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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsScott Walker Says He Would Crush What’s Left Of Unions If Elected President
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/05/04/3654397/scott-walker-says-crush-whats-left-american-unions-elected-president/Scott Walker Says He Would Crush Whats Left Of Unions If Elected President
by Alice Ollstein
Posted on May 4, 2015 at 4:03 pm
Though he has yet to officially declare his bid for president, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is frequenting early primary states and hinting at what he would do if elected to the White House. In a recent interview with Radio Iowa, Walker said he would champion a federal version of the controversial right-to-work law he signed earlier this year.
As much as I think the federal government should get out of most of what its in right now, I think establishing fundamental freedoms for the American people is a legitimate thing and that would be something that would provide that opportunity in the other half of America to people who dont have those opportunities today, he said.
With Walkers blessing, Wisconsin became the 25th state to pass a so-called right-to-work, which bans workplaces that have voted to unionize from collecting mandatory dues to support their collective bargaining efforts. Since then, the states union membership has been decimated. Two-thirds of the states members of American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have dropped out, causing membership to plummet from 63,000 to less than 20,000.
Governor Walkers pledge to bring this policy to the other half of America would exacerbate the existing decline in union membership that began in the late 1960s and sped up in the 1980s, and would hit hardest the countrys few remaining labor strongholds: Kentucky, New York, California, Alaska and West Virginia. With the sharp falling off of union membership comes increasing economic inequality and a drop in middle class incomes. Several studies have also found that right-to-work laws result in lower wages and a lower likelihood of health care and pensions for all workers, both union and non-union.
As new right-to-work bills come up for debate in Maine, Illinois, Ohio and other states, Walker vowed to aid those efforts if elected in 2016 by governing the US as he has governed Wisconsin.
Really what we did wasnt just fight unions, he said. It was fight the stranglehold that big government special interests had on state and local governments. I think in Washington we need that even more.
Koinos
(2,792 posts)Since he ran Wisconsin into the ground, I suppose he means to run the United States into the ground.
Is he really that uninformed about what happened on his watch in his own state? Or does he really believe that what is good for the Koch brothers is good for Wisconsin and the United States?
Maybe he believes that the United States = the Koch brothers (and Scott).
elzenmahn
(904 posts)...when you constantly distract Tea-Freak voters with the shiny little distraction keys of God, Guns, Gays, and Gynecology.
You can rob them blind - because they are.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)That is 2/3 of union members dropped out when given the choice. I think that needs to be examined and find answers. To me that is a problem.
leftofcool
(19,460 posts)ban gay marriage, try to repeal Roe v Wade, get rid of the EPA, raise taxes on the middle class and a half a dozen other atrocities.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)blm
(113,063 posts)Uh ..I concur. ; )
atreides1
(16,079 posts)Of the majority of the Wisconsin voters...or were you just talking about Walker?
Salviati
(6,008 posts)Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Any complacency about this election will be the utter death of labor.
leftofcool
(19,460 posts)Koinos
(2,792 posts)Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Kiss all of our asses goodbye.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)without the feudal obligation of the lords to the serfs. They look at the antebellum south and say to themselves "now THAT is the way to organize a society!"
Cha
(297,275 posts)sufrommich
(22,871 posts)I'd see the day,but it did. Crap like the Michigan passage is what emboldens these assholes.
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)Raine1967
(11,589 posts)any one else.
I wonder how the Koch Bros feel about his stupid, unbridled honestly?
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)He is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kochtopus.
Koinos
(2,792 posts)leftofcool
(19,460 posts)appalachiablue
(41,140 posts)But what about his health! Trivial compared to the damage he's caused, but still curious. Especially his story about hitting his head on a kitchen cabinet.
I know little about baldness, but this was fast. Hair loss in spots that results quickly can be alopecia sometimes, a hair loss condition that can reverse, or result in total, permanent hair loss.
My niece got it in her 20s, permanent, poor child. Docs never knew why except stress maybe.
NOT that I have any sympathy for Walker after what he's done-
Link...http://crooksandliars.com/2014/10/scott-walkers-bald-spot
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)When they're bought they STAY bought until they are fitted with toe tags.
Raine1967
(11,589 posts)From the links link:
She kept telling him to go to the doctor to get the scar on his head looked at, he said. When he finally did, the doctor said his hair would never grow back in that spot, the governor explained.
appalachiablue
(41,140 posts)And he mentions it in a self-deprecating attempt.
Raine1967
(11,589 posts)It is almost like they don't have any F*cks to give with Walker saying this
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)republicans will line up to vote against their interests every time.
olddots
(10,237 posts)the turd maggot .
Scuba
(53,475 posts)hifiguy
(33,688 posts)Initech
(100,079 posts)hifiguy
(33,688 posts)kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)Greybnk48
(10,168 posts)go down in a ball of flames, which I truly believe will happen in the somewhat near future. He is a vile puke of a man.
blackspade
(10,056 posts)Cha
(297,275 posts)compassion, assholes.
PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)daredtowork
(3,732 posts)was their cashcow...
AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)Every country with a solid middle class has strong labor unions, no exceptions. End unions and you end the middle class.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)jmowreader
(50,559 posts)...but every Republican in the clown car will do this if elected, and probably before they get to repealing all the social programs.
Doc Holliday
(719 posts)" I think establishing fundamental freedoms for the American people is a legitimate thing...."
You mean such as the freedom to collectively bargain for living wages? The freedom to join a union?
That kind of freedom?
Walker promises us the 'freedom' to sit around on the porch and sing spirituals after a long hot day in the cotton fields.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)a lot. If you are poor the unions helped create the safety net. If you like the labor laws that protect you at work - stand up for them. Those in right-to-work states it is the union both in your state and other states that keeps you at the standard of living you are at. Without them you are in a real race to the bottom.
If we lose the unions we have lost the most consistent voice for the people we have ever had.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)drynberg
(1,648 posts)David Koch for 40 minutes with the hook swallowed totally...bad news.
Stuart G
(38,428 posts)He admits it...destroy the middle class..
INdemo
(6,994 posts)Reagan fired the Air Controllers. Most Unions wanted to shut the country down in support of the ACU but the AFl-CIO President said "no we will work through this". Then the trickle down BS put the Koch Bros on a path to earn billions.
All unions should have went on strike and shut the country down and the Air Controllers would have been back on the job within 24hrs.
Unions through their solidarity would have maintained their power and Republicans would still be reeling from their defeat
But that didn't happen and Reaganomics created idiots like Walker,and Cruz and the list goes on and on.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)are there as well...
The SEIU broke from the AFL due to that, and much bullshit that came afterwards. My view, from watching unions closely, they will be back. In fact, they are starting to grow in some places like California. This is why people like Walker are desperate to stop that.
INdemo
(6,994 posts)Membership declined the last couple of years but WRONG. Membership actually increased as well as organizing increased The VW plant in Tenn is a good example and now The UAW has several irons in the fire as far as organizing non union shops.Im a skilled trade member and I can say our union is growing.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)they are organizing one supermarket after another, as well as the UFCW.
Overall, in raw national numbers, they are correct, but that is starting to reverse itself.
This is what scares them, I think. Because new union members are seeing the difference outright. And let's not forget the fight for 15, and a Union.
midnight
(26,624 posts)davidthegnome
(2,983 posts)It's when these bastards go after unions that I really have to shake my head in disgust. I'm not fortunate to be a union employee, but I know a good number who are - and they are some of the best, most skilled, most experienced workers (in their fields) that I know. I'd love to see Walker try to take them all on - it might just be what they need to start coming back in strength.
AngryDem001
(684 posts)I HATE HIM!!!
BlueMTexpat
(15,369 posts)with an IQ above that of pond scum had any doubts whatsoever ... what a POS he is!
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)will be thrilled to hear that. That the clown thinks he actually has a shot at the nomination is hilarious.
doubtingtom
(22 posts)Isn't the clown car a bit full? I'm sorry LIMO. It's obviously a LIMO.
Hugabear
(10,340 posts)And they'll fight to repeal minimum wage laws as well, so that they can return to near slavery.
INdemo
(6,994 posts)And you will discover that Walker is acting like pHitler on his rise to power as he banned unions and any organized labor movements