huffingtonpost.com — At this moment the Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker is doing his best to strip teachers and other state workers of the right to choose a union to negotiate their wages and working conditions. Some on the radical right seem to feel that this is a perfectly legitimate course of action. After all, the State of Wisconsin has a budget gap. But times like these are precisely when workers of any sort are most in need of collective bargaining. In fact, collective bargaining is not just some procedure that is or is not appropriate depending on the whim of an employer. The right to choose a union — the right to collective bargaining — is a human right every bit as central to Democracy as the right to vote, or freedom of speech. The right to choose a union is not a Democratic value or a Republican value. It is an American value.
Big things are happening in Wisconsin in response to Governor Walker's assault on the rights of working people. The Governor is trying to end 50 years of collective bargaining for Wisconsin workers, and has threatened to call out the National Guard to enforce it. more »
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican presidential hopeful, says in order to "save" Social Security the retirement age should be raised. The media are congratulating him for his putative "courage." Deficit hawks are proclaiming Social Security one of the big entitlements that has to be cut in order to reduce the budget deficit.
This is all baloney.
In a former life I was a trustee of the Social Security trust fund. So let me set the record straight.
Tens of thousands of Wisconsin residents are flooding the State Capitol in Madison in protest of Governor Walker's proposed budget "repair" bill that would end 50 years of collective bargaining for Wisconsin workers. CMD reporters will be out providing live coverage of these historic events. Votes are scheduled for Thursday, February 17 and Friday, February 18. more »
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has launched an all-out attack on public-employee unions, proposing to take away the right to collective bargaining. He has threatened to use the National Guard to put down any action by state workers in response. more »
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