After convening a hastily scheduled conference committee, Republicans in the legislature were able to undo 50 years of collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin’s public employees, with Republicans in the State Senate voting 18-1 to approve gutting collective bargaining rights for public employees after those provisions were split from Gov. Scott Walker’s so-called budget “repair” proposal. The measure was passed with no debate and very little public notice, a fact that could call into question the legality of tonight’s action by State Senate Republicans.
Notice of the conference committee meeting was posted at 4:09 p.m. and the meeting began at 6:00 p.m., but state law requires 24-hour notice for public meetings, with the exception that meetings can be called with just two hours notice when more notice is impossible or impractical. Legislative Democrats have already vowed to challenge the legality of the action taken by their Republican counterparts, so this issue may not yet be completely resolved.
But in case there was any doubt in anyone’s mind as to the fact that the provisions stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the state’s supposed budget deficit, listen as Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald explains that the provisions weakening Wisconsin’s public employee unions is all about weakening President Obama’s reelection chances in 2012:
Another point worth making here is that since Gov. Walker first proposed his so-called budget “repair” bill, Gov. Walker and Republicans insisted the measures meant to break Wisconsin’s public employee unions were not actually meant to break the unions, but were in fact necessary fiscal measures. However, by taking the action they’ve taken tonight, Republicans have essentially abandoned that position, and in doing so have admitted these measures were never about balancing the state’s budget – they were about breaking public employee unions.
Ed. Note: Here’s a link to Wisconsin Eye’s footage of the conference committee Republicans convened in order to ram through the revocation of collective bargaining rights for public employees.
Reading these comments leaves me ashamed. Many on the right just abdicate their right to THINK for themselves. To THINK at all. For all of their mindless repeating of propaganda, they should let their parrots vote for them.
FYI…some responders here think abortion is only used for birth control and a woman’s first choice of birth control is abortion. My God what is wrong with these people?
Are these comments about birth control or about the unions?
It looks like there’s a mix of topics in these comments….