Why Aren’t Residency Requirements On The Ballot?

The Republican triumvirate in Madison will repeal local public employee residency requirements as part of their state budget. Regardless of your position on the subject, isn’t this the perfect candidate for a binding referendum in every municipality with residency rules? Although Mayor Barrett and Milwaukee’s residency rules and Milwaukee’s public employee unions are getting the [...]

What’s He Running For: Mahlon Mitchell

Mahlon Mitchell, President of the Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin and Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in the 2012 recall, hit the ground running full tilt as a speaker at the recent Democratic Party of Wisconsin State Convention.

Running through the gamut of the sins of the Walker administration and continually repeating labor chants of the [...]

Thursday Music: Big Rock Candy Mountains by Haywire Mac

Given Harry McClintock (Haywire Mac) was devoted to the cause of industrial unionism, one wonders how he would respond to 21st Century globalization and the shunting of wage labor in the USA into untenable parameters….

More Harry McClintock from  Smithsonian Folkways: Smithsonian Folkways – Haywire Mac – Harry “Haywire Mac” McClintock Smithsonian Folkways – Our [...]

WEAC: The Problem with Merit Pay

From the email box:

The Problem with Merit Pay

In the brave new world of Act 10, many school districts are contemplating “merit pay” or “pay for performance” systems. The following is a WEAC Research Brief summarizing the evidence on merit pay programs for educators. The actual evidence shows:

Merit pay for educators [...]

Compare and contrast the German and American auto industries

I meant to post this a while ago, but I suppose better late than never. In 2010, Germany produced more than 5.5 million automobiles; the U.S produced 2.7 million. At the same time, the average auto worker in Germany made $67.14 per hour in salary in benefits; the average one in the U.S. made $33.77 [...]

Residency Requirements Seem Like the Perfect Referendum Item

Most readers of this blog are probably aware that Governor Scott Walker has included a ban on local residency requirements as part of his next biennial budget for 2013-2015. And of course this has resulted in any number of complaints from both the left and the right.

Leading the pack has been Milwaukee Mayor Tom [...]

That Don’t Belong There!!

I guess that I shouldn’t be surprised…but after all of the rhetoric about transparency and leaving the pork and nonsense out of bills where they don’t belong…politicians still try to bury special interest perks or non-budget stuff in inappropriate places.

One of the most egregious recent sitings is Governor Walker’s inclusion for the repeal of [...]

Republicans ready to “drop the bomb” on private sector unions (VIDEO)

According to a press release issued yesterday by Democratic State Sens. Julie Lassa and Chris Larson and State Rep. Sandy Pasch, Republican legislators Paul Farrow and Ed Brooks are prepared to “drop the bomb” on private sector unions in the form of legislation that would allow employers to reduce the hours of their union-represented employees [...]

Whither MKE Cnty: AFL-CIO Response to Rep. Sanfelippo

Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Statement on Proposed Changes to Milwaukee County Board in Rep. Sanfelippo’s LRB 1340/2

“The proposed changes to the Milwaukee County Board would infringe upon a citizen’s right to meaningful representation, reduce participation in democracy and silence the voices of Milwaukee County residents,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. “Making [...]

Whither MKE Cnty: Sup Alexander Suggests Dropping Employee Healthcare

In an incredibly callous proposal, freshman County Supervisor Deanna Alexander called for a study by the county to review dropping health care coverage for the 4,400 current county employees and simply paying the federal fine of $2,000 per employee under the Affordable Care Act. She is suggesting that the county could save $103 million annually [...]