Something seems to be brewing in Wisconsin. I wasn't sure what or why Wisconsin was in uproar but Michael Moore is involved and some commenter's from other sites have used my Michael Moore post about how he paid for the medical fees for the wife of the man who ran the anti-Michael Moore website as an example of what a decent guy Mr Moore is.
Following the links back i found that Wisconsin has a projected $3.6 billion deficit and Governor Scott Walker is hitting the public servants there by raising the cost of their health insurances, taking a hit to the pay packet and relinquishing workers rights to negotiate things such as working hours, work conditions, redundancy payments etc.
The health insurance costs and pay reduction you could make an argument for and i read that the unions accepted these conditions but balked at the third demand.
I fail to see how making workers unable to negotiate with their employers regarding their working conditions can be shoehorned into the states deficit reduction so what it does smell of is the Governor attempting to use the financial crisis to sidestep the workers unions.
This would enable the state to make redundancies on the cheap or the more cynical view, make working conditions so unpalatable that workers leave therefore negating any redundancy payments at all.
With the unions weakened, the state will be able to implement its own rules and we all see what happens when the powerful are left to their own devices.
I don't know if their is more to it, i have only a brief overview of events in Wisconsin but i am willing to put my faith in a cause Michael Moore feels strongly about because Michael Moore has not often been wrong.
You are lucky to have him America and all the best to the public service workers of the badger state.
4 comments:
first, you can have michael moore - he shouldnt be an american - he should have his own nation and it should be named assland and he could be the head ass.
second, i dont agree that people that OPT to work for the government should be able to unionize. they are voters so, they vote for pay increases, benefits and work conditions, then if they dont get their way they strike. that is jacked. if they want that much control they should start their own companies. in texas, we think that shit stinks. the average pay for teachers in texas is $45k, they have a hell of a retirement plan, good medical coverage, and 2 months of time off each year. that aint no bad deal. you dont see any texas teachers going to wisconsin...
third, everything michael moore -aka the saint - does is for himself.
q
"the average pay for teachers in texas is $45k"
You don't think that's a shitty salary, Q?
are you kidding? no. first, that is average. one of my sisters makes $60k (her husband makes more teaching but he is the science dept head). the average family income in the USA is $47k. if they worked 12 months instead of 10 the average would be $52k. Also, they get FULL retirement at 55 - versus 62 (for those of us that have a pension). of course, coaches get more. so do administrators.
in small towns one of the best incomes comes from teaching. in our small town the county sheriff and county judge each make $48k.
our best friends are a couple that both teach. they have 5 acres, a 3,000 sqft home, a new explorer, a nice truck, a small beach cabin on the gulf, 3 kids in high school, and a kid in college. teaching has been good to them.
q
No, I wasn't kidding. That equates to £27k over here, which is what all London teachers start on. After a few years most of the ones that I know have gotten up well into the 40s beyond.
Interesting stuff though... And I'm glad teachers are relatively well rewarded, in both our countries. It's an important job.
"in our small town the county sheriff and county judge each make $48k"
Ouch. Still, there's probably less rustlers to head off at the pass these days, right? ;)
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