Unions probably prefer layoffs to limits on their power
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"I very much want to avoid laying people off," Mr. Walker says. But his experience as county executive taught him that "not everyone feels that way. During budget crises I would push for a couple of weeks where workers would only put in 35 hours so we didn't have to cut jobs, but union leaders would say no. It's reactionary." He says there's a gulf between the interests of union leaders and those of their members. "When they say it's about worker rights, it's really about big union bosses running their own political dynasties." That's why the parts of his plan that most stick in the craw of union leaders are the ones that would limit their power.
For one, the proposal would require that public-employee unions be recertified annually by a majority vote of all their members, not merely by a majority of those who cast ballots. The bill would also end the government's practice of automatically deducting union dues from employee paychecks. "If workers have freedom of choice on their own dues money and a real voice in their union," the governor says, "they may get better representation."
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At this point it looks like the unions may get the worst of both worlds for their members. If the Democrat Fleebaggers continue to stay away, Walker will have to layoff some people. He can then pass the legislation when the Democrats show up at some point. Some of them are already facing recall elections for abandoning their jobs. Walker can also continue calling special sessions too.
The Democrats are going to lose this one, it is just a matter of how badly their union supporters want the damage to be.
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