Wisconsin Assembly Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer (I-Manitowoc) is a relatively obscure back-bencher, but seemingly was shooting for the big time when he proposed including police and firefighters in the effort to outlaw collective bargaining for public sector employees. Several weeks ago, I had the following exchange with Rep. Ziegelbauer. I had e-mailed every member of the legislature. I got several replies, but actually engaged in a dialogue with Rep. Ziegelbauer. Given the context of what he wants to proposed, it's that much more interesting.
Frankly, I think he's perhaps a bit reality impaired or maybe he's just in denial.
I am writing to urge you to consider voting against Gov. Walker’s proposal to outlaw collective bargaining for public employees. I do understand that the state is in an extremely difficult financial position. However, I feel that the Governor’s proposal puts an undo hardship on state workers in the short term and puts a significant hardship on public employees in the long term.
State workers face a considerable paycut in this proposal. In today’s newspaper, I saw how this breaks down for a state employee pulling down an annual salary of $40,000. Their gross wage would drop by nearly $300 a month. Annual take-home pay would decline by nearly $2000. And pay raises for state workers along with county and municipal employees would realistically be limited to inflation. For the long term, this proposal tells public employees that they will never see their real (adjusted for inflation) wages increase.
As I see it, this is a tax hike. I find myself wondering, in these dire economic times, can we afford to do this to a significant portion of our state’s middle class?
This concerns me greatly. I work for Union Cab here in Madison. I get paid commission plus tips, so any decline in our business affects me personally. Madison is a strong public sector town. I worry that the state workers immediately, along with teachers, city workers and county workers down the road will find themselves with less disposable income. This means fewer people going to restaurants, fewer people going to concerts, fewer people going to bars and clubs and fewer people going to the airport as they leave for vacation. This means fewer people taking cabs, which means I make less money. Overall, this means fewer people spending money on goods and services, which means fewer jobs.
The Governor’s proposal means more than taking money out of the hands of the middle class. Outlawing collective bargaining has dire implications for workers in their workplaces because they will not be able to bargain around issues of working conditions. Workers will no longer have any say over workplace safety. Grievance procedures will go out the window. Workers will be able to be fired for no good reason and will have no recourse. Workers will be at the mercy of the arbitrary and capricious whims of their supervisors.
My wife used to work for the state and was a member of a collective bargaining unit. Sometimes, as part of her job, she was required to travel. That resulted in some very long days. Her supervisor didn’t seem to understand that the union contract stipulated that flex and comp time could be used to make up for long hours. They butted heads about this many times. Frequently, after coming back to town, my wife’s supervisor would expect her to come into work the next day. The union contract protected my wife from being forced to work unpaid overtime.
Given the events this week in Egypt, I’m also thinking of what the Governor’s proposal says about democracy in our state and in our country. A fundamental concept in democracy is the right to assemble. This means many things including the right to form a union and bargain collectively. If one looks at all the democracies around the world, one sees nations with vibrant labor movements. One also tends to see prosperity in those democracies as well. When one looks at dictatorships around the world, one sees nations where labor movements are repressed by the state.
This proposal is more than just about putting the state’s fiscal house in order. In the long term, it’s about democracy. Please forgive the overcharged rhetoric, but be aware that when you vote on this proposal, history will judge you. It is my most profound hope that history will judge you favorably for acting wisely.
Thank you for your consideration.
Fred,
Thanks very much for your thoughts on the Governor's proposal.
I believe that once we make the necessary, but very modest, realignment of total compensation (wages and benefits) for all employees in the public sector bringing them back into sync with the rest of the economy, we will be able to move forward without constantly cutting staff, programming, and other support resources. Some are a bit inarticulate in describing their thoughts on all of this, but nevertheless I am confident we will be heading in a very positive direction soon. In the long run this one time realignment of costs associated with total compensation of employees will result in more people working, more program stability, and better career opportunities for everyone. The program cuts, layoffs, and furloughs will come to an end and we will be able to begin to move forward with stable opportunities for more people.
This isn’t a pleasant reality that anyone would wish to face. It is however a situation that requires us to make tough decisions.
By a "necessary very modest realignment" I am referring to the economic impact in late 2008 and early 2009 when almost everyone in the private sector of the economy experienced an involuntary immediate economic hit that was much larger than we are looking at here (15%, 25%, 35%,or even 100%). The impact was one time, but permanent, and they are mostly still slowly recovering from that. At the same time however, the public sector kept rolling along with the costs of total compensation (wages plus the cost of employee fringe benefits) continuing to grow as if things were normal at rates double, triple or higher the rate of inflation, all while the economy and inflation was flat. This similar but LESS, one time realignment of compensation cots in the public sector - on the order of 6% to 7% for local employees - will go along way toward turning us around and starting us back in the right direction where we stop cutting programs, laying people off, and begin to add back the jobs we need going forward creating more career opportunities for people doing the work we need to do to provide services the people of our communities want us to deliver.
Thanks again for your thoughts - Call on me anytime I can be of assistance to you.
Bob Ziegelbauer
Thanks for your reply. I certainly appreciate your responsibility for the fiscal welfare of the state. However, what about the 800 pound gorilla in the room? The Governor's proposal is about much more than a one-time realignment of total compensation. If you don't mind me asking, what is your stance on essentially outlawing collective bargaining for public employees?
fred
The proposal contains elements I might not have included if it were mine, but I don't agree that it essentially outlaws collective bargaining by employees.
Bob Ziegelbauer
Bob,
Forgive me for being contrarian, but I have to respectfully disagree. If you pass a law that says that public sector unions can only bargain wages and that wage increases cannot exceed inflation without a referendum, then you are, for all intents and purposes, outlawing collective bargaining in the public sector. If you vote to forbid employers from collecting union dues on behalf of unions and allow people who belong to a union to opt out of paying due, then you are making it very difficult for a union to raise the money it needs to work on behalf of its members. If you add to this requirements that unions hold certification votes every year and allow employers to potentially fire people for union activity, you are potentially destroying public sector unions, and that's something that goes above and beyond fixing the state's fiscal problems. Frankly, it feels rather vindictive and punitive, especially considering that the Governor and the unions are not exactly political allies. To me, it seems like the Governor is using this proposal to weaken a political opponent. I certainly heard a great deal of talk along those lines when I listened to some local right wing pundits on the radio yesterday.
We agree to disagree then.
Bob Z