Dave posted his thoughts about it back on the 22nd: My Thoughts on the Protests in Wisconsin.
So after looking at both sides of the issue and trying to decide whether or not I should pick a side I have decided that one, I should pick a side because I think it is important to have an opinion and two, that I am siding with the protesters on this one.
Most of my regular readers might be thinking. What?!? Siding with the unions? I thought you hated unions? Post such as Not As Pro-Union Anymore? would clearly say that I am anti-union. And saying things about supporting right to work laws would say that I am against unionization and support big business.
Well...yes and no.
I am not necessarily against the unions themselves. I do support big business but not 100%. I do not support big business in their "plight" against the workers. If stacked up against the corporations I support workers rights against them every time.
As I stated in the Not As Pro-Union post:
"..I do not think the unions need to go away completely. I still think workers should be able to organize to settle real grievances....and...if union members do not like the way their grievance is being handled...they should have the right to strike.
The problem with unions is not the union members. It is the union bosses that are just as much entrenched in politics as the people we elect to go to Washington DC. They are mostly in the business of lining their own pockets rather than to ACTUALLY help out the workers. Hmmm...just like our elected officials.
Anyway, back to the point here....why I am supporting the workers in the Wisconsin budget issue....
Wisconsin I'm sure is having a budget crisis, as is most of the country, and they are looking for areas to cut. I understand that. But I also think they need to take a good long hard look at what areas they should cut. I do not think that taking money out of teachers' pockets is the right way to go.
I was talking about this to my friend Scott this morning and he said something along the lines about it being sad that teachers need a union to represent them in order to get paid a decent wage. I completely agree with Scott. Among all of our country's public employees, teachers are the ones that get screwed over most often and it is very sad that they are constantly getting the bone when it comes to budget cuts.
Teachers? Seriously? You want to take money away from teachers? Aren't they financially screwed enough as it is? These are the people that are shaping our children's future and directly related, our country's future. Are these really the people that you want to take money away from? Ridiculous.
I really think that if the state of Wisconsin needs to free up some money somewhere that there are other areas to look at.
For instance, how much are the state legislators getting paid?
State Assembly members (as of 2008) make almost $50 grand a year. That's just salary. They also make $88 a day in living expenses while in session. They also are given $12000 to cover office expenses (printing, postage, etc..).
How about cutting some of these costs? Isn't being a state legislator, for one thing, a part time job? Isn't being a state legislator technically considered a civic duty? I'm not saying that state legislators should be a strictly volunteer position but I really don't think they should be making as much money as they do.
How much do teachers make in Wisconsin? Take a guess.
The starting salary for a teacher in the state of Wisconsin is $25,222...sad isn't it.
What about the school administrators? How much are they making in Wisconsin? If the salary differential between the teachers and the administrators is anything like it is here in Oklahoma then there is a huge area they can cut. And how many of them are there anyway (administrators that is)? How about making some cuts in the dead weight there?
Now I'm sure that the teachers are the only occupation that would be affected by these Wisconsin budget cuts but what other public employees would they be talking about? Police? Firefighters? Cut their salaries? Taking money out of the pockets out of those that risk their lives to serve and protect. Really great idea.
So to conclude with this tirade, I stand with the workers and if that means that I have to align myself with the unions for the time being, so be it. But keep in mind it is the workers I support, not the union bosses.
