CASPER
New member
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, quickly becoming a darling of Republicans across the country for his plan to take away most collective bargaining rights from public workers, will get another chance to bolster his national conservative credentials when he unveils the rest of his plan for dealing with the state's budget woes.
Walker's plan — set to be released Tuesday — will include deep cuts for schools and local governments to help close a projected $3.6 billion shortfall in the two-year budget.
Walker already has taken on President Barack Obama and Wisconsin's unions, a traditional Democratic stalwart. Before he even took office, Walker's opposition to high-speed rail resulted in the Obama administration taking back more than $800 million that had been awarded to the state.
Obama has injected himself into the debate over collective bargaining, calling Walker's proposal an assault on unions. During a meeting of governors at the White House on Monday, which Walker did not attend, Obama said public workers do need to be called on to help solve state budget problems. But he added, "I don't think it does anybody any good when public employees are denigrated or vilified, or their rights are infringed upon."
Wisconsin's measure would forbid most government workers from collectively bargaining except over wage increases that aren't beyond the rate of inflation. Police and firefighters would be exempt.
Walker argues that his collective bargaining measure would free local governments from having to bargain with public employee unions as they deal with the cuts he'll outline Tuesday. The legislation is stalled in the Senate because its 14 Democratic members fled the state, leaving the body one vote short of a quorum.
After two weeks of massive protests, officials say there will be only limited access to the Capitol for Walker's budget address.
On Monday, police would not allow people to enter the building unless they were attending a public hearing or being escorted by lawmakers or their staff. Police said they were trying to resolve conflicts with a handful of protesters who had refused to move to the ground floor of the building where demonstrators were being told to stay. Hundreds marched outside the Capitol.
Walker's plan also calls on state workers to contribute 5.8 percent of their salaries toward pensions and double their health insurance contribution beginning April 1. Those changes would be expanded to nearly all other public workers, except those operating under existing union contracts, beginning July 1.
The higher benefit contribution would equate to an 8 percent pay decrease for the average worker. The state would save $30 million this fiscal year and $300 million over the next two years.
Walker said without those savings, 1,500 workers would have to be laid off between now and July and 12,000 state and local employees over the next two years.
Unions for teachers and state workers have said they would agree to the benefit concessions as long as they retain collective bargaining rights.
Labor leaders and Democratic lawmakers say Walker's proposal is intended to undermine unions and weaken a key Democratic voter base.
"He's not even conceding the fact that they've given them the money," Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach said in an interview in Chicago. "He's threatening their livelihoods. He's treating them like poker chips."
Walker has threatened that if the state doesn't pass his proposal by Tuesday, deeper cuts and layoffs would be required. Missing that deadline means the state won't be able to save $165 million through debt refinancing, Walker says.
A poll from the Pew Research Center released Monday found that 42 percent of adults surveyed nationwide sided with the unions and 31 percent sided with Walker in their dispute. That poll of 1,009 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Walker's plan — set to be released Tuesday — will include deep cuts for schools and local governments to help close a projected $3.6 billion shortfall in the two-year budget.
Walker already has taken on President Barack Obama and Wisconsin's unions, a traditional Democratic stalwart. Before he even took office, Walker's opposition to high-speed rail resulted in the Obama administration taking back more than $800 million that had been awarded to the state.
Obama has injected himself into the debate over collective bargaining, calling Walker's proposal an assault on unions. During a meeting of governors at the White House on Monday, which Walker did not attend, Obama said public workers do need to be called on to help solve state budget problems. But he added, "I don't think it does anybody any good when public employees are denigrated or vilified, or their rights are infringed upon."
Wisconsin's measure would forbid most government workers from collectively bargaining except over wage increases that aren't beyond the rate of inflation. Police and firefighters would be exempt.
Walker argues that his collective bargaining measure would free local governments from having to bargain with public employee unions as they deal with the cuts he'll outline Tuesday. The legislation is stalled in the Senate because its 14 Democratic members fled the state, leaving the body one vote short of a quorum.
After two weeks of massive protests, officials say there will be only limited access to the Capitol for Walker's budget address.
On Monday, police would not allow people to enter the building unless they were attending a public hearing or being escorted by lawmakers or their staff. Police said they were trying to resolve conflicts with a handful of protesters who had refused to move to the ground floor of the building where demonstrators were being told to stay. Hundreds marched outside the Capitol.
Walker's plan also calls on state workers to contribute 5.8 percent of their salaries toward pensions and double their health insurance contribution beginning April 1. Those changes would be expanded to nearly all other public workers, except those operating under existing union contracts, beginning July 1.
The higher benefit contribution would equate to an 8 percent pay decrease for the average worker. The state would save $30 million this fiscal year and $300 million over the next two years.
Walker said without those savings, 1,500 workers would have to be laid off between now and July and 12,000 state and local employees over the next two years.
Unions for teachers and state workers have said they would agree to the benefit concessions as long as they retain collective bargaining rights.
Labor leaders and Democratic lawmakers say Walker's proposal is intended to undermine unions and weaken a key Democratic voter base.
"He's not even conceding the fact that they've given them the money," Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach said in an interview in Chicago. "He's threatening their livelihoods. He's treating them like poker chips."
Walker has threatened that if the state doesn't pass his proposal by Tuesday, deeper cuts and layoffs would be required. Missing that deadline means the state won't be able to save $165 million through debt refinancing, Walker says.
A poll from the Pew Research Center released Monday found that 42 percent of adults surveyed nationwide sided with the unions and 31 percent sided with Walker in their dispute. That poll of 1,009 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.