State Workers Under Attack

Republican state governments have launched an assault on America's middle class. Bills in Ohio and Wisconsin have been taken up and have a primary goal of suppressing civil-service employees' collective bargaining rights. Republicans claim this is in the name of "balancing the budget," but in the real world, we know that this is all about - It's union bashing through and through!

Sadly, these partisan attacks on working and middle class families are what we come to expect from Republicans. But workers are not taking this sitting down. Protestors have taken to the streets in Madison, Wisconsin, and teachers have called in sick prompting significant school closings in the Madison, Milwaukee and La Crosse areas.

In Wisconsin this anti-union legislation would completely undermine the ability for many state workers to negotiate for better pensions, health care benefits or salary raises that exceed the Consumer Price Index. This is sabotage and it doesn't end here! In Ohio, Republican majorities are also attempting to hinder state and state institutions of higher education employees from collective bargaining. Republicans are hurting their neighbors, teachers, local law enforcement, town clerks and local response teams in order to further a partisan agenda. Republican Governor John Kasich fully supports the new bill and may propose his own proposal that would go even further to prohibit public employee strikes!

Protestors have converged on steps of the Capitol in Columbus, too. Republicans have their hands full! For almost thirty years progress has been made to facilitate effective collective bargaining for public employees and Republicans are determined to make them start fresh. These new union-assaulting bills will make it more difficult for public employees to provide for their families and will hurt local communities that depend on these employees. These sweeping Republic takeovers at the state level are putting families, neighbors, and communities at risk. If
Ohio and Wisconsin so eagerly implement these oppressive tactics, who's to say other states won't follow suit? There are similar efforts in budding stages just about everywhere Republicans took control of one or more branches of government: Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, and to a lesser degree in Maine and Pennsylvania.. Something must be done and 21^st Century Democrats is fully committed to challenging these incursions on America's middle class' livelihoods.