Highlights: Dist. 7 Director Bolton leads charge in Madison; Kasich moves to sign JobsOHIO after State Senate passes on Thursday; Gov. Snyder proposes tax on pensions in Michigan; Wisconsin Senate Dems flee state to protest attack on workers; Indiana and Ohio gearing up to be the next Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wis. union vote on hold after Dems depart
www.msnbc.msn.com
Feb. 17: United Steel Workers’ Michael Bolton and State Sen. Glenn Grothman join Hardball’s Chris Matthews to discuss lawmakers’ apparent boycott of a vote that would strip most government workers of their collective bargaining rights.
Union Fight Heats Up: Absent Teachers March; Wisconsin Democrats Flee to Halt Vote MADISON, Wis.—Democratic lawmakers fled the state Thursday in an effort to torpedo a closely watched vote on what would be the nation's first major overhaul of union laws in years, as government workers flooded the statehouse for a third day seeking to block passage of the bill.
Wisconsin protests swell to 25,000
www.washingtonpost.com
Thousands of public employees and their supporters gathered in Wisconsin to protest Republican Gov. Scott Walker's budget cuts. (Feb. 17)
WI: Democrats flee state to avoid vote on budget bill
Amid the third straight day of chaotic but largely peaceful protests at the Capitol, Democratic senators Thursday boycotted a Senate vote on Gov. Scott Walker's budget-repair plan, forcing Republicans to put off further action in that house until Friday at the earliest.
Will Wisconsin media pay more attention to unions in future?
Isthmus Daily Page
A month after my post about right-to-work, Republicans started mystically floating ideas about either abolishing public sector unions or making Wisconsin a right-to-work state. Everybody should have seen it coming. Follow The Sconz on Twitter or ...
Local unions rally to bolster Wis. public workers
ROCKFORD, Ill. -- Carloads of local union members and retirees have been traveling to Madison, Wis., this week to show support for the Badger State's public union employees, who are fighting legislative efforts to strip them of their collective bargaining rights.
Minnesota unlikely to go after state employee benefits
Winona Daily News
Bills have been introduced in the House this year attempting to change Minnesota to a right-to-work state, which would all but eliminate unions' ability to organize. But so far, neither bill has made any progress in the House.
Walker Tells Kasich "Don't Blink" Over Union Busting Strategy As Protests Rise
www.progressohio.org
Demonstrations against bills to restrict public employees' collective-bargaining rights spilled from Wisconsin into Ohio in what union leaders said was becoming a national fight.
Indiana
House Republicans to present Ind. budget proposal
Republicans who control the Indiana House are scheduled to present their version of a new state budget on Thursday.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s Governor Says He’ll Veto Right-to-Work, but It Shouldn't Have to Come to That
After passing through the house just shy of the majority needed to override a veto this week, New Hampshire’s proposed Right-to-Work law suffered a serious blow when Governor John Lynch vocalized anew his opposition to the measure.
Why New Hampshire doesn't need “Right to work”
But you wouldn't know that judging from much of the rhetoric surrounding “right to work" laws, which suggests that workers in states like New Hampshire that ...
Ohio
JobsOhio bill goes to Kasich to sign
Gov. John Kasich will set in motion one of his key campaign promises when he signs a bill Friday allowing him to privatize Ohio's economic-development efforts.
Organizing for America Versus Scott Walker, John Kasich, Etc...
Slate Magazine (blog)
Amanda Terkel's follow-up surprises me even more -- Democrats are bragging about their role in protests that are paralyzing Wisconsin's legislature for the near future, and expanding to the rest of the Midwestern states where right to work-style laws ...
Ohio lawmakers give Kasich approval to establish JobsOhio, his private corporation to attract jobs
Ohio lawmakers gave Republican Gov. John Kasich the go-ahead on Wednesday to open JobsOhio, his new private corporation to attract jobs, despite lingering concerns from some Democrats that the publicly funded corporation can do business behind closed doors.
Public Employee Union Protests Spread From Wisconsin to Ohio
www.bloomberg.com
public workers, who he said are overpaid. “This bill is not on attack on public employees; it is not an attack on the middle class,” Wilson, 34, a technology consultant, said at the rally. “This bill is about math.” Joe Rugola, the former president of the Ohio AFL-CIO who also is executive
www.youtube.com
02/17/2011 @ Statehouse. Gov. Strickland joins the opposition.
Proposed Ohio, Missouri Laws Lower Wages
AFL-CIO (blog)
by James Parks, Feb 17, 2011 A new analysis shows workers in states with laws like those proposed in Ohio and Missouri, which supporters misleadingly call “right to work,” have lower wages, whether they belong to a union or not.
Michigan
Lasting budget fix sought in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan's budget crisis began long before other states started feeling the pinch, but Gov. Rick Snyder hopes to end it once and for all. On Thursday, the Republican governor will present his first budget, one the administration says will be free of the accounting gimmicks, temporary fees and federal duct tape that have held together past budgets.
Proposal to tax pensions stirs up anger, confusion
Gov. Rick Snyder is telling key leaders that his plan to tax retirement income -- scheduled for presentation to the Legislature this morning -- is only one component of a sweeping reformation of Michigan government taxing and spending.
Gov. Rick Snyder to take $1 in salary, donate remainder of $159000 pay back to ...
MLive.com
These changes don't even touch Michigan business real and personal property taxes which is a huge reason why America no longer wants to invest in Michigan (well, that and the UAW). Along with passing Right to Work like Ohio and Wisconsin are likely to ...
New Jersey
NJ: N.J. Assembly passes bill to deregulate telecommunications industry
A controversial bill to deregulate the telecommunications industry passed in the state Assembly today. The "Market Competition and Consumer Choice Act" (A3766) is supported by lawmakers and businesses who say it will remove outdated laws and level the playing field for companies to compete.
Pennsylvania
Wagner urges changes in charter school funding
State leaders forced into making cuts for the 2011-12 budget can slash about $225 million by revising the funding formula for charter schools, state Auditor General Jack Wagner told Norwin-area business owners and community leaders Thursday.
Tennessee
School of Hard Knoxville: Tennessee the Only State Pushing More Restrictive Legislation than WI
With focus fixated on Wisconsin and growing attention being paid to Ohio, other states continue their own assaults on teachers and public employees. According to the Cap Times, only Tennessee’s pending legislation, which would totally abolish collective bargaining rights for teachers,
Colorado
Colorado Senate has killed two union bills this year
The Democratic-controlled state Senate this year has killed two Republican union bills on party-line votes. Both bills were introduced in response to former Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter's executive order in 2007 allowing state employees a limited form of unionization.
