MSNBC, March 3, 2011, Thursday

MSNBC

March 3, 2011, Thursday

MSNBC

Union leader: Wisconsin fight energizing unions

Wisconsin's governor wants to take away nearly all collective bargaining rights from state workers. In the end, union leaders believe he might unintentionally accomplish something else — give the American labor movement the lift it needed after years of decline.

..The clash between pro-union protesters and Republican leaders in Wisconsin has brought a level of excitement to unions that they haven't seen in years — one that could spark a resurgence in the American labor movement, said Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation.

"We've never seen the incredible solidarity that we're seeing right now," Trumka told reporters Tuesday at the federation's headquarters, during the AFL-CIO's annual meeting.

A handful of Republican governors, including some who rode a wave of economic frustration to office in the November elections, have earned adulation from conservatives for battling public-sector unions in the name of cutting government spending and reducing huge deficits.

Republicans drawing the most national attention in recent weeks are first-term Govs. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Chris Christie of New Jersey. They could even soon overshadow the potential Republican presidential candidates, even though they have denied having any plans of challenging President Barack Obama.

Trumka, the union president, said he was hopeful the support for public-sector union workers could also translate to union workers in the private sector. He sees it as a teachable moment to show Americans how difficult it has become for unions to organize workers at companies where managers often rely on aggressive union-busting tactics.

Conservatives say collective bargaining in public-sector unions contributes to runaway government spending. Critics also claim that public employee unions use their dues to help re-elect lawmakers who, in turn, spend taxpayer money to boost wages and benefits of state workers regardless of fiscal constraints.

Trumka wants to use the moment to help define unions in a way that could bring renewed support. He pointed to a New York Times-CBS poll indicating that Americans oppose efforts to weaken the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions by nearly a 2-1 margin.

"People are giving us another look now," he said. "It'll be up to us to keep it going and continue defining ourselves in ways the American public will support."

Whether he intended to or not, Trumka said, Gov. Walker of Wisconsin started a national debate when he proposed stripping most public employees of their collective-bargaining rights.

The confrontation began Feb. 11, when Walker proposed legislation that would strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights as part of a plan to fix a budget deficit projected to be $137 million by July. Walker says his goal is to force government employees to pay more for their pension and health care benefits.

Democrats, who are in the minority in the Legislature, fled for the Illinois border on the day the Senate was to adopt the bill. Their absence left the chamber one member short of the quorum needed for a vote.

The bill passed the Republican-controlled Assembly last week, and Republicans in the Senate say they have enough votes to pass it once Democrats return.

The governor isn't budging. The missing Democrats aren't planning to come back. And, despite talk of deadlines and threats of mass layoffs, the state doesn't really have to pass a budget to pay its bills until at least May. Even then, there may be other options that could extend the standoff for months.

It's the kind of attention unions have been craving for years as leaders have tried without success to rekindle the vigor that organized labor enjoyed at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s.

"We've been looking for a spark and the spark found us," said Thea Lee, deputy chief of staff and trade expert for the AFL-CIO. "This isn't a fight we looked for, but it is one we can turn to our advantage."

Union members last year represented just 11.9 percent of the American work force, way down from about 25 percent in the 1980s and 35 percent in the middle of the past century.

The recent anti-union movement has quickly spread through the industrial Midwest. In Ohio, a bill narrowly passed by the state Senate on Wednesday that would dramatically reduce the bargaining rights of public workers and would ban strikes.

The Republican-backed measure that would affect about 350,000 teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees squeaked through the state Senate on a 17-16 vote. Six Republicans sided with Democrats against the measure.

Firefighters and teachers shouted "Shame!" in the chamber as the legislation was approved and moved on to the Republican-controlled House, where it is likely to receive strong support.

In New Jersey, Gov. Christie said at a town hall meeting Wednesday that his state is different than Wisconsin and he has never suggested that collective bargaining rights be taken away. The governor also said he wants to roll back a 9 percent pension increase signed into law a decade ago.

"In fact, I love collective bargaining," Christie said. "I've said let's get rid of civil service and let everything be collectively bargained, as long as collective bargaining is fair, tough, adversarial and there's someone in that room representing you."

Energized by the outpouring of tens of thousands of pro-union demonstrators in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, Trumka and other union leaders said they hope to sustain the enthusiasm until next year's presidential elections. Unions already have pledged at least $30 million to fight anti-union legislation in dozens of states. The AFL-CIO has provided support for mobilizing protesters and is looking for other ways to keep the demonstrations going.

Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said the uproar in Wisconsin could be compared to some of the successful union strikes in the past that drew public sympathy. But she warned that it's a moment of both opportunity and vulnerability.

"If they don't win in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey, this is a very dangerous point for the labor movement," she said.

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Associated Press Writers Sam Hananel and Charles Babington in Washington, Scott Bauer in Wisconsin and Ann Sanner in Ohio contributed to this report.

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