Wisconsin Republicans Repeal Paid Sick Leave: Care2.com

posted by: Robin Marty 2 days ago

First, the union workers in Wisconsin nearly lost their right to collective bargaining, with Gov. Scott Walker illegally passing legislation without a quorum in senate and  then defying a court order and publishing the law in an attempt to make it official while waiting for a court ruling on the law.

Now, just as I predicted a few weeks ago, the Republicans in the state have done away with Milwaukee's ordinance mandating that all companies above 10 employees must provide at least five days of paid sick leave per year.  And to ensure that employees have no rights, they've broadened the ban on requiring paid sick leave to the entire state.

Via The Progressive:

On Tuesday, the state assembly passed a bill, 59-35, that will not only void Milwaukee’s ordinance; it will also prohibit all other cities and counties in Wisconsin from offering paid sick leave on their own. The state senate passed the bill earlier in the year, when the Democrats were in Illinois.

This “is an assault on democracy, local control, and working families,” said Dana Schultz, lead organizer for 9to5, National Association of Working Women. 9to5 was one of the prime movers behind the ordinance.

“It’s just outrageous,” says Ellen Bravo, who helped found 9to5 and served as its national director until 2004. “They couldn’t convince the voters, and they couldn’t convince the court, so they went to the people they know they had in their pocket.”

Paid sick leave is not just a "benefit," it's a near necessity in order for a person to be able to stay afloat economically or raise a family.  A worker who cannot afford a day off for illness or another factor is a risk to the business, either by being dangerously distracted or infecting others.  Making a worker choose between a day off to care for him or herself or a family member, or potentially not being able to pay their bills or even lose their jobs over missing time is bad for employees and businesses.

But it's where we seem to be heading with corporate interests looking desperately for places to cut spending to show profit.  Removing all benefits like paid sick leaves, paid vacations, the ability to negotiate pay raises and dropping minimum wage rules allows them to continue to show gains for their shareholders and investors.  And corporations will continue to spend their dollars on electing politicians who will push these laws rather than create livable working situations for their employees.

Read more: wisconsin, politics, sick leave, wisconsin labor, unionbusting,scott walker, union busting

Gubbernor Scott Walker: Up to the same tricks only more so. Give THIS a read !!

Walker’s next step in autocracy – replace local elected officials with appointees

I’m an old guy – I’ll be 59 in October. I remember when conservatives were for less government.

But Walker’s planning an end run around local governments by allowing him to take over their finances if they don’t meet his criteria, expanding the reach of state government to impose Walker’s anti-worker agenda. See this article for all the details. 

Send Walker an email and tell him what you think about this idea! Email him at govgeneral@wisconsin.gov.

Gov. Scott Walker Reportedly Planning Financial Martial Law In Wisconsin

Rick Ungar

THE POLICY PAGE

BUSINESS

Gov. Scott Walker Reportedly Planning Financial Martial Law In Wisconsin

blogs.forbes.com —

Apr. 16 2011 - 5:16 pm 

Reports are surfacing that Scott Walker is now preparing his next assault on the democratic political process in the State of Wisconsin.

Following the lead of Michigan GOP Governor Rick Snyder, Walker is said to be preparing a plan that would allow him to force local governments to submit to a financial stress test with an eye towards permitting the governor to take over municipalities that fail to meet with Walker’s approval.

According to the reports, should a locality’s financial position come up short, the Walker legislation would empower the governor to insert a financial manager of his choosing into local government with the ability to cancel union contracts, push aside duly elected local government officials and school board members and take control of Wisconsin cities and towns whenever he sees fit to do so.

Such a law would additionally give Walker unchallenged power to end municipal services of which he disapproves, including safety net assistance to those in need.

According to my sources, the plan is being written by the legal offices of Foley & Lardner, the largest law firm in the state, and is scheduled to be introduced to the legislature in May of this year.

The story first came to public attention yesterday during an interviewwith Madison, Wisconsin attorney and activist, Ed Garvey, on Wisconsin Public Radio.

While Mr. Garvey is a familiar player in Wisconsin politics, some of you who are football fans may recognize his name from his days as the Executive Director of the NFL Players’ Association, where Garvey is credited with making extraordinary strides in the protection of player rights and improving their earning opportunities.

I spoke with Mr. Garvey today to gain insight into his information, which led me to Mr. Nate Kimm – a Wisconsin based political organizer who is a leader in the effort to recall eight  GOP Wisconsin State Senators who voted in favor of Gov. Walker’s anti-collective bargaining legislation.

While Kimm was unwilling to reveal his source, he was able to confirm that he had received the information regarding Walker’s plans from ahighly placed GOP source, very much in a position to know what the Governor has in the works.

Should these reports prove accurate, Walker’s plan would resemble-if not directly mirror- the legislation signed into law by Gov. Snyder of Michigan which gives Snyder extraordinary powers to take over municipalities when he determines them to be in financial trouble, further permitting him to actually fire locally elected public officials when he deems it desirable.

Gov. Snyder’s extraordinary law became all too real this week when Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris, appointed by the Governor to take charge of  Benton Harbor, Michigan, issued an orderwhich took away all powers of the city’s elected officials.

Yes, this has really happened right here in the United States of America.

Walker’s plans give further credence to the notion that the efforts of the GOP governors with Republican majorities in their state legislative bodies are part of a coordinated plan to enforce a right-wing agenda designed to not only destroy state, county and municipal employee unions, but to take control of  local governments by replacing elected officials with appointees, both corporate and individual, of the state’s highest executive officer.

More on this as it becomes available.

Thanks to Wisconsinite Doug Olson for his help with this story.

Contact Rick at thepolicypage@gmail.com

Michael Moore: The Rich Are Committing Class Warfare on Us

Michael Moore sat down with Stephen Colbert to talk about the Republican governors and corporate America's assault on the working class in America.