Republican governors take aim at teachers unions, other public employee unions
Raymond
employee unions
Unions face new political climate...
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie blasts teachers' unions ... Sorry
kids.
How is that good ole GOP FASCISM working for ya
Wisconsin? ...Wisconsin governor to call out national guard to bust
public worker unions.....Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Friday,
February 11, 2011, that he was willing to mobilize the state's
National Guard force in order to address the potential repercussions
of his stated proposal to eliminate collective bargaining rights for
state employees.
Ohio's John Kasich on public unions: “I want to break the back of
teachers unions ... I'm all for breaking the unions ...." Labor groups
in Ohio are already preparing for an epic battle with Ohio's China
lobbyist, John Kasich.
Once the Republicans break the unions, you can kiss the middle class
goodby.
Published: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 7:27 PM Updated: Thursday,
November 18, 2010, 7:39 PM
By The Los Angeles Times
TONY PERRY, Los Angeles Times
SAN DIEGO -- The main opponent mentioned at the Republican Governors
Association conference here -- described in terms ranging from
misguided to downright evil -- is the other party, the Democrats.
But running a close second are the public employee unions,
particularly the teachers unions.
"Frankly," said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, "the public employee
unions would stick a shiv in all of us if they could."
The biggest laugh of the morning session came when New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie made a joke out of a union's opposition to his proposal
to require teachers to pay a portion of their health insurance costs.
"You laugh," Christie said, "that's the crap I have to listen to in
New Jersey."
And among the lines most quoted and paraphrased among the governors
was comment in September from Gov.-elect Scott Walker of Wisconsin
regarding the need to trim the salaries and benefits of public
employees: "We cannot and should not maintain a system where public
employees are the "haves" and the taxpayers footing the bill are the
"have-nots."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, on a panel discussion titled
"Saving America," included among his ideas setting salaries and
benefits of state employees "within the framework of the taxpayers'
capabilities."
Gingrich also included paying more for good teachers and firing "bad
teachers before they can cripple the future of the children they
serve."
More about education
More about teachers
More about labor
More about Republicans
More about politics
Ohio political news: Cleveland.com/open
More national news: Cleveland.com/nation
Pawlenty, a likely presidential hopeful, warned the newly elected to
expect significant pushback from teachers' unions when the issue turns
to trimming benefits or connecting teacher pay and student
performance.
Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval of Nevada said one of his first efforts will
be to reform the teacher tenure system. "I think that's an issue that
has to be taken head on," he said.
Unless employee compensation is trimmed, the deficits looming in most
states will remain, several governors insisted. "If you don't take on
and solve that problem, you'll never solve your budget problem,"
Christie said.
Public employees are "over-benefited and overpaid," Pawlenty said.
Come January, Republicans will have at least 29 of the nation's
governorships, one more if the GOP candidate in Minnesota emerges as
the top vote-getter after a recount.
On Thursday, the second and last day of the governors' meeting, the
association announced that its new chairman will be Texas Gov. Rick
Perry, who has had a series of confrontations with the Texas State
Teachers Association. In one, the union blasted him for "playing
political games with Texas teachers and school kids."
To newbies who might be afraid of the political muscle of the
teachers' union and other public employee unions, Pawlenty had
encouragement.
"The public is on our side in this issue," he said.
One Republican governor who might have provided some strategy ideas
from his own run-ins with public employee unions opted not to attend
the conference: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Indeed, Schwarzenegger's no-show status and the failure of Republican
candidate Meg Whitman in the California governor's race is a bit of an
embarrassment here. The colorful banner in the main ballroom at the
Hilton San Diego Bayfront that highlights the names of states that
will have Republican governors come January does not include
California.
http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2010/11/republican_governors_take_aim.html
------
(c) 2010, Los Angeles Times.
Raymond
> ------
> (c) 2010, Los Angeles Times.
PAGE II "It's like Cairo moved to Madison."
Right now, over 30,000 people are rallying at the state capital in
Wisconsin for the second day in a row in solidarity with union workers
and the good-paying middle class jobs they protect.
JOIN A VIRTUAL MARCH IN SOLIDARITY RIGHT NOW
They're standing up because Wisconsin's Republican Governor Scott
Walker is on the attack. His proposed state budget attempts to
strangle workers' rights by eliminating the right for cops,
firefighters, teachers, or any other government employee to let their
union negotiate their pay and benefits through collective bargaining.
To make it clear he's serious, Gov. Walker has even threatened to call
out the National Guard on protesting marchers in an attempt to squash
debate and demonize the hard-working Americans standing united in
front of the state capital right now. This is only the beginning of
the Republican attack on unions and middle class families. Similar
attacks on unions are expected by Republican Governors in Ohio and New
Jersey very soon with other states to follow.
It's time for us to stand up -- all of us -- across America -- in
solidarity with union workers and the good-paying middle class jobs
they protect. Today we start a virtual march nationwide and will
deliver the signatures to Democratic leaders in the target states. And
when you sign up right now, we'll send you a "Unions = Jobs" bumper
sticker to put on your car, computer, or wherever you can to spread
the message that we all stand together.
Republicans are starting to get scared by the reaction. Even
Republican Paul Ryan from WI compared Gov. Walker to deposed Egyptian
President Mubarak, when in an interview with Joe Scarborough on
"Morning Joe" this morning he said:
"It's like Cairo moved to Madison."
They never expected American workers would stand united to defeat
them, now they're seeing it happen. If we keep the pressure up and
keep growing the number of Americans standing together, we can win
this and protect vital middle class jobs.
STAND TOGETHER AND JOIN THE VIRTUAL MARCH NOW
This isn't just about unions. This is about good-paying middle class
jobs and the America we want to live in.
Thank you for everything you do.
-Charles
Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Democracy for America