Though the election’s not quite over yet, it seems Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker’s already trying to treat state employees’ unions the same way he’s been treating Milwaukee County’s unionized employees for the past 8 years (emphasis mine):
From: Stephan Kuehn [mailto:sekuehn@charter.net]
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 7:59 PM
To:
Subject: BARGAINING LATESTIt was reported to us today at the C24 Executive Board Meeting that some of the teams still have non economic issues to complete prior to beginning the talks regarding economics. The monies rumored in the Compensation Reserve would be the equivalent of less than one quarter of one percent for all state employees. On another note. The Scott Walker campaign contacted C24 last Friday and stated that if we want a working relationship with the next Governor we should immediately walk away from the current bargaining table and wait until after Mr. Walker is elected to negotiate the current contract. They were told no deal. If this isn’t proof to all state employees that Mr. Walker is already attempting to cut into our current wages and benefits package nothing else will change your mind. The campaign has inferred that he has already won the Governors seat. Please send this to all of your members/contacts and tell them to send it on to all of their contacts. We need everyone to get out and vote. Period. There isn’t much time left so please get this out to everyone. I don’t have everyones email addresses on my home computer, so fwd, fwd, fwd.
Stephan Kuehn
C24 Executive Board Member
I’m not sure why Scott Walker thinks the state employees’ unions would walk away from negotiations they’ve been in for months, but it simply doesn’t make any sense for the unions to walk away from the bargaining table and throw away all the progress that has been made in negotiations between the state and the unions.
Capper has his own take on this.
I saw him on the news this morning with his big greedy and non caring smile. I will have to find out what his little crap speech at 10am today will do to public employees. He had this whole thing planned before he was elected. Private employees along with public are still paying his high wages along with all the legislators who get full health care and benefits when they retire. The cost of this is to all workers in wisconsin. I see no good in his term.
What kind of money would be saved if the wi gov. officials started paying for their own fuel and health insurance? I would think quite a bit. Some have said that the corrections and mental health would be the only jobs we’d really notice if they had a strike. Nope, there’s more. I have a hard enough time working on my childrens education, but now Mr. Walker would like to make that more stressful and compromised, by stripping the dignity and livelyhood of the little guy! Here’s what I mean…Teachers make diddley squat per year, and basically do the job because they love it. But what made it for them to be able to survive were the benefits. Good teachers, Smart teachers are going to have to do “more” to make ends meat. This means that they will not be rested and “in sound mind” when educating our children. 5 days a week, 7 hours(stamped time that is) a day, we entrust the loves of our lives to these people. We pay our property taxes to make sure that our children are given every opportunity to express and learn and thrive. Teachers spend SO much of their own money and off time on their classes, to make things are more exciting and interesting. PTO’s can only help so much. This bill will severly affect “who” is teaching our kids. The “right” kind of people will no longer want to be teachers because they would be able to make a better living being a bartender or flipping burgers. I am very active in my kids lives at school, so I do know what I’m talking about here! Good teachers are a treasure, and cannot believe how this way of thinking(Walkers) is an insult to them. And I agree! I’m sure there are people who can fill these teacher’s positions, as it seems “everyone” is replaceable…but are they good teachers? and qualified? I don’t think so, not to the capacity we would need. I don’t want our teachers just picked out of hat because they have a degree and can fill a hole! It looks like I will have to seriously consider home schooling my kids if our fine govenor runs all the good teachers into the ground and leave them without a living. And to think, this is just ONE job title I’m talking about here. Sad really. If he wants to tear apart “a right” that’s set up to stop injustices like this…what union is next? Did he ever bother to ask the “people” before making such a detrimental decision? I must have missed THAT memo. I’d love to help make cuts! Sorry it may cut out some of the luxuries of his life, but nothing more than he’s asking any of us. There are so many more people horribly affected that trickle down from this part of it, I don’t think there is enough room on this website!
WOW mom drinking the WEAC koolaid I see. So you are saying if teacher finally start paying for insurance they are going to quit their jobs? Really? I don’t think they are cutting salaries, they are being asked to contributer, if they quit for those reasons that tells me they really don’t care about their jobs they only care about their pocketbooks. And where are they going to go for a job if they quit? WEAC is so full of BS they dont know the difference between their lies and the truth any longer.
NOT shocked that you Notalib would respond this way. And it only reiterates to me the fact that you really do not live in the real world. I don’t need to drink anyone’s koolaid to see reality. I have yet to see a teacher drive up in mercedes or live on the upper east side of anywhere. If you don’t have money, you have nothing to contribute! I didn’t say that teachers were all going to quit because they were arrogant. If you make diddely squat for a salary, in a high stress job and anyone with kids knows what I mean, and then found out that you were getting a pay cut plus had to pay in MORE money than you have…you’re telling me that you could honestly support your family on this? Really? I don’t care how much you love your job, its about being able to support your family and give them the best life you can! “I love my job, even if it puts me in the poorhouse”, so that would be a more acceptable answer? If you look at how much a teacher makes(which is less than what I made 20yrs ago as a carpenter) as compared to the yearly increase of inflation…they don’t exactly match up! Doesn’t sound like you even have a family to support…and no, cats don’t count. A civilized society is measured by how it treats its children and old people, this is an assault on them and the people who care for them. Where is the reasonable discussion? Why must it be so destructive to teachers and all those who are serving? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you take money from these folks, you are taking away from all local businesses as well. Its the long term trickle down affect that I see…and so does everyone else in the state it would appear! Oh, except for you Notalib…more like Notaclue.
Mom are you trying to tell me because they are being asked to contribute to their own retirement and health care that they are all going to end up in the poorhouse? Really? Over the years I have had to support my family on a lot less then a teachers salary, and you know what we found ways to make it work because that was the reality. The people not living in reality are you and the union jackals who have been catered to for so long now all of the sudden they are asking to contribute and they think the world is against them and that they are all headed to the poorhouse. Absolutely laughable. I love how you concluded that this will also hurt local business, really Mom, you really think that all of the sudden the money is just going to dry up beccause these people may have to pay $4000 out of thier own pockets, maybe they all need to take a budgeting class if that is going to be such a major money hit for them. This year because if change in insurance my wife could no longer be on my policy she had to get insurance through her own comanpy so now instead of payiny $4000 a year for insurance we now pay over $7000, should I quit my job mom because of this. Should I have a tantrum and protest somewhere, no mom that is the real world, I do not fell sorry for them being asked to pay their fair share as no one give a shit about how much I have to pay out of pocket. Get out of teh house get a job and find out what the real world is like mom, don’t sit there in suburbia being forced feed lies and bs by union propoganda.
Ah a job…what I would give to have the time(and fewer responsibilities) to have an actual job again.