Dakota Beacon

America confronts a watershed. As the Middle East burns and the US economy regresses Wisconsin, Indiana, New Jersey and other states struggle to free themselves from public union coercion. Currently, the unions blatantly thumb their collective noses at the electorate.

The electorate expressed their will in November 2010 when Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Maine voted overwhelmingly to replace their Democrat governors and legislatures with Republicans. The Republicans campaigned to reform government in order to control spending.

Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker together with the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate proceeded to fulfill their campaign promise by reigning in government unions.

Government unions include the Service Employees International Union (SEIU); the National Education Association (NEA and its affiliates); the American Federation of Teachers (AFT and its affiliates); and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME affiliated with the AFL-CIO). These unions completely politicize the civil service and are the most powerful special interests in Wisconsin and across the United States today. Proposed reforms are desperately opposed by Democrats and government union bosses siding against the people.

Practicing intimidation, unions harangue legislators against the will of the people in hopes of retaining their power and influence over the old Democrat bankrupting policies. President Obama and the Democrat National Committee federalized the fight by vigorously supporting the union efforts against the people.

David Brooks, editorializing in the New York Times, clearly distinguishes between public and private sector unions. “Private sector unions push against the interests of shareholders and management; public sector unions push against the interests of the taxpayers. Private sector union members know that their employers could go out of business, so they have an incentive to mitigate their demands; public sector union members work for state monopolies and have no such interest….Most important, public sector unions help choose those they negotiate with. Through gigantic campaign contributions and overall clout, they have enormous influence over who gets elected to bargain with them, especially in state and local races.”

This substantial imbalance pushes states with government unions into fiscal crises. Governor Walker and the Wisconsin legislature seeks to rectify the Badger State’s $3.6 billion debt by reigning in the public sector unions and making Wisconsin a Right to Work state.

Here is the spirit of the Right to Work principle. No worker should be forced to join or pay dues to a union as a condition of employment. FDR understood this when he said, “All government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service.” Right to Work states allow public sector and private sector employees the choice of joining a union or not. On the other hand, Wisconsin, Montana, Minnesota, Washington and many other states are not Right to Work states and allow unions to compel workers to join and garnish their wages for dues. North Dakota, fortunately, is a Right to Work state.

Republican efforts to free Wisconsin from union bondage generated vicious union reaction. Bus loads of union activists arrived from other states to harass Wisconsin’s legislators. Obama’s call for a new civility in his State of the Union apparently fell on deaf ears.

In a highly uncivil manner Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass) addressed a union group in Boston with the words, “Every once in a while you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody.” Nice.

The SEIU, the fastest growing public sector union with 2.2 million members, posted its fight song on their website. “Ya got to take the bastards down. Let them know. We got to smash them to the ground. Let them know.” Political civility, indeed.

Teacher unions are as big a problem as the SEIU. For all their protesting, what have the teacher union leaders given Wisconsin? According to the US Education Department data, a full two-thirds of Wisconsin public school eighth graders cannot read proficiently. That despite the highest per pupil spending in Wisconsin among Midwestern states.

The entitlement mentality in unions has come home to roost. Unions believe they are entitled to whatever they demand simply because they demand it. Our schools, politicians and society condition people to be endlessly selfish. It is perfectly acceptable to live off neighbors and unions are no exception. They have the power to impose their will over the voters. The tax eaters have multiplied faster than the taxpayers. FDR, JFK and LBJ would never recognize the union protestors in Wisconsin as Democrats.

Wisconsin is experiencing a struggle to determine who is in control. But, this is not just Wisconsin’s struggle. It’s a struggle for elected democratic governments across the country, for the heart and soul of America.