Editor’s Note: Although this proposed legislation is being presented to the general public as exempting law enforcers from the restrictions on collective bargaining, sources tell PoliceOne that this bill could potentially impact the bargaining rights Corrections officers, Conservation Wardens, Capitol Police, Forest Rangers, Department of Justice Agents, and others. We will continue to follow this story and keep you posted.
By Mary Spicuzza and Clay Barbour
Wisconsin State Journal
MADISON, Wis. — Republican lawmakers were unusually silent Monday about whether they supported Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to effectively end collective bargaining for nearly all public employees, even as hundreds of students filled the state Capitol with chants of “kill this bill.”
Legislators are expected today to hold a public hearing on Walker’s controversial proposal, the first step in what likely will be the governor’s toughest legislative battle since taking office six weeks ago.
There was an increased police presence at the Capitol on Monday, and security is expected to be tight in the upcoming days as officials brace for more protests.
The governor’s proposal, unveiled Friday as part of a bill aimed at overcoming a $137 million deficit in the current budget, likely will reach the floor of the Legislature on Thursday. But its passage, unlike other bills Walker has put forth, is not guaranteed.
Some wonder if the new governor has overreached with a plan that will put his fellow Republicans in a vulnerable position, especially those facing tough re-election fights in two years.
John Jagler, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, said members of the Assembly still are reviewing the bill but “things are looking good for support” in that house, controlled by the GOP 57-38-1. But Andrew Welhouse, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, the speaker’s brother, declined to comment when asked if Walker’s plan has enough votes to pass the Senate, which the GOP controls 19-14.
Walker said he talked to all of the Republican senators and some members of the Assembly, and they have told him “they would rather make these modest changes than lay thousands of people off.”
“This is not easy. This is not something people relish,” Walker said. “But again this is not a yes or no proposition. This is a yes, we make these reasonable modest changes, or the alternative is layoffs.”
Numerous Republican state senators didn’t return telephone calls from the Wisconsin State Journal on Monday. Many were flooded by constituent calls, leaving their voicemail boxes full.
Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said his Republican colleagues have been noticeably quiet in recent days.
“On everything else, Republican lawmakers were boom, Johnny-on-the-spot: ‘I’m completely for this. This is needed. We can’t do business as usual.’ All that happy type of talk.” Barca said. “They are being remarkably quiet and noncommittal about where they’re going here.”
The only Republican senator who spoke to the State Journal was conservative Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, who said he didn’t think Walker’s proposal goes far enough.
The governor wants to remove collective bargaining rights for most of the 175,000 state and local employees, allowing workers to negotiate only over salary. But he exempted most law enforcement, firefighters and Wisconsin State Patrol troopers from the change.
More than a dozen union leaders gathered in Madison on Monday and vowed to fight the governor over the plan. They pointed not only to Walker’s proposal to take away bargaining rights for benefits and pensions, but also to parts of the legislation that would force public employee unions to recertify every year and no longer allow employers to collect union dues in paychecks.
“He is not trying to balance a budget, he is trying to destroy unions in this state,” said Bryan Kennedy, president of AFT-Wisconsin. “He is trying to turn Wisconsin into a right-to-work state. Or a right-to-work-for-less state.”
Right-to-work laws guarantee that no person can be compelled, as a condition of employment, to join a union or pay union dues. Twenty-two states have passed right-to-work laws, and union membership nationally is the lowest it has been in 70 years, about 11.9 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Charles Franklin, a political science professor at UW-Madison, compared Walker’s first weeks in office to the first year of President Barack Obama’s term, when he pushed through a number of controversial laws. That drive cost him politically in the midterm election.
“The questions is, will he achieve what he sets out to achieve?” Franklin said. “There will probably be some political fallout, but if he gets this through, he might feel it’s worth it.”
National Guard to Guard Prisons?
Gov. Scott Walker has been in communication with the Wisconsin National Guard to help run the state’s prisons should correction officers stay home in protest over proposed changes to collective bargaining rules for public employees.
But since the governor announced the news last week, his political opponents ? and some media outlets ? have raised the alarm over the prospect that the Guard would be used to keep protesters in line.
“No Wisconsin Governor has deployed the military against public employees as far back as the 1930s, showing just how radical the steps are that Governor Walker is taking to consolidate his power,” said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now.
On Monday, Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie reiterated the governor has asked the Guard to be prepared only to help out with running the prison system. There is precedent for such a move. In 2003, after hundreds of prison guards called in sick to protest stalled contracts, then-Employment Relations Secretary Karen Timberlake said Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle might have to activate the Guard to staff the prisons. The measure ultimately was not taken.
Public Hearing
The public will get a chance today to tell lawmakers what they think about Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to end collective bargaining for most public employees in Wisconsin.
The Legislature’s finance committee announced the hearing on Monday. It will begin at 10 a.m. today at the state Capitol, room 412 East, but seating is limited. Each person will be given up to two minutes to address the committee.
The committee is made up of 12 Republicans and four Democrats, and is chaired by Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills.
The full Legislature is expected to take it on as early as Thursday.
Copyright 2011 Madison Newspapers, Inc.