Wisc. Governor Makes a Cold-Blooded Threat to Sic the National Guard on Union Workers

[jackoroe]

Unions are parasitic organizations practicing legal extortion. Today we have ample legislation to protect workers. If an employee doesn't like his or her job or pay, they should quit and work somewhere else.

Depends on where you hail from. Some states have right to work laws, that stack the deck in favor of employers. I think we all should have the right to negotiate for wages and working conditions (benefits). The alternative to is to simply let your boss tell you what you get paid with no recourse. Sorry, that's a non starter for most people.

 

[chrisrobin]

We should all be thanking the unions, not vilifying them, as ChrisRobin so eloquently states - the benefits we've all received from organized labor.
Don't take them for granted - if big business has it's way - all those perks would be gone.

Sorry, I should have hung out my "sarcasm" flag. That's the whole point. I agree with you 100%. If big business really had its way, all the jobs would be located in China.

 

[palemale]

It is unbelievable sometimes how clueless Americans are about unions, and labor laws in general. BearMagus' and Laika's ignorance is pretty typical. Spouting anti-union nonsense without knowing what they are talking about.

Of course, it is entirely possible they do know, but are members of the very pampered, parasitic corporate class, and resent anything or body that interferes with their ability to exploit working people.

 

[chuck10x]

It is unbelievable sometimes how clueless Americans are about unions, and labor laws in general. BearMagus' and Laika's ignorance is pretty typical. Spouting anti-union nonsense without knowing what they are talking about.

Of course, it is entirely possible they do know, but are members of the very pampered, parasitic corporate class, and resent anything or body that interferes with their ability to exploit working people.

I would suggest they watch the movie Norma Rae starring Sally Fields.
The best movie I've seen on why there are Unions.
Or They can just look to China to see how they treat their working class.

 

[Kulindahr]

Sorry, I should have hung out my "sarcasm" flag. That's the whole point. I agree with you 100%. If big business really had its way, all the jobs would be located in China.

Not any more. Last quarter, wages in China rose above wages in Mexico. Can you believe China is actually having a labor shortage in some areas?!

 

[Seasoned]

Well i disagree with on two things:

1) I think he intended the National Guard to take over the jobs if need be (if a strike occurred at the prisons, for example). I do not believe he intended to say he will upset strikes with the guard.

2) He is not a college graduate.

Oh my! I stand corrected. He attended college and dropped out 36 credits short of his degree. He's the first Wisconsin governor in 64 years that does not have a degree. I have no problem with that. I'm happy as hell we don't share an Alma Mater.

As far as his "intentions," it's more than likely he knew exactly what he was doing.

 

[Yngbldhwk]

I was in grad school at the same university the governor (sic) of Wisconsin attended. He was an undergrad at the time and ran for student body president. He left college in a fit of pique when the university's newspaper denounced his campaign as being unethical and proclaimed him "unfit" for office (he lost, by the way). But it also shows something about his personality. Dropping out with only one semester remaining is just not something most reasonable, rational people would do. It's a reaction that's not well thought out or planned. Which is exactly what his comments about the national guard are in the present circumstance.

At face value, while his statement about the guard may not literally constitute a threat, let me assure you that that's absolutely the impression he intended to convey.

The union members are willing to take pay and benefit cuts. What the governor is proposing is taking away their rights to collective bargaining. And that point is what's rubbing people the wrong way.

 

[justapixel]

Oh my! I stand corrected. He attended college and dropped out 36 credits short of his degree. He's the first Wisconsin governor in 64 years that does not have a degree.

George Washington did not have a degree.

William Shakespeare did not have a degree.

What is your point???

 

[Kulindahr]

George Washington did not have a degree.

William Shakespeare did not have a degree.

What is your point???

Are you serious?

 

[JB3]

Oh my! I stand corrected. He attended college and dropped out 36 credits short of his degree. He's the first Wisconsin governor in 64 years that does not have a degree. I have no problem with that. I'm happy as hell we don't share an Alma Mater.

As far as his "intentions," it's more than likely he knew exactly what he was doing.

Yeah, he did. He was bringing in the state's national guard to protect the population by making sure the prisons were still guarded if there was a strike. Or did you not read Kyanimal's post? This article was a pure straight lie, but I'm not shocked you haven't acknowledged you were wrong yet.

 

[chrisrobin]

I heard a sound bite by Fox this morning. The "reporter" who was trying to cover the demonstration at Wisconsin's state capitol was showing the world his journalistic acumen. In anticipating violence vis-a-vis the National Guard, I thought the guy was going to shoot his load while still on the air. I don't think anyone was killed today, so the "reporter" must have been awfully disappointed. One can only hope...

 

[Kulindahr]

As far as his "intentions," it's more than likely he knew exactly what he was doing.

Given the description given by Yngbldhwk, I don't give that a high degree of confidence.

 

[Kulindahr]

I heard a sound bite by Fox this morning. The "reporter" who was trying to cover the demonstration at Wisconsin's state capitol was showing the world his journalistic acumen. In anticipating violence vis-a-vis the National Guard, I thought the guy was going to shoot his load while still on the air. I don't think anyone was killed today, so the "reporter" must have been awfully disappointed. One can only hope...

What, kinda like the supposedly not-liberal press who practically salivate over the prospect of guns battles in the streets every time another state restores a little liberty by passing "shall issue" concealed carry laws?

I dunno, maybe some people like disappointment.

More likely, they WANT people to kill each other -- it's good for ratings.







(Rupert Murdoch, are you listening?)

 

[PSCGuy]

Unions are parasitic organizations practicing legal extortion. Today we have ample legislation to protect workers. If an employee doesn't like his or her job or pay, they should quit and work somewhere else.

Part of the "ample protection" we have now is the NLRB, which oversees unions. Also, if you enjoy weekends, overtime, paid vacation, safe working conditions, sick leave, maternity leave, or shit I don't know minimum wage, you can thank unions.

 

[PSCGuy]

What, kinda like the supposedly not-liberal press who practically salivate over the prospect of guns battles in the streets every time another state restores a little liberty by passing "shall issue" concealed carry laws?

I dunno, maybe some people like disappointment.

More likely, they WANT people to kill each other -- it's good for ratings.

I've said for a long time, the media isn't ideological, it's just corporate. Ever since 60 Minutes came about, corporate owners figured news could turn a profit instead of having your news program be a "loss leader" which lost the network money but earned it respect, and higher viewership of their other programs. (Also, the invention of the remote control didn't help either.)

 

[thevofl]

Stupid 40 hour work week.
Stupid time and a half after 40 hours.
Stupid vacation days.
Stupid paid holidays.
Stupid sick days.

There's no end to management's suffering. Oh, the humanity!

Unions are a good thing, and a bad thing. When it comes to protecting labor's rights, it's good (and those things listed above are good). When it comes to politicking, it is a bad thing. If you are on their good side, it's good. If you are on their bad side, watch out; they can be quite vindictive.

 

[JB3]

Part of the "ample protection" we have now is the NLRB, which oversees unions. Also, if you enjoy weekends, overtime, paid vacation, safe working conditions, sick leave, maternity leave, or shit I don't know minimum wage, you can thank unions.

Giving the unions credit for all of that is a stretch. Sure, they contributed to some of it, but they are certainly not responsible for all of it.

 

[chrisrobin]

I've said for a long time, the media isn't ideological, it's just corporate. Ever since 60 Minutes came about, corporate owners figured news could turn a profit instead of having your news program be a "loss leader" which lost the network money but earned it respect, and higher viewership of their other programs. (Also, the invention of the remote control didn't help either.)

You are so right! So many stories drop from view because they are not considered "boffo" enough. Ever see the movie Network? The message may have been a little overstated, but the whole point is ratings which translate into profit. What used to be journalism has morphed into "infotainment" - really sad.

 

[palemale]

Giving the unions credit for all of that is a stretch. Sure, they contributed to some of it, but they are certainly not responsible for all of it.

Right. Unions only fought for those things for over 100 years, and union members died fighting for it, until the legislature eventually voted for these reforms in the Progressive Era and during the New Deal. Along the way, the Supreme Court struck down the laws state legislatures passed. So, I guess we can give the unions about 98% of the credit.

 

[palemale]

I would suggest they watch the movie Norma Rae starring Sally Fields.
The best movie I've seen on why there are Unions.
Or They can just look to China to see how they treat their working class.

Another great labor movie is "Matewan," directed by John Sayles.