Walker's Credibility
Yesterday, Governor Walker held a press conference at which he held that his budget, which cuts almost one billion dollars from school funding, will not mean any cuts to school staff or services. If you are gasping in disbelief, you are not alone and it's probably not the first time. Below is an article with links that explain the simple math of the matter and an article on the school district that supports Governor Walker's wild (and perhaps delusional) assertions about the impact of his cuts.
New Berlin or Old Berlin
In his interview with a blogger thought to be David Koch, Governor Scott Walker said Ronald Regan's defining moment was the firing of 10,000 striking air traffic controllers. Walker expressed his belief that this was "the first crack in the Berlin Wall" leading to the fall of communism. It was therefore ironic, but not surprising, that New Berlin Superintendent Paul Kreutzer stated yesterday that he was attracted to the agenda of Governor Scott Walker. What's wrong with this picture?
Why does Superintendent Kreutzer embrace Walker's new law that strips unions of their rights to bargain? Could it be because his administration is embroiled in litigation accused of taking $7.1 million from an employee health fund - money the union believes would have lowered health care costs had it not been removed in violation of the employees' contract? Could it be that he dislikes criticism for implementing large lecture-style classes with as many as 56 children in a class? Maybe it's because the union held the district accountable when it used layoffs (like Walker) in an effort to ratchet up pressure on members to settle their contract. When this failed, they called all of the teachers back at significant expense to the district. Or is it simply a shared value with Walker that employers should be able to exercise power as they please, and reward who they want, without checks and balances that unions ensure?
After the defeat of fascism, free nations came together in 1948 and through the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Among its conventions is Article 23 that identifies the right to organize unions and engage in collective bargaining as an essential right of workers. Not just for private sector employees or unions that support the political party in power, but all workers. America stood by these values when it came to supporting an independent voice for workers in Poland and throughout the Soviet Bloc. It's wrong for extremist politicians to bust unions that do not support their narrow political ends. This is precisely what Walker and the Republican-controlled Senate and Assembly have done in Wisconsin and why their actions are such an egregious abuse of power.
In an open letter to Walker, the president of the Polish Union Solidarnosc expressed support and solidarity with Wisconsin workers' struggle against his assault on union rights. This is the president of the 700,000 member union that helped take down Polish Soviet rule. He noted that we are witnessing yet another attempt to use an economic crisis brought on by Wall Street as an excuse to take more money away from working people and their families.
Religious leaders have also condemned the governor's actions. Catholic Archbishop Listecki wrote in an open letter that hard times do not nullify the moral obligation each of us has to respect the legitimate rights of workers. The archbishop's sentiments were echoed by the Episcopal Bishop of Milwaukee, together with bishops of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church and the South-Central Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. They have been joined by 350 additional pastors and religious leaders in an open letter condemning the new law that takes away worker rights.
Yet, despite this broad support for fundamental worker rights, the positions of Walker and Kreutzer more closely align with those of the old Berlinrather than those embraced by the free and unified new Berlin of today. In the end, they too will be on the wrong side of history.
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