The Wisconsin Senate

It is impossible to let the passage of the collective bargaining bill by the Wisconsin Senate go by unmentioned. I find the whole thing sad. A new governor and a new legislative majority in the senate offered a bill that would require a minimal contribution from some of the state's public unions and would also provide that no longer could unions buy the votes of politicians in exchange for restrictive work rules and higher benefits. Instead, wages (which are clearly understood by the public) would be the arena in which the unions could negotiate with governments in Wisconsin.

Whether or not one likes that bill, it was validly proposed and was subject to a vote by the representatives of the people chosen in the last election. since they were likely to lose the vote, the Democrats fled the state and hid in Illinois. This was perhaps the most anti-democratic thing that could have been done. In order to avoid passage of the bill by the majority, the Democrats tried to thwart the will of the people by this tawdry trick. They clearly deserved to lose.

For their part, the Republican senators also pulled a fast one. In order to pass the bill, they took out of it all budgetary matters and made it into just a bill about collective bargaining. Without the financial stuff, the requirements for a quorum were reduced to just 50% which they easily met rather than the 60% which the Democrats' flight had prevented. So collective bargaining limits have passed the Wisconsin senate and will pass the Assembly this morning. Of course, that still leaves the issue of contribution by the unions to healthcare and pension benefits. Without the Democrats, that cannot be passed by the legislature.

One wonders if the Democrats will stay in hiding and let the thousands of layoffs of government workers go ahead. I hope not.

One thing is clear: for a democracy to function there has to be an agreement to honor the results of an election. The Democrats lost Wisconsin last November. As the obama folks loved to say until 2010, "Elections have consequences." the Democrats in Wisconsin would do well to remember this.