On Wisconsin! (Read 2075 times)

AmoresPerros


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    ...  The reason this works in the rest of the real world is that employers always have an incentive to attract and retain the best people, so as soon as they were able, my employer restored some of the benefits they had taken away.

     

    I do not think this blanket statement is entirely true. I think there are times and places where their incentive is to attract and employ the cheapest people, not the best people.

    It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.


    Feeling the growl again

      I have yet to see a union that wants to differentiate between its members.  The union represents all, and allowing employers to differentiate would imply to union membership that not all members are equal and destabilize its power.  Therefore I doubt we will ever see a union supporting performance-based differentiation of its membership.

       

      As for attracting the cheapest people -- nothing says a short-sighted company won't do this.  Just like nothing says that a company won't cut jobs until the work can no longer be done.  But the corrective mechanism is typically that work will not get done or will be done more poorly, affecting the company's brand perception, quality or bottom line and forcing them to correct the error (or ignore it and lose competitiveness, not all management teams are smart).

       

      Peaceful union protests.  And since this is not Fox News I know it will be accepted as the unadulturated facts since other news sources never spin anything.

      "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

       

      I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

       


      Why is it sideways?

        I have yet to see a union that wants to differentiate between its members.  The union represents all, and allowing employers to differentiate would imply to union membership that not all members are equal and destabilize its power.  Therefore I doubt we will ever see a union supporting performance-based differentiation of its membership.

         

        Actually, the Wisconsin Teacher's Union (WEAC) proposed just this prior to Gov. Walker taking office.

         

        WEAC Proposal.

          In the wake of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting the mainstream media became uber-sensitive to anything that could even be construed as inciting violence in the political arena, to the point of ridiculousness.

           

          http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/01/18/cnn_apologizes_for_guest_using_term_crosshairs.html

           

          Where is this same media's sensitivity and outrage over the death threats directed towards Wisconsin Republicans?

          Where is the concern over protests outside of their private homes?

          Where is the criticism of Michael Moore declaring "war"?

           

          Also, their "surprise" that the Governor and Senate would do something so "extreme" as pass a bill without the democrats present seems to indicate that they have absolutely no recollection of how Obama-Care was passed.

           

          I guess this post is rhetorical.

          DoppleBock


            Who ever posted that collective bargaining and unions are not part of the budget issues - Mr Walker would like to thank you for the brilliant idea!

            Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

             

             


            Feeling the growl again

              "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

               

              I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

               

                Well I have heard this sentiment from some, mostly HS dropouts/lower class types who never learned the value of education to begin with and hence do not value teachers.

                 

                However my reference to talent retention was not necessarily from a bonus pay perspective...more from the fact that unions protect those with most seniority so when cuts need to come, excellent young teachers get axes while bad senior teachers get to rest on their seniority without a concern in the world.  I saw this play out personally when I was in school.  If performance were valued over seniority in the system, this would not be such a problem.

                 

                "The public" hates pretty much every group they are not included in or who they can blame for their problems.  My own profession falls victim to the same problem -- moreso than teachers -- so I can sympathize.

                 

                I'm not in teacher, but am a public employee and I agree with you. It would be great to get right of the dead weight when the lay-offs and downsizing has to happen instead of the low guy on the totem pole. Thats what I was refering to in my comment. We have a few guys in the department with the seniority and the lazy assed attitudes that make the rest of us look bad.

                 

                Getting the procedure of how and who to lay-off first is another item that can and should be negotiated and put into the contract language.

                 

                The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

                 

                2014 Goals:

                 

                Stay healthy

                Enjoy life

                 


                Why is it sideways?

                  Interesting exception.  I'm curious what the follow-through was.

                   

                  We're watching it right now. Walker responded to this and to the union's offer to cut pensions and benefits by additionally demanding that they give up their the collective bargaining rights. You give an inch, they'll take a mile. I wonder if things would have turned out differently if the union had been rigid from the beginning--maybe Walker wouldn't have sensed weakness, and he wouldn't have gone for the whole shebang.

                   

                  I know that I've been defending the unions here mostly, but it's clear that the union offered these changes because of an incoming Republican administration. They knew he was going to drive a hard bargain, and they knew that they were going to come under scrutiny. So, certainly non-union and anti-union pressures led the union to make these proposals. It should be noted that many on the left are also tired of unions. Obama has been a leader in the fight against teacher's unions--it's one place where he has used his political clout to bust up formerly progressive institutions for the sake of a new progressivism.

                   

                  These are tense political times, and it seems like each side looks at the other with great cynicism. It's hard to see how these events will diminish that cynicism. And pretty soon we are headed into another election cycle. 

                   

                  Yikes.


                  Feeling the growl again

                    And pretty soon we are headed into another election cycle. 

                     

                     

                     

                    I don't think they end anymore.

                    "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                     

                    I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                     


                    Why is it sideways?

                      I don't think they end anymore.

                       

                      Indeed.

                      DoppleBock


                        Everything about this has sucked from the beginning to the present.

                         

                        Lets think of creative ways to close the shortfall

                         

                        *  Gasoline Tax - Already @ 30.9 cents per gallon (9th highest in nation)

                        *  Sales Tax - 5% at the state level

                        *  Beer tax - 6.5 cents per gallon (3rd lowest in the nation)

                        *  Cigerette tax - $2.52 per pack

                        *  Hotel rax - 5.5%

                         

                        *  Maybe a special fast food tax?

                        *  Maybe a fat persons tax ?

                        *  Tax per pound of garbage?

                        *  A special casino tax

                        **  My favorite - A special super high tax for people from out of state that own property in WI - Get all those FIB off our lakes - Of cousre that would reduce tourism and make a bigger shortfall.

                        * ?????

                         

                        Or creative cost cutting

                        *  A cap for state senate and house on the staff size and travel budget - Generally cut in half

                        *   ????

                         

                        Beer tax @ 6.5 cents per gallon = $2.00 per barrel

                         

                        12 pack x 12 ounces = 1.125 gallons - Put $1 per 12 pack = .888888 cents per gallon = 13.67 times as much tax x $10M (Current Revenue) = $136.7M or @ $125M more revenue

                         

                        Effect on consumer @ .83 centes per 12 pack = .07 cents per 12 ounce can or bottle.  Hell raise it 55 times the current amount = $4 per 12 pack or .28 centes per 12 ounce can or bottle and raise $500M in tax revenue.  Beer is not a necessity ...

                         

                        *  Maybe a special toilet paper tax - everyone used TP

                        *  Maybe an anti-child tax.  Tax payers pay $1,000 per child they have between the ages of 0-18.  Less kids - We would need less teachers, less police etc.

                        Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                         

                         

                          *  Maybe a special toilet paper tax - everyone used TP

                           

                          I'd vote no on this one.  You know some one somewhere will make a point by not using it.  And you'll find out who they are... after you shake their hand. 

                          AmoresPerros


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                            I thought I saw a headline somewhere saying the Republicans used a trick to push the bill through. I thought that was a bit funny, considering they were working around the "hiding outside of the state" trick.

                            It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.

                            Slice


                              I was already in favor of this Wisconsin bill, but after watching "Waiting for Superman" last night I'm extra glad they passed it. I hope something will help our education system. And, if it doesn't work the next governor can give the unions back all their "rights." I highly recommend watching the aforementioned documentary about education. It's sad and eye opening.

                              I don't half-ass anything

                               

                              "I have several close friends who have run marathons, a word that is actually derived from two Swahili words: mara, which means 'to die a horrible death' and thon, which means 'for a stupid T-shirt.' Look it up." - Celia Rivenbark, You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning

                               

                              obiebyke


                                Oh lord. Don't get me started on Waiting for "Superman."

                                Call me Ray (not Ishmael)