Since we have a new governor here in Wisconsin and he is Republican, I thought it might be interesting to research and find out if there were any similarities. Surprise, surprise, there are. It seems to be increasingly popular to attempt to systematically dismantle organized labor, attacking at the very heart of the labor movement of collective bargaining that was battled for by in the middle 1930's.
I have never been a member of any unionized organization and I do have some reservations as to how unions have operated, how they have attained some of their concessions reached with business and some of the people that have seemed to populate their ranks, in their hierarchy. That said, I have come, during the past five to ten years, to respect the basic idea of unions and their drive for safety regulations, workplace conditions and bargaining on a level and honest playing field.
Like people, unions are imperfect and protect those members that should be jettisoned because of poor work performance, bad work attendance, or those who take advantage of every single loophole in a union negotiated contract. Some people simply do not want to work, some people are do not want to think on their feet while others think only of themselves, not seeing the big picture that all unions are aware of.
Without exception, unions were created to protect their membership, to ensure that fair treatment is observed and that a living wage can be obtained over the long haul by all members. Sadly along the way, management as well as union membership has lost sight of the above mentioned basic principles of what unions should be all about.
The fall from grace by unions hasn't just happened, it has taken probably fifty or sixty years. The perception that the average non-union worker has of unions is, run-away wages, benefits and early retirement with phenomenal payments involved. sick days, personal days, five and six week vacations seem to be the norm. Sandbagging working hours during the final two or three years of one's employment tends to drive up retirement pay and management seems to allow this practice in many city settings throughout the midwest.
Lunch breaks, work breaks and even personal breaks, all bargained for, are in place, all paid for by taxpayers. These union members seem to have lost sight of the fact that taxpayers pay for these benefits, are not a bottomless pit of money and in fact most are broken today. Pensions, medical insurance after retirement are great benefits, but in the end are unrealistic and unsustainable.
City employees, those people that repair roadways, administer recreation programs, collect garbage, plow snow, cut grass, fight fires and protect communities were never positions that, in the beginning were designed to pay employees $25 or $30 an hour, the tax base could simply not support and sustain that level of pay.
We Americans are a people of extremes, we are an either or society, we can't seem to meet at a middle ground, operating in a reasonable manner, one that is geared not only for the present, but for the future as well.
We are now faced with a dilemma of the well running dry, of a financial situation when some of us are unable to continue paying in the same fashion as we have in the past. There is anger out there against the local, state and federal workers, their pay and benefits packages that are paid.
The anger is misplaced, there is much misunderstanding by the general population that does not have one of these plum governmental jobs. If I own a baseball team and my top pitcher comes into my office and asks for $25,000,000 for winning 10 games and I go along with his wishes and pay him those "big bucks," who's fault is that, the player for asking, or me for paying? I can answer in one word, "me." It's my ball team and I control every pay issue involved with the team. As long as the player is tied to my team through a signed contract, he's mine for better or worse.
Municipalities and their workers are exactly like a baseball team with one exception, they can't strike, baseball players can. Public employees can't strike, it's the law, look it up. So who is to blame for the seeming run away wages and benefits, negotiators, city councils, mayors, elected officials and to a degree, department supervisors.
With little exception, the General Electric pays little attention to labor disputes that are carried on at the local, or state levels and views federal labor problems as not really involving them, and are taken serious only when services are interrupted.
Now we come to a time when not only are services going to be interrupted, some will actually cease to exist. There are threats that medical programs and social programs are in real trouble and the time has come for all local, state and federal employees need to pony up and pay their fair share. Contracts are being broken, pay scales are lowered and some positions are being eliminated.
A new wave of politician is beginning to emerge throughout the country, a new brand of political attitude is creeping across the fruited plains and major change is in the air. It's called a more "responsible kind of thinking," thinking that will safeguard our children and our grandchildren and their children as well.
There are new republican governors in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin and they have some radical ideas and feel embolden through their election results to implement these radical processes. Republican Mitch Daniels, a second term Indiana governor has signed unto some of these ideas and although not quite as strong with change, non the less is watching closely.
In an almost predictable result, the three newly elected officials popularity is at almost all-time low in each state. Even with those responsible for their win, find their actions somewhat worrisome, objectionable and many say "if they had known the agenda, they would have voted for the other guy."
Each of these new governors have several things in common, besides their political beliefs, each seems to be taking the same path, cutting positions, attacking the teaching profession, endangering our future through their collective attacking on education and "Roger Ram Jetting" their agendas through their states governmental systems.
On the federal level, Paul "I would be king" Ryan is doing the same on a bigger stage. President Obama, in my view, is making all the wrong moves and needs to stand up, quite the cool attitude, "it doesn't impress me," and sit down with both parties and get a hold on the entire situation and make some tough decisions.
We are all going to lose some of the services that we get, locally, on the state level and the federal level as well. It's going tom be tougher on us older folks, we don't bounce back as quickly as we once did. But when I hear talk about having only so much medical services available and after that your "on your own," well I get mad, wondering why, we as a nation can spend almost a billion dollars in a foolish Libyan no fly zone and can't take care of are own, no matter the reason.
I have pointed out only the Midwest governors, discounting Illinois and Minnesota because those two states couldn't be fixed, even with a partnership between Republicans, Democrats and the tea baggers.
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