Democratic governors turn on unions

May 18, 2011
Democratic governors turn on unions

Op Ed News - Here is the short list of states that have Democratic governors where labor unions are undergoing severe attacks: Massachusetts , Connecticut, Oregon, California, New York, Illinois, Washington, Hawaii, Minnesota, Maryland and New Hampshire. Other states with Democratic governors are attacking unions to a lesser degree.

For example, the anti-union Democratic governor of Connecticut is demanding $1.6 billion in cuts from state workers! The contract has not been ratified yet, but Governor Malloy referred to the agreement as: "historic because of the way we achieved it - we respected the collective bargaining process and we respected each other, negotiating in good faith, without fireworks and without anger."

The anti-union Democratic governor of the state of Washington uses similar language: "They contributed with a salary cut; they contributed by paying more in health care. They have stepped up and said we want to be a part of the solution. I did it by going to the table, respecting their collective bargaining rights and we got the job done."

The anti-union Democratic governor of Oregon is demanding 20 to 25 percent pay cut for state workers: "But those concessions will be made across a bargaining table through our collective bargaining process and with mutual respect."

http://prorevnews.blogspot.com/2011/05/democratic-governors-turn-on-unions.html

It's not only Republican politicians who are turning on working people and their labor unions. BBI

:shrug:

Abandoning the protection of the people was one of the complaints cited on the Declaration of Independence...

I'm sure the British Parliment of 1776 would be sympathetic to them...the old squeezeroo between budget balancing and making places business friendly leaves such little room for anything but 'practical decisions.'

I realize that article may or may not be sarcastic in referring to them as anti-union, but in at least Massachusetts and New York Democratic politicians are not behaving well towards the unions and their workers

When I was laid off for the better part of the 1980's those neighbors of mine buying imported and non-union made cars weren't all Republican politicians.

Don

OK?

I am not letting them off the hook either. Don't blame me for having a good memory.

OK?

Don

And how did your union neighbors help your employer destroy your union?

And please, don't tell me they bought a "foreign" made car.

There aren't any American built cars. All so-called "American made" cars include parts made in other nations or are even assembled in other nations for importation into the United States.

And many of those so-called "foreign" cars include parts made in the United States and are assembled in the United States.

If you have a car, do you know which parts were made in the United States?

This is global capitalism that we have to fight.

And you can't fight it by going to bat for and making excuses for American corporations.

Our In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program is built around county public authorities, which serve as the bargaining unit for the unionized caregivers. Gov. Brown (D)'s latest budget proposal defunds the public authorities. Estimates are that 14 of the 50 or so authorities (some smaller counties have joint ones) would have to close. No bargaining unit, no union contract. It's like bankruptcy without dinging your credit! :sarcasm:

And start seeing them as conservatives and everyone else.

Conservatives have infiltrated our party, and they're hiding behind the past history of being for the poor and working classes our party once represented.

...veto-proof Republican majorities in the other branches of state
government, so even if he weren't a DINO, there'd be nothing he
could do about the NH Repub/ALEC-inspired attack in unions.

Tesha

is just around the corner. You can't keep supporting people who are killing you. And dead is dead, whether it's a quick death or a slow one.

up people to run against them.

For a very short time it was pro-union and for a longer time it refrained from being overtly anti-union but now it is joining the world wide attack on workers by capital, no more illusions.

If the Democratic Party was so pro-union why, when they had the Presidency and/or majorities, was there no effort to repeal Taft-Hartley?

n/t

Also, a thank you to you, BBI. I always find your posts informative, interesting and timely.

He had already passed the a large tax increase to get us on the right track with the budget. And the agreements he got from the unions also helped them. They got extensions to protect their pensions and medical for 11 more years.

Our state budget was screwed up. Malloy did as much as was possible to not gut our social services.

but they're NOT being handled in the same dictatorial manner that, say, Walker, Kasich, et. al handled things in their states. They are achieiving the cuts using the very process (collective bargaining) that Republicans are simply trying to get rid of altogether in their own states so that they don't have to negotiate with anybody (but themselves and the voices in their heads). I'm surprised that people can't appreciate the differences here :shrug:

It sounds like- as far as the article is concerned- some Democratic governors are trying to NEGOTIATE wage & benefit concessions via COLLECTIVE BARGAINING- the antithesis of what Walker, Kasich, et. al are doing.

this article makes it look like he's the Scott Walker of California. I guess the cuts to everything else shows he's anti-California too.

:sarcasm: