Liberal police union regrets endorsing Scott Mubarak Walker for Dictator of Wisconsin; compares him to slave owners
Phlip
orders to blow away teachers for Scott.
Tip to Scott: Mubarak had 30 years. You had 6 weeks. Next time, a
little _incubation_ period might be in order, hmm?
In Solidarity
Tracy Fuller, Executive Board President
I am going to make an effort to speak for myself, and every member of
the Wisconsin State Patrol when I say this.
I VALUE THE CAPITOL POLICE, AND THE U. W. POLICE. I VALUE ALL OF THE
POLICE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICERS OF ALL OF THE AGENCIES IN OUR UNION,
AND THE STATE TROOPERS, AND THE INSPECTORS OF THE STATE PATROL. I
VALUE “ALL” OF THE SUPPORT STAFF OF ALL OF THE AGENCIES AROUND THE
STATE. I DON’T KNOW HOW ANY OF US COULD FUNCTION WITHOUT ANY OF US
AROUND THE STATE WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER.
I VALUE THE BUREAU OF FIELD SERVICES, FIELD AGENTS OF LOCAL THREE, NO
LESS THAN ANY OF THE OTHER MEMBERS IN THE UNION. I AM HERE FOR EVERY
MEMBER OF THIS UNION AND ALWAYS THOUGHT I HAD BEEN UNTIL THIS WEEK.
I SPECIFICALLY REGRET THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE WISCONSIN TROOPER’S
ASSOCIATION FOR GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER. I REGRET THE GOVERNOR’S
DECISION TO “ENDORSE” THE TROOPERS AND INSPECTORS OF THE WISCONSIN
STATE PATROL. I REGRET BEING THE RECIPIENT OF ANY OF THE PERCIEVED
BENEFITS PROVIDED BY THE GOVERNOR’S ANNOINTING.
I THINK EVERYONE’S JOB AND CAREER IS JUST AS SIGNIFICANT AS THE
OTHERS. EVERYONES FAMILY IS JUST AS VALUABLE AS MINE OR ANY OTHER
PERSONS, ESPECIALLY MINE. EVERYONES NEEDS ARE JUST AS VALUABLE. WE ARE
ALL GREAT PEOPLE!!
Tracy Fuller, Executive Board President
The last 5 days have been as hellish as anything I have ever
witnessed. Nothing reveals the real personality like stress. “I think”
I understand the basis of the upset that is driving all of the emotion
around the union. But really!!! Does everyone really have the level of
hate, contempt, and disrespect that I am receiving? Why isn’t everyone
focusing on the real perpetrator of all of the problems? Why aren’t we
“all” directing our energy towards what the real problem is?
I assure all of you the real problem isn’t any of us!! Like barbarians
at the gate the Governor has swept in with his entourage and turned us
all against each other. We are at each other’s throats like something
out of a science horror thriller.
People that weeks ago were expressing profound appreciation and
gratitude for the work we all do are now accusing each other of being
liars, and wishing death on each other. If a subject gets mentioned
relating to the group all of the individuals in the group are
resentful that they weren’t singled out and mentioned individually.
The fact is we are still part of the group, and we will all suffer.
During slavery, house slaves were hated by field slaves for living in
the big house, they were all still slaves. The field slaves always
envious of what they perceived as the obvious comfort of the house
slaves, never once considered the danger the house slaves were in
living so close to the master. More than one field slave was
astonished when the house slave was whipped, or hung just like the
common field slave was because after all they were just slaves.
A few days ago I had some conversations with some members on the board
of the Troopers Association, trying to position themselves for the
perceived firestorm from the rest of the union membership. I promised
that I wouldn’t just sit by and watch them be whipped by the rest of
the membership; after all they are my friends and coworkers. I can’t
hate them or any of the rest of the membership for the things they
have said and done especially in the past few days.
I don’t believe that the Troopers Association could have
possibly predicted, or comprehended the events that are unfolding in
front of us at this time. I can agree that it was a tragic mistake for
the Trooper’s Association to endorse the Governor, I can’t do anything
about it, and they are reaping the benefits of their actions. I do
believe they thought any benefits gained would be for all of the
members of WLEA, after all, the PCO’s, Field Agents, Capitol Police,
and U.W. Police are all in the same union.
Who could have possibly thought that the Governor could
pluck one local’s members from a union and identify it as being worthy
of bargaining for a contract? Some of the comments and attitudes that
have been made and displayed would have you believe that the Governor
consulted with the board of the Trooper’s Association about what his
plans were in all of this.
There isn’t anything anywhere to support that thinking.
Even if the State Patrol Inspectors, and Troopers are recognized as
being worthy of negotiation of contracts, they still don’t have a
contract either. Somehow I have been identified as someone that has
sold out the members of Local 3, and Local 2. I don’t know how or why
that is. What possible effort have I made to sell out any local? I
have sacrificed numerous personal hours to help support members of
every Local in this union whenever, wherever I have been asked too. No
doubt statements about the Trooper’s Association will cause anger from
some Local 1 members.
Everyone is in the same boat, just like the slaves. Perceived benefits
are not benefits they are just perceptions. Slave owners loved the
contention between the field slaves and the house slaves because they
never had to worry about the two groups consorting with each other.
House slaves would kill field slaves for talking about escaping the
plantation.
Are we like the slaves, in that we can’t really see that we are all
the same in Governor’s eyes, and he only sees us as things that
fulfill his purpose of turning the state employees into workers on the
big plantation, with no rules other than those conjured up by the
overseers as the event occurs?
Do we really see one as being better than the other because of what we
think the perception of the Governor is regarding any of us? This is a
ridiculous mindset we are in the process of developing as we enter
into this holocaustic era. Many of us are committing career suicide at
the prospect of losing what we all have worked for; in the end we will
have helped the Governor get rid of Currently Employed Unionized State
Workers, which is his ultimate goal. Acting the way we are helps
destroy our Union, which is his ultimate goal. Acting the way we are
right now helps him kill us all, without doing much of anything other
than talk about it. Everyone is threatened.
I did an interview on Monday with a reporter from the Capitol Times,
out of urging from some our members hysterical about all of the budget
proposal uproar. During the interview I went into detail about every
local regarding the affect of the budget proposal would have. I
mentioned every job group by position. I talked about the endorsement
of the Trooper’s Association. I talked about what it meant to me, and
our union as a whole. There are blogs on the Cap. Times website
attached to that same article just as hostile and hateful towards the
Troopers and Inspectors, as our own members have been to each other.
That interview is regrettable in many ways, what thankless effort.
I talked to a television reporter on Tuesday Feb. 15th who insisted
that the Trooper’s Association is our Union, and they represent
everyone, thus giving the Troopers and Inspectors the opportunity to
gain favoritism from the Governor. This reporter insisted there were
no other members in the Trooper’s Association’s Union other than
Troopers and Inspectors. His statement was made based on press
releases from the Trooper’s Association. There was no way he could be
told any different.
It is killing me to see us backbiting, and eating at one another like
starved animals. The information on the website as informative as it
may be isn’t emotional enough for some. For me the better educated I
can be, the better I know how to handle my problem. Foolishly I guess,
I thought it would be the same for everyone else. Foolishly I read the
budget proposal over the weekend thinking I should understand what was
in it since I would be fighting it. Foolishly I thought the rest of
the board members and local leaders would want to do the same to be
able to develop some strategy to combat this attack we are facing.
It’s a crazy environment we are in today. Many of our own members
voted for the Governor. Now they find themselves threatened by him.
The Governor has been swept into office ridding a tide of hysteria not
much different than the one we are displaying right now. We can’t
function on just emotion and hysteria, with an expectation of having
any success in all of this. Sound reason has to enter into our picture
at some point or we are all dead that’s all there is to it. On Tuesday
I represented a member of Local 1 facing “termination”. On Thursday I
will attend a Labor / Management meeting for Local 3, of which my
“commitment is paper thin”.
To – WLEA Members
From – WLEA Executive Board (Message 2)
The Governor’s proposal for modifying (or complete dismantling,
depending on your viewpoint) the collective bargaining language for
government employees contains more provisions that are intended to
cost employees more in the long run.
When he was Candidate Walker, he never talked publicly about union
dismantling during the campaign. As Governor Elect Walker, he brought
the subject up publicly during a luncheon at the Milwaukee Press Club
on December 7, 2010. It was reported in many papers across the state.
His anti-union stance wasn’t a surprise, but the introduction of this
radical change caught many people off guard, including people who
actually voted for him during the election.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/111463779.html
Chapter 111.80 through 111.94 is known as SELRA, the State Employee
Labor Relations Act. The opening statement gives the intent of the
section.
111.80 Declaration of policy. The public policy of the state as to
labor relations and collective bargaining in state employment, in the
furtherance of which this subchapter is enacted, is as follows:
(1) It recognizes that there are 3 major interests involved: that of
the public, that of the employee and that of the employer. These 3
interests are to a considerable extent interrelated. It is the policy
of this state to protect and promote each of these interests with due
regard to the situation and to the rights of the others.
(2) Orderly and constructive employment relations for employees and
the efficient administration of state government are promotive of all
these interests. They are largely dependent upon the maintenance of
fair, friendly and mutually satisfactory employee management relations
in state employment, and the availability of suitable machinery for
fair and peaceful adjustment of whatever controversies may arise. It
is recognized that whatever may be the rights of disputants with
respect to each other in any controversy regarding state employment
relations, neither party has any right to engage in acts or practices
which jeopardize the public safety and interest and interfere with the
effective conduct of public business.
(3) Where permitted under this subchapter, negotiations of terms and
conditions of state employment should result from voluntary agreement
between the state and its agents as employer, and its employees. For
that purpose an employee may, if the employee desires, associate with
others in organizing and in bargaining collectively through
representatives of the employee’s own choosing without intimidations
or coercion from any source.
(4) It is the policy of this state, in order to preserve and promote
the interests of the public, the employee and the employer alike, to
encourage the practices and procedures of collective bargaining in
state employment subject to the requirements of the public service and
related laws, rules and policies governing state employment, by
establishing standards of fair conduct in state employment relations
and by providing a convenient, expeditious and impartial tribunal in
which these interests may have their respective rights determined.
History: 1971 c. 270; 1977 c. 196; 1993 a. 492; 1995 a. 27.
The Budget Repair Bill, in Section 239, would repeal this entire
section. There is no replacement. It is apparently no longer
necessary. After 40 years, it has outlived its usefulness.
The Budget Repair Bill requires the employee to pay half of the
contribution to the pension fund, whether that is ETF, a county fund
or even a private fund, and contains law changes that make it illegal
for any employer, state or municipal, to pay the employee’s share of
the pension contribution. The provision would nullify any contractual
provision to the contrary.
There are non-statutory provisions included in the bill as well.
Section 9115 of the bill provides changes to Employee Trust Funds.
Section 1 applies to health care coverage. If the bill would pass, the
premium would increase to $84 per month for an individual, and $208
per month for family coverage in Tier 1. Tier 2 would be $122 and
$307, and Tier 3 would be $226 and $567.
These changes would apply to all state employees. There are no
exceptions.
Section 9115, Part 3 would establish a committee to study the creation
a defined contribution plan as an option for participating employees.
Currently, we have a defined benefit plan. The difference is that a
defined benefit play pays based on years of service. A defined
contribution plan only has a cash value. This has been something that
conservatives have advocated for years, and it looks like the door may
be opening.
The study under Section 9115, Part 3 also would examine modifying the
supplemental health insurance premium credit program under subchapter
IX of Chapter 40 of the statutes. To put that in plain English, that
is the sick leave conversion program.
Section 9115, Part 6 directs the group insurance board to design
health care coverage plans for the 2012 calendar year. The board is
directed to reduce the average premium costs by at least 5 percent
from the cost of such plans offered during the 2011 calendar year.
The question that now rises is how do you design plans that reduce
premiums? Just like your auto, you increase deductibles. The easiest
way for the board is to increase the employee’s share. Put a minimum
$1,000 annual employee deductible, where the first $1,000 comes out of
your pocket before insurance pays anything. Create a $25 co-pay on
each office visit. Increase prescription costs. These are all ways to
lower insurance premiums. Whether one or all of these may be included
is not known, but you can bet that it will be some variation of these
to cut costs.
Currently, the full health insurance premium for family coverage is
just under $2,000 per month. The proposed bill prohibits the employer
from paying more than 88% of the premium of a health insurance plan.
That provision applies for both state and municipal employers.
If the state cuts 5% off the cost of the premium, do you really think
that your premium will decrease? The statute limits it to no more than
88%, but they could certainly pay less. These provisions will have
long reaching impact, and there is no upside. At least in private
industry, when times are good, they get bonuses. Government employees
never seem to get the upside during the good times.
Contact your state legislators ASAP to ask them to oppose the Budget
Repair Bill.
To – WLEA Members
From – WLEA Executive Board (Message 1)
On Friday, February 11, Governor Walker announced his plan to
radically reshape Wisconsin’s public employee laws. The proposed bill,
which the Governor refers to as a Budget Repair bill, goes far beyond
that. One could argue that the doctor diagnosed a sprained knee, and
the Governor’s solution is to amputate both legs. After all, if you
get chop the knees off, you won’t have to worry about spraining them
again. Of course, the treatment seems a little radical as a solution.
Statutes describe what is supposed to happen when a state employee
union contract isn’t approved. 111.91(1) … If the legislature does not
adopt without change that portion of the tentative agreement
introduced by the joint committee on employment relations, the
tentative agreement shall be returned to the parties for
renegotiation.
Governor Elect Walker got his way in December when the legislature
failed to approve the tentative agreements. The proper procedure would
have been to reopen negotiations. However, no negotiations happened
with any unions. Governor Walker was quoted in the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel after the budget repair bill was introduced by saying, "I
don't have anything to negotiate," Walker said. "We are broke in this
state. We have been broke for years. People have ignored that for
years, and it's about time somebody stood up and told the truth. The
truth is: We don't have money to offer. We don't have finances to
offer. This is what we have to offer."http://www.jsonline.com/news/
statepolitics/115911379.html
As employees, we all know that there is more to negotiations than just
economics. Under current law, wages, hours of work and other
conditions of employment are subjects of negotiation. The Budget
Repair Bill won’t just require state employees to pay more for
insurance. It would abolish all bargaining other than wages, and those
wages would be capped at the consumer price index.
The new administration never attempted to start discussions with the
WLEA Bargaining Team or any other bargaining unit. They just dropped
the bomb on all of the public employee unions.
This bill carves out an exemption for “public safety workers”, but if
we are honest, those exemptions will be limited. Once the draconian
changes are implemented on the rest of the public employees, it’s only
a matter of time until they catch the public safety workers too.
This bill has some provisions that make no sense, unless the basic
intent is to bust unions. One provision makes it illegal for public
employers to collect dues for labor organizations. The employer can
take deductions for the United Way, or other organizations, but they
are prohibited from collecting union dues.
How does that repair the budget?
Another provision requires the WERC to conduct a representation
election by December 1st each year, to determine if the employees
still want the union to represent them. The WERC has to bill the union
for the cost of the election. Currently, if a group petitions the WERC
to do an election, the WERC covers the cost. Right now, the members
have the right to request an election if the majority of the members
want to change or eliminate representation. Why create unnecessarily
processes?
Does that help repair the budget?
In partisan elections, a good estimate is that approximately 35% of
the voters will vote for democrats, and 35% will vote for republicans.
The remaining 30%, the independents, sway the elections. This election
just got done, but public employees are already looking ahead. In
2012, the even numbered Senate seats will be up for election, along
with all the representatives. In 2010, the independent voters, many of
whom are government employees, voted overwhelmingly for Republicans.
Republican Senators Robert Cowles (R-2), Alberta Darling (R-8), Sheila
Harsdorf (R-10), Luther Olsen (R-14),Randy Hopper (R-18), Glenn
Grothman (R-20), Mary Lazich (R-28), and Dan Kapanke (R-32) are all
Republicans who are up for re-election next fall. In addition, Senate
Republican Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald(R-13), Senators Dale
Schultz (R-17), Mike Ellis (R-19) and Van Wanggaard (R-21) are all
elected by districts that have a high concentration of public
employees. Public employees also have families who vote, so that is a
substantial bloc of voters.
The Senate is currently 19-14 Republican. Three senators need to
support changes to the Governor’s recommended proposal to eliminate
some of the worst provisions of this bill.
In the meantime, you should be writing to your legislators, both
Democrats and Republicans, to let them know that you are opposed to
this bill. Their email addresses are their
sen.la...@legis.wisconsin.gov. You may also send to their staff
members.
Senate Directory - http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/contact/EmailDirectory.aspx?house=senate
orhttp://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/sosd.pdf
While you are writing, don’t forget your representatives. Their
addresses can be found athttp://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/contact/EmailDirectory.aspx?house=assembly
orhttp://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/aod.pdf
If you don’t know who represents you yet, you’d better get busy. You
can find out who your legislators are by entering your address at
http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx
The legislature’s calendar is to vote on this proposal this week, with
a target of having it to the Governor by Friday, so you don’t have any
time to waste. Get writing now like your job depends on it, because
it does!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WLEA Phone Number
In an effort to improve communication, the Wisconsin Law Enforcement
Association has established a new toll-free telephone number to help
the membership and the general public contact union officials more
easily. This new number is 1-888-953-2674 (1-888-WLEA-ORG). You will
be given a menu of options including a name directory and options to
contact your local presidents. Local officers and stewards will be
added in the coming weeks. Thank you for your patience in this project
and please feel free to contact me with suggestions for improvement at
rzuk...@wlea.org.