Wisconsin public-sector union leaders have offered Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-majority state legislature a deal. The unions will accept all of the fiscal aspects of Walker's bill: Henceforth members will pay 5.8 percent of their salary toward their pensions and 12.6 percent of their health-care premiums, up substantially in both areas. All they ask in return is that Walker and the legislature not gut their collective bargaining rights. Sounds statesmanlike, right?
I have my doubts. Certainly, this offer undercuts the unions' claim that there is no budget crisis in Wisconsin, and that Walker manufactured one as a pretext for union-busting. If there's no budget crisis, on what possible basis can union leaders instruct their members to give up an estimated $330 million worth of hard-earned, contractually guaranteed benefits over the next couple of years? Are they saying that the rank and file is better off giving up their money now, even though it isn't necessary to fix the state's budget, as long as they still have the chance to get the money back at the bargaining table later, maybe?
via PostPartisan - For Wisconsin unions, a telling concession.
Somebody just blinked.
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