Mr. Potato Head Joe Scarborough: Wisconsin Public Unions Are " GREEDY ", Free Riders.

Run time: 01:18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtRNCoS6E-4   Posted on YouTube: February 18, 2011 By YouTube Member: thinkprogress5 Views on YouTube: 2   Posted on DU: February 18, 2011 By DU Member: Segami Views on DU: 2290

 
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This morning, in apparent opposition of the protests, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said that the unions “free-ride” and are “greedy“:


SCARBOROUGH: Are you kidding me? They are shutting down the state. You see these young students, mike, instead of trying to end a war, they are trying to make sure state employees don’t have to pay off 3 percent of their salary to our — or 4 percent of their salary for health care benefits. They are trying to make sure that these people do not have to pay what every other American who works outside of government has to pay. Are you serious?


You’re going to shut down schools because you have a union that is so greedy that they want their people to be held to different standard than working class americans who sometimes pay 15 percent of their salaries to benefits? <...> hey, we are not going to let you get a free ride on benefits.


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having the public employees pay *anything* for their health benefits? Or did I get that wrong?

Walker is requesting 30% but that is beside the point. He's taking away any bargaining rights. Also, consider that in Dec. there was an agreement to settle for about what Walker is asking for. Walker made the demand that it not be agreed to or passed in the Lame Duck, that he would sit down with the unions and bargain. Then after he took office he said there would be no bargaining, they would accept whatever he decided and that was that...


Oh yeah and on edit: The state ended the year with a SURPLUS not a deficet.

by the union employee? And as to collective bargaining rights, I wouldn't give those up either.

would amount to a 30% loss per employee.

health care premiums to be reasonable. What Walker wants goes *well* beyond that. Even if the state is running a surplus, I don't think trimming budgets is always a bad idea. And having employees pay for a portion of their health care is not asking too much. But with that said, we have our share of problems with our own Governor in Florida. Don't get me started.

your Scott or our Scott.

and the striping of workers rights.

And I still think he killed that woman in his office and that is a scumy thing to do
So why listen to anything that comes out of his mouth??

I bet it's more than the "workers" make and I bet HIS health insurance is paid for.

a negotiated benefit being "greedy" or seeking a "free ride"?!

Blatant union busting in an effort to lower the living standards of all Americans to
facilitate the US labor force becoming wage competitive with child workers in China.

It is the unions obligation to get the best contract they possibly can for their members. It is the managements job to get the best dead for the government, company, or who ever they represent. If you negotiate a poor contract you have to live with it until it runs out or both parties agree to reopen the contract.

If your union or management representatives don't get you a fair deal then you need to get better negotiators the next time. But you have to live with it until that time. To void a contract is illegal and makes you look like you are taking your ball home because you are losing. Breaking a contract can set a very poor precedent for many reasons, many having nothing to do with labor disputes.

First, Joey, the union didn't shut down the schools. The teachers pretty much had a "sick-out" to demonstrate at the Capitol. There's a huge difference between a Union-organized activity and members showing solidarity by doing an action. Second, collective bargaining for better wages, benefits and representation has been a right of publicly-employed Americans since 1962 and JFK. I think its pretty funny that you're not all outraged that Gov. Walker has allowed the police, fire and state troopers to maintain their "free ride".

A true RAT!

Okay bastard. It is fucking on.

he took while he was a congressman. In short, our taxes supported his whiney teabagging ass!.

get him the hell off the air

Here you have a group of people that work from 6am-9am and take a 15 min break at 8am, and make millions of dollars for their time. Yet they have the nerve to complain about the "perks" that people making $51,000 a year get.

We'd like to take you on a tour.

Wall Street
Bankers
Insurance Companies
Those in top 2% income bracket

And their paid lackies in our legislature.

edited to add rich people

Joe Scarborough and Ed Shultz. Ed needs to educate him on what its really about.

most private sector workers with unions had defined pension plans to which they did not make direct contributions. Now most of them who still have unions or pensions are vested in 401 schemes and thus tied to the fortunes of Wall Street. Many of them lost their asses during the last and biggest cyclic crash in living memory. Rather than resenting public employees who have defined benefit pensions and other benefits you'd think private sector workers would wonder why they don't. In order not to wonder, one must accept the corporate propaganda that says employees are dependent upon and inferior to their employers, and as such deserve nothing the employer is unwilling to freely give.

The RW agenda is back to sweatshops and poorhouses, debtors prisons, the wealthy high-and-mighty corporate kings and the down-trod poor. Unions pulled us all up in wages the past 50 years until Reagan, the Wrecker. Scarborough, always a moron, can't imagine a world where we bring people UP to what he 'thinks' is Union privileged benefits instead of bringing these underpaid public servants DOWN to poverty level. Disgraceful. I've written to Starbucks, who sponsor. Hope you do too.