Public sector union rights under threat in Wisconsin

Yes...if you can believe this story, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has announced a war on collective bargaining rights unprecedented in 21st century North America. On Februar 11, Governor Walker called a special session of the state legislature and proposed a budget bill that strips collective bargaining rights from nearly two hundred thousand Wisconsin public workers.

The bill, going to a vote on Thursday:

• forces public workers to recertify unions annually
• prohibits employer deduction and remittance of union dues
• allows employees to opt out of union dues
• prohibits collective bargaining on issues outside of wages
• limits wage increases to cost of living unless voters pass a referendum to the contrary
• limits collective agreements to one year in duration
• prohibits contract employees from participation in benefits and pension plans
• strips all collective bargaining rights from home care workers, child care workers, University of Wisconsin Health Centre employees, University of Wisconsin faculty and staff

In addition, the Governor has apparently put the National Guard on notice that they may be having to deal with the unrest that may result. Well, no kidding. Not even Hosni Mubarak brought out the army to deal with unrest...but in Wisconsin, well.....

Oh...and cops and firefighters are exempt from these changes......

I cannot fathom a modern North American government stripping hundreds of thousands of workers of their right to collectively bargain, but then again I don't live in Wisconsin.

Readers, what do you think of this bill? In the Great White North (i.e., Canada) such a bill would run afoul of constitutional guarantees of freedom of association. In the US, there is no similar constitutional protection. It almost makes me think of Jean Lesage's famous "the Queen does not negotiate with her subjects."

Should public employees have the same rights as private employees to bargain collectively?

Does the state have the right to impose limits on public employee collective bargaining agreements?

Is this different than legislation ordering workers back to work following a strike?

What do you think the reaction among public sector workers is likely to be?