov. Scott
Walker wants to take away from public employees. He knows,
as did Mayor Henry Loeb in Memphis, that if you can kill
union bargaining rights and dues collection, you can kill
the union.

Also like Loeb, Walker is a fiscal conservative. As he cuts
taxes for business he raises costs for workers and says
ending union power will benefit the fiscal health of the
state. Walker wants to end the right of public employees to
bargain collectively, even though the workers have accepted
a tripling of their health-care costs and a wage cut to help
offset the state's fiscal crisis.

In nearby Ohio, Gov. John Kasich wants to take away the
right to join a union for 14,000 state-financed child-care
and home-care workers, among the most overworked and
underpaid of public servants. In other states, Republicans
want to adopt "right to work" (for less) laws that would
take away the requirement that workers in unionized jobs pay
union dues. This would undermine the unions while, in King's
words, providing "no rights and no work."

Even in Midwest states that have been union strongholds,
Republicans now have public-employee unions in their cross-
hairs. This is the latest and potentially most deadly phase
of government assault on unions. Ever since the Reagan
counterrevolution, government policies joined with private
sector profiteers have vastly worsened racial-economic
inequalities, created a gambling casino on Wall Street and
paved the way for the current economic crisis.

Conservatives rationalize their attacks on unions by saying
unionized public workers are unfairly privileged. But they
only look privileged by comparison to the rest of the
working class, which is suffering economic catastrophe and
has almost entirely lost the benefits of unionization. Yet
class envy is an easy means to divide and rule.

Racism is another part of the Republican arsenal of divide
and rule. Thanks to the destruction of manufacturing jobs
and unions, black and Latino workers in manual occupations
have disproportionately suffered high rates of poverty and
incarceration as many of their families disintegrate. The
one toe-hold many black and minority workers (and especially
women among them) still have in the economy is in unionized
public employment. Now, the Republicans want to take that
away.

In one stroke, by eliminating both bargaining rights and
union dues, Republicans can insure that organized, dues-
paying workers and particularly minorities and women will no
longer provide a potent base for the Democratic Party. There
will be few grassroots organizations left to counter the
huge infusion of money into politics by the rich.

Workers in Wisconsin have agreed to make sacrifices to get
state government out of its budgetary hole. But it would be
a huge mistake for anyone to go beyond that and buy into
attacks on public employee unions. Loss of unions will
further decimate the spending power of working people,
thereby intensifying the economic crisis while further
removing the voice of workers from politics. That's a
downward spiral.

Republicans most especially wants to undermine the American
Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME). Founded in Wisconsin, AFSCME flowered after King
died in the fight for union rights in Memphis in 1968.
AFSCME became one of the largest unions in the country, with
King regarded as an honorary member and practically a
founder of the union.

In King's framework, killing public employees unions today
would be immoral as well as foolish. He said the three evils
facing humankind are war, racism and economic injustice, and
that the purpose of a union is to overcome the latter evil.
King said the civil-rights movement from 1954 to 1965 was
"phase one," to be followed by a second phase-the struggle
for economic advancement. We are not doing very well in
phase two, and unions remain essential to carry it out.

I've recently finished a new collection of King's remarkable
speeches, titled "All Labor Has Dignity," which shows that
throughout his life, King stood up for union rights. There
is no more important time than the present for us all to
follow his lead.

[Michael Honey is a historian and Haley Professor of
Humanities at the University of Washington, Tacoma. He is
editor of "All Labor Has Dignity" (Beacon Press, 2011) and
author of "Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike:
Martin Luther King's Last Campaign" (W.W. Norton, 2007).]
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Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest

Union fight spurs from local level | The Marion Star | marionstar.com

Union fight spurs from local level | The Marion Star | marionstar.com:

"Huffman says it needs to be noted that the unions are on board as wage concessions need to be made in order for government budgets to balance.

The general public should realize that this is accomplished through successful collective bargaining agreements and that those should stay in place.

'We as labor have accepted those concessions over tough times, and we at least want to have a voice at the table when things get better,' he said."

Conservative N.J. lawmaker, tea party activists ask for shared sacrifice amidst union rally | NJ.com

Map of the 21 counties of the State of New JerseyImage via Wikipedia
Conservative N.J. lawmaker, tea party activists ask for shared sacrifice amidst union rally | NJ.com:

"Russel Cote of the Bayshore Tea Party said union leaders were demanding continuation of unrealistic benefits. His mother, he said, was a kindergarten teacher.


“The union lied to my mother for 40 years,” he said. “Your union has lied to you, too. There is no money, and there has never been any money to pay these pensions and to pay this health care.

Union bosses for decades, including (New Jersey Education Association President) Barbara Keshishian, have aggrandized themselves on your union dues.”"


Russel, Russel, oh Russel . . . your poor Mom.


no money?


where ever were you hiding when Dubya Da Shrub
handed over the $700 billion bailout to prime mortgage gamblers?


why did you stand idly by as we waged two un-budgeted
wars for oil?


methinx ye've been bambozzled, poor thing, you tea-bagger, you..
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The Youth Unemployment Bomb - BusinessWeek

The Youth Unemployment Bomb - BusinessWeek:

"In Tunisia, the young people who helped bring down a dictator are called hittistes—French-Arabic slang for those who lean against the wall.

Their counterparts in Egypt, who on Feb. 1 forced President Hosni Mubarak to say he won't seek reelection, are the shabab atileen, unemployed youths.

The hittistes and shabab have brothers and sisters across the globe.

In Britain, they are NEETs—'not in education, employment, or training.' In Japan, they are freeters: an amalgam of the English word freelance and the German word Arbeiter, or worker. Spaniards call them mileuristas, meaning they earn no more than 1,000 euros a month.

In the U.S., they're 'boomerang' kids who move back home after college because they can't find work.

Even fast-growing China, where labor shortages are more common than surpluses, has its 'ant tribe'—recent college graduates who crowd together in cheap flats on the fringes of big cities because they can't find well-paying work."

U.S. recovery built on low-paying jobs - Business - Bloomberg Businessweek - msnbc.com

U.S. recovery built on low-paying jobs - Business - Bloomberg Businessweek - msnbc.com:

"While the unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in January, from a two-decade peak of 10.1 percent in October 2009, many of the jobs people are now taking don't match the pay, the hours, or the benefits of the 8.75 million positions that vanished in the recession, according to Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto."

Friday, February 25, 2011

War on unions not limited to the states - NashuaTelegraph.com

War on unions not limited to the states - NashuaTelegraph.com: "But the truly breathtaking measure was an amendment by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to defund the NLRB – closing it down altogether – until the fiscal year ends in September."

Labor group calls for general strike if budget bill is approved

Labor group calls for general strike if budget bill is approved:

"The labor federation, which represents more than 45,000 workers, voted Monday night to endorse work stoppages by union and nonunion workers nationally, Cavanaugh said."

Thursday, February 24, 2011

save the date



Build power. Fight back. WIN!
Jobs with Justice National Conference
August 5-7, 2011 in Washington, DC

Labor History Timeline

Labor History Timeline:

"Labor History Timeline"

All 2,000 Providence teachers told they could be fired - Yahoo! News

All 2,000 Providence teachers told they could be fired - Yahoo! News:

"Providence, Rhode Island Mayor Angel Taveras is sending layoff warnings to all 1,926 of the city's teachers.

They won't all be dismissed, but state law requires the city to notify teachers by March 1 whether the district could lay them off before the start of the next school year. School officials say warning every teacher gives them the freedom to let go many of them later without having to single any of them out now."

Delaware rally expresses support for Wisconsin public unions | The News Journal | delawareonline.com

Delaware rally expresses support for Wisconsin public unions | The News Journal | delawareonline.com:

"Union members rally in Rodney Square in support of unions in Wisconsin and their struggle over increasing government employees costs for pension and health care and eliminating their right to collective bargaining for those costs"

Poll: Americans favor union bargaining rights - USATODAY.com

Poll: Americans favor union bargaining rights - USATODAY.com:wipollresults

"Almost two-thirds of those polled say their states face budget crises, but respondents oppose or are split on potential solutions, from tax hikes to spending cuts."

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Wisconsin public servants already face a compensation penalty

Mrs. Virginia Davis, a riveter in the assembly...Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr
Wisconsin public servants already face a compensation penalty:

"The campaign against state and local workers is often justified with claims that they are privileged relative to their private-sector peers or have somehow been cushioned from the effects of the recent recession and slow recovery.


 These claims are clearly false."
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Undoing the Great Risk Shift, or, Saving Capitalism from Itself, Again

Undoing the Great Risk Shift, or, Saving Capitalism from Itself, <em>Again</em>:

"The United States has never done much to deal with the income risks that come from having both mom and dad in the workforce --- from child care costs, to the need for time off to have kids and care for sick family members, to the increased risk to accustomed standards of living that plague families dependent on two jobs.

We live in a twenty-first century economy dominated by two-earner families. Yet, social protections for working Americans have changed remarkably little since the mid-twentieth century --- and, when they have changed, they have usually been cut, not expanded."

AlterNet: Right-Wingers Using Public Employees as 21st-Century Welfare Queens

AlterNet: Right-Wingers Using Public Employees as 21st-Century Welfare Queens:

"Americans working in the private sector have a choice: they can fall for the Right’s latest anecdotally driven welfare queens narrative and seethe in resentment as we run a footrace to the bottom, or they can ignore the distractions and fight to reverse the “Great Risk Shift.”

They can push back against an increasingly savage elite that’s undermining their own economic security, or drag another group of workers down to join them on their perilous perch."

Former union boss says Wisconsin governor's plan could backfire | Cache Valley Daily - News and Information for Cache Valley | Cache Valley News | Logan, UT News | Local News

Former union boss says Wisconsin governor's plan could backfire | Cache Valley Daily - News and Information for Cache Valley | Cache Valley News | Logan, UT News | Local News:

"Pearce claims that the Wisconsin governor's attempt to break the union could end up working against him.

'You're going to see people who previously have not looked toward unions look more and more toward them in order to get fair pay,' Pearce says. 'We're losing the middle class and the unions helped to make that middle class, whether it be public unions or whether it be unions of industry and so forth.'

Pearce says the country will see a major economic downturn if attempts to break up the unions continue."

Indiana Democrats Head to Illinois to Avoid Union Vote - NYTimes.com

Indiana Democrats Head to Illinois to Avoid Union Vote - NYTimes.com:

"On Wednesday morning, thousands of angry, but peaceful, protesters clogged the halls of the state house at a rally outside the legislative chambers.

They praised the 37 missing lawmakers by chanting, 'God bless the Democrats!' Three of the House’s 40 Democrats have remained in Indianapolis."

GOP bill would end California pension bargaining

GOP bill would end California pension bargaining:

"Pension reform has become a hot topic in California and many other states hammered by the recession, aging populations and hangovers from generous benefits granted to public employees during better economic times"

'Pampered' unionists? Really? Connie Schultz | cleveland.com

'Pampered' unionists? Really? Connie Schultz | cleveland.com:

"If you work for somebody else for a living and you resent unions, the solution for what ails you isn't to derail the hard-earned gains of organized labor.

What you need to do is to join a union, so that you, too, will be treated with the fairness and respect every hardworking human being deserves."

12 Things You Need to Know About the Uprising in Wisconsin | AlterNet

12 Things You Need to Know About the Uprising in Wisconsin | AlterNet:

"What's happening in Wisconsin is not complicated. At the beginning of this year, the state was on course to end 2011 with a budget surplus of $120 million. As Ezra Klein explained, newly elected GOP Governor Scott Walker then ' signed two business tax breaks and a conservative health-care policy experiment that lowers overall tax revenues (among other things).

The new legislation was not offset, and it turned a surplus into a deficit.' (Update: please see this note for more detail on the cause of the budget gap.)"

Sparring Unions Now Working as One - WSJ.com

Sparring Unions Now Working as One - WSJ.com:

"Leaders of major public and private sector unions have agreed to set aside longstanding divisions and turf battles and coordinate in a campaign to counter challenges to their political and contract-bargaining power in a growing number of states."

Koch Industries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Koch Industries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Koch companies are involved in core industries such as the manufacturing, refining and distribution of petroleum, chemicals, energy, fiber, intermediates and polymers, minerals, fertilizers, pulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, ranching, finance, commodities trading, as well as other ventures and investments.



In 2008, Forbes called it the second largest privately held company in the United States (after Cargill) with an annual revenue of about $98 billion, down from the largest in 2006. If Koch Industries were a public company in 2007, it would rank about 16 in the Fortune 500.

Fred C. Koch, for whom Koch Industries, Inc. is named, co-founded the company in 1940 and developed an innovative crude oil refining process.

His sons, Charles G. Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and David H. Koch, executive vice president, are principal owners of the company after they bought out their brothers, Frederick and William for $1.1 billion in 1983.

Charles and David H. Koch each own 42% of Koch Industries, and Charles has stated that the company will publicly offer shares 'literally over my dead body'."


Look for the Union Label 1978 ILGWU ad

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Thousands Gather to Protest Bill in Ohio - NYTimes.com

Thousands Gather to Protest Bill in Ohio - NYTimes.com: "Unionized workers represented just 6.9 percent of all workers in the private sector in 2010, according to Richard Freeman, an economist at Harvard, down from about 36 percent in 1955. The number of unionized workers in the Public sector has held steady at about 35 percent since the late ’70s, he said.

“Seven percent in the United States makes them a very rare breed,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a high probability that this will be an explosive event where the average American says, ‘Wait, this is what’s left of the middle class — what are you doing?’ ”"

Labor group calls for general strike if budget bill is approved

Labor group calls for general strike if budget bill is approved:

"A coordinating committee is being formed to contact European unions with experience conducting general strikes, and to begin educating and organizing unions, students and other groups, said Carl Aniel, labor federation delegate from AFSCME Local 171
'It doesn't mean that everyone is going to stop working on a particular moment or day,' Aniel said. 'It means that we are preparing so that the decisions are made in a very significantly different way so that it protects the people of Wisconsin.'"

Gov. Christie proposes $29.4B budget | The Asbury Park Press | APP.com

Gov. Christie proposes $29.4B budget | The Asbury Park Press | APP.com:

"Christie called for business tax cuts and an increase in property tax rebates and aid to schools.

The budget was also to cut $1.3 billion from projected Medicaid spending for the disabled and aged."

In tough times, who is asked to make sacrifices? And who isn't?

Koch Brothers’ Money Fuels Wisconsin Fight - NYTimes.com

Koch Brothers’ Money Fuels Wisconsin Fight - NYTimes.com: "“We are going to bring fiscal sanity back to this great nation,” he said.

What Mr. Phillips did not mention was that his Virginia-based nonprofit group, whose budget surged to $40 million in 2010 from $7 million three years ago, was created and financed in part by the secretive billionaire brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch.

State records also show that Koch Industries, their energy and consumer products conglomerate based in Wichita, Kan., was one of the biggest contributors to the election campaign of Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, a Republican who has championed the proposed cuts."

How the Other Half Lives

Union Histories | American Labor Studies Center

Union Histories | American Labor Studies Center:

"Union Histories"

Free2Work, Corporate Responsibility, Slave Labor, Watch List - Free2Work

Free2Work, Corporate Responsibility, Slave Labor, Watch List - Free2Work: "

This website helps consumers identify companies which do not have forced, trafficked or child labor in their production.
Featured companies are graded on the steps they take to actively prevent exploitation from occurring. Numerous industries are at risk for forced, trafficked and child labor. As consumers we are connected to these types of abuses and we need to know how our products are made."

New York's Teamsters Local 237 to bus in support to union protestors in Wisconsin

New York's Teamsters Local 237 to bus in support to union protestors in Wisconsin:

"Teamsters Local 237, which represents various city workers, intends to 'bus a couple hundred' members to Madison - possibly this week, Deputy Director Pete Gutierrez told The Daily News.

'This governor has awakened a sleeping giant,' Gutierrez said of Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican. 'We're going to bring down as many people as possible. It's an important issue and legitimate cause.'"

STATES' WORKERS UNDER SIEGE | Columbus Dispatch Politics

The Capitol Building of Columbus (Ohio), 1861,...Image via Wikipedia
STATES' WORKERS UNDER SIEGE | Columbus Dispatch Politics:

"State Sen. Shannon Jones, RSpringboro, who is sponsoring the bill to eliminate collective bargaining for Ohio's state employees, acknowledged in testimony before a Senate committee that her bill would not 'solve Ohio's immediate budget problems,' but she said it would 'make a significant difference in future budgets.'"
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Monday, February 21, 2011

The Betrayal of Public Workers | The Nation

The Betrayal of Public Workers | The Nation:

"Nonetheless, a rising chorus of commentators charge that public sector workers are overpaid relative to employees in comparable positions in the private sector. The fact that this claim is demonstrably false appears not to matter. Instead, the attacks are escalating. The most recent proposal gaining traction is to write new laws that would allow states to declare bankruptcy. This would let them rip up contracts with current public sector employees and walk away from their pension fund obligations. Only by declaring bankruptcy, Republican luminaries Jeb Bush and Newt Gingrich argued in the Los Angeles Times, will states be able to “reform their bloated, broken and underfunded pension systems for current and future workers.”"