Oh My: House Votes to Strip Public Employee Unions of Collective Bargaining Rights in … Massachusetts…
And the AFL-CIO is throwing a major temper tantrum.
(Boston Globe) — House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly last night to strip police officers, teachers, and other municipal employees of most of their rights to bargain over health care, saying the change would save millions of dollars for financially strapped cities and towns.
The 111-to-42 vote followed tougher measures to broadly eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees in Ohio, Wisconsin, and other states. But unlike those efforts, the push in Massachusetts was led by Democrats who have traditionally stood with labor to oppose any reduction in workers’ rights.
Unions fought hard to stop the bill, launching a radio ad that assailed the plan and warning legislators that if they voted for the measure, they could lose their union backing in the next election. After the vote, labor leaders accused House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and other Democrats of turning their backs on public employees.
“It’s pretty stunning,’’ said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “These are the same Democrats that all these labor unions elected. The same Democrats who we contributed to in their campaigns. The same Democrats who tell us over and over again that they’re with us, that they believe in collective bargaining, that they believe in unions. . . . It’s a done deal for our relationship with the people inside that chamber.’’
Posted by ZIP on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at 8:35 am | 
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“It’s pretty stunning,’’ said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “These are the same Democrats that all these labor unions elected.’’
Telling.
GOOD! Its about time the non union peoples wishes were granted!
Not a good week for unions or those who feed at their trough.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53730.html
Out. Fucking. Standing!
It seems as though the Massatwoshits elected officials are slowly scrubbing out the decades-old crap unions have been shoveling into their ears. Makes it easier to listen to the people, doesn’t it?
Bout’ time common sense took over…
EXCELLENT!!!
I guess the threat of dead bodies was just, a threat.
vagabond trader says:
April 27, 2011 at 8:48 am
Not a good week for unions or those who feed at their trough.
Are you kidding? The NLRB has forbidden Boeing to expand in a right-to-work state because the unions in Washington state are pissed. That’s a big win for the unions and a big loss for the concept of private enterprise.
There are 144 Democrats versus 16 Republicans in the Mass House of Representatives. The unions can threaten the Dems with other Democratic challengers, but that’s as empty as them saying they’ll support Republican candidates.
This is just one of the few examples of where the Democratic party, because of extreme job security, isn’t the slave of the unions.
What the hell makes you think your so special you cant be lied to Haynes?
Hell,if I want somebody out of my life,I loan them money.
Since I live here in MA. I’ll just say, “It was the the thought that counts.”
@buzz:
Boeing is not a done deal,we’ll see.
The loss of 15 million in contributions to zer0 and no collective bargaining for MA municipal employees is no biggie? OK.
Does this really have a chance with that Obama clone in the Governors office?
If the government is obligated to institute subsidies for things like milk, corn products, et cetera, shouldn’t it also be obligated to provide its “important services” at the cheapest rates it can due to their societal importance? This, of course, assumes that the services a government provides are of societal importance.
Furthermore, if giving a lucrative contract to a company that donated to your campaign is wrong, what about doing the same for laborers or individuals? If there is a difference between an entity and an individual, I ask this: if I have a heap of sand eight cubic feet in size, and I take one grain off the top, it is still a heap; how many grains must I take from this heap until it is no longer a heap? Where is the line crossed? I’m beginning to believe that this is a subjective judgement, and that, as such, it should not have any place in law, jurisprudence, or legislation.
And by a veto-proof majority, too !
You can’t buy votes???? WTF???? Who knew?
Democrats threw the unions under the bus? That’s because union members are in the minority and the public is really getting a hate on. Na Ha!
Gee what was the name of that Beatles tune……Oh yea, Money can’t buy me love.
The lack of riots is easily explained by the fact that the union can still force collection of dues. As long as they get their money, no one gets hurt.
It’s a great time to be an American!
Wow, get those Koch funded bastards out of office now. Great news coming out of MA for a change. How did Scott walker pull the Jedi mind trick on the MA legislature?