Jun 15 2011

Unions Lose – Big Time

Published by at 9:10 am under 2012 Elections,All General Discussions

Don’t look for the unions to be able to save the Democrats at the voting booths anymore, because they lost a huge court decision in Wisconsin this week:

Acting with unusual speed, the state Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the reinstatement of Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial plan to end most collective bargaining for tens of thousands of public workers.

The court found that a committee of lawmakers was not subject to the state’s open meetings law, and so did not violate that law when it hastily approved the collective bargaining measure in March and made it possible for the Senate to take it up. In doing so, the Supreme Court overruled a Dane County judge who had halted the legislation, ending one challenge to the law even as new challenges are likely to emerge.

The liberal media focuses on the collective bargaining restrictions (which are in line with federal worker unions and probably half the rest of the states of the union). But the real killer in the bill is the fact that the government is out of the business of collecting dues automatically from state worker paychecks, and have to solicit these funds on their own with their own resources.

This will have two immediate effects. The WI unions will now have to spend money to get their dues, and many workers will opt out of paying those dues since they need the money at home. As this new arrangement spreads across the country, the unions will lose a good portion of their funds, and thus their resources to help Dems limp over the election line.

This one item, lost in the news media discussion, will reverberate for decades to come.

Update: Here is the decision

Update: Lots of good comments over at Hot Air on this one!

13 responses so far

13 Responses to “Unions Lose – Big Time”

  1. lurker9876 says:

    Dare to predict the outcome of the recall elections?

  2. jan says:

    Supposedly more republicans than dems up for recall — something like 6 to 3????

  3. AJStrata says:

    Jan & Lurker,

    My guess is 5 of the 6 GOP re-win, 1 of the 3 Dems re-win.

    1 GOP loss, 2 Dem losses.

  4. lurker9876 says:

    Looks like good odds for the GOP.

    And I see that the unions filed a suit in a federal court today against this WI law.

    I suppose the best case scenario is for the federal court to toss it out?

  5. momdear1 says:

    Let’s change the subject for a minute. Just heard on fox news that congressional hearings revealed that the deal in which those arms sold to the Mexican Drug Cartel which ended up killing at least one American Drug agent origonated in the Phoenix office of the DEA. Wasn’t it someone in the Phoenix office who’s mother knew the mother of that Cartel mule that was shot in the ass several years ago by the two DEA agents who were prosecuted and sent to prision for shooting him? This person in the Phoenix office also arranged for the wounded mule to be brought back across the border to be treated at a US hospital and get a big payoff from the US govt for testifying against the two agents who were doing their job. The mule also got a free pass to come and go across the border which he used to continue his drug smuggling. He was named as one of the smugglers who repeatedly delivered drugs to a house under surveilance by the DEA. Since someone in the Phoenix office was mixed up in that deal which ended up paying of the drug smuggler while imprison ing the Agents doing their duty, is it possible that the Drug Cartel has a mole in the Phoenix office who arranged for government cover of his arming his Cartel coharts? Just who is watching the store?

  6. WWS says:

    Momdear, it’s possible that the entire Phoenix office of the DEA is dirty.

    Wish I was joking.

  7. momdear1 says:

    Well, I figured that US attorney who prosecuted the two DEA agents was the “enforcer” who dealt with Agents who interfered with the “Company’s” business. My son worked for the DEA and he told me “No drugs come across the border without the DEA’s knowledge. The only people who get busted are those competing with the Company’s business.” The prosecution of those two DEA agents was a travesty that only takes place in third world countries. Are we there yer?

  8. crosspatch says:

    The DEA and the cartels need each other. With out the cartels, there wouldn’t be a DEA and all those people would see their careers flushed down the toilet. The DEA needs to keep the cartels alive in order to keep their jobs.

    The cartels need the DEA to keep the competition down. Without the DEA, anyone would be able to get into the business. The DEA keeps the stupid newbies out of the market and keeps law abiding citizens from trying their hand in that market.

    Nothing is going to change, it is a symbiotic relationship, each one needs the other to ensure its survival. Our government is rotten to the core.

  9. crosspatch says:

    How many decades have we had a “war on drugs”? How come any 15yo kid can find a drug dealer but the cops can’t? Anyone that wants drugs can find them, except the cops seem to have a problem locating them. Why might that be?

  10. crosspatch says:

    What we need are a group of modern day “untouchables” who don’t have a lifetime career in the “drug interdiction industry” to go in and just put those cartels out of business.

    Ya think there might be a reason why the DEA has only gotten bigger over the past 40 years and there is no end in sight to the drug problem?

    How about approaching it this way, shrink the DEA budget by 10% each year starting next year. Use that savings to create an agency in direct competition with the DEA. Starting at the end of five years, the agency that scores the best gets 10% of the competing agency’s budget.

    Also, no lifetime careers at DEA, you serve in the agency for a maximum of 15 years and you are done, you have to move to a different agency within DoJ.

  11. WWS says:

    10, 15, years ago I would have said you were being too cynical, Crosspatch. Today I gotta agree with everything you’ve said.

    This “war” exists only to enrich those who are fighting it, on both sides.

  12. Frogg1 says:

    Unions file suit to halt collective bargaining legislation
    http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/123934004.html

    Madison – One day after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of collective-bargaining legislation that potentially affects thousands of public-sector employees, a coalition of unions filed suit in federal court seeking to block it.

  13. lurker9876 says:

    The left has started the robocalls to let everyone know about some state protest. Let’s see how well attended that will be!

    Also, they are going to use stall tactics until the recall elections take place so that there will be enough dem vote to repeal this law.

    I read that they are going to use a different argument, which this argument is rather weak.

    Which circuit court will this lawsuit go to and which party is this circuit court is biased towards?