Labor Chicks

Labor Day 2011

2011-08-28T15:00:00.006-05:00

This is a guest editorial about Labor Day 2011 by WSEU (AFSCME Council 24) President Paulette Feld:

Labor Day 2011 is coming in just over a week. What does it mean in Wisconsin this year? Will we get the same old tired news stories about the parades, picnics and political speeches, or has Wisconsin really awoke from their snoozing to celebrate Labor Day for what it was meant to be. Will it once again be used to mourn the passing of another summer as we start school and our busy fall schedules or will we celebrate labors proud past and hopeful future?

I’m hoping this year will be different after months of rallies and protests for workers rights in Madison AND all around the state. Some areas are celebrating recent victories in the recall elections, electing two new Senators who replaced individuals who forgot that they don’t just represent corporate interest in Madison but real people. We protected and supported 3 Senators who were brave enough to demonstrate that they did.

But, are we, as labor unions in Wisconsin going to follow the status quo and quietly celebrate Labor Day or are we going to use the day as a means to keep the awakening going? We can’t afford to be happy with the status quo…

This past week, I spent time hearing the stories of my members as we work on signing them up for dues deductions. It’s heart breaking listening to Custodians who make less than $12 an hour, talk about having to consider selling their homes, or knowing they will lose it. One of them tried to refinance, but, wasn’t accepted. It is not because these individuals were living beyond their means, they were living at the level they could afford, one year ago before the Governor of Wisconsin decided that state employees needed to contribute money they earn to balance the state budget. As a result of the reduced paychecks, most of us will be spending less in the community. Even today, the Sunday before the first day of school, the parking lots at some of the big box stores were oddly empty. Contrary to what the media and others would have you believe, state employees are not paying more for their health insurance and pensions. The money being taken out of their checks is going directly to their agencies. Yes, those of us at the University are helping keep tuition lower, but at what expense? Homes lost and local economies shattered? Other public employees are already feeling it, and just like state employees, the money that is being taken out using the “tools” will be used to balance local and school district budgets. What happens with the next budget, or when this isn’t enough? Will government double the amount taken from employees? How does this end if we’re not all willing to pay for the services given, whether we work in the public OR private sector?

This week Thursday is the first day of school. Teachers are expected to be there, just like every year, happy to see the students back and ready to teach and help them become our next generation of leaders, workers and citizens. Unfortunately, teachers are facing the same issue that State Employees are as far as cuts to their salaries. In some districts teachers have been given a new set of rules that show no respect for the commitment of these professionals. In some cases, the rules appear to punish the teachers. All of this because their union and other public employee unions had the audacity to believe that they should exercise their democratic rights and support the election of public officials that support the public good and not the corporate good.

But I digress from Labor Day celebrations. How do we celebrate this year? One Labor Council in the state, Marathon County, has already informed Republican legislators from the State and Federal level that they are not welcome in their parade (which was then reversed under public pressure). Indeed, why should politicians who obviously don’t believe in what Organized Labor stands for and respect what Labor has done to create and strengthen the middle class in our country be allowed to smile and wave in a parade that is sponsored by Organized Labor. Labor Councils and unions that continue to allow that to happen may as well turn in their charters now. Why should Republicans and the Tea Party supporters be allowed to celebrate OUR day? I hope that every labor group in the state that celebrates Labor Day in some way takes the same stand. I know at our celebration, if our US Congress person comes, when he buys his hot dog, I’ll ask him how he supports labor and the middle class. I’ll ask that Republican State Representative that labor supported in his last re-election why he supported a state budget that cuts the income of a large group of his constituents.

As Labor Activists, what else can we do? Speak out. If we talk to the media between now and Labor Day, remind them what the day means. Don’t talk about the car show, parade, bands, carnival, or old people dancing. Talk about what Labor Day really means—IT’s ABOUT UNIONS! When you talk to those attending your event, remind them of that….if they don’t want to talk about unions, then why are they there? Talk about the people who came before us in labor who fought and sometimes died to get pensions, a 40 hour work week, health insurance, workers comp, minimum wage, health and safety…the list goes on. Write letters to the editor to your local paper to make sure the community remembers that Labor Day is not just a celebration of the end of summer—it is about unions and workers. No matter who you talk to about Labor Day in the next week, be proud about being a Union member. Be proud of what we have accomplished and our future. Don’t forget to tell them that we’re not going away either, we’re going to continue the fight until we help Wisconsin once again become the state that supports workers and believes in the power of all of our workers, no matter their income level. The workers (not politicians or CEO’s) who work hard to make Wisconsin If the Governor ever understands this, then Wisconsin can once again be "open for business".

Get out there and vote!

2011-08-16T09:02:00.002-05:00

The Chicks congratulate our 18th SD Senator-elect Jessica King on her victory in the recall election last week. Thanks to all the volunteers for their hard work and thank you very much to Jessica King for having the courage to run again for the opportunity to represent us. We look forward to visiting you in your Senate office.

We also urge all those who live in the areas where the final two recall elections which are being held today to get out there and vote. We asked for these elections, so now it's time to cast our vote as our last act in them. You have until 8PM to vote.

Don't know where your polling place is? Click on this link:
https://vpa.wi.gov/

Chicky, you ask, what difference does my vote make now that we did not win the 3 elections we needed to take the state senate back into the "blue" category? Well, if we don't retain these two seats, we're right back where we started, with only 14 Dem senators. Is that really where we want to be going? Changing the deck chairs around, while entertaining for a while, doesn't really get the job done, does it? We need to retain these folks because it reduces the margin down to one senator/vote. Not really what we wanted, but it's closer than what we were at the start of all this. We would then only need one of the folks from the other side to jump ship, vote-wise. Much easier than trying to get three, don't you think?

--LC1

Rally time

2011-02-12T19:47:00.002-06:00

Here's a flyer for the rally in Madison on Tuesday and Wednesday:

http://gallery.mailchimp.com/0ee61ac1310c00c7662862f40/files/lobby_days_flier_2_11.pdf

Serving People Who Serve Wisconsin

2011-02-11T22:57:00.003-06:00

More chicken poop from Governor Scotty's minions...

Link to the letter terminating the contracts of State Employees represented by the Wisconsin State Employees Union as of March 13, 2011.

http://wseu-sepac.org/political_walker_scott/legaction_peunions_letter_20110211_oser_terminationofcbaextensions.pdf

Is Wisconsin still a Democracy?

2011-02-11T22:37:00.005-06:00

Apparently, Governor Scotty's administration decided to take away the ability of State Employees to attend the rallies planned for Madison on February 15 & 16. The grapevine among the chicken coops is that supervisors in many State agencies have been instructed to deny vacation requests put in after today for vacation on Tuesday and Wednesday. We're sure that if anyone in those agencies that enforce this will also scrutinize any sick leave usage those two days...under a bare bulb no doubt.

Should we place bets on how many security people will be around the Capitol building that day and whether the doors of the doors will be open. Considering that most of them were locked on January 3 (Gov. Scotty's inauguration), chances are good that there won't be any pecking in the rotunda that day! So much for the People's House.

Everyone is invited to ride the free buses to the rallies both days....the link to the schedules can be found here:

http://wseu-sepac.org/political_walker_scott/legaction_peunions_busschedule_20110211_01draft.pdf

Not what you want in your email.....

2011-02-11T22:19:00.001-06:00

Governor Scott Walker

State of Wisconsin

Thank you for your service to your state and your fellow citizens. I know that you have worked hard during this economic downturn to ensure that our citizens continue to receive great service, despite our state having fewer and fewer resources. I, like all Wisconsinites, am grateful for your professionalism and commitment to public service.

Like almost every state across the nation, our state faces some very serious and undeniable financial challenges. Over the last three months, I have worked diligently to review the status of our state finances and to put forward a plan that balances our budget now and will create stability in future budgets.

Many of you are aware of the immediate challenges facing our state. In the current fiscal year which ends on June 30, 2011, we face a budget deficit of $136.7 million. We also owe more than $200 million to the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund. Failure to immediately address this shortfall could result in the state being unable to pay for health services to thousands of children and families in Wisconsin’s BadgerCare program.

Looking to the future, our challenges are even greater. Over the next two years, the State of Wisconsin faces a biennial budget deficit of $3.6 billion.

While some of these financial challenges may be attributed to the slowing of our economy, the reality is that these problems were exacerbated by poor budgeting decisions approved and promoted by past elected leaders, Republicans and Democrats alike. By relying on the use of one-time money, segregated fund raids, and increases in taxes and fees, past leaders have focused on short term solutions without looking toward the future.

While these decisions may have appeared to be the easiest solution, or the path of least resistance, the bills for these decisions have come due and the path to long term financial solvency for our state requires shared sacrifices from everyone.

Today, I am introducing a Budget Repair Bill to address our current fiscal year deficit of $136.7 million. Later this month, I will introduce my 2011-2013 Biennial Budget proposal to address the pending $3.6 billion deficit.

The Budget Repair Bill will include a number of reform measures focused on bringing government employee benefits closer to the private sector, including:

· Pension Contributions – Currently, state, school district and municipal employees who are members of the Wisconsin Retirement System contribute very little toward their pensions. The bill requires that WRS employees, including myself and my cabinet officers, as well as employees of the City and County of Milwaukee, contribute 50 percent of their monthly pension contributions. This amount is estimated to be 5.8 percent of salary for 2011, which is about the national average for private sector employees.

· Health Insurance Contributions – Currently, state employees pay approximately 6 percent of annual health insurance premiums. This bill requires that state employees, again including myself and my cabinet officers, pay at least 12 percent of monthly premiums, which is still less than half of what the private sector pays. In addition, the bill directs the Group Insurance Board to implement changes to health insurance plan designs to further reduce premiums by 5 percent and will implement health risk assessments for all state employees beginning on January 1, 2012. Local employers participating in the Public Employers Group Health insurance program operated by the state will be prohibited from paying more than 88 percent of the lowest cost plan.

· Collective Bargaining – Given the above changes, the bill also makes various changes to limit collective bargaining to the base pay rate. Total increases cannot exceed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) unless approved by a referendum. Contracts will be limited to one year and wages will be frozen until the new contract is settled. Collective bargaining units will have to take annual votes to maintain certification as a union. Employers will be prohibited from collecting union dues and members of collective bargaining units will not be required to pay dues. These changes take effect upon the expiration of existing contracts. Local police and fire employees and State Patrol Troopers and Inspectors are exempted from these changes.

Collectively, these changes will result in savings of approximately $30 million in the remaining few months of the current fiscal year.

In the days ahead, some may attempt to misrepresent these reform measures, spreading inaccurate or misleading information. To ensure that you know the facts, I would like to proactively address these issues.

Furloughs – Over the last several years, state employees have been required to take furloughs resulting in an across the board pay cut of approximately 3 percent. The Budget Repair Bill and my 2011-2013 Biennial Budget proposal will not include additional furlough days for state employees.

Layoffs – Without the pension and health care reforms described above, saving $30 million over the last three months of the current fiscal year would require laying-off more than 1,500 state government employees. By implementing these reforms, the provisions contained in both my Budget Repair Bill and my 2011-13 Biennial Budget proposal are focused on avoiding layoffs for state employees.

Wisconsin’s Civil Service System –The Budget Repair Bill and my 2011-2013 Biennial Budget proposal will not include any provisions to alter or modify the main tenets of Wisconsin’s Civil Service System, one of the strongest in the nation. The grievance and dispute resolution systems currently in place, as well as all employee protections, will remain.

Vacation and Sick Leave Policy – Recent news stories have suggested that I am considering altering the state’s vacation or sick leave policy. The Budget Repair Bill and my 2011-13 Biennial Budget proposal will not include any provisions to alter or modify state employees’ vacation or sick leave policy. In addition, benefits currently accrued by any state employees will not be altered in any way.

Last week in my State of the State Address, I shared my belief that government employees are among some of the most honest, hard working, dedicated, professional workers in this state. I sincerely believe that.

We all recognize that these are historic times that require us to rethink how government operates. I ask that we continue to work together to do what is necessary to bring the state’s spending in line with our taxpayers’ ability to pay.

Wisconsin’s state employees are second to none in our nation. Our citizens expect great service, and you have delivered. I know you will continue to deliver top-notch programs for Wisconsin’s taxpayers. Thank you again for your service to our state.

Sincerely,

Governor Scott Walker

The budget of evil

2011-02-10T21:16:00.002-06:00

Here are details of the budget "repair" bill to be released tomorrow:

THE WHEELER REPORT

111 W. Wilson St. #UL-11 - Madison, WI 53703 - 608-287-0130

E-Mail: wheeler@thewheelerreport.com

Thursday, February 10, 2011

DEFICIT BILL DETAILS

Gov. Walker’s budget adjustment bill items include:

Employee Compensation

PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS. Require that employees of WRS employers and the City and County of Milwaukee contribute 50% of the annual pension payment. The payment amount for WRS employees is estimated to be 5.8% of salary in 2011.
HEALTH INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS. Requires state employees to pay at least 12.6% of the average cost of annual premiums. Require changes to the plan design necessary to reduce current premiums by 5%. Local employers participating in the Public Employers Group Health Insurance plan would be prohibited from paying more than 88% of the lowest cost plan. The bill authorizes the DETF to use $28 million of excess balances in reserve accounts for health insurance and pharmacy benefits to reduce health insurance premium costs.
HEALTH INSURANCE COST CONTAINMENT. Directs the DETF and Group Insurance Board to implement health risk assessments and similar programs aimed at participant wellness, collect certain data related to assessing health care provider quality and effectiveness and verify the status of dependents participating in the state health insurance program. Modifies membership of the Group Insurance Board to require the representative of the Attorney General be an attorney.
PENSION CHANGES FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND APPOINTEES. Modifies the pension calculation for elected officials and appointees to be the same as general occupation employees and teachers.
MODIFICATIONS TO WRS AND STATE HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS. Directs DOA, Office of State Employment Relations and DETF to study and report on possible changes to the WRS, including defined contribution plans and longer vesting periods.
GENERAL FUND IMPACT. Authorize the DOA Secretary to lapse or transfer form GPR and PR appropriations, excluding PR appropriations to the UW, to the general fund estimated savings of about $30 million from implementing these provisions.
State and Local Government and School District Labor Relations

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. Make various changes to limit collective bargaining for most public employees to wages. Total wage increases could not exceed a cap based on the CPI unless approved by referendum. Contracts would be limited to one year and wages would be frozen until a new contract is settled. Collective bargaining units are required to take annual votes to maintain certification as a union. Employers would be prohibited from collecting union dues and members of collective bargaining units would not be required to pay dues. Changes effective upon expiration of existing contracts. Law enforcement, fire employees and state troopers and inspectors would be exempt from the changes.
CAREER EXECUTIVE TRANSFERS. Allow state employees in the career executive positions to be reassigned between agencies upon agreement of agency heads.
LIMITED TERM EMPLOYEES. Prohibit LTEs from being eligible for health insurance or participation in the WRS.
STATE EMPLOYEE ABSENCES AND OTHER WORK ACTIONS. Authorizes appointing agencies to terminate any employees that are absent for three days without approval of the employer or any employees participating in an organized action to stop or slow work if the governor has declared a state of emergency.
QUALITY HEALTH CARE AUTHORITY. Repeals the authority of home health care workers under the Medicaid program to collectively bargain.
CHILD CARE LABOR RELATIONS. Repeals the authority of family child care workers to collectively bargain with the state.
UW HOSPITALS AND CLINICS BOARD AND AUTHORITY. Repeals collective bargaining for UWHC employees. State positions currently employed by the UWHC are eliminated and incumbents are transferred to the UWHC Authority.
UW FACULTY AND ACADEMIC STAFF. Repeals authority of UW faculty and academic staff to collectively bargain.
Debt Restructuring

The bill authorizes restructuring of principal payments in FY201011 on the state’s GO bonds. The provision reduces debt service costs by $165 million.

Medicaid

ADDRESS FY11 MEDICAID DEFICIT. Increase Medicaid GPR appropriation to cover estimated $153 million deficit.
AUTHORIZE DHS TO RESTRUCTURE PROGRAM NOTWITHSTANDING CURRENT LAW. Authorizes DHS to make program changes, nothwithstanding limits in state law, related to specific provisions.
TECHNICAL CORRECTION. Repeals a provision in Act 28 requiring unused GPR expenditure authority in the Medicaid GPR appropriation at the end of the year to be carried over to the subsequent biennium.

AGING AND DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTERS. Transfers an estimated $3 million in savings in the appropriation to Medicaid.
Corrections

Provides $22 million to address shortfalls in the Dept of Corrections adult institutions appropriation.
TANF. Allocates $37 million of excess TANF revenues to increase TANF funding for the EITC from $6.6 million to $43.6 million in FY2010-11. GPR TANF funding is decreased by a similar amount.
Income Augmentation Revenues

Allow the Dept of Children and Families and DHS to utilize $6 million of already identified income augmentation revenues to meet FY 2010-11 lapse requirements.
Act 28 Required Lapses by DOA Secretary

Act 28 required a lapse or transfer of $680 million in 2009-11 from appropriations made to executive branch agencies to the General Fund. This bill would reduce the amount by $79 million to ensure the lapses can be met in the next five months.

Lapse of Funding from JFC Appropriation

The JFC appropriation includes $4.5 million related to estimated fiscal year 2010-11 implementation of Act 100, OWI enforcement changes. Funding is not anticipated to be needed in FY2010-11 and the bill lapses that amount to the General Fund.

Sale of State Heating Plants

Authorizes DOA to sell state heating plants, with the net proceeds deposited in the budget stabilization fund.

Shift Key Cabinet Agency Positions to Unclassified Status

Creates unclassified positions for chief legal counsel, public information officer and legislative liaison activities in cabinet agencies. An equivalent number of classified positions are deleted to offset the new unclassified positions.

The State of the State and beyond....

2011-02-05T13:55:00.005-06:00

It was a cold, windy, snowy night in the Chicken Coop last week Tuesday. The chicks were all hunkered down. What was about to happen didn't make things much warmer...

Earlier that day, the new guy in charge of the State, Governor Scotty had issued an Executive Order closing the portion of the state that was supposed to have a blizzard to the public to keep them out of danger. But, he didn't take the extra step of closing it to the point where State Employees had to stay home. No, he closed offices but employees were required to risk life and limb, to do exactly what? Watch the snow come down? Employees could stay home if they used leave time, which is exactly the way it always it... The chicks heard stories of State Employees getting stuck on the road either going to or coming home from work. People who really care about the work they do...

Later that night, while snow was falling and blowing around the big white domed building in Madison, Governor Scotty delivered his first big speech of his administration---the State of the State. The speech wasn't much, yeah Packers, thanks to his wife and more threatening of State Employees, after he recognized a State Trooper who was hit on the highway earlier in the week (a PUBLIC EMPLOYEE by the way). Oh ya, and thanks to all those legislators who helped him pass bills to make "Wisconsin Open for Business". LC2 heard that one teacher gave him a C+ for his speech....hmmm....

I'm sure after the speech, Gov. Scotty rode home in his big Yukon with his wife and family on roads cleared by PUBLIC EMPLOYEES. On Thursday after PUBLIC EMPLOYEES cleaned everything up, he jumped back in his Yukon (driven by a PUBLIC EMPLOYEE) and traveled around the state reminded folks of what a good job he is doing spending money he doesn't have.

In the meantime, he isn't talking to the State employee unions at all about settling the contract from 2009/2011. Apparently, it's a lot more fun threatening and telling folks that he is going to "force" concessions on State Employees and he'll help local municipalities do the same to their employees.

While Scotty is spending money to give to private employers, "rewarding" his buddies that helped him get elected,figuring out how to destroy the sustainable energy industry in WIsconsin (apparently Wisconsin is not "open to sustainable energy") and traveling in his Yukon, had the State Employee contracts been passed in December, additional money would be coming into the state treasury. The contracts that were presented in December included an increase in payments to health insurance that would total $100 million dollars by the end of June 2011. Yet, Scotty says now that he will get concessions from State Employees that will pay $30 million in three months. How exactly will he do that if he doesn't talk to the Union?

OK, I'm just a little fuzzy chick, but, I can figure out the math $100 million in 6 months would buy a lot more chicken feed than $30 million in 3. And the State Employees (and the chicks) would be much happier. But, I guess that Governor Scotty doesn't want State Employees to be happy, for some reason, he just doesn't like them. Perhaps it's time for him to stop for a minute, and think what his life as Governor would be like without them... Nah....that would be to much work, he'll find a State Employee to do it.

January 3--Madison---It's Accountability Time!

2010-12-29T10:53:00.002-06:00

We want good jobs now!

Scott Walker ran for Governor on a promise to create 250,000 jobs in Wisconsin. So far, he's chased off more than 12,000 jobs. When not sending jobs to other states, he's busy talking about making good jobs less good by cutting pay for thousands of Wisconsin workers.

The campaign is over. Now it is time to hold him accountable.

Join a silent protest outside the Capitol on Inauguration Day.

11:15am - 12:15pm -- Monday, January 3rd, 2011

Signs reading "WE WANT GOOD JOBS NOW" will be available at 10:30am in the basement of The Argus Bar and Grill, 123 East Main St.

The State Before Christmas

2010-12-21T08:48:00.002-06:00

From another UW Oshkosh employee/WPEC member. Used with his permission.

T’was the week before Christmas and all through the State

All employees were leery - what would be our fate?

Labor contracts were hung, defeated again.

There was no more hope for a last minute bargain.

Months of negotiations have been thrown out the window

All those promises and concessions are now just hot air flow.

Union bosses and Dems wring their hands in defeat

as the new "conservative" group prepares to take their seat.

The State Employees Union and AFSCME and WPEC,

All hopes have been dashed by the governor-elect.

"More furloughs, no raises, higher premiums for health care,

you state employees must pay your fair share."

When will the people realize, we're not the ones to blame.

It's the folks down in Madison, regardless the letter by their name.

Republicrats and Demicans, wings of the same bird.

Neither can balance a budget no matter what you've heard.

We work for less pay in exchange for the promise

of being well cared for, that's part of the process.

Yes, our benefits are nice but our pay not so much.

We're not complaining, this isn't some crutch.

Like other employees we just make a living.

Why do the rest of you seem so unforgiving?

Sell the mansion, trim your staff,

combine with the Lieutenant - maybe each just needs half?

The budget problems are real but let’s douse this small blaze:

we've already gone two years with no raise.

The economy is down, everyone has suffered

except elected officials who are quite buffered.

They have no idea - it's really a crime.

Let them cut their pay and give back some this time.

What will they do if we all up and quit?

No, that won't happen - are you full of spit?

But tread very careful our governor to be,

or pitch forks and torches may cause you to flee.

No threats, no coercions, no we won't be mean.

'Cause you're up for re-election in two-thousand fourteen.

Now to end this little rhyme without any fight,

Happy Festivus to all and to all a Good Night.

Daniel M. Hoyt

Summary of the failed WSEU Contracts

2010-12-16T18:44:00.005-06:00

Below are points from a briefing prepared for legislators on the failed State Employee contracts that stalled in the State Senate on Wednesday, December 15.

The Comp. Time/Overtime language that the Republicans were harping on isn't anything that employees do not already have in their contracts. It gave employees the right to choose between Comp. or Overtime rather than the employer, but, the rate of compensation didn't change. In fact some agencies/employee groups have had this language for several contracts.

Compensation Reserve

The 2009-11 Compensatino Reserve was constructed, presented, and passes into law with no dollars for wage increases or market adjustments for any represented or non-represented employees. The Compensation plans (Non-Rep and Fac/Ac) approved earlier, and these bargaining agreements contain no wage or market increases

The compensation Reserve that was passed was designed to account for various increased employer costs, including Health Insurance and Retirement. It is anticipated that the CR is sufficient to cover the employers biennial costs (ie., to June 30, 2011) though agency draws are affected by many factors, including vacancy rates. As an indication, FY 10 closed with a POSITIVE BALANCE of $2.7 million.

Economics

General wage adjustments FY 2010 $0

Market reserve adjustments FY 2010 $0

General wage adjustments FY 2011 $0

Market reserve adjustments FY 2011 $0

Health Insurance

Tier 1 Single $33

Family $82

Tier 2 Single $72

Family $183

Tier 3 Single $173

Family $435

Employees will pay an additional $1.3 million/annual in contributions to their health insurance premiums.

(Chicks Note--These increases would have started in January 2011. Since the contracts were not approved the increases will not go into effect until the contracts are negotiated with the new administration)

Retirement

The changes are not in the contract, but, all State employees will pay .2% or .8% toward their retirement depending on their employment category (protected, non-protected). Employee contributions are estimated at $5 million annual

Miscellaneous
Furloughs of 8 days per fiscal year will continue. This equates to a 3.08% wage REDUCTION per employee or about $50 million/annual.

TOTAL CONCESSIONS FOR 2009-2011 Biennium would have been $103.15 million.

Althought the contracts were not approved on December 15, most provisions of this agreement are already in place, except for the health insurance increases. The contract that was up for approval memorialized conditions that employees have been working under since July 2009.

So, once again the Governor-elect and his cronies are ending up costing the state money in not getting passing the contracts. THE INCREASED HEALTH INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS WOULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED $1.3 MILLION ANNUALLY TO THE STATE.

Letter to the senators who messed with us

2010-12-16T08:44:00.001-06:00

This is the text of an email this chick sent to Russ Decker and Jeff Plale this morning:

Dear Senators,

I am a state employee who is extremely upset today. I and 39,000 other people do not understand what we ever did to make you hate us so much. I am also the chair of the Winnebago County Democratic Party. Both of your votes offended me as a fellow Democrat.

Let me tell you a little about myself so that you know who you are talking to. I work at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in Polk Library, where I am the coordinator of Interlibrary Loan. I have a Bachelor's degree and I have worked at the University for 25 years. I make $35,000 per year gross, which amounts to about $26,000 after taxes. After I pay my mortgage and other bills, this leaves me around $25 or so per day to survive on. I drive a 10 year old car that needs new tires. My home needs a new roof badly and it also needs to be resided. I need a new winter coat and I am trying to figure out how I am going to manage to make my paycheck stretch enough to buy Christmas presents for my family. I am not married, but I share a home with my best friend, because we each could not afford to live on our own. I give to charity as much as I can, but that will most likely have to stop now, since we are facing more deductions from our paychecks. I feel luckier than some of my fellow employees. Many of them make a lot less than I do. They have families and a lot of them have had to take on second jobs. There are a lot of us who have to use food pantries because one check only stretches so far. I don't know anyone who makes more than $50,000 per year (and that's the minority of civil service employees here at UW Oshkosh).

I became involved in the Democratic Party because I thought perhaps it would make a difference in the lives of myself and other fellow workers. Apparently I was wrong. I feel sold out today. I am asking you to please go back when the state senate is called back into session this morning and change your vote to yes. Please don't hurt me and my fellow employees any more. Just for your information, you made a grown woman cry today as she was getting ready for work. Shame on you.

Thank you, Bob Jauch

2010-12-15T10:40:00.001-06:00

This text is from a letter Senator Bob Jauch sent to his colleagues:

Dear Colleagues,
If the legislature truly respects the work of our public employees, they should honor that work by
scheduling a vote and ratifying the agreements between the Administration and public employee unions,
and do so with the same strong, bi-partisan support as it has done so with in the past.
The legislature has a long history of ratifying these contracts without partisanship or politics getting in
the way, regardless of the partisan control of the administration or legislature. It is deeply disappointing
that the long standing tradition of the legislature ratifying employee contracts this way is now
threatened. However, the Governor-Elect and many of his fellow Republicans have decided to use this
contract as an opportunity to wage war on a certain group or workers, without any regard or recognition
for the financial sacrifices those employees have already made.
The public employees have taken significant salary cuts and increased benefit costs in these contracts,
tough decisions driven by difficult fiscal and economic realities. In addition, while 10% of state
positions have remained un-filled over the last year, state workers have taken on larger work loads
because they care so deeply about their jobs and their state. Demonizing and threatening workers after
those workers have agreed to contracts that substantially restrict their earning for their families is
offensive. Indeed it is troublesome that these employees may be unilaterally deprived of earnings
necessary to meet family needs because the Republicans don't think they have suffered enough.
The incoming administration and legislative leadership may not like unions, but that does not give them
license to undo the state budget, especially after choosing not to offer any alternatives on the subject
during the budget process. They offered no budget amendments requiring public employees take greater
salary cuts or pay more for their health insurance or pensions while the budget was bring written. To
only try to address this now, through the ratification process, is irresponsible. The Legislature should
honor these two year old agreements and not attempt to impose new restrictions on employees who have
already met their side of the deal. It is punitive to retroactively impose economic hardship on employees
who have professionally fulfilled their responsibilities to the state. I fully expect the Administration and
incoming Republican majorities to adopt numerous changes to public employee collective bargaining in
the next budget but the most respectful approach is to seek a cooperative and respectful relationship with
the State employees instead of the combative nature that has accompanied the debate on these contracts.
Let’s be clear, the workers affected by these contracts are middle class, working families who help
provide vital services to their neighbors, not the “economic elite” that the incoming Governor and
Republicans would have the public believe they are. The hysteria of the attacks leveled by Governor-
Elect Walker against these workers would lead one to believe that they are receiving Wall Street size
bonuses, while the truth is that they are taking pay and benefit cuts, just like many in the private sector.
These employees are not the dark angels responsible for the state’s budget crises. They are our middle
class neighbors who work hard and provide vital services to the citizens of Wisconsin. They work in our
fire halls, promote public safety, care for the disabled, plow our roads, teach our children, prosecute the
criminals and protect our environment. They pay taxes and strive to meet their obligations to their
families, the state and their communities. They too are stressed by economic uncertainty and are
burdened by increased costs to heat their homes and buy goods and services. They also have been hurt
by home value depreciation which limits their ability to improve their homes and lives. During my
campaign I publicly stated my expectation that additional sacrifice will be required of all of us but if
workers are expected to share in additional sacrifice they should be entitled to know what kind of shared
sacrifice the business community will endure and have a seat at the table to determine a fair, responsible
and mutual determination that sacrifice is equal to others.
It’s painful to see the incoming Governor utilize harsh and punitive rhetoric that is so contrary from the
respectful relationship his predecessors have maintained with our public employees. There is a
respectful way to deal with workers and there is a demeaning way. The mature approach to negotiations
is to have a conversation before confrontation. The Wisconsin way is to seek mutual cooperation to
approach common goals instead of treating workers as the enemy. Partisanship has never gotten in the
way of ratifying contracts. The responsible step is to honor the work public employees have performed
and acknowledge their financial sacrifice before demanding retroactive economic sanctions to address
economic problems these employees are not responsible for creating.
Governing is not easy and there are few right answers to the difficult economic challenges from this
recession. However, our employees are part of the commonwealth that makes Wisconsin special. I
strongly encourage my colleagues to depart from the polarizing politics of the election and maintain the
tradition that most Republicans have fully embraced through the years that honor the value of their
work but importantly would acknowledge the true meaning of shared sacrifice in dealing with
Wisconsin's budget problems
Sincerely,
Bob Jauch
State Senator

A Week in the Life of the Governor-Elect

2010-12-10T09:09:00.004-06:00

The chicks are getting annoyed enough to come back in from the coop and make some comments on the week that was with Wisconsin’s Governor-elect.

Last Thursday Scotty got to ride a big airplane to Washington DC to meet the President of the United States. He even got to eat lunch at the same table as the Secretary of the Dept. of Transportation. His hope was that when President Obama met him, he would be so impressed that he’d say, oh yes, you can use that stimulus money on roads instead of a train. Guess he found out that wasn’t going to happen….but more on that later.

On Friday, it was a little less exciting for the Governor-elect. Bet he didn’t even know that he was just a short way from the chicks coop. The chicks decided to just do our own thing on Friday, be happy and get a big green tree to put in the coop. We ignored his visit. However, lots of the chicks friends and coworkers worked very hard setting up Kolf Fieldhouse for his visit as part of the New North Summit. Unfortunately the Governor elect doesn’t realize that some of the folks who work hard to make these events happen are making less then $30,000 a year! A few days later, he was busy saying mean spirited things, like the “haves” (ie., State Employees) need to fork over some of their “extra” money and contribute more for health insurance and pensions. Kinda tough to figure out how someone making less then $30,000 a year, taking 8 furlough days and looking at more toward their pension and health insurance in January is going to find that extra money.

While Scotty was visiting Oshkosh, our WSEU friends were getting their ballots to vote on their 2009-2011 contract. Some mean ol’ Republican roosters and hens got a copy of some of the new language and are making simple concepts like compensatory time and overtime seem evil. Our friends have always had that language, the employee just has a choice now which they want to use. They also saw the proposal for health insurance contributions and said it’s just not enough, you must pay more or we will take away your union. The Governor-elect isn’t real happy with our WSEU friends and sent his minions out to say mean things about them over the weekend to say.

Scotty must have gotten coal in his St. Nicholas sock on Monday, because on Tuesday he was pretty upset when in talked to the Milwaukee Press Club making threats to our state employee friends. Using nasty words like decertify the unions that represent State employees. He also hinted that he’d like to see all unions have their feathers clipped by making Wisconsin a Right to Work state. The chicks sure aren’t surprised by this, but, seems like some folks just weren’t listening in fall when we were working hard to get a much better person elected as Governor.

On Thursday, Oshkosh got it’s first real snow of the season. Everything is pretty and white, but, the Grinch that Stole Christmas (also known as the Governor-elect), got his first gift. President Obama took away the money for the train that was going to go from Milwaukee to Madison and help give people jobs. But, the Grinch didn’t get exactly what he wanted, the President told him that he couldn’t use the money for roads either.

High speed train around Wisconsin would have been real nice for our people friends to use to travel instead of having to drive on slippery highways. Guess we all have to remember what the Lt. Govenor-elect said when she was campaigning, “I don’t need at train….I have a minivan”. Maybe she doesn’t have to pay almost $3 a gallon for gas on State Employee wages….oh wait, she has Health insurance from the state and her husband IS a state employee right now. Whoops, I forgot.

And now we’ve reached Friday. The Governor-elect gets to make make a big check mark next to “eliminate high speed rail from Milwaukee to Madison” on his Christmas list. I’m sure the next check mark he’d like to make is to eliminate those pesky unions.

But, remember Scotty, just like with the train, “you can’t always get what you want”.

Get well soon!

2008-10-22T11:20:00.003-05:00

As was published in the Oshkosh Northwestern, 54th Assembly Rep. Gordon Hintz has been hospitalized. Get well soon Gordon, the Labor Chicks miss you!

Hope it is wasn't the chili on Sunday!

--LC2

More on the forum--guest blogger!

2008-10-22T11:09:00.003-05:00

Below are some comments from one of our union brothers. I apologize, I have done some editing to avoid to much controversy, but, I think you still get the drift of the misinformation being given out by Mark Reiff candidate in the 54th Assembly race.... my comments are in RED

--LC2

Mark Reiff proposes to help solve the energy issue by lifting the moratorium on new nuclear plants in Wisconsin. He proposed new generation plants, and if the nuclear waste is an issue had the following suggestion....

northern Wisconsin to be a nuclear dumping site (for the benefit of 9 billion dollars of federal funding flowing into it). ...

As far as Reiff's wrong assertion on 400 excess COs working in the Department Of Corrections with nothing to do

I cornered him after the debate and took him in the back and quizzed him where he had gotten the information he was fronting Hintz on. Reiff stated that he had been "invited"/ "walked in" to a Guards Union Meeting and at that meeting..... He started stuttering at this point and became hesitant; profusely explaining that he, IN NO WAY, was calling for cuts of employees (in the Prisons) if they were not needed... I pressed him on the meeting and information he supposedly received. Reiff stated that at this meeting he was told by the "Guards" that were there that the DOC was over staffed to the tune of 400 security employees and they had nothing to do...

I told Reiff... OK now I am going to set you straight... The DOC (as Gordon had told him in the debate) had received hiring authority for 150 some positions... 50 some of those positions were to make corrections "whole" due to the refusal to rid the DOC of mid management positions and the other 100 were for, among other things, the abatement of Overtime. Reiff started nodding eagerly and started snuddering about how yeah mandatory overtime was a bad thing. I told him further that it is almost certain that the DOC has in fact hired positions above and beyond this position authority to cover expected retirements and purposed expansions...I also told him that these efforts have generally reduced overtime across the board and (for the most part) across the state.,,,, Anyway I told him that if he continued to run around the district and tell people that the DOC had 400 some COs working with out anything to do he was headed for deep trouble... He again started spitting and stuttering about he has no interest in cutting needed security positions.

I finished by telling him that if he needed to fact check himself he should contact (Marty) Beil or he could contact Raimmish who is a dam Republican anyway LOL.

.....

Randy Hopper---get the facts

2008-10-21T08:46:00.003-05:00

Last night, the Chicks went to the local political version of the Superbowl, the Oshkosh League of Women Voters Forum. This is always a great event, giving candidates and the community the chance to hear from the candidates in an hour long interaction. The forums last night were for the 53rd Assembly, 54th Assembly and 18th Senate races. We're going to concentrate on the 18th Senate right now.

The is the second forum where Randy Hopper, the Republican candidate for the open 18th Senate district referred to Legislative Sick Leave benefits, his desire to eliminate them and the "cash" payouts. He also discussed this at Oshkosh Northwestern "Under the Dome" forum several weeks ago. At that one, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, with him not being a State Employee, the benefit is confusing. State Employees, including Legislators, Judges and all elected officials have the opportunity to accumulate sick leave. At retirement, whatever is accumulated is converted to a cash amount that is put toward health insurance. No one sees the cash--NO CASH RANDY! The majority of State Employees have to account for their time, and are required to report to someone when they are using sick leave. This is also accounted in some way, shape or form to payroll departments. Because of the nature of the legislature, they do not report when using sick time, and as result, many have accumulated large amounts of sick leave, especially those who have had a long tenure. Illnesses and hospitalizations have been reported, but, no sick leave used. So, there is some question about this benefit for elected officials. It should be added that the Republicans have enjoyed the benefit in the past just like Democrats. In fact, the benefit was created during Tommy Thompson's tenure as Governor.

Randy Hopper brought the issue up again last night. I thought it was time to correct him. After the forum, I introduced myself and told him where I worked. I asked him how he understood the benefit to work. He proceeded to tell me how Shirley Abramson and long term legislators have all this sick time built up. I told him that I understand the benefit, but, that he had some parts of it wrong, ie., NO CASH PAYOUT RANDY! I told him that it works the same for all state employees. Instead of letting me explain it, he asked me if I would agree with anything he said, then said that it was late and he wanted to go spend time with his family. His "handlers" immediately swarmed around him and he snottily walked off.

Well.........

If I wasn't fired up about this race before I am now. I guess I'm wondering if this is how Mr. Hopper intends to treat constituents should he, God forbid get elected. When someone talks to him about issues and they don't agree, perhaps he will kick them out of his office like a former State Representative did. Randy, here are some facts-- there are at least 2100 State Employees in the 18th Senate District. You will have to talk to us. And regarding your snotty behavior last night, at least 4 of them saw it.

Randy, it's time to take off the blinders and get some information outside of your carefully crafted Republican script. A State Senator needs to think on his feet, not expect handlers and staffers to take care of doing the work. Too many of your answers are either vague, scripted or you don't know, but I'll get to it with an answer on my web page. So is that answer posted on your web page really from you, or a staff person?

Also, legislator hours aren't very regular and you may have to spend long hours down in Madison. If you don't want to deal with an issue, are you just going to leave because its late?

This sure doesn't sound like a legislator I want to deal with and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure Jess King gets elected for State Senate in the 18th Senate.

--LC2

New Page rally report

2008-09-08T08:34:00.003-05:00

LC2 and I attended the rally on Saturday afternoon for the employees of New Page in Kimberly, WI who as of this morning have all lost their jobs.

I believe that the reason the plant closed is pure corporate greed. New Page wants to control and compress the market for coated paper (used in magazines, catalogs, etc.) and doesn't want any competition, so that the prices will rise because of less of this type of paper on the market and they will profit. I also believe that they had this in mind from the moment they bought the plant. Unfortunately this means the loss of around 500-600 family supporting jobs from the area. The plant is located in the heart of Kimberly--apparently the town was built around the plant.

At the rally, there were lots of area politicians--not surprising since it is an election year. The gist of the political speeches (we left after an hour and a half) was that the Democrats all talked about how bad this was for the city and vowed to do what they can to help the people of Kimberly fight this. The Republicans pretty much held up their hands in defeat and told the crowd there's not much they can do and that they should let the market work and maybe the plant will come back online. Interestingly, the group of Republican politicians there all left the stage en masse before the rally was over.

Now, I don't know how much interference any politician could have run on a private company to derail this kind of decision, but at least they could try and not give up and go home. It's stupid to even look that way in front of a crowd of about 3000 people who are there to support these folks in their hour of need. Geez, at least fight a little.

I was really happy to hear on the local news this morning that a group of now former New Page employees are on their way down to corporate New Page headquarters in Dayton, OH to see what they can do about it. Godspeed, my fellow AFL-CIO brothers and sisters.

All we hope is that the voters of the area keep this sort of thing in mind when they vote tomorrow and on November 4.

--LC1

Do I hear an echo?

2008-08-22T11:19:00.006-05:00

I had a recent encounter with Michelle Litjens, former Winnebago County Republican Chair and now Vice Chair of the Wisconsin Republican 6th Congressional District. Let me begin by saying, she is a very nice person and I admire anyone who puts into action what they believe. Unfortunately, some of those things she believes are misguided and just wrong thinking.

For example, she was talking about how she just loves her health savings account (HSA) and fervently believes that we should "let the market work" with respect to health insurance. I don't know about letting the market work--isn't that how we got into such a mess now? It's all well and good that she and her husband have the money to put into an HSA. Not everyone does. Some people are just scraping by and making it from paycheck to paycheck. She proceeded to denigrate the "Healthy Wisconsin" plan that is endorsed by the AFL-CIO in Wisconsin. (Read about the Healthy Wisconsin plan here: http://www.healthywisconsin.net/Healthy_Wisconsin__The_Deta.html )

She made it sound like it would be a handout of health care to everyone--she apparently didn't read the fine print or is just echoing the Republican legislator point of view. She then went to to give personal reflections on her advice to some of her tenants (she and her husband run a home rental business) who have no health insurance. She has guided them to go and apply for Badger Care. Now, excuse me for pointing this out, but if we are painting the proposed health care reform system as a bad thing and a government handout(which it really isn't), then why would you in the next breath guide people to another health care program that is, at least in the Republican mind as best as I can figure it out, a government handout program. I don't get it.

I'm trying to understand what Republicans want with respect to health care. Michelle is a proponent of personal responsibility, some tenets which I actually agree with. She carries the idea a little too far for me and a lot of others. Are Republicans truly following the call of their churches with respect to the idea of caring for the poor? Last week in our church bulletin, there was an interesting insert on "Faithful Citizenship". I hope Michelle and other Republicans at church read this thoroughly. I know I did. I also went to the website for the Catholic church to read more about it: http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/
In the website, the document with the title of "Forming consciences for faithful citizenship" tells the reader multiple times in many different ways that everyone should have the right to health care, that it is our moral responsibility to make sure that everyone does. If we "let the market work" as the Republicans echo, will everyone have health care or will only the wealthiest amongst us end up with health care?

--LC1

A little history....

2008-08-21T12:12:00.000-05:00

From the DC AFL-CIO This week in Labor History (scroll down)
During the Great Depression, the Seattle Library Board announces it will fire married women if their husbands have jobs and can support them. Nine are fired; 14 others keep their positions by submitting affidavits and swearing to the fact that their husbands earned less than $100 a month (8/23/1932)

Good read---especially for Library folks

2008-08-18T14:47:00.003-05:00

Perusing the AFSCME Library update today, I found the following:

Anatomy of the 88-Day Vancouver Library Strike Last Year
Library Journal Insider
July 28, 2008

So, what was it like during the lengthy strike last year against the Vancouver Public Library, BC? An Indomitable Spirit: The Eight Hundred of CUPE 391," (PDF) by Anita Galanopoulos et al., first appeared in the Winter 2007/2008 issue of Progressive Librarian. LJ covered the strike off and on, and the local news media did so as well, but these reflections by workers on strategy, solidarity, pay equity, and professional commitment are worth a read.

I read a bit of this and was especially amused at the paragraph about the Knit Picketers, Knitting in Solidarity. LC1 and I would have definitely fit in with this group.

I guess this is a great way to come out of the warm, fuzzy knitting world we've been hiding in, stay tuned for some summer updates, Labor Day, and of course, the Chicks always interesting viewpoints on politics and the upcoming elections

--LC2

Interesting video

2008-06-12T16:22:00.002-05:00

Here's a thought-provoking video on voting Republican:

http://imvotingrepublican.com/

Enjoy!

--LC1

Thought for the day....

2008-05-19T09:10:00.005-05:00

If you're interested in more of this stuff, look on Alisson Burda's website...

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5592046&order=&section_id=&page=1

It's HI-larious.

--LC1

Organizing Roadtrip

2008-04-29T16:40:00.008-05:00

Last week, LC2 had the opportunity to go out of state to help with an organizing drive at a university in New England. I'm not being real specific about the place, since management is making the union sound like we are a marauding pack of thugs trying to take the money from their poor, defenseless employees. There has been a concerted effort to make the employees believe that they will be taken care of by the administration, with their best interest in mind. Needless to say, there are horror stories out there amongst the employees, and even though they are well paid, their benefits, especially health care are starting to be eroded. There are also issues with policy interpretation, explanations change from one hour to the next and folks really have a hard time with classification issues. It shouldn't be a surprise to know that with this kind of atmosphere, the "pseudo" process on campus for employee greivances is not very functional. Despite these issues, the employees are scared, many not wanting to be seen talking to a person from "da union". More on that....

Anyhow, to avoid being googled and this being spread all over, I'll just use this photo to tell you what state I was in:

I arrived on Wednesday and met the folks I'd be working with for the next few days. The group included 4 of us from midwest universities, coming to spread the good news of the union. The governor recently signed an exec. order allowing for organizing on campuses. The requirement is to be able to get 50% + 1 of the employees to sign a union card. As a result, there are two international unions working on organizing the campus. As a result, there is even more pressure being put on the employees to sign cards and back one union or another....in addition to being fed misinformation by the administration. Here's the office for the union I believe will best represent the employees!

The campus is beautiful with flowering trees and bushes, old buildings mixed with new, construction going on. The perfect picture of a thriving campus. But, yet, the employees are being told that there is not a lot of money to pay for generous raises AND the health insurance they have grown used to. One of the stories an HR manager used in an email to employees stated, "she didn't know how she would find the $32 a month to pay union dues, as a single parent, she'd have to make her daughter give up dance lessons". Needless to say, organizers who were single parents had real issues with that. Being a single parent trying to make ends meet is about more than dance lessons that cost a whole lot more than $32 anyhow. Another "tale" being spread by the HR department is that the union would "take away" their benefits. Hmmmmmmm......... Guess those health insurance increase don't count as taking benefits away. But, that is what the union is up against here.

The building to the left in the above photo is the library. LC2 did go there. There is support there (of course, library workers are usually pro-union). I had a great conversation with a librarian at the reference desk. The Faculty ARE represented on this campus, and the one I spoke with believed that the staff need a union. The Faculty just finished a prolonged contract negotiation, but, came out with a good settlement, both economic and benefits. This will be a great tool for the staff organizing drive.

In previous Organizing experiences, I've encountered folks who were against joining a union. This was the first time I experienced folks who were scared to even talk. We spent time leafletting the first day. This was our first taste of the problems we would face. Talking to folks as they left the parking lots (oh ya, parking fees are also a big issue), we encountered reluctance to talk with us. That reluctance grew as the day went on. Spending time in an area with the shops and IT department, we encountered real resistance to our message. At one point, we spotted employees watching out a window. It was close to quitting time, yet no one came out of the building.....until we left. The same thing happened when we tried again to talk at break time the next morning. After we left, folks came out. In the shops, usually a pretty easy place to go and talk to folks, our two blue collar brothers from the midwest were met with a very cold shoulder by their colleages.

I went into the IT building and had a conversation with an employee tearing down a computer lab. Making small talk and IT chit chat, I started having a pretty good conversation, including talking a bit about the union. As soon as another employee came in however, she clammed up, and the other employee started in on the "who is that, they aren't supposed to be in here". Oh, well, you gotta try!

In the same complex as the facilities shops, the IT building, the HR Dept. had their offices. This is a site 1 mile off the main campus. So much for HR being where the employees can deal with them face to face. Guess they have to hide out so they don't have to face the folks they're messing with.

That evening, an event was held at the union office to allow employees to come and meet the organizers off campus. That was where I heard some horrow stories, but, also had some very fulfilling conversations with folks with questions about the union. At least we were able to give them real answers, and not the misinformation that HR is spewing out.

There is some tough work that needs to be done here, but, fortunately there are some leaders coming out of the employees who are willing to be upfront about supporting the union. My concern is that management will use one of them as an example and give them grief for supporting the union. When something like that happens, it can either help the cause, or scare other supporters away.

The second day produced successes and more frustration. We traveled around campus talking to employees and trying to get the truth out. The group I was with got to ride with one of the pro-union employees to an off campus site on the water. Although the employee out there was not willing to support the union, she understood the need "others" probably had for one. It was interesting talking, since she did not have the spector of HR hanging over her head.

After debriefing, the local organizers got ready for a "summit" the next morning. This was going to involve planning between the organizers, the local supporters and those visiting from other campuses. Unfortunately, most of us from the midwest had to make our planes to return home and weren't able to participate. Hope it went well.

In between a lot of walking and talking, there was some time for some great seafood meals in the evening (this was New England after all). We also had some time for really kicking back on Friday night at a bar serving micro-brew. This is called a "Paddle" and features 10 samples of the various brews. LC2, was one of two who finished every glass.

Other then meals, there was little time for sightseeing. But, I took a backroad to the airport to see Derry, the location of many Stephen King novels. LC1 is a big fan. Note, the play that is being done at the Derry Opera House soon---Little Shop of Horrors.

Good luck to the employees, know that the union is your best avenue for gaining a voice on campus.

Stay tuned for a report on the WCLC Labor Dinner and the Chicks contract.

In Solidarity.

--LC2

......Holy Pic update.....

2008-04-22T22:34:00.003-05:00

Went to our Labor Council meeting this evening. Apparently our labor council president was asked to be there--the night before (he had offered himself up a month before, with no takers). Of course, he's been really busy working on the movie stuff right now, being the IATSE business agent for the region which stretches from roughly the Fox Valley to the Michigan/Wisconsin border and halfway across the state, so he was not able to come pose for pics as the token union person on such short notice. But the pictured folks did ask him for information on how the money stuff positively influenced the community, yadda yadda and gave him no credit for such information. As a fellow union person, I can relate--we don't really appreciate being trotted out as token people and then told to go back to doing grunt work with hardly any recognition of organized labor and ordinary folks contributions. Kinda gets to you after while.

--LC1

Posin' for Holy Pictures

2008-04-22T10:16:00.006-05:00

This picture appeared in the photo gallery on the Oshkosh Northwestern website detailing the set teardown in Oshkosh's downtown after the departure of the movie making people for "Public Enemies". While the Labor Chicks political bent is of the Democratic Party and everything and we don't want to not give these people in this photo any credit for helping in whatever small way they did with facilitating the way for the movie being made here, we have one small thing we would like to point out. Where are the union members in this picture, particularly IATSE members who worked their butts off getting everything set up, built, painted, and torn down for this shoot in Oshkosh? This makes this Labor Chick feel a little steamy under the collar (so what if it's a pink collar--ya wanna make somethin' of it?). The IATSE people actually did work hard to help get the tax break legislation in place in our state and had to actually convince the AFL-CIO that it was a good thing as well.

And....what were IATSE members doing during the Holy Picture shoot?

See for yourself:

'Nuff said.

--LC1

1930s era gangster violence hits for real in Detroit

2008-04-16T09:59:00.004-05:00

I read in the New York Times this morning about a melee which occurred at the Labor Notes conference last weekend in Detroit. The story in a nutshell (which was not easy to find) is essentially that the California Nurses Association has been attempting to organize nurses in Ohio. SEIU is not pleased and sent a contingent of SEIU protesters to the Labor Notes conference to disrupt it.

I am appalled that some amongst the labor community would like to bring back the mob-style tactics of the past. We don't need that sort of thing going on. I'm not suggesting we all join hands and sing kumbaya, but for heavens sake, knock off the violence and disruptive tactics and TALK TO EACH OTHER.

Read more about the goings on here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/us/16labor.html?ref=us

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/15/175916/721/535/495763

--LC1

Love your library workers!

2008-04-15T08:31:00.001-05:00

Happy National Library Week! Today is an especially good day because it is National Library Workers Day.

Have a book mark!

--LC1

Welcome to Oshywood

2008-04-13T18:04:00.009-05:00

Filming for "Public Enemies" started on Friday at Pioneer Airport. It starts downtown tomorrow.

Here's a job related sign we saw in a fake soup kitchen on the "set":

Yow--who could live on money like that? Of course, collective bargaining and unions weren't really in full swing until the late 1930s, or you would never have seen something like this. Women's work wasn't valued as highly then. Hey, wait a minute, is it now? Men still get paid higher wages.

More pics from downtown, which was a crazy scene today.

Hey, IATSE 470, could you keep the fake billboards up? They are much better looking than that fountain.

Main Street never looked so good.

--LC1

Hollywood comes to Oshkosh

2008-04-05T21:08:00.010-05:00

The Labor Chicks took a trip to the monthly Gallery Walk. It was crazy downtown....normally the Gallery Walk brings a lot of people, but, it was especially busy tonight with a lot of folks down to see what is going on with getting the area ready for filming for Public Enemy. The first photo is normally the Exclusive Company, but it will be a Walgreens drug store during the filming.

The New Moon is a restaurant for the movie--notice all the folks on the street! The transformation is amazing thanks to the hard work of the members of IATSE 470....painting, props in windows, replacing windows.

The filming for this movie, last month in Columbus, this month in Oshkosh and also Manitowish Waters is the result of a tax incentive now being offered to film companies for using Wisconsin locations. IATSE was one of the promoters of the legislation to allow this, with a great deal of support from Lt. Gov. Lawton. The Winnebago County Labor Council also promoted the legislation.

The result is, if nothing else, folks from around the state discovering downtown Oshkosh and seeing that there is something going on down there (besides the filming.)

Kudos IATSE, for your work on getting the legislation, and for your hard and skillful work in bringing downtown Oshkosh back to another era.

After all....doesn't every downtown need a hosiery store!

American Library Association Honors Russ Feingold

2008-03-21T08:06:00.003-05:00

Since libraries are an important part of the LC's lives (as they should be for anyone interested in facts and information), we were happy to see ALA recognizing Senator Russ Feingold. See the ALA press release below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 19, 2008Contacts: Zach Lowe (202) 224-8657
FEINGOLD HONORED FOR COMMITMENT TO PROMOTING PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT
American Library Association Honors Feingold with the 2008 James Madison Award American Library Association President Dr. Loriene Roy presents Senator Russ Feingold with the 2008 James Madison award on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Washington, D.C.

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold has been awarded the 2008 James Madison award from the American Library Association for his work to champion, protect, and promote public access to government information. Feingold has been a Senate leader on strengthening the Freedom of Information Act, reforming lobbying disclosure rules, restricting data mining and the use of National Security Letters, and seeking greater public access to court proceedings. I am honored to receive this award from a group that is dedicated to enhancing learning and ensuring access to information, Feingold said. When the workings of government are transparent, the American people can more readily hold their public officials accountable. Our government will better respond to the concerns of the American people if it is open for public scrutiny.

It is an honor to extend the congratulations and sincerest gratitude of the American Library Association to Senator Russ Feingold, a true public servant for openness and public disclosure of government information during his long and distinguished career, ALA President Loriene Roy said.

Feingold has been a leader in supporting legislation improving transparency in government. Feingold is a cosponsor of legislation to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by ensuring that agencies act on FOIA requests in a timely manner and empowering citizens to track their FOIA requests. Feingold also spearheaded legislation that improves lobbying disclosure and bans gifts from lobbyists to members of Congress. In addition, Feingold has introduced legislation requiring federal agencies to report to Congress on data mining programs, which are capable of analyzing millions of records on every American, as well as legislation cutting back on the overbroad authority granted to the FBI in the USA Patriot Act to use National Security Letters to obtain sensitive information about innocent Americans without judicial review.

WCLC Solidarity Dinner

2008-03-21T07:57:00.002-05:00

Below is information on the annual Winnebago County Labor Council Solidarity Dinner. This annual event is held in conjunction with Workers Memorial Day to honor workers who have died in work related accidents or work related illnesses. This event also celebrates the acheivements of local labor. All are welcome to attend.

YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND OUR 7TH ANNUAL SOLIDARITY DINNER

SATURDAY APRIL 26TH, 2008
DELTA RESTAURANT 515 N. SAWYER STREET
OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN
6:00PM TILL 10:00PM
(DINNER STARTS AT 7:00PM SHARP)
Guest Speaker
Senator Dave Hansen
- -
Additional speakers include
-State Representative Gordon Hintz-
DINNER INCLUDES - HAM WITH CRANBERRY SAUCE, BAKED CHICKEN, GARLIC MASHED POTATOES, GREEN BEANS, BREAD AND CORN.
SOFT DRINKS, COFFEE, ICED TEA & DOMESTIC BEER ARE INCLUDED.
(CASH BAR AVAILABLE)
$15.00 PER PERSON

Name: ________________________
# of tickets______________________

Address: ______________________________________________________

Union: ________________________
Total Enclosed: $ _________________

Please Mail by April 18th, 2007 to WCLC 2211 Oregon Street, Suite A3 Oshkosh, WI 54901

Blog rant

2008-03-19T10:22:00.003-05:00

LC1 has chastised me for my posting, but, I'm sorry, when I see misinformation and rude comments, I can't help it. I've got one thing to add to what I wrote, unless my post doesn't make it to Kent Monte's blog, which, mine usually don't because I'm not just spreading foul thoughts and misinformation. (note-3/20/08--just to keep the record straight, Kent did allow my posting to be published---I feel so special). Whoever made the crack on there about AFSCME being a union for lazy folks is full of @#$!. Make all the smart comments you want, but, like I said, who do you think is dealing with all the beautiful potholes in our fair city. Who picks up your smelly garbage, plows the snow? Who works in the Correctional Institutions to watch the people convicted of crime--having crap thrown at them,etc? Who cleaned up Oshkosh after the wind storm in 2001. Who helped in the recovery and clean up after 9/11, who ran the last ferry to help folks get out of New Orleans during the hurricane? It was AFSCME members. Don't call us lazy damn it!

(LC1 editing here--

Watch this colorful language video on YouTube for more information:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3mw49mk_x0

You got that a$%*(^#? )

In addition to that, AFSCME probably represents more employees in Winnebago County then the UAW (oh shudder). If you add the state employees here to the city/county group, we're a pretty formidible number. AFSCME is one of the only unions in the country that has grown over the past decade because we work hard at organizing.

That's all I'm going to say about that.

---LC2

Defending our honor

2008-03-19T10:15:00.004-05:00

LC2 just told me she descended into the evil maelstrom of Oshkosh blogdom and posted on one local blog (you figure out which one), defending our honor on one of the more toxic blogs in the city.

Why is local politics, especially the blog scene, so horrible in this city? Is it that the combination of stupidity and a big speaker via the internet is a really dangerous combination?

Keep in mind that I have a big knitting bag full of pointy sticks. They can go up against the pointy heads in this city any time in a more creative way. At least I'm making something useful with my knitting. The uncreative narrow minded blogs, not so much.

--LC1

I am armed with pointy sticks

2008-03-19T09:35:00.002-05:00

I am armed with pointy sticks--don't piss me off. Perhaps it is better when knitting to not discuss politics or any other hot button issues since the participants in said discussion are armed with potential weapons. All I'm saying is.

Now, be that as it may, I have to report that we knit with some folks who don't share our political persuasion. Perish the thought, I know, but we try to not discuss any politics there because believe it or not, Republicans and Democrats can be friends. Pick yourself up off the floor now--it's not that bad. Honestly, we're all people. However, that doesn't mean that perhaps our good vibes and stuff may turn our friends back to our side. You never know. I'll take what I can get.

--LC1

Buh bye, Carol

2008-03-18T16:04:00.002-05:00

It must be the election cycle for those named Carol to retire. Carol Roessler just announced she's not running again. Woo hoo. This should up the amount of money others running in the race have to come up with. Bummer.

It will be interesting seeing what kinds of yahoos come out of the woodwork to run now. (Jess King who already announced, is not a yahoo, for the record).

--LC1

Endorsement go'round

2008-03-11T13:20:00.002-05:00

Apparently the Chicks have been kinda busy and intent on ignoring the world while we are absorbed in the kindler, gentler world of knitting. Unfortunately, that world crashed down yesterday afternoon when I heard about the flap going 'round in Oshkosh blogland over the WCLC endorsements (see previous post). I just have a few short comments. Short, because if I start going on and get worked up about this again, LC1 will kill me and feed me to the cats for supper. Ha, I'd probably end up giving the cats the chirpy's after they eat. Anyhow....

It constantly amazes me when someone running for political office says that endorsements don't mean anything. Yet, the discussions and hand wringing over the endorsements and the press release associated with them makes me think that is not true. If WCLC endorsements are baseless and meaningless, then why are you whining about not getting endorsed? Hmmmm??????

Second comment about the process, then I'm done. No, WCLC did not send out questionaires to the candidates. Since OEA is a participant in WCLC, we based our endorsement on the questionaires and interviews that they did. This isn't the first time that the Labor Council has used the work done by our affiliates to assist in our endorsement process. Two AFSCME Council 24 locals regularly sponsor candidate forums for state offices. The council helps put the event together and helps get them on cable, but, the organization mostly done by Local 579 and 48. Many of the questions are pertinent to State Employees mixed with some general labor questions. However, the Labor Council endorsement is made based on those forums. Labor folk are busy with work, union work and trying to have a life. Sometimes we try to work together with our affiliates and other "friends" to all get to the same base.

So, if you're not a WCLC member or affiliate, don't whine about our process. If you are a candidate and didn't get endorsed, either ignore it and move on with your life...get over it.

'nuf said.....

LC2

Winnebago County Labor Council-Spring 2008 Endorsements

2008-02-27T14:41:00.002-06:00

At the Winnebago County Labor Council meeting last night, the following endorsements were made for the Spring General Election on April 1.

Wisconsin Supreme Court
Louis Butler (former AFSCME member)

District 2 Court of Appeals
Lisa Neubauer

Winnebago County Board
District 14
No endorsement

District 15
Travis Swanson

District 18
Bill Wingren

Oshkosh School Board
John Lemberger
J. Thomas McDermott

Recommendations for local offices were based on responses to questionaires sent out earlier this year. Endorsements of other candidates was based on information received from the campaigns.

--LC2

Working at the Polls

2008-02-23T20:52:00.003-06:00

Well, LC2 has been down with a cold and busy just keeping up with shoveling snow and getting through this "old fashioned Wisconsin winter". I wanted to share the joys of working at a voting poll on Feb. 19.

It's a long day, you get there at 6am (well, after dealing with the overnight snow and putting the garbage out, it was more like 6:15 for me). We had to rush to set things up because the location of our poll within the building was changed. So, we had to move tables and figure out a configuration before we could set up the voting stations, including the TSX touch screen. Our poll chair has generally let me take care of that, and it has been interesting, since I realize after setting it up and shutting it down, that there isn't any weird stuff going on, at least at our polling place. My feeling is our chair, a pretty conservative guy, figures he'll have the liberal chick take care of that, and no one will question our results. OK, that's cool strategy.

The polls open at 7am and we had folks waiting. The day was pretty constant, there weren't a lot of lolls in the voting as we've had in the past. My only break away was to go on a run to Starbucks to get coffee for a couple of us. Other than that, we all pretty much ate lunch and worked (we do a pot luck at our poll, I made chili, which was perfect for the cold day). There were a lot of registrations and we all rotated jobs this time to get experience at everything.

Our location did have over 1000 voters between both wards, which I thought was good. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to close things out after the voting. As a poll worker, we have to go through the optical scan ballots to look for write ins. Folks, if you're reading this, if you want to do a write in on a ballot, please do it on the Touch Screen electronic station, which records it and prints it out at the end, making it really simple for the poll workers. Having to go through every paper ballot is really tedious and just opens the possibility of error handling all those ballots. If you want to vote for Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse, please use the Touch Screen.

Every ballot has to be accounted for, used or unused. We had major problems with folks on the paper ballots voting for two president, one in each party. Folks also voted for too many candidates in the school board primary. Obviously folks don't read the ballots or listen to our instructions. Of course, if you vote for to many, your ballot is rejected in the Op. scan and we have to issue you a new ballot. That involves recording the voter number, time, etc. in order to account for the destroyed ballot (the voter rips it up and throws it away).

The day ended about 9:30pm for the workers. The chair has to deliver the equipment and results and ballots to the City Clerk's office. I'm sure that's not a quick process.

I'll be doing 2 more elections this year, but, decided because of my campaign work, that it wouldn't be appropriate for me to work at the November election.

BTW, WSEU members, if you're interested in working at the polls, we have contract language that allows us to be away from work to do that and not have to use vacation. It works very similar to jury duty. Check your contract or with your local reps. if you're interested and then contact your City Clerk!

Oh ya, the best part of the day Obama won!

--LC2

Oshkosh is gonna be jumping on Friday

2008-02-13T11:26:00.002-06:00

Wow, Oshkosh must be living right. On Friday we will be graced with two Presidential candidates. That should drive local law enforcement crazy. John McCain will be appearing at EAA and possibly Oshkosh Corp (they recently dropped the "truck" part). Wonder how the UAW folks there feel about that visit. Whoopee! Although UAW isn't endorsing until after the primaries. Smart move in a way.

Even more exciting is that Barack Obama is going to be on the UW Oshkosh campus in the afternoon. I've had a gut feeling since last week that we'd be seeing him in town. I probably won't attend,I'll either be at the SEPAC meeting, or home dealing with this @#$! cold that I came down with yesterday. Even if I was here and healthy, I probably wouldn't go. I've seen Obama twice, ALA and also at the AFSCME convention in 2006. Saw both Hillary and Obama there. I would love to just people watch folks going in and coming out, the campus kids are going to be so pumped for this! I've asked someone who is going to give a full report, she's already pumped for it. The other reason I wouldn't go is the fact that I voted yesterday. It's a done deal. Since I'll be working at the polls on Tuesday, I usually vote after our training session. The City Clerk is expecting pretty good crowds. We'll see.

Needless to say, LC1's discussion on shooting the bull with Caroline Kennedy a few years ago did indeed influence my decision. Hey, she's only a month younger than me! Another rockin' 50 year old!

--LC2

Don't ask, don't tell

2008-02-11T21:12:00.002-06:00

It's no secret our union, AFSCME is supporting Hillary Clinton. I just can't support her, because I don't think she can win. I know that sounds fickle and I am very excited that a woman is finally being taken seriously as a presidential candidate, but why oh why does it have to be Hillary? The Republicans are rumored to be secretly funneling money into her campaign.

I have heard Barack Obama speak at the American Library Association convention when it was in Chicago a few years ago. He is a fantastic speaker. I think he'll do a really good job. The clincher for me was when Caroline Kennedy endorsed Mr. Obama. My mother told me that when I was a little girl (I'm dating myself, I know) and they talked about or showed her on television, I would stop whatever I was doing and watch her in fascination. A couple years ago when LC2 and I were helping with Gordon Hintz's campaign (it was also a presidential year), Caroline Kennedy was speaking at the UAW Labor Hall in Oshkosh in support of John Kerry. Well, we were making phone calls for Gordon in one of the rooms there, and, long story short, we had a very nice chat with Caroline Kennedy. It was surreal, to be sure. Anyhow, I am supporting Barack Obama. Sorry AFSCME, I can't go with you blindly on this one.

--LC1

Countdown to the Primary

2008-02-08T10:54:00.003-06:00

The machines of the Democratic candidates are moving into the state to coordinate activities leading up to the Primary on February 19. It appears things might be heating up (political, not temperature). I'd love to really see the national media have to come here and freeze their "arses" to cover things. Everytime they talk about upcoming primaries, they glance over Wisconsin. I think they really would like to avoid being here and would rather stay in those warm "southern teir" states.

Anyhow, here is what we know....

AFSCME is setting up an office in Appleton to coordinate their activities in support of Hillary Clinton and local races that are having primaries. If you're an AFSCME member and interested in working, you can contact the AFSCME International office in Madison 608-836-6666 (that's not a joke--it's the real number) for details.

Ran into folks who are setting up operations for the Obama campaign this morning. There will be an office in downtown Oshkosh and the promise of "a lot of activity". Hmmm....that sounds interesting.

We'll keep you updated!

---LC2

Edwards drops out of Presidential race

2008-01-30T12:20:00.000-06:00

I just read about John Edwards dropping out of the Democratic Presidential race. This makes me sad, because I truly believe that he was the only candidate who was speaking about the real problems we're facing, and not worried about spin or the media. I'm really in a dilemma about who I will support now. I think Hillary is trying to speak on the issues, but what she is trying to say gets lost in the hoopla of "Bill and Hill". I know she is a smart and intelligent, but, can she beat McCain, who appears to be the Republican frontrunner. Recent polling said no. I think Obama is a very motivating and inspiration speaker, but, I'm not really sure where he stands on a lot of things. Guess I have some work to do before February 19.

Stay tuned.....

LC2

I am very sad as well. Who will I support now?

--LC1

Food for thought

2008-01-28T14:58:00.001-06:00

Just something I've been mulling over today.... if you were someone who primarily leaned toward a Democratic philosophy, and decided to run for office, would you run as a Republican just because you feel that you could not get elected as a Democrat in that area. I just have a really tough time dealing with this kind of attitude from would be politicians----what kind of scruples does a person have who could do that? Would I want them for my elected official? No way!

--LC2

Well, vote anyhow

2008-01-24T09:51:00.001-06:00

Picture I found on another blog:

--LC1

Early candidate likes

2008-01-23T14:56:00.000-06:00

We want to go on the record saying we don't agree with our union on their early pick and subsequent endorsement for President. We like John Edwards. Whatever.

We also like (in no particular order):

Jess King for the 18th Senate district in Wisconsin.

Roger Kittleson who's running against Tom Petri.

Gordon Hintz for 54th Assembly district in Wisconsin.

Mark Westphal for 55th Assembly district in Wisconsin.

Any Democrat who will do a good job in the 53rd Assembly district. All you have to do is be able to stay awake during Assembly sessions and you will be doing better than the incumbent, who's said she's not running again.

--LC1

Hey, we're not dead--we're still peeping!

2008-01-23T14:36:00.001-06:00

Yes, there's no excuse for our absence. Laziness, you name it.

Privitization

2007-03-14T22:37:00.000-05:00

The Legislature passed the Budget Repair Bill yesterday. Among the items included in the bill, besides 31 positions for the State Crime Lab (an issue that form AG Peg Lautenschlager acknowleged and was working on before ol' JB Van Hollen decided to make it a campaign issue), the bill also restored 270 positions for State Power Plants. Most people are probably saying "huh", what da heck, why? Here's the story...

Back in 2005, good ol' Scott (Scooter) Jensen managed to get his dream of privitizing the Power Plants that produce heat at all state institutions (prisons, universities, mental health facilities, etc) into the state budget. The plan was to sell the facilities at a fraction of their value to some private interest that would operate them more cheaply and get the state out of the Power Plant business. The employees would have been offered jobs with these private firms (whoopee), but, you can bet that we would have found out the same thing that Minnesota did. That the private companies don't care very much for the facilities, they care more about the bottom line. Minnesota had major issues with their privatized plants and is ending up going back to state run, at a major cost. Fortunately for Wisconsin, the Governor vetoed this, but, he was not able to restore the positions of the roughly 271 human beings who work to keep those plants running 24/7. The bottom line is that 271 individuals would have been out of a job as of July 1, 2007. In order for this not to occur, the positions had to be restored by April 1, 2007. The Republicans in control, wanting to distance themselves from ol' Scooter (what is it with Republicans and that name) promised they would take care of this minor technicality right away back in '05. Well, it was February '07 and they hadn't done that. They had lost the Senate and a few seats in the Assembly and seemed more interested in making some political hay out of this. So, about 40 Power Plant Operators visited the Capitol on a pretty cold day and reminded the folks that it could get pretty cold in their offices if there was no heat. Well, the Republicans played a few more games, but, they had to take care of the Budget Repair Bill to get J.B.'s positions in the crime lab. Steve Nass, tried pretty hard to change the bill, but, when all was said and done, the Budget Repair Bill passed. So, thanks to all the Legislators who supported the Repair Bill, including our Assembly rep from the 54th!

Speaking of privatization, there were some outspoken comments at a City Council forum held prior to tonights Democratic Party meeting. Three candidates were solid in their positions against privitization of core public services, Bryan Bain, Jess King and Tony Palmeri. Bob Cornell and Meredith Scheuermann were willing to "consider it as an option", as was Frank Tower. Mr. Nielsen and Mr. Esslinger did not attend the forum. Tony got applause from the audience when he reminded the group that privitization is what caused the issues at Walter Reed Hospital.

I felt that this forum actually brought out more of the true colors of the candidates and indicated that several are using the coattails of others to hang on to---ie., the me to candidates. I'm pretty sure where my votes are going, at least for City Council.

LC2

WCLC and PEOPLE endorsed candidates

2007-03-14T14:52:00.000-05:00

Just to make things clear, here are the endorsements for City elections from two area labor groups...

First, Winnebago County Labor Council (represents AFL-CIO affiliated unions in the Oshkosh area). Endorsements were based on responses on candidate questionaires and voting by Council delegates at the monthly meeting 2/27/07)

City Council
Bryan Bain
Jessica King
Tony Palmeri

Mayor
No endorsement

School Board
Karen Bowen
Teresa Thiel

AFSCME PEOPLE (Political Action Committee for the City & County employees who are members of AFSCME Council 40 (does not include State Employees). Endorsements based on responses to questionaires and interviews conducted by area Council 40 local members.

City Council
Bryan Bain
Jessica King

Mayor
Frank Tower

New Radio program for working families

2007-03-14T14:32:00.000-05:00

"Big Wild Communications launches state wide radio show dedicated to Wisconsin's working families."

Big Wild Communications (BWC) launches "Lunch Pail Logic" The first ever radio program dedicated to Wisconsin's working families. Lunch Pail Logic will launch state wide syndication on 7 stations the weekend of March 17th & 18th. Lunch Pail Logic will air in Oshkosh on WOSH-1490AM on Saturday mornings from . 11-11:30am.

Working with prominent organizations in Wisconsin, Lunch Pail Logic was planned and arranged to promote the concerns of Wisconsin's working families. It is a cutting edge, entertaining platform in which the concerns of working families will be heard. We will feature leaders from labor, government, and industry. Lunch Pail Logic is brought to you by the Wisconsin Laborers' District Council, The PGU Law Firm, The Operating Engineers Local 139, The Construction Labor Management Council, and AFSCME Council 24. "To my knowledge this is the only Wisconsin specific, "working families" talk radio program in the state. We are breaking ground for the future of working families in Wisconsin", explained Joe Wineke, Co Host. John "Sly" Sylvester, Co Host, Lunch Pail Logic; commented, "Lunch Pail Logic is exactly what we need for Wisconsin's working families to be heard. We are tailoring specific interviews and segments to timely issues and concerns of Wisconsin's working families. This radio show will make people stand up and take notice."

Snow removal

2007-03-06T12:07:00.000-06:00

I want to thank the Advance Titan for publishing an article about the Grounds crew and other Facilities Mangement employees on campus who have been working pretty hard over the past week and a half to clear snow from campus walks and parking lots. Reporter, Aubrey Krystek did a great job covering the work that is done in the early mornings to make it possible for students and staff to park their cars and get to their buildings. Oftentimes this is a thankless job, and you sometimes get more insult then kudos. If you'd like to read the article, just follow this link.

http://www.advancetitan.com/story.asp?issue=11339&story=5941

The other thing I'd like to say, in relation to this article, at least the students are showing some understanding and appreciation for the work that is done by public employees. Before someone smart says, but, "they don't pay taxes to pay those overpaid workers" , ask a student how much more they are paying for tuition compared to a few years ago. No, their tuition doesn't directly pay for the support and maintenance staff on campus, but, the students still are paying more of the costs for their education. So, keep that in mind, all you whiners on other blogs who love to rip the public employees in the city. If City employees weren't working, your street wouldn't be plowed! Granted, it's not a lot of fun clearing the miniature version of the Rocky Mountains that the plow deposits at the end of your driveway, but, it's winter and this is Wisconsin. And yes, I was cursing the plows when I was shoveling my own version of the front range before I left for work yesterday, but, my street is looking pretty good. So, thanks City of Oshkosh plow drivers, you've been working hard for all of us.
LC2

2007 City Council Endorsements

2007-03-05T16:16:00.000-06:00

The snow has been great for snowshoeing. Yesterday, we spent a wonderful day up in Door County enjoying Peninsula State Park. If you've never been there in winter, it's a whole different world. Snowshoeing and knitting or "playing with the sticks and strings" as the cats would say, has been keeping the chicks out of trouble.

I want to call your attention to the posting on Eye on Oshkosh regarding the endorsements recently done by the Winnebago County Labor Council
http://eyeonoshkosh.blogspot.com/2007/02/winnebago-county-labor-council-endorses.html

It's interesting that the union endorsements are drawing some attention in the City Council Campaign. Especially the endorsements of Wisconsin AFSCME PEOPLE. AFSCME PEOPLE, for the uninitiated, is the Political Action Committee for the AFSCME councils that represent the City and County AFSCME employees around the state. The State employees (WSEU), also an AFSCME Council, has a separate Political Action Committee, SEPAC, and does not participate in City/County races unless a WSEU employee is running.

Anyhow, seems on some of the blogs, folks and at least one candidate are trying to equate an AFSCME endorsement with the City Employees trying to buy a candidates vote on the council. The candidate who is suggesting this should observe that PEOPLE also endorsed Frank Tower for Mayor. Obviously, those who are implying this have never participated in a candidate interview or the endorsement process. The process has nothing to do with telling the candidate what you want, the interview process involves finding out where the candidate stands on issues that are important to the members of the organization. It also gives participants a chance to get to know the candidates if interviews are conducted. Those who get endorsed are the candidates who have views that fit most closely to those of the organization making the endorsement. Sometimes, there are no candidates that fit the needs, and no endorsement is made (the Labor Council did not endorse a candidate for Mayor).

Endorsements are valuable to a candidate, no doubt. Yes, sometimes they can involve a monetary contribution from the group. In the Labor Council case, we do not have a PAC, so we cannot offer money to candidates. So, there is no way we're "buying" votes on the council. We can offer the support of our members, and we also use our ability to spread the word on our endorsement to AFL-CIO affiliates in the councils jurisdication.

Hope that helps clarify some misconceptions that are out there.

LC2

Tunnel Vision and Health Insurance

2006-12-11T19:46:00.000-06:00

Greetings, it’s that time of the year. Time for cutting down and decorating Christmas trees, building snowmen, drinking eggnog, snowshoeing (if it would snow), and nomination papers for local elections. I’ve got two sets going here for candidates and I thought if I’m going to be doing this, I better start becoming more aware of what the issues are going to be out there. I admit, I’m much more in tune with what is happening at the state level then the local level. So, having a bit of time at the computer today, I started looking at what was out there for some of the declared City Council candidates.

My first stop was Kent Monte’s blog (http://monteforcouncil.blogspot.com/). I was attracted to the thread on Union Contracts that was started last week Monday (12/4/06). The gist of the discussion is that personnel costs are the largest portion of the City budget and how the City Council has little influence on the negotiation of those contracts. One of the big parts of the labor costs is for health insurance. What a surprise! In reading the 94 postings (as of tonight) that responded to Mr. Monte’s posting, it was obvious that the majority of those participating in that Blog would be in favor of pulling health insurance or at least reducing the benefits of the City employees. After all, “I don’t get dat kind of benefit from my employer. We gotta pay a lot for our health insurance, so should dose city employees”. Oh ya, and the City Council should also get the State Med/Arb. Laws changed, because that’s the biggest road block in being able to screw over the City Employees. These folks actually believe that all of the problems that the City of Oshkosh faces would be solved by reducing the benefits of the City employees. Oh and the service we would get would be fine after that. Exactly what kind of employee are you going to have willing to work for the peanuts these folks are willing to offer. Here is a thought from one Labor Chick to those bloggers.

GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR BUTT!

Health insurance and the skyrocketing cost of this benefit to employers is probably the biggest challenge facing every employer in this country. Look at the problems being faced by Ford and GM….it’s about benefits that the companies can no longer afford to pay for. What was one of the reasons that Federal Signal moved the Leach plant out of Oshkosh---cheaper health insurance in Canada. There is example after example that I can come up with that shows that health insurance is the biggest issue facing the middle class of this country. Unfortunately, instead of facing up to the issue and trying to work to find a solution, many folks look at their neighbor with the attitude, you have something I don’t have, if I can’t have it, you shouldn’t either. “I work for Bemis and I have to pay more for my health insurance, if you work for the City, so should you.” Instead of this selfish point of view being exhibited by the posters on Mr. Monte’s blog, I’d suggest that we work together to find a solution to the Health Insurance crisis. In the State of Wisconsin, several groups, including yes, the AFL-CIO have developed proposals to start looking at a solution. Mr. Monte and his followers might do a little research on that as a solution to the problem. Just go to the Wisconsin AFL-CIO website (http://www.wisaflcio.org/) and click on the box about the Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan. This will tell you more about this idea. This is not Universal Health Care (aka Hillary Clinton). This bill would be a start by making health insurance available to those who cannot get their own health insurance (either because of economics or pre-existing conditions). One of the options would give individuals the opportunity to buy into the same health insurance pool that State Employees participate in. There are also discussions to offer local governments this opportunity. Last December, the Winnebago County Board voted to support the AFL-CIO plan, knowing that it would save money with their employees. Perhaps the City Council could also add their support to this plan.

Instead of embracing these ideas, many middle class workers listen to the big business endorsed concept of Health Savings Accounts. All these do is switch more of the cost to the worker, and give those who make more money a better opportunity to get better health care. It doesn’t do anything about the juggernaut that the Health Insurance industry has created. This is why the Health Insurance industry supports the candidates who are against reforming Health Insurance and push the HSA’s. These are not the answer folks.

Bottom line, it’s time for middle class workers to stop being selfish and work together to change the system. Whether you are working in a union represented position or not, you can support the concept of Health Insurance reform. Wisconsin could be the first state to accomplish this with all of our support. We were a front runner on the issue of Worker’s Compensation, let’s show the country that we can be innovative and fresh.

----LC2

Hogwash and Nerds

2006-11-12T20:46:00.000-06:00

It's Sunday night and life is slowly going back to normal. No more 9:30 strategy meetings at headquarters, no more lit drops, no more phone calls (I'm sure everyone is happy about that).

LC1 pretty much summed up the experience of working on Gordon Hintz's campaign, but, I thought it was time to add my thoughts---especially since a union bud in Madison begged us to post (are you happy now Mitchell?).

I'm still amazed that we started campaigning with Gordon over two years ago, taking on what seemed like a Goliath candidate. A guy who had been in office for 17 years that everyone seemed to like (or so it seemed). I personally didn't think he was that awful (hey he wasn't John Gard, OK). He was a little out of touch with his constituents and an entrenched, wrong thinking, Republican. That is until the day he kicked us out of his office because we didn't agree with his view on TABOR and we didn't thank him for all the wonderful things he had done for state employees. Representing his constituents was his job for crying out loud, I sure don't get thanked everytime I do something at work. That was a declaration of war to the Labor Chicks!

Anyhow, two years ago, Gordon Hintz ran a campaign that spent way less than $50,000 and we were proud of the showing he made in that race against the entrenched encumbent (EE) and two other candidates (Green Party and Independent). He did well enough to show the "EE" that he may not be as secure as he wanted to be. We still wonder if that entered into EE's decision not to run (HMMMMM.....).

Well, two years later, money in this Assembly campaign was ridiculous! I never imagined that we would be involved in a race where the candidates spent at least a quarter of a million dollars----on an Assembly campaign. That of course includes all the input from WMC and "All Children Matter". I give Gordon credit for not accepting special interest money this time around. That's despite the special interest money flowing to help the Pung-Leschke campaign. What that means is that the money he raised to run against WMC and all the other nasty groups came from donations from many community members, along with supporters and friends from around the state and country. The chair of the Winnebago County Republicans, Michelle Litjens, had a problem with a fundraiser Gordon had in Milwaukee, complaining about "out of district money". Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black Michelle? "Your girl" (your words, not mine), Julie, had money coming from Michigan based groups. To you Michelle, I give you a big dose of your own HOGWASH!!!!

The other thing that was so inspiring was the number of community members who volunteered to help Gordon's campaign in one way or another. The folks coming for the lit drop the last weekend before the election was awesome! There were folks from all types of backgrounds and ages, kids and retired folks. You'd see folks all over the city that weekend dropping lit house to house, and it was Gordon's stuff! The only sign of the challenger's campaign that weekend was two guys in a red Toyota pickup. Hey, you gotta walk up to the houses, not just drop off the lit in newspaper boxes and behind mailbox flags. Didn't you see it all piled up, no one was looking at it.

One more thing that LC1 forgot to say....to Stew Rieckman of the Northwestern...

You must have taken your happy pills before writing todays column, how things have changed since you called Gordon a nerd a few weeks ago. All I can say to that is, don't ever forget, in the movie "Revenge of the Nerds", the nerds won and so did we!

In the meantime, it was great to do whatever I wanted this weekend and not feel guilty about what I should be doing on the campaign (Craig, you brainwashed us). After January 3, I'm looking forward to walking into Gordon's office and putting my feet on his desk (just once). Oh ya, and being able to visit offices on lobby day that have Donkeys instead of stupid Elephants. My dream come true.

Almost Monday.... back to the real world.

LC2

Buh bye

2006-11-10T10:57:00.000-06:00

Oh, and a big post-election buh bye to John Gard. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. We won't miss you.

Maybe Daddy can get you a job on the farm, since you are just a Lena farm boy. Bet you'll miss that extra $88 per day in per diems.

--LC1

We're tired but happy

2006-11-10T08:31:00.000-06:00

The Labor Chicks are really tired. After 2 1/2 years of helping Gordon Hintz with his campaign to be our representative for the 54th Assembly District in the legislature, we can proudly say we helped him win--with 62% of the vote! He won in every single ward in the city. The Labor Chicks had a lot of adventures in the 2 weeks they were off work to help with GOTV on his campaign.

We now know where all the network television stations in Green Bay are located after our trip up there a couple of weeks ago to bring ads to them (and write really big checks) to put on Green Bay network TV for Gordon. Keep in mind, not everyone has cable (the candidate and now Representative-elect does not have cable).

I have gained a new respect for pollworkers, as both the Labor Chicks had to wait around for vote totals at a ward on election night and report them to Madison. We were there until 10PM. The pollworkers were nowhere near ready to leave when we left. They were all grandpa and grandma age and we salute their dedication to keeping our democracy running. Let me just say, I will never vote absentee again after seeing the trouble it causes. My advice--go to your City Hall and vote early.

We also had the experience earlier on election night of being called to the UW Oshkosh campus voting ward to help with registration of new voters. Nearly 1800 people voted on campus. It was really inspiring to see all those new voters waiting in line to cast their first ever ballot.

I should charge Gordon's campaign for new shoes for all the literature I dropped at people's doors. I felt he might win when the Labor Chicks were making member-to-member phone calls to find out how AFL-CIO folks might vote and for the most part, union people from all different kinds of unions were saying they were voting for Gordon. I didn't want to jinx it by even thinking or saying he might win out loud, so I kind of kept it to myself.

At about a week out from election day, the opponent's treasurer called it quits on her campaign. It was after that happened, combined with the negative ads and literature being put out by special interest groups such as All Children Matter and WMC, that we heard reports of people removing their Julie Pung Leschke signs from their yards and some of them put up Gordon Hintz signs. My personal feeling is that WMC and all the special interest ads created a backlash effect and helped her demise as a candidate along.

Of course, she was no help to her campaign. (This is the "meow" portion of this post) Not to denigrate mothers, but perhaps she should have not concentrated so much on telling people she's a mom to four boys and actually done a little research into the issues. It never came up as an issue in the campaign per se, but she continually kept saying how much she loves the University in Oshkosh--yet she sent 3 of her 4 boys (one is still in high school) out of state to private universities. Apparently her love isn't that genuine.

Now, I'm sure she is a perfectly nice woman. She just shouldn't have been running as a candidate. Perhaps she should concentrate on community service work or her music.

The Labor Chicks made a lot of new friends while we were helping Gordon. We want to say "hi" to Craig, Glenn, Nathan, Ian, Erin, Marcia, Erika, Elias, Dan, Jef and everyone else who helped on his campaign. You guys helped keep me personally going. I love you guys! I'm sure we'll be seeing you all at Gordon's swearing in on January 3, 2007. I wouldn't miss it for the world. A special thanks to Craig, Glenn and Nathan for taking off of work from their jobs at the Capitol to come and help us here. We could not have won without you. Thanks for teaching us more about running a political campaign. The Labor Chicks attended Camp Wellstone, but learning and doing, as we all know, are two different things.

Well, soon it will be time for candidates to take out nomination papers for Oshkosh Common Council positions (like, December 1). I hope I am rested by then--because we start all over to help a friend get re-elected to City Council!

One more thing--thank you to Gordon, from the bottom of my heart for putting yourself out there and running to represent us. It's been a long campaign and we're all tired. I am sad that we're sending you away to Madison where we won't see you all that often, but happy that you will be representing our interests. We're glad to have become personal friends with you and we hope you won't forget us while you're there.

--LC1

Why political involvement matters to union people

2006-10-24T08:53:00.000-05:00

I've been reading stuff on other blogs, comments on stories lately about why unions involve themselves in elections. There have been plenty of other rude comments about unions on them as well, but I won't get into that now. Perhaps another time.

Anyhow, for some of us who belong to unions, especially public employees, whomever is in political office often has a direct effect on what happens at our workplaces. For example, the Republicans in the state legislature (and beyond also) seem to think TABOR/TPA is the neatest thing since sliced bread. This sort of legislation directly threatens the way we do our jobs and provide services to the people of the state of Wisconsin. If there is less money or if there are less people to operate with, folks will be faced with longer lines at DMV offices (aren't they long enough already?), less books and research materials for students who attend school at our University system (while the students pay more and more for school), less people, money and equipment to maintain roads--well, you kind of get the picture. This kind of legislation hurts John and Jane Q. Public in many hidden ways that they may never see or think much about. Hence, the political involvement, at least on my part, to try and get people into office who will at least give a little thought to what effects passing legislation will have not only on the welfare of the general public but also it's effects on the employees who have to serve those people directly.

I'm not asking that our legislators to pander to unions, but keep in mind what benefits unions have fought and won for workers over the years that people take for granted. A few examples are: the 40 hour work week, 8 hour days, and child labor laws. People died for many of these rights. It's up to us to make sure that people who respect working people get elected to public office. We all have choices in our lives--some of us can't just sit on the sidelines any more and hope that good people get into elected office. We choose to continue the fight that our union brothers and sisters began as early as 1791 when Philadelphia carpenters went on strike to try and get a 10 hour working day.

When we fight--we win!

In solidarity,
LC1

Hey Oshkosh Northwestern, there are still local people involved in some 54th AD campaigns!

2006-10-18T10:33:00.000-05:00

Like the Labor Chicks, for example. We have been involved with Gordon Hintz's campaign since 2004. We think he's a good guy and he should represent us in Madison. That's not just us as in organized labor talking, we mean it as citizens of Oshkosh also. We resent it when folks try to say that Madison is totally calling the shots, because they are not completely. Our opinion is if you don't want the impression that Madison is controlling the campaigns, get involved and be down there talking to the Madison folks (and the candidate himself) so that you as a local citizen have input into their thought process. Don't be lazy like so many folks and an armchair quarterback, as Stew Rieckman of the Oshkosh Northwestern, calls himself. We admit, that's fun, but not terribly productive. The only way we can change what's going on down in our state capital is to get involved and make your whining count!

In Craig Trost's (Gordon's campaign manager) defense--we like him. He's a sensible young man who actually does listen to local input and tries, we believe, to fit that input into what the campaign is doing. He went to school here and does know what's going on in our city, believe it or not.

Now get up off of that sofa and get your butt down to our headquarters (683 North Main Street) and volunteer to help--there are only 3 weeks left and we need you to help us counter what's going on down in our state legislature!

--LC1

We support labor candidates

2006-10-18T08:42:00.000-05:00

The Labor Chicks went on a little road trip last evening to attend the 55th Assembly District Candidate Forum in Menasha at UW Fox Valley. The folks under the microscope for the evening were current 55th AD Representative Dean Kaufert (R) and his challenger, Fox Valley Labor Council President Mark Westphal (D). Yeah, it's out of our district, but our local does have members who are in that district and therefore we have more than a passing interest in what happens in this race.

We got there a little late, so we missed any opening salvos that may have been fired during the intro section of the forum. We did get a couple of our questions answered during the forum, which made us happy. Not that we didn't know what the answers would probably be from the candidates, but sometimes it's fun to see what they're going to say--this is live and you never know what's gonna happen.

Well, on to the issues:

On health care--

Dean Kaufert (DK from now on): he took credit for creating Family Care. This Labor Chick did check on this and he actually was an author of that bill.

Mark Westphal (MW): everyone deserves affordable health care and we should have some form of universal health care.

On raising the minimum wage--

MW: Thinks raising the minimum wage is OK, but believes more work should be done to make wages more family supporting.

DK: has voted for increases in the minimum wage and says that he believes people should be paid more and treated fairly.

Should there be a mandatory 15 minute break for every 2 hours of work?

DK: Doesn't think that businesses should be forced to provide breaks after 2 hours of work.

MW: Workers are losing rights at an amazing rate. Worker protections have been rolled back and workers have been abused.

Indian gaming and video gambling macines--

MW: Doesn't think that video gaming is a problem. Doesn't think that there should be a big expansion of Indian gaming.

DK: Thinks we have enough gambling and casinos in Wisconsin.

Who should control the UW System-- the Board of Regents or the state legislature? (a Labor Chick question)--

MW: Make sure the Board of Regents keeps control of the UW System.

DK: Says we don't need to change the way we do things now and keep the Board of Regents in control of the UW System.

Should state spending be tied to the rate of personal income growth (formerly known as TABOR/TPA--also a Labor Chicks question)--

DK: Likes TABOR/TPA and tieing state budget growth to the rate of personal income growth. Doesn't believe that putting limits on state and local spending would cause cuts in services.

MW: Does not support TABOR in any form. Says it makes problems for local and county governments. Would like to see legislature create plan to stimulate growth.

Concealed weapons--pro or con?

MW: Opposes.

DK: Supports.

Campaign finance and ethics reform--

DK: Supports SB 1 (and says he voted for it!) and elimination of partisan caucuses.

MW: Claims DK voted against SB1 (he's right, DK did vote against it!). Says DK does one thing but says another on ethics and campaign finance reform. MW says he supports ethics and campaign finance reform.

Death penalty and civil unions bills--

MW: against both bills.

DK: for both bills.

Harley Davidson expanding out of state and union vote on contract at Harley Davidson--

DK: Labor and management need to work together. Blames DNR for driving Menards warehouse and distribution centers expansion out of Wisconsin (near Eau Claire).

MW: Companies are being driven away by rising costs of providing health care to employees. Believes disagreement between Menards and DNR could have been worked out.

Nelson Knowles Stewardship Program--

MW: We need to preserve wetlands and natural areas.

DK: Says initiative was to cap fund. Thinks there should be a limit to how much land we set aside as natural areas.

Winnebago County Sales Tax--

DK: Against. Says county should prioritize spending and that the sales tax initiative is not well thought out.

MW: The reason Winnebago County feels this is necessary is because of the levy freeze put on local municipalities by the state legislature. The county is trying to preserve the services they provide to the citizens of the county.

Anti bullying legislation (as it relates to schools)--

MW: in favor of legislation to help teachers.

DK: would support some form of legislation. Won't deal with Frank Lasee's arming teachers proposal.

How do you control taxes and balance the budget?

DK: The legislature won't raise your taxes. They should prioritize spending.

MW: Increase tax revenue by shifting the tax burden around so that average citizens are not footing the tax bill and make businesses shoulder their fair share of the tax burden.

What can be done to eliminate the highly partisan atmostphere in the legislature and Wisconsin?

MW: Campaign finance reform and ethics reform could help here. We need to clean up state government and restore our image. We need to elect people who will do what's right for the citizens of the district even if it goes against the party line.

DK: Treat others with respect. Stay away from negative campaigning. Campaign finance reform and ethics reform could help clean up the problem.

We would like to thank the League of Women Voters for putting on this forum. You've read what the candidates said on these issues. Now get out there and help whoever you can and VOTE on November 7! We know who we're supporting and sadly, we cannot vote in this race. But our members can.

Our next report will be after the 54th Assembly District candidate forum in Oshkosh, which occurs at 7PM Thursday, October 19, at Oshkosh's City Hall, 4th floor. Be there with your questions!

--LC1

It's primary time!

2006-09-08T11:44:00.000-05:00

Soon we'll all know who the contenders are for the upcoming November elections. We like the following candidates:

Gordon Hintz running in the 54th Assembly District
Peg Lautenschlager for Wisconsin Attorney General
Jim Doyle for Governor (even though we have misgivings about him, we still support him)
Mark Westphal running in the 55th Assembly District
Susan Garcia Franz in the 56th Assembly District
Richard Spanbauer in the 53rd Assembly District (we know, he's a Republican--but he's better than the incumbent)
Joe Manske for Winnebago County District Attorney

and even though it's not in our Congressional District, we like Steve Kagen for Congress.

Let the games begin!

--LC1

Wal Mart is still evil

2006-09-08T11:40:00.000-05:00

Well, it is. Here's an article about Wal Mart and their ties to financing conservative organizations:

"Conservatives help Wal-Mart and Vice-Versa", from the New York Times

You can't make this stuff up.

--LC1

WCLC/AFSCME Locals 579 and 48 Candidate Forum is on the air!

2006-08-24T11:29:00.000-05:00

The Winnebago County Labor Council and AFSCME Locals 579 and 48 hosted a Candidates Forum on July 25, 2006 in Oshkosh. Invited were candidates for the 53rd, 54th, 55th and 56th Assembly Districts in Wisconsin. The forum was taped by the Labor Council secretary and the 53rd and 54th AD forum is currently playing on Oshkosh Cable Access channel 2. Air times for the rest of the week are:

8/26: 1:30 and 7:00PM
8/27: 9:00PM

In addition, there are other interviews, etc. of candidates also running on cable access. The Labor Chicks encourage everyone to become an informed voter--it's your civic duty!

--LC1

Rep. Steve Nass-ty has a new target

2006-08-24T11:13:00.000-05:00

State Representative Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) has found a new enemy--Workers Independent News, a radio and print news service which highlights issues important to working families and union members. What is this guy's problem? He just doesn't seem to think that issues like academic freedom and exposure to other's ideas is a good thing. What a boring world it would be if we all thought the same thoughts. What would we have to talk about?

Read more about it here:

http://www.madison.com/toolbox/index.php?action=printme2&ref=tct&storyURL=%2Ftct%2Fopinion%2Feditorial%2Findex.php%3Fntid%3D95785

You will notice the Labor Chicks have added a link to Workers Independent News on their site. Heh heh, Rep. Nass, come and get us!

--LC1

We're not dead-we're baaaack!

2006-07-24T16:28:00.000-05:00

The Labor Chicks have been extremely busy since May, so they have not had time to breathe, let alone post on their blog. We will be posting more stuff soon. We just returned from the AFSCME Council 24 state convention. Perhaps we'll post some stuff about it.

Have to run now,
LC1

The sleep of the damned

2006-04-28T08:17:00.000-05:00

After a marathon legislative session last night in which the Wisconsin State Assembly narrowly passed a much watered down version of TABOR, our assembly representatives are surely sleeping the sleep of the damned. I'm sure that when a lot of citizens of Wisconsin awoke this morning to hear the news that the assembly had spent another vampire session in the dark of night passing bad legislation, a lot of folks yelled out, "Damn those legislators!" all over the state. I personally yelled so loud that I scared one of my cats.

It will be the State Senate's turn next week. Oshkosh's State Senator, Carol Roessler is still on the fence on TABOR. C'mon Carol, make up your mind. In the words of George W Bush, "You're either with us or against us". If you want to help Carol make up her mind, call her at 888-736-8720.

This Labor Chick's opinion is that if legislators such as Frank Lasee, who believes that TABOR is necessary because state legislators can't control themselves personally to not spend taxpayer's money, (therefore we need to have controls permanently put in place in the state constitution to in essence, let us do their job for them) should let us help them along in their quest to not spend our money and let us kick them out of office in the voting booth. Why is it that those folks don't want to do the job we hired them to do? Is it perhaps because they would rather be up to other mischief, such as attempting to write discrimination into the state constitution, forcing women into unwanted pregnancies by attempting to curtail their access to birth control, and letting people carry weapons into places of worship and libraries? What the hell is wrong with these people? Are these really the folks who represent the prevailing opinions of the residents of the state of Wisconsin? If it is, maybe I better find a new state to live in, because that's just scary.

Rant over, for only the moment.......

--LC1

To TABOR or not to TABOR, that is the question...and other rants

2006-04-21T16:05:00.000-05:00

It's kind of fun watching the Republicans in the Wisconsin State Legislature fight over who has the better TABOR/TPA proposal these days. The really unfortunate part is that if they're not careful, someone is going to get hurt, most likely public employees, the whipping boy of the State Legislature. We are encouraged that two of them, state Sens. Sheila Harsdorf and Ron Brown have sort of come to their senses and said, whoa, maybe we shouldn't put this bad legislation into the state constitution. That being said, it's still bad legislation no matter what way it's put into effect--but at least it's easier to get rid of if it's not in the state constitution.

Our opinion is that TABOR/TPA in the form of a constitutional amendment is a cop-out by the elected officials in the State Legislature. They were put there to do a job and part of that job is to reconcile the state budget every couple of years. If they don't wanna do it any more, they can be replaced by new people who want to.

If you out there in blog-land want to help fight this, call your state Senator and Assembly person ASAP and register your opinion on TABOR/TPA. It's going to be coming up for a vote in the next week or so. Oshkosh's state Sen. Carol Roessler has been an apparent fence-sitter for a couple of years on TABOR. Either that or she just doesn't want to share her opinion with her constituents. It's time to push her off that fence so that at least we know which way she's going to vote. I think she owes us that much. I mean, how long does it take to read this stuff and understand what a mistake it would be to lead us down the potholed road Colorado is now on?

One more rant--if the legislators of Wisconsin are so concerned about how much tax money is being spent every year, why don't they vote to stop the per diems they can claim just for going to work every day? I don't get the chance at $44 or $88 extra dollars every day just for showing up at work. It wouldn't be much money that would be restored to the state budget if they gave them up, but sometimes it's the symbolism that's important. That and rewrite the legislation restoring tax fairness to the state of Wisconsin so that the tax burden is not increasingly put upon individual/family taxpayers. Corporations should pay their fair share and not be able to get around it with all the loopholes in the tax laws that are out there.

You can find your state legislator's email/phone numbers here:
www.legis.state.wi.us/

--LC1

"Godfather" of the 2nd Assembly District

2006-04-12T10:38:00.000-05:00

The Labor Chicks took some of their personal vacation time to attend the previously mentioned TABOR forum at UW Fox Valley on April 11. One of the featured speakers was the "godfather" of TABOR in Wisconsin, 2nd Assembly District Representative Frank Lasee. It was apparent to this Labor Chick that the "godfather" seems intent on putting out a hit on employees who work for state, counties and municipalities all across Wisconsin. Mr. Lasee is a real piece of work and I believe he showed everyone in the room how much he would like to lord the power the voters of the 2nd Assembly district have granted him by putting him into office over all of the rest of the good people of the state. I have to give him this much, he surely knows how to offend a wide range of people all at once just by opening his mouth. I tried pointing out to him after the forum, before he could get away, that the people who will be hurt by this ill-conceived legislation, are ordinary working people who genuinely care about their jobs and the people they serve. Can't blame a girl for trying, but I believe what I said to him won't matter much in the long run. His mind is made up and there's no getting any new ideas in there.

--LC1

....one more thing on Library Workers

2006-04-04T14:57:00.000-05:00

"I really didn't realize the librarians were, you know, such a dangerous group. ... You think they're just sitting at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them." Michael Moore

National Library Workers Day

2006-04-04T11:06:00.000-05:00

Today, April 4th, is National Library Workers Day - a day to celebrate the fact that "Libraries Work Because We Do".

I can remember over a decade ago, a small group of library support staff (those without their Masters degree) from around the country were discussing the fact that there was a day for Nurse's and "Administrative Professionals" other professions, but, nothing for Library Workers. This group of "Support Staff" activists along with the now out of print "Library Mosaics" magazine did something about it and held the first Library Workers Day. Today, the American Library Association recognizes the Tuesday of National Library Week as Library Workers Day and celebrates all of those who work in libraries and make information available to all, no matter how rich or poor you are.

Just another example of how a small group of people can make a change!

What does this have to do with Unions you might ask. Well, AFSCME International is the first union to have a committee for Library Workers and as a result of that Committee's work, is one of the major sponsors of Library Workers Day. Here are a couple of links to the AFSCME website and the ALA website about Library Workers Day.

In the meantime, go to your library and thank your favorite worker there and help Celebrate National Library Week!

http://afscme.org/press/pr060404.htm

http://www.afscme.org/press/libraries.pdf

http://www.ala-apa.org/about/nlwd.html

UW Oshkosh Polk Library will be holding it's 2nd Used Book Sale on Wednesday April 5 in conjunction with National Library Week. Stop by and see what kind of interesting items are available for sale, as low as 50 cents a piece! For more information, go to http://www.uwosh.edu/library/news/#booksale

LC2....

TABOR FORUM-UW FOX VALLEY, April 11

2006-04-03T08:38:00.000-05:00

TABOR Fight Enters Final Month
Source: John Keckhaver, Wisconsin Council on Children & Families

While the legislative session is winding down for the year, the new version of TABOR, dubbed the Taxpayer Protection Amendment, will likely still be voted on, either in a limited floor period in late April or early May, or in an extraordinary session. With legislators wanting to get home for the upcoming campaign season we believe the limited floor period is when the Taxpayer Protection Amendment will be brought to the floor of both houses for a vote.
That means we're entering the final month or so in this fight against one of the worst policy ideas to hit the state in a long time. A lot of people believe that a defeat this session could spell the end of TABOR in Wisconsin. They may well be right.

A number of legislators are holding information sessions or listening sessions in their districts over the next month. They need to hear about the ill-effects such a draconian constitutional amendment would have on Wisconsin, on critical social services that impact children and families around the state, on job-creation and workforce development efforts, and on our education and health care systems.

We will send out notices whenever we learn of new hearings or listening sessions in your area that you can attend and that you can spread the word about. Here is a couple we just learned of:

Upcoming Forum in Fox Valley on Newest TABOR Proposal
When: Tuesday, 11 April 2006 @ 12:10 pmWhere: UW-Fox Valley Student Union, 1478 Midway Road, Menasha, WIWith Whom: Rep. Frank Lasee and UW-Fox Valley Dean Jim Perry will present alternate views and there will be time for audience questions and participation. There will be a moderator.What you can do: Show up and ask the hard questions that have yet to be answered by TPA proponents such as: what do you think is going to happen to Medicaid access for the elderly and the poor, what is going to happen to the cost of a UW education, and so on.

As always, for a quick look at TABOR/TP talking points, the Council's testimony given at the first public hearing on TP, along with other information on the proposals, click here: http://www.wccf.org/projects/taborresources.htm

SEPAC Note: You can also read AFSCME's testimony and learn more about TABOR / TPA by visiting the SEPAC website at:
http://capwiz.com/wseu-sepac/utr/1/LVAUFRNHMW/CSHEFRNHPK/674701951

First Amendment RIghts

2006-03-31T16:18:00.000-06:00

It's been an interesting week in very many ways, and not a very good Friday I might add. Hopefully the weekend will make things a bit better. Anyhow....

The good people of the City of Oshkosh are getting some interesting Civics lessons lately. How else will our First Amendment Rights be tested and debated? First there are the religious issues with the "Christmas Box Angel" in Menominee Park. Now we've got freedom of speech being tested in the blogging issue. It will be interesting to watch this roll out......

Lots of other things to talk about, maybe more this weekend

....LC2

Freedom of speech on blogs

2006-03-31T09:58:00.000-06:00

The Oshkosh blog scene is all atwitter today about a lawsuit filed in Winnebago County (and now transferred to Fond du Lac) concerning naughty things a poster put on someone's blog. As a staunch supporter of first amendment rights, this is worrying to me. Would it not have been better to simply ask for the offending posts to be removed? Certainly the person named in the posts has a right to be upset--what woman wouldn't be? However, censorship is not the answer. My goodness, if we took the approach that every time something uncomplimentary or usavory is published in the paper and the offended party filed a lawsuit to have the paper shut down, we wouldn't have any newspapers in the country publishing any more. Particularly in the case of our Dear Leader, Bush, who would have them all toe the line and only print cheery articles that only give good news and ignore what's really going on in the world. But I digress.

Certainly the posts are libelous to the woman named in them, but, I hardly think that shutting down one blogger's site is going to cure the problem. Someone else will undoubtedly take up the shut down blogger's cause and well, there you go.

--LC1

Union busting at it's finest

2006-03-31T09:48:00.000-06:00

The following article from the New York Times of March 31, 2006, details the dirty deal that Delphi wants to pull on it's workers in it's impending bankruptcy hearings. They are grossly misusing the bankruptcy laws to try and get out of their negotiated contracts with the UAW. Our hope is the court tells them to stick this where the sun don't shine. If this is allowed to get through the courts, are any union contracts safe?

Read on....sorry for the length.

--LC1

Delphi to Ask Court to Void Union Deals

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 31, 2006
Filed at 10:04 a.m. ET

DETROIT (AP) -- Auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. said it will ask a federal bankruptcy court on Friday to void its labor contracts as part of a controversial restructuring that calls for layoffs of up to 8,500 salaried workers and the sale or closure of 21 of its 29 U.S. plants.
The moves carry huge risks: It may lead to a strike by unionized workers at Delphi that could cripple the U.S. auto industry and push General Motors Corp., its former parent and largest customer, closer to Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
GM accounted for around half of Delphi's $29 billion in revenues in 2004. The world's largest automaker already is struggling with declining U.S. market share and spiraling costs and is in the midst of its own restructuring. But a strike would hurt other companies and smaller suppliers as well, since Delphi supplies every major automaker, including Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co.
Delphi, the largest U.S. auto supplier, is filing a separate motion asking the court to reject some unprofitable contracts with GM. Delphi also said it will freeze its hourly and salaried pension programs later this year and move employees into a defined-contribution plan.
''We are clearly focused on Delphi's future,'' Delphi Chairman and CEO Robert S. ''Steve'' Miller said in a statement. ''Emergence from the Chapter 11 process in the U.S. requires that we make difficult, yet necessary, decisions.
The United Auto Workers responded by saying Delphi was misusing the bankruptcy procedure in a way that should be ''a concern for every American'' and had never been serious about negotiating with its unions.
Troy-based Delphi filed for bankruptcy in October. The company said it intends to emerge from bankruptcy during the first half of 2007. Delphi said it wants to exit certain product lines and sell or close noncore plants by 2008.
Delphi's motion to void its labor contracts was widely expected; the company had delayed similar motions three times before. The company says it was saddled with uncompetitive labor agreements when it was spun off from GM in 1999 and wants to cut the wages of its 34,000 U.S. hourly workers as part of its restructuring.
Delphi, GM and its unions spent months negotiating but were unable to reach a wage agreement. Under its most recent proposal, which was rejected by the UAW and other unions, Delphi proposed dropping pay for current hourly workers to $22 per hour from $27 per hour through September 2007, then to $16.50 an hour, but that would include a one-time payment of $50,000.
The UAW criticized Delphi's filing on Friday.
''Delphi's misuse of the bankruptcy procedure to circumvent the collective bargaining process and slash jobs and wages and drastically reduce health care, retirement and other hard-won benefits or eliminate them altogether is a travesty and a concern for every American,'' the union said in a statement.
GM said Delphi's motion to reject its GM contracts was a common practice for companies in Chapter 11.
''We disagree with Delphi's approach but we anticipated that this step might be taken,'' Rick Wagoner, GM's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. ''GM expects Delphi to honor its public commitments to avoid any disruption to GM operations.''
Delphi said it plans to keep negotiating with GM and its unions even though the motion has been filed, and some analysts have said the added urgency could help the parties reach a deal.
Judge Robert Drain has scheduled a hearing on Delphi's request for May 9-10 and won't decide whether to void Delphi's contracts until after that hearing. If Drain does decide to allow Delphi to void its contracts and Delphi takes that step, the UAW and other unions have threatened to strike.
Delphi said it also plans to cut 25 percent of its salaried work force, or around 8,500 workers, including up to 40 percent of its corporate officers. Delphi said that measure should save $450 million per year.
The company has identified eight U.S. plants that are considered critical to its U.S. operations. They are located in Brookhaven, Miss; Clinton, Miss.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Kokomo, Ind.; Lockport, N.Y.; Rochester, N.Y.; Warren, Ohio; and Vandalia, Ohio. Delphi said those plants will focus on product lines such as safety features, electronics, diesel and gas powertrains and climate control products.
Twenty-one other plants that do not make core products -- including those that make brakes and chassis, instrument panels, door modules and steering components -- will be sold or closed. Delphi said it will provide further details on those plants in its filing, but they include plants in Dayton, Ohio, Saginaw and Flint.
''We believe many of these product lines have the potential to compete successfully under new ownership that has the resources and capital to invest in them,'' Delphi President and Chief Operating Officer Rodney O'Neal said in a statement.
Delphi said it will ask the court to reject unprofitable contracts with GM. The initial motion covers around half of Delphi's annual volume with GM. Delphi said the judge is expected to consider the motion on May 12, which gives both companies time to continue negotiating prices.
''We simply cannot continue to sell products at a loss,'' Miller said.
In addition, Delphi sent a letter to GM Friday that will begin the process of resetting terms for more than 425 commercial agreements that have expired since Delphi filed for bankruptcy. Those terms will be negotiated outside of bankruptcy court.
Delphi also said it will freeze pension benefits for hourly workers on Oct. 1 and for salaried workers on Jan. 1 and will replace them with plans that require employee contributions with company matches. Workers will still have access to any accrued benefits.
The company may ask for relief from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the Internal Revenue Service and possibly Congress so that when it emerges from bankruptcy protection it won't immediately owe billions of dollars to its underfunded pension plan. The company expects it will take at least six years to fully fund its pension plan.
Despite unions' fury at Delphi's wage proposals, Delphi said it is encouraged by its progress in negotiations so far and hopes to reach an agreement outside of court. GM's cooperation in a settlement is key, since Delphi would depend on GM, its largest customer, to supplement its wage offer or provide benefits. For example, in Delphi's latest proposal, wages would fall to $12.50 an hour if they weren't supplemented by GM, the UAW said. GM has said a Delphi settlement could cost it between $5.5 billion and $12 billion.
Delphi, GM and the UAW did agree last week to a buyout offer for approximately 17,000 U.S. hourly workers. Under that agreement, workers will be eligible for a lump sum payment of $35,000 to retire. Also, up to 5,000 Delphi workers will be eligible to return to GM.

Russ Feingold, hero of the Republic

2006-03-22T13:57:00.000-06:00

I know this has nothing to do with labor unions, but I just liked this story from the March 14th edition of "The Nation" online.

--LC1

A Peculiar Politician
William Greider

Senator Russ Feingold is an embarrassment to the US Senate, which makes him an authentic hero of the Republic. The Wisconsin senator gets up and says out loud what half of the country is thinking and talks about every day. This President broke the law and lied about it; he trashed the Constitution and hides himself in the flag. Feingold asks: Shouldn't the Senate say something about this, at least express our disapproval? He introduces a resolution of censure and calls for debate.

Well, that tore it in the august chamber of lawmakers. Democrats scurried away like scared rats. And Republicans chortled at the thought. You want to censure our warrior President, the guy who defends us every day against terrorist attacks? Let's have a vote right now, the Republican leader demanded. Yuk, yuk.

The joke is obvious to everyone in the Washington club--politics trumps principle, especially when it is about something as esoteric as the Constitution. It's a nonstory, the club agrees, not a constitutional crisis.

The Washington Post runs an obligatory account on page 8, quoting Mr. Anonymous Democrat Strategist on the unwisdom of Feingold's gesture. The New York Times story on page 24 quotes the esteemed constitutional authority Dick Cheney. The House Republican leader (who replaced the corrupt House leader who resigned) denounces Feingold's resolution as "political grandstanding of the very worst kind." Like the Republican impeachment of Bill Clinton for fellatio in the White House? Go away, Feingold, let us get back to the people's business.

The real story--naturally overlooked by cynical editors--is that an honest truth-teller is loose in the fun house and disturbing the clowns. Man bites dog, senator defends Constitution.

Feingold has a reputation for such quaint deviations--a naïf who voted against the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act. On principle! How naïve is that? He talks like he might run for President, yet he seems tone-deaf to the artful resonances of power politics--the cutesy games insiders play and the press cherishes. Hey, what is this Constitution thing anyway?

The senator is peculiar in this era of decaying democracy. There was a time, believe it or not, when his type was a familiar presence in the Senate. I think of Sam Ervin of North Carolina, a conservative Democrat on most matters but always a lion on the Constitution. Ervin is remembered for his heroic role in the investigation of Watergate. Old-timers remember that before Watergate, Senator Sam led courageous hearings on the illegal spying on civilians by the Army and FBI (Democratic scandals predating Nixon).

When liberalism was in flower, the Senate always included a good mix of such maverick voices. They were party loyalists but departed on principle in ways that sometimes kept the majority honest. Voted against the President's war in Vietnam and never let up. Ernest Gruening of Alaska, Wayne Morse of Oregon, Albert Gore Sr. of Tennessee. Phil Hart of Michigan was his own one-man reform party. George McGovern of South Dakota was another.

We might ask why the Republican Party has not produced a similar collection of independent thinkers. We might mourn the fact that pursuing a career in the Senate no longer seems compatible with stubborn self-directed character. The media, instead of kissing off Feingold as a dumb politician, might do a little honest reporting on the substance of what he is saying.

For the moment, however, let us celebrate the man. The club will try to shove him in a closet and forget his little unpleasantness ever happened. I hope they fail and other Dems are properly embarrassed. Amid scandals in high places, Senator Feingold is fresh air. The country should rise up and sing.

Colorado's politics aren't looking to bad these days!

2006-03-17T08:36:00.000-06:00

Besides the obvious relationship with Colorado's TABOR experience and the attempts to pass TABOR/TPA in Wisconsin, the Laborchicks watch Colorado politics because of friends out there. One of them was pretty involved with the Dem. Campaigns out there in Fall '04, going so far as to get kicked out of a Bush event for sneaking in wearing a Kerry t-shirt. Gotta keep your eye on those retired librarians, you never know what they're going to do!

Anyhow, this is an interesting article from the Christian Science Monitor....

Once-Republican Rockies now a battleground

By Josh Burek | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

DENVER – Streaks of blue are turning red-state Colorado as purple as its mountain majesties.
Liberal hues began to multiply in 2004, when Democrats seized control of the general assembly for the first time in 30 years. They intensified last fall, when voters loosened TABOR, a government- spending chastity belt long extolled by fiscal conservatives. This year, Colorado's color wheel is downright dizzying, as a bill to ban public smoking heats up the legislature.

This is Marlboro country?

The state's transformation from Rocky Mountain redoubt for conservative values to a proving ground for progressive policies is yielding more competitive elections here - and offering Demo- crats across the country a model for resurgence.

"We're probably the No. 1 battleground in the country," says pollster Floyd Ciruli, based in Denver. Democrats nationwide, he says, "are anxious to replicate what's going on out here."

What's going on is a flurry of victories for Democratic forces.

In 2004, despite a major voter- registration advantage for Republicans, and the popularity of President Bush, voters added two Democrats - brothers John and Ken Salazar - to its congressional delegation. That same fall, voters famous, or infamous, for parsimony approved $4.7 billion in transit funding, siding with Denver's Democratic mayor instead of the state's Republican governor. Democrats have been piling on victories ever since. Just last week, Senate Democrats passed a bill that would make driving without a seat belt a more serious crime. And this fall, Democrats have strong prospects to win back the governor's chair.

"The left has made substantial strategic strides," says John Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, a free-market think tank in Golden, Colo. But "that doesn't mean Colorado's voter base has changed."

To stage a comeback, he says, the state's fractured Republicans must decide whether to act more like Democrats, or less like them. "It's make-it-or-break-it time for the right here," he adds.

Elsewhere in the West, a swaying

It's a tipping point that spans the Continental Divide. In 1999, every state in the region - Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona - had a Republican governor. By the end of 2006, only Utah and Idaho may have one.

But the Democratic gains don't necessarily reflect broad conversion to liberal ideology. Instead, analysts see a backlash to years of GOP dominance. "It's not something fundamental that's changing so much as the far-right agenda that has pushed too far, and people in the West ... are pushing back," says Mark Cavanaugh, an analyst at Denver's Bighorn Center, a centrist policy group. "In the short term, we'll switch back and forth in this state."

The state's leftward lurch was immediately apparent to Denver native Ian Siparsky when hurricane Katrina blew him back home after five years in Louisiana. Taking time out from his job as a barista at "ink! Coffee" in Denver's Tech Center, he explains the changes he's seen. "It's become more liberal in aspects of health," he says, citing the antismoking bill - which he opposes. The state is still fiscally conservative, he adds, but the growing number of young people in Denver is helping progressive politics blossom.

Analysts credit an influx of independent voters with helping the state's political pendulum swing so freely. One-third of the electorate is new since TABOR was enacted in 1992, notes Mr. Ciruli.

"The state is full of informed, unaffiliated voters," says Mr. Cavanaugh. Colorado voters, he says, are "not driven by bumper-sticker-like messages."

Ciruli points out other factors. The 2001 recession, he says, hit Colorado particularly hard and pulled the political center of gravity away from issues like tax cuts and spending limits, and toward funding gaps and government services. The growing clout of a quartet of liberal financiers has also been instrumental in pushing a liberal agenda.

Those developments have favored Democrats. But that doesn't mean Colorado voters are fickle - just pragmatic, Ciruli says. "They'll ignore party labels if an individual is moderate and offering something intriguing."

Image often trumps party loyalty

Sen. Ken Salazar (D) is a case in point. President Bush beat Sen. John Kerry (D) here by 5 percentage points in 2004, but Senator Salazar picked up enough Republican votes to win.

His triumph, though, may say less about partisan trends than about the primacy of image. "It's not always political policy that drives who's in office" in Western states, says Mr. Caldara. "It's often likability, personality, and imagery.

"Ken Salazar never wore a cowboy hat until he ran for Senate. Today, it's stapled onto his head," he adds.

He and others point out that Colorado and neighboring states retain their bedrock conservative values even as they embrace Democratic issues and leaders.

"Colorado's political identity is increasingly independent," says Colorado's poet laureate Mary Crow. "Independent with a strong conservative streak."

A state where the biggest issue is often access to water may be easily dismissed as having a bit part on the national political stage. But observers here insist that Colorado should command the spotlight.

"Colorado is a bellwether state - the bellwether state," says Caldara. "Every year, Colorado becomes more important to the national scene.

Indeed, this fall, Colorado is set to become the first state to offer citizens two ballot questions about gay marriage - on opposing sides of the debate.

Wal-mart

2006-03-13T14:49:00.000-06:00

(from the AFL_CIO NOW email update)

Wal-Mart’s ‘Everyday Low Vices’
It hurts the economy and the national quality of life if a company treats its employees badly. But when the largest retailer in the world does that, the consequences could be enormous. So it is with Wal-Mart, says T.A. Frank in “Everyday Low Vices,” an article in Washington Monthly, which is posted on the Alternet website.

Frank says the current generation of Wal-Mart bosses seems to have forgotten founder Sam Walton’s second tenet of doing business—make your employees feel like they’re part of the company. The first, of course, is to make as much money as you can.

As a testament to their loyalty to that tenet, five Walton family members are listed in the top 21 of Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest people.

It is Wal-Mart’s size, however, that makes it different from other bad employers, Frank says:

Wal-Mart really is different. In terms of annual revenue, Wal-Mart is nearly four times the size of The Home Depot, the country’s second-largest retailer, and almost twice the size of Target, Costco, and Sears (which includes Kmart) combined. That means the company exerts pressure on the entire sector to imitate its methods–including its treatment of workers. That would be less worrisome if Wal-Mart’s record didn’t stand out within the sector. But there are strong indications that, when it comes to how it treats its employees, Wal-Mart really is worse than the rest. The company finds itself in trouble because, since the death of Sam Walton 14 years ago, something ugly has happened to the way it does business.

It won’t be easy for Wal-Mart to change its ways, Frank says. But the post-Sam Walton generation may be forced to because of increased scrutiny and pressure from government, media and unions. We hope he’s right.

by James Parks

TABOR/TPA video online and Wisconsin Labor Today

2006-03-03T16:23:00.000-06:00

Here's a link to a video online about the problems TABOR has caused in Colorado, put out by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. It's 13 minutes and may take a while to load on dial in accounts. It's worth it!

http://www.ocpp.org/cgi-bin/display.cgi?page=TABORVID

And speaking of TABOR, please tune into a new episode of "Wisconsin Labor Today", which begins next week on Oshkosh cable channel 2. The first airing is on Monday night at I believe, 8PM. The above TABOR video will be shown and Steve Dedow, president of the Winnebago County Labor Council and Sarah Rogers of the AFL-CIO will discuss TABOR.

--LC1

Just thought this was interesting.....

2006-03-03T11:14:00.000-06:00

From Hotline On Call---the National Journal's Daily Briefing on Politics

February 28, 2006
Mea Culpa: Unions And Turnout
Appearing at an AFL-CIO press conference to unveil its '06 political gameplan, AFSCME President and longtime Dem political strategist Gerald McEntee admitted yesterday afternoon that "progressives learned a hard lesson" in the '04 cycle: relying on paid turnout efforts is a recipe for failure.

Without being asked, McEntee, who also chairs the AFL's political cmte, stated bluntly that the millions of dollars Dems and liberals put into the 527s for GOTV in '04 were ineffective in the face of the GOP's volunteer effort. Or, as McEntee put it, the Dems' "stranger-to-stranger" ground game was "trounced" by the GOP's "neighbor-to-neighbor strategy."

McEntee is one of the brightest political minds in the labor movement and is credited with delivering Bill Clinton his first nat'l labor endorsement in '92. McEntee also engineered an early AFSCME endorsement for Howard Dean in '04. But he also was deeply engaged in the collective union/527 GOTV effort for John Kerry and the Dems in '04.

That he would, at the outset of the '06 cycle, so publicly and candidly admit their '04 grass-roots and strategic failure is striking. It is especially so in light of the post-election comments made by many involved with the 527s in '04. We're thinking of folks like ACT's Steve Rosenthal, himself an ex-AFL political director, who spent so much time praising their ground game as super-but-just-short-in-Ohio.

The AFL, which is holding its winter executive meeting at the luxurious Hotel Del Coronado just outside San Diego, also said it is committed to spending $40M on "education and mobilization" of its members this cycle, the most it has ever spent on a mid-term election. These funds will target GOV and SEN races in 21 states, keying particularly on those states that have both competitive races and significant union membership -- CA, FL, IA, MI, MN, NY, OH and PA. AFL political director Karen Ackerman said also that they will play in as many as 40 different House races across the country. Ackerman added that the unions which withdrew from the nat'l AFL will be allowed to join their effort at the state and local level.

Although AFL-CIO president John Sweeney made clear in his statement that they would aid "pro-worker" candidates and not just Dems, he admitted that he hoped the vast majority of the endorsements would be for Dems. And when asked which pro-worker GOPers they may back, Ackerman deflected the decision as being made at the local level. Similarly, she also made clear that the nat'l AFL had little interest in getting involved in primary contests -- with one exception.

All of organized labor, Ackerman said, was behind ex-Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D) in his bid to reclaim TX 28 from Rep. Henry Cuellar (D). Cuellar has raised the ire of labor and liberals for his vote in support of CAFTA and backing of other business-friendly measures. Asked about payback for the other so-called "CAFTA 15," Sweeney noted that while the nat'l AFL would not directly weigh in, that did not necessarily mean that these wayward Dems would not "be punished." [JONATHAN MARTIN]

Posted at 10:34 AM

From the UW Oshkosh Announcements list-Thanking Gregg

2006-03-03T11:12:00.000-06:00

Please join us for an event with Representative Gregg Underheim...

UW Oshkosh's Coalition Against the Amendment is honored to recognize Representative Gregg Underheim for his bold stance against the proposed amendment that would ban civil unions and same-sex marriage. Representative Underheim was the only Republican to vote against the amendment in the state Assembly.

Rep. Gregg Underheim Thank You Event...

What: An opportunity for the Oshkosh campus and community to thank Rep. Underheim for voting against the proposed amendment. There will be a presentation of a large "Thank You" card signed by UWO students and faculty.

When: Wednesday, March 8, 2006 at 6:30 PM

Where: Reeve 201

Questions: Contact Coalition Against the Amendment, uwocoalition@yahoo.com

-----------------------------------------------------------

The Coalition Against the Amendment is a non-partisan organization formed to fight the proposed constitutional amendment. The group consists of students from a variety of different student organizations on campus and is continuing to grow as people become more aware of this issue. They focus on education and outreach to the UW Oshkosh campus and community

The Duck just became more lame.....

2006-03-01T08:27:00.000-06:00

Well, after my last posting about Rep. Underheim, I feel like I have to at least acknowlege that he did the right thing yesterday in voting against the civil unions and marriage ban.

It's interesting that his comment on Channel 2 was that something like this didn't belong in the State Consitution. I'll remind him of that when the vote for TABOR comes up, because that doesn't belong there either.

Quack, quack

2006-02-28T15:04:00.000-06:00

An AFSCME Brother & Sister who attended AFSCME Lobby Day last week Wednesday gave the Laborchicks an update on our favorite Oshkosh Lame Duck State Representative, Gregg Underheim. Two years ago, when AFSCME members were visiting his office, he complained that they had not thanked him for everything he had done for them (ya, supporting the 5 month delay on a contract is real support). When he got tired of the questions about TABOR, he kicked the entire group out of his office. Several months later, he added insult to injury when he shunned the Labor Council and AFSCME Locals at a Candidates Forum. He had important work in Madison that night, yeah, attending a Republican Fundraiser. He paid dearly for that one, his empty chair on the video of the event on OCAT and the Northwestern endorsing Gordon Hintz in the Assembly race. Anyhow, this time, rather then meeting with his constituents, he was seen "ducking" out the back door of his office to avoid the questions. Probably didn't want to miss out on the fun at the WMC shindig at Monona Terrace.

Great work Gregg!

Winnebago County Labor Council Solidarity Dinner

2006-02-28T12:29:00.000-06:00

YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND OUR

5TH ANNUAL SOLIDARITY DINNER

SATURDAY APRIL 29TH, 2006
DELTA RESTAURANT 515 N. SAWYER STREET
OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN
6:00PM TILL 10:00PM
(DINNER STARTS AT 7:00PM SHARP)

Special Guest Speaker TBA
(Past speakers have included: Peg Lautenschlager, Spencer Black, Marc Pocan, & David Newby)

DINNER INCLUDES - HAM WITH CRANBERRY SAUCE, BAKED CHICKEN, GARLIC MASHED POTATOES, GREEN BEANS, BREAD AND CORN.
SOFT DRINKS, COFFEE, ICED TEA & DOMESTIC BEER ARE INCLUDED.
(CASH BAR AVAILABLE)
$15.00 PER PERSON

Name: ________________________# of tickets______________________

Address: ______________________________________________________

Union: ________________________ Total Enclosed: $ _________________

Please Mail by April 18th, 2006 to WCLC 2211 Oregon Street, Suite A3 Oshkosh, WI 54901

Lipstick, pigs and TPA/TABOR

2006-02-28T11:42:00.000-06:00

From WisPolitics:

Greater Wisconsin Committee: Radio Ad - "Taxpayer Protection Amendment" is New Name for Same Bad Idea
2/28/2006

CONTACT: Michelle McGrorty 608/279-5199

The Greater Wisconsin Committee, an issues advocacy group, launched a radio campaign today warning listeners that the ill advised constitutional amendment once called “TABOR,” is back with a new name, the “Taxpayer Protection Amendment.”

The ad says that you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig, and is punctuated by pig grunts and squeals.

“This was a bad idea the first time around and this new version is just as bad. People will not be fooled,” said Michelle McGrorty, the group’s executive director. “Wisconsin doesn’t need gimmicks to protect taxpayers. We need legislators who are willing to stand up to special interests and make tough decisions about spending priorities” McGrorty said.

In Colorado, a similar proposal led to larger class sizes, decreased access to health care, job losses and devastating cuts to critical services. Recently, voters there passed a referendum that limits TABOR after experiencing its devastating effects.

Wisconsin newspapers, including the Beloit Daily News, Oshkosh Northwestern, Capital Times, Wisconsin State Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Appleton Post Crescent and Marshfield News-Herald all have editorialized against the amendment.

The commercial says that local officials, seniors, nurses, firefighters, teachers and retirees are all opposed to this amendment, because they know it will squeeze and cut the delivery of vital services to the people who need them most.

“We just don’t need the amendment. We need legislators with the backbone to say no to wasteful spending,” said McGrorty.

The Greater Wisconsin Committee ran a radio and telephone campaign that helped defeat the original TABOR amendment in 2004. The organization also has run grassroots lobbying and media campaigns on raising the minimum wage, protecting lead paint poisoning victims, supporting state budget vetoes to protect school funding and freeze property taxes, and upholding the governor’s veto on concealed weapons.

The commercial started running statewide in targeted legislative districts on Tuesday, urging citizens to call their legislators and oppose the amendment. Greater Wisconsin declined to disclose how much it was spending or how long the spot will air.

Script Follows

“LIPSTICK” Greater Wisconsin Committee

They say you can put lipstick on a pig – but it’s still a pig. (SOUND EFFECT: OINK!)

An ill-advised constitutional amendment, once called TABOR, is back with a new name, the Taxpayer Protection Amendment.

But it has the same flaws as the earlier version, the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern says.

Taxpayers need protection, all right – protection from this same old bad idea.

The Beloit Daily News calls it “gimmicky nonsense.”

The Appleton Post-Crescent says it’s “an example of wrong-thinking government.”

Local officials, seniors, nurses, firefighters, teachers, and retirees are opposed to the amendment. They know it will cut vital services for the people who need them the most.

Wisconsin doesn’t need a constitutional amendment to hold down spending. It needs state legislators who will make some tough decisions.

Call your legislators today at 1-800-362-9472. Ask them to oppose the so-called Taxpayer Protection Amendment. (SOUND EFFECT: OINK!)

Paid for by Greater Wisconsin Committee

In memoriam (LC1 here)

2006-02-28T09:59:00.000-06:00

On this Mardi Gras 2006, I would just like everyone to take a moment to remember those union workers who lost their lives last year in the hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast. May their souls find eternal rest.

Forget D.C.—the Battle is in the States

2006-02-27T16:17:00.000-06:00

This is the opening of an interesting article. The group ALEC, referred to in this one of the right wing groups that is pushing for the passage of TABOR Amendments and other anti-union/worker issues. The article talks about how unions and other groups are fighting back.

Speaking to a packed room of 2,000 state legislators and business lobbyists gathered in Grapevine, Texas, last fall, George W. Bush thanked the crowd for its work on behalf of the conservative agenda. He wasn't talking about work they'd done on Capitol Hill, but about their collaboration to push the corporate agenda forward in statehouses across the country. The meeting was the 32nd annual gathering of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a membership association for conservative lawmakers. As its chairman, Georgia State Rep. Earl Ehrhart, said of the president's speech: "It was like the governor of a state talking to his legislative leaders." This is the critical point: The highest echelons of the conservative movement and corporate America treat state legislators not as members of 50 different institutions, but as a single set of leaders who can be mobilized on a national basis. Recognizing this reality, the Progressive Legislative Action Network (PLAN) was formed in fall 2005 to create a counterforce to the right in statehouses across the country. Supported by groups like MoveOn and the Center for American Progress, along with unions like SEIU, AFSCME, the AFL-CIO and the Steelworkers, PLAN is working with state legislators across the country to move both a united agenda and strategic plan to take on ALEC and its allies throughout the country

View the entire article at:

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2509/

Municipal Collective Bargaining Under Attack-Please Help

2006-02-27T14:40:00.000-06:00

Senate Labor Committee Moving Forward With Bills Undermining MERA

On Wednesday, March 1 the Senate Committee on Labor and Election Process Reform will take public testimony on two bills that threaten to undermine Wisconsin’s Municipal Employment Relations Act (MERA), which has maintained labor peace for decades. The two pieces of legislation, Assembly Bill 268 and Assembly Bill 857, were authored by Representative Mark Gottlieb (R-Port Washington) and gut collective bargaining rights for public employees.

What Do These Bills Do?

AB 268 – Allows employers to privatize public services without bargaining the effects of privatization with public employees.

AB 857 – Caps final offers to arbitrators in the collective bargaining process at a level equal to or less than revenue limits placed on local governments. Essentially, if this bill became law, when combined with a property tax freeze and/or TABOR, it would create a Qualified Economic Offer (QEO) on all public employees.

What Can You Do?

Contact your State Senator and tell them to…, oppose AB 268 and AB 857 and any and all proposed changes to Wisconsin’s Municipal Employment Relations Act.

or

If you are available come to the hearing Wednesday, March 1 at 1:00 pm in room 400 Southeast of the State Capitol, and testify or register against AB 268 and AB 857.

How Do I Contact My Legislators?

Call the legislative hotline at 1-800-362-9472 and leave a message for your State Senator.

or

go to http://www.legis.state.wi.us and click on ‘Who Represents Me’ to get their email address or direct Capitol office phone line

Comments on Labor Council Endorsements-LC2

2006-02-26T00:39:00.000-06:00

I just spent the last few minutes reading the comments on other blogs regarding the Labor Council endorsements. I wasn’t surprised. As expected, there are some that are having “issues” with the endorsements.

The Labor Council endorsed Mark Madison, a progressive candidate who is in favor of the Five Rivers development. I might add that Mark is a member of AFSCME, the largest group of represented employees in the City of Oshkosh and Winnebago County. But, that is not the only basis for his endorsement. There seems to be a belief out there that to be a labor supporter, or should I say “the working man’s candidate”, you have to be tight fisted and against progress. B.S.! Development creates jobs…. construction of the magnitude of Five Rivers will give work to many in the trades. It is important that we have individuals on the City Council that understand the value of development and the importance of using contractors who are union. There were several of the candidates that didn’t understand the concept of prevailing wage, and even after having it explained couldn’t say whether or not they supported it. This included one of the other candidates who is a union member. Mark also understands TIF districts…which I can’t say is true of many of the other candidates. Folks want to believe that it is the TIF districts that drive up the property taxes, but this is not true.

Some of the other candidates that we interviewed were willing to look at Privatization as an option, and several didn’t understand the issues involved with contracting out services. It was obvious that Mark had “done his homework” on labor issues and also understands the issues within the city.

There is concern that we did not endorse another candidate who is a union member. It was pretty clear to me that this candidate did not understand the issues as they relate to organized labor, or at least that was not reflected in his answers. My suggestion is that perhaps, if you are a loyal union member, you should attend you local meetings (if you aren’t) and learn about current labor issues. I was also concerned about the “parochialism” displayed by this candidate. We should only care about Oshkosh residents, we shouldn’t be concerned about trying to get folks from other places to come and visit Oshkosh. With that kind of attitude, we may as well give up on any kind of development other than building a really big toilet along 41 so people can make a rest stop between Fond du Lac and Appleton.

There is discussion on several other Blogs about Paul Esslinger not attending the meeting. Neither did Dennis McHugh. Dennis McHugh did not respond to his invitation. Paul Esslinger wanted all the union members to be present at the meeting. The endorsement process does not work that way. Just as the citizens of Oshkosh elect individuals to represent them on the City Council, the unions in Winnebago County have representatives for each of their locals on the Labor Council. I don’t think the City Council would get much work done if the entire city was involved in the decision making process and the same is true of the unions. If our members don’t like the decisions we’re making, then we can be replaced, just like City Council members. If Mr. Esslinger wants to truly be the “working persons” candidate, he needs to learn how organized labor really works. As I’ve said before, as a union leader, I don’t appreciate it when others, who are not in organized labor think they speak for us. Enough said about Mr. Esslinger.

As to Jef Hall’s endorsement… We did not hold a question and answer for County Board candidates. Jef requested our support, and answered the questions we provided. Sometimes, we endorse based on the candidates actions. Jef has been a supporter of union issues and union activities in the past and we felt his history spoke for itself. We made the same call when the Winnebago County Labor Council was among the first to back Peg Lautenschlager for AG. If there are other County Board candidates who would like the Labor Councils endorsement, they should follow the same process and we will consider their request. Our next meeting will be on March 28th.

Finally, several individuals have said that the Labor Council endorsements are worthless and just another rubber stamp. Hmmm…there sure is a lot of angst and hand-wringing out there over who we did endorse. I’ll leave it at that for tonight…..

Is WMC afraid of AFSCME????

2006-02-25T22:58:00.000-06:00

From the 2/24/06 AFSCME Political & Legislative Tidbits...BUS LOADS OF AFSCME GREEN MAKE IMPRESSION AT THE CAPITOL

Over 300 AFSCME members from all three Councils joined in solidarity this past Wednesday to send a clear message to the legislature. The messages were clear: TABOR is unacceptable; don’t erode our collective bargaining laws; and health care for all. An interesting side note is that the Wisconsin Association of Manufacturers and Commerce had scheduled their lobby day on the same day as ours. Apparently, upon hearing about ours, they decided to invite legislators to Monona Terrace, rather than compete with us in the Capitol for legislators’ attention. It was “big green” vs. “the suits”. We need to keep the pressure on. Keep contacting your legislators about ill-advised legislation, such as TABOR (now called the “Taxpayer Protection Act”). Thanks to all who gave their time and energy to come to Madison and participate in this outward sign of solidarity and strength.

Authority: Martin Beil, Executive Director, AFSCME Council 24

Winnebago County Labor Council endorsements for Spring 2006 elections

2006-02-24T10:08:00.000-06:00

LC1 here....

The Winnebago County Labor Council interviewed and voted to endorse candidates at the monthly meeting last night. Here's the press release:

Press Release
Winnebago County Labor Council AFL-CIO
Contact: Stephen Dedow
Email: winnebagolabor@hotmail.com

Winnebago County Labor Council Endorses Candidates for April Elections

The Winnebago County Labor Council, the local AFL-CIO chapter, held its annual candidate forum on Thursday, February 23rd for the purpose of endorsing individuals running for local offices.

The following candidates were endorsed by the WCLC:

City Council: Mark Madison
Oshkosh School Board: Dennis Kavanaugh, Lee Wilson and Amy Weinsheim.
Winnebago County Board District 17: Jef Hall

The forum questions included individual positions on the Tax Payers Bill of Rights (TABOR), tax incentive accountability and economic development, new ideas for attracting and maintaining good paying jobs, the right to organize, shared revenue reductions, privatization, gender equity, and prevailing wage laws.

Candidates in attendance included: Burk Tower, Amy Weinsheim, Wayne Traska, Kent Monte, Dennis Kavanaugh, Brian Poeschl, and Mark Madison. Michelle Monte and Jef Hall requested and submitted questionnaires for consideration, while Paul Esslinger and Dan Becker respectfully declined the invitation to attend.

Council President Stephen Dedow stated that all the candidates in attendance gave thoughtful, honest and considerate answers to our questions. I believe that the intentionally loose format of the forum created an atmosphere of openness which allowed all those who participated to exchange ideas freely. Most of the candidates had similar view points such as the nearly unanimous opposition to TABOR. The individuals we ended up endorsing simply were closer philosophically to our overall position as organized labor and as such would represent our concerns effectively.

The current endorsements follow earlier recommendations in support of Peg Lautenschlager for Attorney General and Karen Siefert for Judge in Branch 4.

AFL-CIO Blog

2006-02-21T12:27:00.000-06:00

Just received the email below, haven't taken a look at this yet....

Today, we are announcing the official launch of AFL-CIO Now, our new blog for America’s working families. Please take a few minutes to check out AFL-CIO Now:

http://www.aflcio.org/blog

On AFL-CIO Now, you’ll find the latest news about the issues that matter most to working families—health care, wages, job exporting and more. You’ll learn about efforts to protect our freedom to form unions and bargain. You’ll read about what workers, their unions and allies are doing to stop greedy corporations and anti-worker politicians from making life harder for working families, and how you can get involved.

Visit AFL-CIO Now today for this special preview of our new blog:

http://www.aflcio.org/blog

AFL-CIO Now is unique. It’s a news blog with attitude, pulling together information from every part of the country affecting every type of worker. We post breaking news and updates all day long, every day—so you’ll want to check back often. AFL-CIO Now is THE source for the news and information you need about the issues shaping your life on the job, in your community and in the national economy. And you can send us important stories that you think we should feature.

More on TABOR-LC2

2006-02-21T10:22:00.000-06:00

TABOR reared it’s ugly head again at the State Capitol earlier this month. This time, the Republicans want to fast track this amendment through the Legislature so there is little time for debate and education among the masses. It’s obvious this is their plan, since they held a so-called hearing on Feb. 15, by invitation only. There may be a public hearing on the issue down the road, according to one of the bills authors, but I’m sure the sponsors will try to keep it under covers as long as possible. Heaven forbid that people understand and have the opportunity to speak out on what they might have to vote for down the line. Not only do the Republicans want to rush it through, but, I’m assuming they’re campaign support from the evil empire of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) is riding on their performances in getting this passed.

The authors claim that this is different than the original TABOR, so the decision was made to rename it as the Taxpayer’s Protection Act. They also want to separate it from all the negative connections to Colorado’s flawed and dying TABOR (see my earlier posting on this). Taxpayer’s Protection (TP) is actually a great name, since this belongs in the toilet anyhow. The bottom line is, no matter what it is called, this is still the same design that will essentially shrink the size of government and slowly erode the services that the citizens of Wisconsin have grown to expect. But, what difference will that make, in 20 years, we’ll all be rolling in the dough because we won’t be paying those high taxes. Oh goody, goody. No one will be around to pick up the garbage, plow the streets or renew your drivers license, but we’ll all have lots of money.

A professor, Andrew Reschovsky, at the LaFollette School of Public Affairs at UW Madison did a quick study of how the amendment would have affected state revenues if it had been enacted 20 years ago. According to his work, state revenues in 2005 would have been $5.2 billion lower than they actually were. This is more than the state spent on the UW System and medical assistance combined in the current budget. So where would this money probably be cut from in the future? I can only guess things like K-12 education, the University and medical assistance, in addition to the above mentioned services.

Reschovsky’s study concluded, as presented in an editorial in the Marshfield New Herald, “Property taxes aren’t out of control, and neither is government spending in relation to personal income, state and local government taxes are lower today than they were 10 and even 20 years ago.”

According to an article in the Capital Times that discussed Reschovsky’s study, Senator Glen Grothman, one of the authors of the new TABOR amendment, doesn’t really have an idea how much savings the amendments limits would create. I guess he just knows that things would be better than what they are now. In fact, at this point, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau can’t even predict the affect of the amendment. So, we should just trust Grothman, WMC and company and vote for something that could send Wisconsin into the dumper (or toilet if you will).

An editorial in The Marshfield News Herald shares, “Because TPA would limit growth of government revenue to inflation, it would result in ever-shrinking government services. Why? Inflation measures increasing prices among all consumer goods and services—groceries, day care, refrigerators, clothes, you name it.”

“But government spends most of its money on goods and services such as health insurance and gasoline, with price increases that have far outpaced inflation. So TABOR would result in massive program cuts.”

“’(The) impact of the amendment would be to continuously reduce the level and quality of public services provided to the residents of Wisconsin,’ Reschovsky concluded.”

In addition to the economic piece of the Taxpayers Protection Act, the amendmenet also includes a change in the State Constitution to only require one vote in the legislature before a Constitutional Amendment is voted on by the voters. Fortunately, that won’t be in place for the vote on the TABOR/TP. This proposed change would make it easier to put what should be legislation into the Constitution, handily sidestepping the Governor’s veto ability. So, if you can’t get an override on Concealed Carry, what the heck, just put it in the State Constitution.

On the local scene, Senator Carol Roessler is one of the major fencesitters on the TABOR amendment. To date, she has not committed one way or another on which way she leans on this issue. You can bet Sen. Roessler will be getting a lot of pressure from constituents to vote against this flawed plan.

Stay tuned…..the fun is just beginning.

A backward look at TABOR

2006-02-17T15:24:00.000-06:00

In 2004, I wrote this about TABOR in Colorado and shared it with the members of my local. A shorter version was later published in our unions state newspaper. After reading it over today, I thought it was just as appropriate to share today as it was back then. Fortunately for Colorado, they voted this fall to suspend some of the TABOR restrictions, because of the serious effects it has had on the status of many services in the state.

In this piece, I refer to friends in Colorado. A year or so, I was talking politics to one of them, and he said, no matter what, don't let TABOR pass in Wisconsin, it's the worse thing that can happen to a state. Taking that to heart, I'm trying to make folks aware of this bad legislation. We need to have as many people as possible speaking out against TABOR, Taxpayers Protection or whatever name they want to call it. I have much more to say about TABOR, but for now, here is my summary of TABOR in Colorado in 2004

...LC2

The State of Colorado passed a Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) in 1992 at the start of the “economic boom”. Until the recession started, TABOR didn’t have a lot of effect on the state, but, since the economic downturn that has changed. Colorado’s TABOR amendment causes the state to struggle to pay for basic services while the government is forced to return “surplus” tax money to residents. As a result of the cuts in services Colorado has sunk to 48th in high school graduation rates and 49th in job growth. According to an editorial in the Denver Post, the “state university system is nearing economic collapse”. At this point in time, the Colorado legislature is looking for ways to work around the constitutional amendment to resolve their economic crisis.

The Wisconsin Legislature is embarking on a “son of TABOR” journey. For the Republican majority in the Legislature, the hope is that the concept of surplus money being returned to the tax payers will be enough to allow this constitutional amendment to be approved by the citizens of Wisconsin. First, the bill must be passed by the Legislature during two sessions. Now is the time to stop the legislation, before taxpayers are lulled into a sense of false economy.

Several weeks ago, I contacted two friends who live in Colorado. One works in the library at one of the state universities, the other works for a state agency. I asked them how TABOR has affected their work and lives. Here are some of their comments:

“Our library lost around 12 positions last year due to the combined bad effects of TABOR, and two other Colorado amendments….We are cutting all the time. We are meeting this week to discuss programs that can be cut further”

“The benefits afforded classified staff in the state have not kept up with the industry. We pay more for health care now than ever before…I pay $550 per month [for my spouse and I]. Not too long ago, I carried both of us for less than $250. The state says that is because the average age of a state classified worker is 45. Well, the younger folks don’t want to work for the state because the pay and benefits are pitifully low”

The Denver Post editorial indicated TABOR “will affect everything from roads and highway maintenance, to government programs and services and the criminal justice system. In other words, bigger potholes, fewer hours at the local Department of Motor Vehicles office, and fewer criminals getting caught. If the ratcheting-down effect of TABOR continues to drain the amount of money left in the state coffers each year, it could ultimately lead to such drastic measures as letting inmates go free.” These sentiments were reflected in the comments made by my friend, talking about staff reductions in state agencies and departments across the board, including Higher Education and the Dept. of Corrections where they have cut back on probation programs. They go on to say that everyone working in state government is doing as best they can with the limited resources, but the resources only stretch so far and work gets backlogged or not done at all.

Having watched our Legislature deal with the budget over the past two years, these stories from Colorado sound all too familiar. Unfortunately, passing a TABOR amendment in Wisconsin would make our recent experiences the norm rather than the exception for dealing with reduced budgets. What we have experienced and seen would only be the beginning of the downgrade of the quality of life and services in Wisconsin.

Here are some sobering statistics to consider….

Wisconsin ranks 33rd in the nation in proportion of adults with a high school education.

Wisconsin ranks 30th in the country in wages

Wisconsin lost 82,000 manufacturing jobs over the last three years. Overall there has been growth in the number of jobs, mostly in the service industries, which in general pay less then the lost jobs in manufacturing.

Where will a Wisconsin TABOR amendment take us to on this road to mediocrity?

Although 41% of Wisconsin high school graduates go on to a four year college, many of those graduates leave the state after graduating. If TABOR is implemented in Wisconsin, how will the University of Wisconsin System look in 10 years? How many of those high school graduates will even want to attend? Will we lose them before they even start college?

Considering 31% of Wisconsin’s population are “baby boomers” and have already started retiring, what will our jobs look like in 10 years? Look at your coworkers, who will be left 10 years from now, and how will those retiring be replaced?

We have the opportunity to make sure that down the road Wisconsin is not facing the same hurdles that Colorado is up against. We need to let our legislators know that this is not the solution for Wisconsin or any other state. Please contact your legislators today and tell them what a bad idea this is, not just as a state employee, but a citizen of the state.

The Denver Post editorial warns, “If the rest of the nation will be watching Colorado, the least we could do is give them a warning: Do not implement a budget-hampering plan like TABOR”.

What's happening???

2006-02-15T14:42:00.000-06:00

LC2 here...

I hope that we can give Oshkosh labor a voice in the blogosphere. Sometimes we've read or heard folks who think that they're speaking for us, but, really don't, so we hope we fill that void. I thought it would be appropriate to let you know what's going on right now. A fairly uncontroversial first post, I might add....

If you're not out this weekend enjoying all the new fallen snow that we're going to get tomorrow, you might run into the brand new season of "Wisconsin Labor Today" as you're channel surfing with your remote. This is the third season for the cable access program produced by the Winnebago County Labor Council (aka WCLC ) and hosted by our very own President Steve Dedow. This year we have a brand new set and some great guests. The new season should have started this week. Among the topics this season is an update on TABOR, renamed the Taxpayers Protection Plan (aka TP---appropriate). That program includes a video on the TABOR experience in Colorado and commentary by AFL-CIO VP Sara Rogers. Other guests will include representatives from the Wisconsin State Employees Union and IWW. Should be an interesting season. The series is on Oshkosh Cable Channel 2:

Monday-8pm
Tuesday-3:30pm
Friday-8pm
Saturday-9:30pm
Sunday-5:30pm

Also, speaking of the WCLC, our February meeting will consist of our candidate interviews for local offices that will be elected on April 4th. We will probably be the first to talk to the candidates following the primary on Feb. 21st, so it will be an interesting evening. This event is not public, but we will share our endorsements shortly after the meeting. So, stay tuned!

That's all for now.....let it snow!

Good morning Oshkosh!

2006-02-15T11:34:00.000-06:00

Good morning Oshkosh! Labor Chicks is on the air!

We created this blog because we felt there is a dearth of information and discussion out there in blog-land on union issues. There is a lot about politics, which we also would like to make comments on in our blog, but alas, unions get ignored a lot. So, here we are.

The reason we included politics in our blog is that, at least in our union, politics and our union(and our jobs) are intricately intertwined and often cannot be separated one from the other.

We hope you enjoy what we write. Oh, and because we like to have the bully pulpit, we are not allowing comments on our posts. If you have a comment, email us. Maybe we'll get back to you, maybe we won't. Depends on our mood at the moment. Remember, we ARE girls!