Pardon my language, but this is turning into an absolute s— show…
On the eve of a state Capitol hearing on legislation to impose curbs on resources and pay of the County Board, Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic denied accusations that the board had authorized negotiations with District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
There were discussions with the union – not negotiations, she said. When she got a letter from District Council 48 Executive Director Rich Abelson in February talking about the union’s bargaining position, she never forwarded it to the board committee that handles labor matters, Dimitrijevic said.
“That’s not appropriate,” she said of the union’s request because it lost its certification when the 2011 Act 10 law was passed eliminating most public employee collective bargaining. AFCSME maintains that a September ruling by a Dane County judge that found parts of the law unconstitutional reversed the union’s decertification.
Journal Sentinel columnist Daniel Bice reported Tuesday that email correspondence from county labor negotiator Fred Bau said there had been bargaining sessions. The sessions included a contract proposal to AFSCME that was endorsed by five of the nine members of the board committee that deals with personnel issues, the Bau email said.
Bau sent AFSCME a proposal from the county offering a 1.5% pay increase and payroll dues deductions from paychecks, the Bice column said. All county employees already were granted 1.5% raises this year based on the county’s 2013 budget.
Bau declined to comment Tuesday, saying only, “The documents speak for themselves.”
For the record, I fully support collective bargaining, but I fail to understand the logic behind negotiating with a union that has been decertified based on the assumption that a ruling made by a lone Circuit Court judge in a case involving two completely separate unions would apply, especially considering the fact that rulings made by Circuit Court judges hold no weight as legal precedents. Just as easily as the ruling being relied on by AFSCME Council 48 went in their favor, another Circuit Court judge could make a contradictory ruling against the unions.
I understand all too well why public sector unions want to undo the damage that has been done by Gov. Scott Walker and the anti-public worker provisions of Act 10, but I’m of the belief that it’s better to be patient and get things done the right way than to be impatient and screw things up even worse than they already are.
I sure hope you’re getting something besides your picture being taken with Obama for selling your brothers and sisters out.
Chris, spare me your outrage.
I know you love to talk crap about me (it’s surprising how many folks have asked me what your problem is with me), but you’re not the ultimate arbiter of whether someone’s pro-union or not.
But hey….at least you’re not being passive-aggressive about attacking me anymore, so congratulations for finally being man enough to attack me directly. I was wondering when you’d finally be able to.
Oh, you knew what the problem was, and you were the one to run away. At least I’m not the one stabbing friends in the back. Are you going to reimburse Jason for the money he helped you raise? It’s the least you could do.
Quite frankly chris, the issue here is you, not me. You’ve made it abundantly clear that you’ve got some sort of issue with me, and you can continue to grind your axe to your heart’s content. I’m not interested in your fourth-grade drama and petty bullcrap, because it’s tiresome and pointless.
No doubt you’ll continue to talk crap about me, but that’s fine, because ultimately people see it for what it really is.
And if Jason Haas has a problem with me, he knows how to get ahold of me, because the last time I checked, you weren’t his spokesperson.
Toodles!
Yes, and that issue is that you are a sell out, which you already knew. But I’m still curious as to what your price was. What got you to turn on your friends, your community?
Chris, do you have anything substantive to add to the discussion about the post, or do you just want to continue to grind your axe?
If all you’re interested in is grinding your axe, then go rant elsewhere.
OK, do you find it at all odd that no one has mentioned that Bau reports to Abele? Or the fact that Act 10 is not the law of the land and that by not bargaining in good faith, it’s going to be a lot more expensive? Or that no one supporting this usurpation wants to talk about “reforming” the county executive position? Why is that?
Chris, has anyone asked Sanfelippo why he doesn’t want to reform the County Executive position? I think it’s a question worth asking.
As for Bau, he may report to the County Executive, but if he believed he had been authorized by the County Board to negotiate with AFSCME, what does that matter? Should he have disregarded what he believed to be was authorization from the COunty Board?
As I noted in my entry, I want to see collective bargaining back in place, because I’m witnessing first-hand how absolutely toxic many workplaces have become as a result of Act 10, but it just doesn’t seem wise to me to rely on the ruling of a lone circuit court judge, especially considering circuit court decisions are not considered precedent-setting.
Well, the funny thing is that I was reading the links in Bice’s article which you cite, and well, as any good union member would know, things aren’t quite right. Did you bother to read the links, Zach? Did you see what’s wrong with them that shows the real lie? Or are you being a good little soldier for Abele? Not that that’s wrong. It’s your reputation. Do what you want. I’ll stick with the truth.
The biggest question that’s not being asked is how this is a “discussion”:
“Attached is Milwaukee County’s proposal for a collective bargaining agreement with Milwaukee District Council 48, AFSCME for 1/1/13 – 12/31/13, as authorized by a majority of five members of the (nine-member) Finance Personnel and Audit (FPA) Committee,” Bau wrote Abelson on March 27. “No additional provisions are authorized to be offered.”
It’s clear that the there are serious problems with the story coming from the Board. It’s not about supporting Act 10 or collective bargaining, it’s that the Board appears to be trying to cover up actions that it authorized. For those that don’t have an unhealthy obsession with the County Executive or call anyone who doesn’t agree with them a “sell out”, it’s obvious the story doesn’t quite add up. While that alone is troubling, the bigger problem is this is all going to end up in a lawsuit.
Yes, Dan, we know you didn’t bother to read the attached documents, despite your claim. There are things about them that appear to be rather fraudulent and improper, such as if someone who’s never done bargaining had a hand in it. But your blind hatred of the Board and of Marina personally won’t allow you that honesty.
Hatred! Of course. Since capper has said it’s so in a comment, it must be so! Your ability to debate is on par with that of an angry five year old and just as productive.
Everything you write is a desperate cry for attention. Seek help.
Said the hypocrite. Yes, Dan, we all realize that you think you are superior to everyone else, except maybe Abele. Keep stamping your feet, throwing insults and then whine about how mean people are to you. That will win people over.
And to think I got a chewing out from this Capper fellow for using the word ” Pussies ” in the title of one of my posts on his blog. Sheeeesh!
It’s all about the context I suppose.