MA: Unions enraged after House backs curb on Municipal Bargaining

[formerlurker]

UNIONS ENRAGED AFTER HOUSE BACKS CURBS ON MUNICIPAL BARGAINING

By Kyle Cheney and Matt Murphy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, APRIL 26, 2011…..Labor unions were in open revolt Tuesday against the Democratic leaders of the House, promising political consequences for House Speaker Robert DeLeo and other state representatives who voted during a late night session to slash the collective bargaining power of municipal workers.

Calling the vote to an assault on workers' rights and comparing it to anti-labor proposals in Wisconsin and other states primarily dominated by Republicans, top labor officials packed the House lobby to issue finger-waving condemnations of the 111 lawmakers - including 81 Democrats - that just minutes earlier had endorsed the plan to curb the negotiating power of city and town employees.

"It's clearly union busting. It looks just like Wisconsin to me. It looks just like Ohio to me. It looks just like Indiana to me. I am profoundly disappointed in every Democrat who voted to do away with collective bargaining here in Massachusetts," said Robert Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

http://66.105.150.70/cgi/as_web.exe?REV2011+D+4254114  (State House News)

They passed this late last night.  My my my.    The liberals in MA have followed through on the Governor's union busting legislation.
 

[RightCoast]

It's OK when a flaming lib wants to do it, sort of.

[BlueStateSaint]

http://66.105.150.70/cgi/as_web.exe?REV2011+D+4254114  (State House News)

They passed this late last night.  My my my.    The liberals in MA have followed through on the Governor's union busting legislation.
 

This is going to be interesting to watch--right next door!

[thundley4]

When a staunchly liberal hellhole like Massivetwoshits is recognizing the need to get unions under control, then we know things are bad.

[NHSparky]

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

Well, okay, not really.  Just a few million Massholes heads exploding all at once.  And that, dear boys and girls, ain't terrible at all.

[Ballygrl]

Oh my! the Dems have a majority in the legislature, right?

[DumbAss Tanker]

Oh my! the Dems have a majority in the legislature, right?

An overwhelming one, if the numbers quoted in the story are correct.

[redwhit]

An overwhelming one, if the numbers quoted in the story are correct.

The repubs won enough in the last election to be able to force a counted vote.  The dems have had a super-duper hammerlock on the legislature for decades.

I'm still trying to figure out what Speaker DeLeo gets out of this, chances are the Senate will blast it to hell.

[NHSparky]

The repubs won enough in the last election to be able to force a counted vote.  The dems have had a super-duper hammerlock on the legislature for decades.

I'm still trying to figure out what Speaker DeLeo gets out of this, chances are the Senate will blast it to hell.

Whereupon the Assembly will shrug its shoulders, smile to themselves, and try to pull the bullshit, "Well, we TRIED!" crap on their constituents.

And nothing will actually change there.

[redwhit]

Whereupon the Assembly will shrug its shoulders, smile to themselves, and try to pull the bullshit, "Well, we TRIED!" crap on their constituents.

And nothing will actually change there.

That's what I'm afraid of.  There's a lot going on just under the surface right now though, between the feds throwing around indictments, jury selection for the corruption trial of the former Speaker, and the do-nothing state AG investigating a former gubernatorial candidate.

Speaker DeLeo's playing his own agenda and has been for awhile.  I'm hopeful but not overly optimistic.

[formerlurker]

That's what I'm afraid of.  There's a lot going on just under the surface right now though, between the feds throwing around indictments, jury selection for the corruption trial of the former Speaker, and the do-nothing state AG investigating a former gubernatorial candidate.

Speaker DeLeo's playing his own agenda and has been for awhile.  I'm hopeful but not overly optimistic.

This is the Governor's legislation.   While the union owns several key Boston area state senators, Deval is getting his legislation passed.   Bank on it. 

I knew it was passing the house, but I thought for sure the house version would have some more considerations for the union (with a 30% kickback range).   What passed last night is shocking.

The Senate gets it in a week.   The party is just beginning.   Watch the union thugs descend upon the State House like rats on cheese next week. 

De-licious drama in the Commonwealth this budget season for sure.

[FiddyBeowulf]

This is the Governor's legislation.   While the union owns several key Boston area state senators, Deval is getting his legislation passed.   Bank on it. 

I knew it was passing the house, but I thought for sure the house version would have some more considerations for the union (with a 30% kickback range).   What passed last night is shocking.

The Senate gets it in a week.   The party is just beginning.   Watch the union thugs descend upon the State House like rats on cheese next week. 

De-licious drama in the Commonwealth this budget season for sure.

Great!!! Get them out WI for a while.

[redwhit]

This is the Governor's legislation.   While the union owns several key Boston area state senators, Deval is getting his legislation passed.   Bank on it. 

I knew it was passing the house, but I thought for sure the house version would have some more considerations for the union (with a 30% kickback range).   What passed last night is shocking.

The Senate gets it in a week.   The party is just beginning.   Watch the union thugs descend upon the State House like rats on cheese next week. 

De-licious drama in the Commonwealth this budget season for sure. [/

No doubt about that.  Looking forward to seeing what happens when Murray gets her hands on this.

[JohnnyReb]

I was just watching the SC House of Representatives discussing SC's right to work law. The unions are after us to change that..AND... their biggest mouth (supporter) is a big, old, loud, stupid, black woman...."Now I axe yalls wat wez do up in cheer......." ...then I changed channels and tried to subdue my racist side....and I lost. 

[formerlurker]

It’s hard for folks out in normal America to grasp what a political earthquake this vote is. Not only do Democrats dominate Bay State government (the House is 80% Democrat, the Senate 90%), but the government unions’ here are extremely aggressive. They organized a rally of nearly 1,000 people on Beacon Hill a few weeks ago to protest a vote....in WISCONSIN. In fact, union money and GOTV efforts are largely responsible for stopping the 2010 Republican/Tea Party revolution at the borders of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Massachusetts is a state where public-sector unions have power, use power and expect the politicians to do what they’re told. Here’s 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. . . It’s a done deal for our relationship with the people inside that chamber.”

If that sounds eerily like a mob boss who just found out one of his lieutenants isn’t obeying orders, you’re on the right track.

111-42 is a huge number. Democrats had to vote 2-1 against the unions and for the taxpayers. That truly is a Massachusetts miracle

http://michaelgraham.com/archives/unions-ask-ldquo-et-tu-massachusetts-rdquo/

[formerlurker]

SENATE PREZ GLAD HOUSE ADVANCING MUNI-HEALTH BILL
Senate President Therese Murray, addressing the plan approved by the House Tuesday night to curb municipal employee bargaining rights over health insurance, said Wednesday she was glad the House "moved the needle," but undecided on how the Senate would handle the proposal. Speaking to the Affiliated Chamber of Commerce of Greater Springfield, Murray paused to identify several reporters waiting in the back of the room to speak to her about municipal health reform. "The Senate's done it twice. The House didn't take it up because the unions didn't want us to do it. We're glad they moved the needle, and we'll either do it in the budget or in a separate bill later," Murray said. The Senate President said she had not read the House proposal, which give cities and towns the local option to set co-pays and deductibles for employees outside collective bargaining with 10 percent to 20 percent of the savings open to negotiations on how it should be spent. Union officials, furious Tuesday night after the House approved the proposal 111-42, blamed Speaker Robert DeLeo and House Democrats for stripping workers of collective bargaining rights. The Senate the past two years has passed different versions of municipal health reform aimed at helping cities and towns save on health care costs that have eaten into available funding for schools, municipal services and jobs. The Senate's past plans have embraced coalition bargaining and binding arbitration as a way of achieving savings in health care, a model much different than the one endorsed by the House Tuesday. Before cutting off questioning, Murray said Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Brewer was crafting the budget and a decision would be made in the next few weeks on whether to tackle municipal health reform in the budget or in a stand-alone bill. "We have not put (our plan) together yet," Murray said. Brewer told local officials Wednesday that the municipal health care reform issue is one that keeps him awake at night. "It is at the front-burner of all of our discussions," he said, joining Lt. Gov. Tim Murray in expressing his hope that the energy poured into the muni-health bill talks will remain for deliberations over a broad, sweeping overhaul of the state's entire health care payment system.

http://66.105.150.70/cgi/as_web.exe?REV2011+D+4276325

Ruh-roh unions, your one time bought-and-paid-for senate leader has jumped the union ship.   

Steve Brewer is doing some wheeling and dealing with Deval to get this into the senate budget (oh they are totally taking ownership of Deval's soul with this one for sure).
 
 

[Karin]

Some of the DUmmies are in full denial.  "I didn't hear about any of this on the morning news, it must not be true!!"  Pretty funny.  Morning news comes on at 6:00 am, not noon.