Speaking at a meeting of the Governmental Research Association in Milwaukee on Monday, Republican Gov. Scott Walker said he is open to the idea of limiting the ability to collectively bargain for police officers and firefighters similar to the limits put in place for all other public sector employees as a result of Act 10 passed by Republicans and signed by Walker in 2011.
Walker and his fellow Republicans in the Legislature in 2011 all but eliminated collective bargaining for most public workers, but did not extend most of those restrictions to police and firefighters. That was because of concerns that governments around Wisconsin could not protect the public if officers or firefighters went on strike or took other job actions, Walker told a Governmental Research Association gathering in Milwaukee on Monday.
At that conference Monday he said he would be willing to put those restrictions in place for police and firefighters.
“I think now for those areas, having seen that the world didn’t come to an end for all your municipal employees and county employees, there might be a greater opening going forward because they’d say, ‘Hey things worked out,'” Walker said.
While Gov. Walker later walked back his comments about extending the provisions of Act 10 to firefighters and police officers, I wouldn’t be at all shocked to see Republicans attempt to do exactly that. After all, Scott Walker has proven that quid pro quo is an important part of how he governs, what’s more important to Walker is his own political reputation and ambitions.
After all, Scott Walker’s got 2016 to think about!
I have no doubt Walker will move this along, all the while claiming HE will not pursue it. His jackboot legislature will pass it and, of course, he will sign it. After all, it is the will of the “people”, right?
Scott Walker remembers creating jobs as assemblyman in Wisconsin . It was easy with ALEC. 32000 UNION public sector jobs. It is not as easy this time with out using your tax dollars. Scott Walker has created ALL Wisconsin`s budget problems working for ALEC. In 1997 Walker and Prosser as state assemblymen championed for ALEC with truth in sentencing telling the legislatures it would not cost a dime it was to give judges not parole boards the control over sentencing. Then Walker filibustered to stop sentencing changes after the fact misleading ALL the legislatures. With out the sentencing changes Wisconsin`s prisons quadrupled over night. Most people sentenced to 2 years now had to serve as much as 6o years. As the Wisconsin Budget watch Blog shows . Stopping just a percentage of these long sentences Wisconsin would save 707 million per year. Wisconsin could have free tuition colleges. It shows Wisconsin has wasted 200 billion if you add the numbers to the state budget since 1997. Not including the building new or remodeling of 71 courthouses & 71 county jails & 273 police stations and dozens of prisons 28 billion plus interest. The total is over 70 BILLION plus the 100 Billion spent by social services to support prisoners families because the bread winner was a political prisoner as US Att gen Eric Holder explained. Then farming out prisoners in several states until the courts realized it was not allowed in the Wisconsin constitution. Wisconsin then hired 32000 union public sector workers to fill the jobs housing the prisoners from deputies , judges, district attorneys all owe Walker for creating there jobs. 32000 UNION PUBLIC SECTOR JOBS. This cost taxpayers over 3.8 billion or a half million per day to house these EXTRA prisoners per day in Milwaukee county alone. Wisconsin claims it has 24,000 prisoners compared to Minnesota`s 5500. Wisconsin`s corrections population is 104,000 with over 28,000 prisons in Milwaukee county alone . In 1995 Milwakee county had less than 1000 prisoners . Is Scott Walker moving Wisconsin forward ? This your reason for budget problems in Wisconsin. Big spender big government Scott Walker. Why does he not work for the people he is taking his check from the people ?
Wisconsin Budget watch blog has a great article on this.