Title:
States Put Pressure on Public Worker Unions
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
Americans have been watching the protests in the
Middle East and North Africa -- and closer to home.
Workers in Wisconsin, and now some other states,
have been protesting efforts to limit the
negotiating power of government employees.
Wisconsin's newly elected governor, Scott Walker,
says limits on labor unions are needed to help cut a
deficit in the state budget. The Republican governor
proposes to end collective bargaining rights for
most public employees except on the issue of wages.
The bill has led to big, noisy demonstrations that
began in February in Madison, the state capital. The
bill would not affect police or firefighters. They
are barred from striking. But firefighter Mahlon
Mitchell came to protest anyway. Democrats in the
state Senate fled to the neighboring Midwestern
state of Illinois. They want to prevent the
Republican majority in the Wisconsin Legislature
from passing the bill which they consider
anti-union. Labor unions are a traditional base of
support for the Democratic Party.Governor Walker
says the state could have to start dismissing
workers unless the Democrats return to debate what
he calls a budget repair bill.Dennis Dresang is
professor emeritus of political science at the
University of Wisconsin. He says the modern history
of the state helps explain the strong reaction.He
said Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to
establish the right of public employees to bargain
collectively. So it is a real shock to a lot of
people that these rights would be taken
away.Collective bargaining rights differ from state
to state. Lawmakers in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio
have also proposed limits on unions representing
public employees. Critics say politicians are using
state budget problems as an excuse for union-busting
-- an effort to take away rights to organize. Unions
have been shrinking in private industry. The Labor
Department says only seven percent of workers in the
private sector now belong to one. But more than
one-third of government workers hold union cards.
Local governments are the most unionized. Over
forty-two percent of workers like teachers, health
care workers and public safety employees are union
members. For VOA Special English, I'm Carolyn
Presutti. For more news -- and to tell us your
thoughts about organized labor -- go to
voaspecialenglish.com.
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personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
