Senate Democrats in Wisconsin failed to show up Thursday for
a vote on a "union-busting" bill that has prompted police
officers to launch a dragnet for the missing lawmakers.
Republicans hold a 19-14 majority but a vote cannot be taken
until at least one Democratic senator is present.
"It's kind of unbelievable that they're elected to do a job and
they wouldn't show up to do it," Republican Assembly Speaker
Jeff Fitzgerald told Fox News.
Fitzgerald said the apparent boycott may force the State
Assembly to vote first on the bill. But he added that if police
officers find the lawmakers, they will bring them back to the
chamber for a vote.
"This isn't something I've ever seen in the state of Wisconsin,"
he said. "It's a very volatile situation right now but those
people were elected to do a job and unfortunately they're not
doing it. They're not representing the people of their
district."
The bill has sparked a storm of protest for three days. Teachers
marching at Wisconsin's Capitol Building in Madison shut down
schools for a second day Thursday so they could demand
collective bargaining rights that they say are essential to
keeping kids in school.
Dozens of schools closed as a result of high absences as
thousands of protesters, including students and teachers,
marched on the Capitol building to demand state lawmakers strike
down a bill that would require union concessions worth $30
million by July 1 and $300 million over the next two years.
The bill, which also bans collective bargaining rights for
teachers, requires educators to contribute 5.8 percent to their
pensions and 12.6 percent to their health care. Currently,
educators pay 0.2 percent for their pensions and 4 to 6 percent
of their health care costs.
"Our goal is not to close schools, but to instead to remain
vigilant in our efforts to be heard," said Mary Bell, president
of the 98,000-strong Wisconsin Education Association Council.
State lawmakers proposed the legislation as part of an effort to
close a $3.6 billion budget gap, and say they expect it to pass
and eventually reach the desk of newly elected Republican Gov.
Scott Walker.
"This bill isn't about an assault on public employees. We have
great public employees throughout the state, I have them in my
district, hard-working folks," said Republican state Assembly
Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald. "What this is is about the budget.
We're $3.6 billion in the hole. We're not going to raise taxes
to solve it. We all ran, you know, this last election cycle on
saying that we are going to cut government spending. ...
Everybody is going to have to do their part."
But Michael Langyel, head of the Milwaukee Teachers Education
Association, said Walker and Republican lawmakers are asking
public employees to give up more than everyone else.
"If people say the only way to solve this budget crisis is to
take away from people who are working hard, they are wrong. We
believe that we have a right to have a fair wage for our hard
work. More importantly, the collective bargaining process allows
us to positively impact school policy issues. We are the
advocates for our students, and we will maintain our voice in
defending our students," he told Fox News.
Langyel added that if Walker wants to balance the budget, he
should force his friends to pay more.
"There are many people who support the governor who contribute
nothing and pay nothing and are not contributing. This is the
time to have fair taxation in the state of Wisconsin, where the
friends of the governors do not get a free ride and the
hard-working people have to carry the extra burden," he said.
Speaking Wednesday to WTMJ4 in Milwaukee, President Obama
weighed into the debate, saying that making it harder for public
employees to collectively bargain "seems like more of an assault
on unions."
"I think it is very important for us to understand that public
employees, they're our neighbors, they're our friends," he said.
"These are folks who are teachers and they're firefighters and
they're social workers and they're police officers."
It is important "not to vilify them or to suggest that somehow
all these budget problems are due to public employees," Obama
said.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan told Fox News on Thursday that
he is "troubled by the current climate" but was hopeful for a
good resolution. He added that everyone is going to have to
compromise even as teachers perform "Herculean" work.
"We have to work together with them to give every child a chance
for a great education and we need to work together and we need
to prove outside the comfort zone but to vilify one group or
demonize one group doesn't move us as a country that we need to
go," Duncan said.
But Walker said the demands on public employees are "modest"
compared with those in the private sector, and are meant to
prevent a shutdown, which could result in 6,000 state workers
not getting paid.
"We're at a point of crisis," the governor said, adding that he
would call out the National Guard if needed to keep state
operations, including prisons, running.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2008, the
average salary for an elementary school teacher was $51, 240
while middle school educators earned $50,950 and high school
teachers earned $49, 400.
Wisconsin's measure would end collective bargaining for state,
county and local workers, except for police, firefighters and
the state patrol. Unions still could represent workers, but
could not seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer
Price Index unless approved by a public referendum. Unions also
could not force employees to pay dues and would have to hold
annual votes to stay organized.
Republican-backed changes to the bill made by the state's Senate
budget committee Wednesday would extend a grievance procedure to
public workers who don't have one and require more oversight and
put a deadline on changes.
Fitzgerald said despite the heated debate, and individual
threats against lawmakers, the majority of Wisconsin residents
approve of the bill.
"Although the protesters have been very rowdy, very one sided on
what legislators are hearing, there's a silent majority out
there that spoke on November 2, said, you know, we have to (head
the state) in the right direction to put our fiscal house in
order. So that's what we're going to do. It's very difficult but
you know that's what we're set out to do and hopefully."
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