Demonstrators gathered in large numbers at the Wisconsin state Capitol on Tuesday, to protest Republican Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal to help close the state's shortfall by removing nearly all collective bargaining rights for public employees.
As the Wisconsin State Journal reports, over 10,000 protestors gathered at the state Capitol building Tuesday, with thousands also crowded inside the building itself.
A video of the demonstration is available here.
Under Walker's plan, as TPM has previously reported, most state workers would no longer be able to negotiate for better pensions or health benefits or anything other than higher salaries, which couldn't rise at a quicker pace than the Consumer Price Index. According to the Associated Press: "The proposal would effectively remove unions' right to negotiate in any meaningful way. Local law enforcement and fire employees, as well as state troopers and inspectors would be exempt."
Members of the firefighters union appeared in solidarity at the Capitol event, as well, even though Walker's plan has exempted them.
Walker has previously said that he had alerted the National Guard, in case of unrest or if crucial state services are disrupted, but he has not called them into action yet.
Hey Gov. Walker, your constituents are trying to tell you something, even if you are trying to sic the National Guard on protesters. You and Orange Julius are on the wrong side of history if you think you can sacrifice the jobs of millions of state and federal workers to pay for tax cuts for the rich.
"So be it."
That's what House Speaker John Boehner said today when asked about the possibility of federal job losses as a result of the Fiscal Year 2011 funding bill that is currently being debated on the House floor.
In a GOP leadership press conference, Boehner was asked if he had an estimate on how many jobs could be lost as a result of the spending cuts House Republicans are seeking to various government programs.
His response: "Over the last two years since President Obama has taken office the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs. And if some of those jobs are lost in this, so be it. We're broke. It's time for us to get serious on how we're spending the nation's money."
Democrats quickly seized on the remarks by Boehner, who during the 2010 midterm season constantly hurled this phrase at Obama and the Democrats: "Where are the jobs?"
And if Republicans wreck the economy to give their corporate masters more money, well, so be it, Orange Julius says. Boehner and his clown car full of buffoons think it's okay to screw millions of government employees out of jobs because...it'll magically create jobs!
Not everyone is okay with that, it seems.
Posts
1 comment:
When you discover that you are drinking sludge from your tap, and the potholes haven't been fixed, and half the firemen are laid off this summer, thank the GOP for making it all possible.
We seriously need to raise a new union movement, and confront the absurdity of the libertarian arguments head on, including in the media. Throwing hundreds of thousands on their asses and cutting the salaries of even more only makes the problems of this nation worse. Up yours, Boehner!
Post a Comment