One of the first things I did when I moved to Wisconsin in August of 1977 was go walk the picket line at Madison Newspapers, Inc., where the printers were on strike, and the editorial union, the writers, went out in support. The technology changed and the company didn’t give the workers a chance to retrain, they just laid them off. Like many labor issues, it was complicated – the Madison paper got bought by a bigger company; the unions never shut the paper down completely – in the end the strike was a failure, the unions were de-certified 5 years later, and technology has marched on.
For a long time, I’ve been pretty dis-enchanted with unions, feeling like their glory days were over, along with the manufacturing industries in the US. I gravitated to co-ops, because it seemed like a better business model. But I am a public employee, as instructional staff at University of Wisconsin, I’m not represented by a union, but there are various governing bodies like the Academic Staff Assembly, and associations, like MASA, that represent me.
It’s restored my faith in unions to watch what’s happening here at the State Capitol – this article loads slow because of all the comments, which devolve into people calling each other trolls.
It’s not the money – it’s the bargaining rights. If Gov. Walker’s “budget repair” bill passes, my paycheck will go down by about $350 per month – I’ll be paying $208 for my health insurance – I really don’t mind that – and putting $258 into the Wisconsin Retirement System. I mind that more. So far, the WI retirement fund has been well-managed but I just know Walker’s gonna fuck around with that money. Plus, I already put money into my own TIAA-CREF, and it’s a better investment – so why should I be forced to invest in WRS, too? Isn’t it like the horrible “Obamacare” deal the Republicans have been whining about – if they don’t like the idea of being forced to buy health insurance, why should I be forced to pay into retirement, especially if that money’s not going to be there when I retire? And, that extra $350 will come off my taxable income (or at least the $208 for health insurance will) so I’ll be paying less taxes – I’m not a financial genius, but I thought taxes are a government’s best way to raise revenue – so seems to me that reducing my taxable income is NOT in the state’s best interest.
I took 6 dozen cookies down on Saturday, when the Tea Party was there, and handed them out in about 17 minutes. I thought since the Fox News was calling us thugs, what could be more UN-thug like than a 55-year-old librarian with a bag of cookies. And all I saw was politeness, and funny signs – even the Madison police department thanked us. Much more civil than the comments on the news articles. My favorite, that I didn’t get a picture of, was a Walker supporter’s sign that read “Runaway Dems, Your Fired” and nearby, “Free Spell Check for Tea Party Signs”.
