While private sector unions may be rapidly declining in the United States, public sector unions are still strong . . . or at least were. In 2011, public sector unions representing teachers, prison guards, police officers, railworkers, and civil servants were dealt a blow by their employers-the government. At the forefront of the battle was the issue of collective bargaining.
And it began in Wisconsin.
But this is not the first time Wisconsin has been at the forefront of collective bargaining. The Wagner Act of 1934 (discussed in this chapter) did not grant public employees the right to collective bargaining. In the 1950s and 1960s public sector employees pushed for collective bargaining rights. Finally, in 1959 Wisconsin became the first state to grant this right to public employees. In a dramatic turn of events, Wisconsin is now the first to repeal collective bargaining rights for its public sector employees.
After a standoff with state Democrats and prounion demonstrators, Wisconsin governor Scott
Walker and the state legislature decided that public employees did not have the right to collective bargaining.
This set off a chain reaction in 18 other states where they had also proposed legislation that would remove all or some collective bargaining powers from unions (e.g., Maine, Arizona, Indiana, Alaska, Michigan, and Ohio). This could potentially increase the number of states that do not allow collective bargaining to go from five (see the following map) to nearly half of the states.
1. Why were politicians in 2011 so interested in trying to repeal collective bargaining rights for public sector employees?
2. What risks does losing their collective bargaining rights hold for public employees?
3. As an elected politician charged with major cuts in your state budget, how would you negotiate with the public sector unions? As a public sector union leader, how would you negotiate with the state legislature?