As if we needed more evidence of how willing Gov. Scott Walker is to scratch the backs of those few unions who support him, Gov. Walker has proposed giving State Troopers a 17% pay raise as part of their negotiated union contract.
Republican legislative leaders said Tuesday they will reject a 17% pay raise for state troopers negotiated by Gov. Scott Walker’s administration.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said they want the GOP governor’s administration to enter a new round of negotiations with the troopers. The Legislature has the final say on whether to approve any labor contracts.
“I just can’t support a raise that big,” Vos told reporters.
But troopers said they deserve a substantial pay hike because they have gone years without a boost in pay. Trooper Randy Gordon said in his nine years on the job he’s gotten just one raise. Some of his colleagues make so little they qualify for heating assistance, he said.
I can certainly empathize with trooper Randy Gordon’s comments about some of his colleagues qualifying for heating assistance, because I know many college-educated, highly qualified public employees who’ve had to resort to taking second jobs as bartenders and waitresses just to make ends meet.
As steep a pay hike as Gov. Walker was willing to give State Troopers, it’s worth noting that according to the Journal Sentinel report trooper Gordon thought the State Troopers should have gotten an even steeper pay increase.
“I think it’s intolerable that it’s only 17%. I think it should be higher than that,” trooper Gordon said, showing a stunning amount of greed for what by any accounts is a HUGE raise, given the fact that other public employees have seen their take-home pay decline since Gov. Walker declared war on public employee unions.
If trooper Randy Gordon wants to whine and complain about how paltry a 17% pay increase is, I’d invite him to try taking a 12% cut in his take-home pay, as many public employees I know have done. Perhaps then Randy Gordon won’t be so ungrateful and downright greedy.
Divide and conquer continues. When will Wisconsin tire of Scott Walker and send him packing? As a 5th generation Wisconsinite, I’m embarassed for our state.
Most Police Officers in Wisconsin are now college educated. If you really want to be objective perhaps you should do a study on the actual wages ” &s Benefits” the groups who lost 12 % make and compare it to a Troopers wage “& benefits”. I think you will find the 12% ers still make considerably more and don’t work nights, weekends, holidays, or have to worry about job related injuries or death. I doubt the 12%ers have to worry about the reverse racism when they do their job either!
You must remember the State Patrol is providing Walker’s parents 24-7 security at Walker’s Wauwatosa home even though the governor’s son Alex says just the grandparents are living there and it was “unbelievable” that the budget protestors would take their cause to the governor’s parents. Why do Walker’s parents warrant around the clock security at taxpayer expense?
It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Take away that security and you will have at a minimum, criminal damage to his property and more probable, someone may get hurt. Remember the damage the protesters did to our State Capitol and that was with much more security than they are giving Walker’s residence !!
I remember extreme lies by Republican sources attempting to negatively smear Wisconsin citizens, alleging property damage done by citizens exercising their First Amendment rights to petition their government that under truthful revision, amounted to normal daily expenses for cleaning and maintenance of the Capitol. Kindly quote your sources if you are making claims about Wisconsin citizens claiming their rights to address their government.
On the topic, how about a 17% increase to all state employees and not just the State Patrol. How are any duties they perform significantly more important than any other state workers?