Civil Servants File New Brief in Federal Public-Sector Unionism Case
Workers ask court to uphold reform measure protecting most Badger State public workers from forced unionism
Madison, WI (October 20, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, three Wisconsin public employees affected by Wisconsin’s recent public-sector unionism reforms have filed an amicus curiae brief in federal court asking the judge to uphold the new law and deny the unions' request to suspend the law.
Pleasant Prairie teacher Kristi Lacroix, Waukesha high school teacher Nathan Berish, and trust fund specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds Ricardo Cruz filed the brief late last week in favor of the reforms which sharply limited government union officials' monopoly bargaining power over public workers and taxpayers.
The teachers object to the union's use of their forced union dues for the union's political activities. In a recent legal brief, union officials admitted that under the reforms public-sector union bosses would lose at least a quarter of their forced-union-dues revenues. For example, Wisconsin teacher union bosses would not be able to force independent-minded teachers to pay $5.4 million in forced dues and $375,000 for teacher union boss political activism, thus highlighting the need for a Right to Work law for Wisconsin’s workers – in both the public and private sectors.
All three workers want to exercise the freedom to represent themselves with their employers, stating in their brief that "they equate the 'services' provided by (union officials) to be akin to those of some itinerant street window washers who sling dirty water on your car windshield, smear it around, and then demand payment." The three public employees also filed a motion to intervene in the same case in mid-July. The judge has yet to rule on their motion.
In June, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld Governor Scott Walker's government-sector monopoly bargaining reform bill, which protects the Right to Work for most government employees and bans automatic forced-union-dues seizures from public employees' paychecks. In response, union lawyers filed a new lawsuit in federal court seeking to overturn the law.
"These courageous workers carry on the fight to uphold their Right to Work for all of Wisconsin's civil servants who want nothing to do with union bosses' so-called 'representation'," said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. "With the help of the National Right to Work Foundation, these workers are prepared to withstand Big Labor's all-out assault to restore its forced-dues privileges over Wisconsin’s public workers."
Comments
Take it in the rear
Why doesn't Mark Mix just tell everyone their real agenda. They want to try and remove the unions completely. Then his corporate buddies will have no problem destroying the working class. Then there will be nobody to stand up against corporate greed. The funny part is they have only 3 people out of thousands who are angry.
Unions
It is the unions that are destroying the middle class and America. It is the unions that are greedy. What the unions don't seem to understand, or they don't care, is that their unrealistic demands are part of the reason that companies to employ people overseas instead of here. The other part are the unrealistic strangulations that our federal government puts on our companies.
America is not the only place our employers can find workers. There are workers all over the world that do not come with inflated salaries and benefits, ridiculous and unrealistic regulations and unions that discourage good work ethics.
Unamerican
We negotiate our wages, first. Why is it greedy to want to be able to afford 1 house and 1 car? You can't tell me that families can operate off of min. wage, not possible. Cost of living will not allow it, which leaves millions needing assistance. If you pay someone fair wages with some benefits, this country would better off.
It's fine CEO's, Pres., & VP's, to give theirselves multi-million dollar bonuses on top of the million dollar salary then. They own multiple houses that sit empty while children sleep in their cars at night. You should be ashamed.
Another note companies DO NOT even consider RTW or non-RTW as one of their top ten reasons for placing companies. Taxes, Infrastructure, TIF money, and free land is what attracts them. They know the price of the labor is a small % of their worries.
public employee unions
There is a great deal of difference between public and private unions. FDR was right in his letter of August 16, 1937, to Luther Steward, President of the National Federation of Federal Employees, in which he said:
"All Government emplo9yees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible to administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee orgaizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress. Accordingly, administrative officials and employees alike are governed and guided, and in many instances restricted, by laws which establish poilicies, procedures, or rules in personnel matters."
He went on to say that "militant tactics have no place in the functions of any organization of Government employees." That speaks to what occurred in Wisconsin with teachers walking out of their classrooms. I well remember Hortonville, WI--a teachers' strike in the 70s--which resulted in chaos and bad feelings. I've been the president of my local teachers' union and have little respect for WEAC or the NEA. They are money-sucking, power-hungry entities.
Enjoying Retirement?
Governor Walker handed out thousands in tax breaks to corporations that donated to his campaign. He also sold Nuclear plants w/o taken bids. He sold them for nothing to his donators. I guess it's fine for Walker to give corporations tax breaks and sell gov. plants to his buddies. Those tax breaks and selling those plants for more money would have helped with their finances, but no he wants average income families to bear the burden since they don't contribute to his plan.
Nice for you to reap the benefits as a retired teacher and then complain.