Wisconsin Labor Protests

HooterSnout

I've tried searching and can't find a post covering these protests. Surely there is a thread about this already, I just can't seem to find it. Any help is appreciated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgNuSEZ8CDw

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/7/michael_moore_joins_wisconsin_labor_protests

Eric Cartman

people saw michael moore and just realised its a bunch of looney lefty nonsense so ignored it

Tahuti

They are gathering in their tens of thousands, on multiple occasions, in freezing weather, to protest against a proposed bill that will wipe out the states union laws, but you won't see it on the mainstream media.

A couple of thousand of Tea Partyers get together and it's all over CNN and NBC etc.

Funny that.

tommyboy2222

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj5OT3z1VGA

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Eric Cartman wrote: »

people saw michael moore and just realised its a bunch of looney lefty nonsense so ignored it

Ya just know someone's talking bollox when they go all condescending and use the phrase "loony left".

biko

http://videosift.com/tag/Wisconsin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X0cBLvfkko

mikemac

HooterSnout wrote: »

I've tried searching and can't find a post covering these protests. Surely there is a thread about this already, I just can't seem to find it. Any help is appreciated.

US politics forum has it

But may as well give it the After Hours treatment too

feelingstressed

feelingstressed wrote: »

US politics forum has it

But may as well give it the After Hours treatment too

Stupid lefty pinko unions haz taxpayers by the balls!

Stupid fatcat koch brothers have Walker in their pocket, de bastards!

I think that about covers the lot

mikemac

Deleted User wrote: »

Stupid lefty pinko unions haz taxpayers by the balls!

Stupid fatcat koch brothers have Walker in their pocket, de bastards!

I think that about covers the lot

Good effort, 9/10

But you forgot to compare Walker to Hitler
Which some protesters are doing :rolleyes:

And with that, the thread is complete

Overheal

Basically WI is trying to neuter public sector unionization which is costing the taxpayer more money than the state can afford: it's looking at a 3 billion dollar deficit. The teachers union of course is livid. I meanwhile agree they need a good kick up the ass.

Zebra3

Bill O'Reilly is outraged by the protests.

Manic Moran

They are gathering in their tens of thousands, on multiple occasions, in freezing weather, to protest against a proposed bill that will wipe out the states union laws, but you won't see it on the mainstream media.

A couple of thousand of Tea Partyers get together and it's all over CNN and NBC etc.

You sure we're looking at the same news sites?

CNN's website is justifiably leading with the Tsunami, but a link to "Wisc. Assembly OKs curbs to bargaining" is on the front page.

Actually, a link to the Wisconsin fun and games has been on the CNN home page pretty much since it kicked off.

NTM

Overheal

Jon Stewart has also been following it for a week or two now with an almost nightly segment, 'Crisis in Dairyland - Revenge of the Curds'

It's also been all over the television on and off since protests began, so to imply theres a media cover-up is misinformed to say the least.

fontanalis

Overheal wrote: »

Basically WI is trying to neuter public sector unionization which is costing the taxpayer more money than the state can afford: it's looking at a 3 billion dollar deficit. The teachers union of course is livid. I meanwhile agree they need a good kick up the ass.

There needs to be a serious debate on the cost of states benefits but isn't Wlaker giving massive tax breaks aswell?
This isn't going to help the deficit; I wonder when these measures agaisnt unions don't solve the problems who will be the next to blame; I'm sure there's more mileage to be had out of mexicans and gays.

fontanalis

Tahuti wrote: »

They are gathering in their tens of thousands, on multiple occasions, in freezing weather, to protest against a proposed bill that will wipe out the states union laws, but you won't see it on the mainstream media.

A couple of thousand of Tea Partyers get together and it's all over CNN and NBC etc.

Funny that.

Really? Really?
Or do you want to stick it to the sheeple and use the term mainstream media?

Overheal

fontanalis wrote: »

There needs to be a serious debate on the cost of states benefits but isn't Wlaker giving massive tax breaks aswell?

The cuts and the breaks aren't mutually exclusive. It's pretty basic textbook republican values. I think it had something to do with Reaganomics, I'm not entirely sure. But low takes promote commerce, generating wealth and more taxes despite the lower basic rate. It's the same idea that lowering prices (via sale or otherwise) can generate even more revenue than when the product is listed at a higher price because you are attracting more buyers. At first it sounds counter-intuitive, but it isn't necessarily.

Tahuti

Manic Moran wrote: »

You sure we're looking at the same news sites?

CNN's website is justifiably leading with the Tsunami, but a link to "Wisc. Assembly OKs curbs to bargaining" is on the front page.

Actually, a link to the Wisconsin fun and games has been on the CNN home page pretty much since it kicked off.

NTM

They started about a month ago.

fontanalis wrote: »

Really? Really?
Or do you want to stick it to the sheeple and use the term mainstream media?

Not really.

That's what the mainstream media is known as.

mike65

Labour

fontanalis

Overheal wrote: »

The cuts and the breaks aren't mutually exclusive. It's pretty basic textbook republican values. I think it had something to do with Reaganomics, I'm not entirely sure. But low takes promote commerce, generating wealth and more taxes despite the lower basic rate. It's the same idea that lowering prices (via sale or otherwise) can generate even more revenue than when the product is listed at a higher price because you are attracting more buyers. At first it sounds counter-intuitive, but it isn't necessarily.

Just a pity Reagan never cut spending or balanced the books. it's big shortfall he has to make up.

amacachi

Tahuti wrote: »

They started about a month ago.

Judging from the amount of clips The Colbert Report has shown from different news channels over the last while it seems to be being covered very well.

Lust4Life

As a Wisconsin Resident, it is interesting to read the Irish Take on this war.

Wisconsin is not a wealthy state, and the tax payers are tired of paying for Health Care Insurance for city/ state employees when many cannot even afford to pay for their own health care coverage. Those city/ state employees and their families are protesting because they do not want to lose the benefits they have.

However, it is also becoming very apparent that the city and state employees have a VERY lopsided wage ratio. A Prison Guard earns $10 per hour, and a city bus driver earns $17 per hour. THAT is what they should really be looking at because these cuts are planned for one and all - there is no sliding scale.

It is interesting to hear both sides of the story. I will not be picking up a picket sign, but I will not be crying when they have to pay out of pocket for their health care.

fontanalis

Lust4Life wrote: »

As a Wisconsin Resident, it is interesting to read the Irish Take on this war.

Wisconsin is not a wealthy state, and the tax payers are tired of paying for Health Care Insurance for city/ state employees when many cannot even afford to pay for their own health care coverage. Those city/ state employees and their families are protesting because they do not want to lose the benefits they have.

However, it is also becoming very apparent that the city and state employees have a VERY lopsided wage ratio. A Prison Guard earns $10 per hour, and a city bus driver earns $17 per hour. THAT is what they should really be looking at because these cuts are planned for one and all - there is no sliding scale.

It is interesting to hear both sides of the story. I will not be picking up a picket sign, but I will not be crying when they have to pay out of pocket for their health care.

Was the big issue not the bargaining rights? The few interviews with protestors I saw they claimed to be flexible on wages and benefits.

BluePlanet

Lust4Life wrote: »

As a Wisconsin Resident, it is interesting to read the Irish Take on this war.

Wisconsin is not a wealthy state, and the tax payers are tired of paying for Health Care Insurance for city/ state employees when many cannot even afford to pay for their own health care coverage. Those city/ state employees and their families are protesting because they do not want to lose the benefits they have.

However, it is also becoming very apparent that the city and state employees have a VERY lopsided wage ratio. A Prison Guard earns $10 per hour, and a city bus driver earns $17 per hour. THAT is what they should really be looking at because these cuts are planned for one and all - there is no sliding scale.

It is interesting to hear both sides of the story. I will not be picking up a picket sign, but I will not be crying when they have to pay out of pocket for their health care.

As a Wisconsin resident you are not particularly representative.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Wisconsin voters shows that just 39% favor weakening collective bargaining rights and 52% are opposed. At the same time, 44% support a 10% pay cut for all state workers. Thirty-eight percent (38%) are opposed. That’s partly because 27% of Wisconsin voters believe state workers are paid too much and 16% believe they are paid too little. Forty-nine percent (49%) believe the pay of state workers is about right

The unions had agreed to wage cuts, the real issue was always collective bargaining.

Overheal

fontanalis wrote: »

Just a pity Reagan never cut spending or balanced the books. it's big shortfall he has to make up.

My US History is terrible, so dont quote me on Reaganomics.

ascanbe

Manic Moran wrote: »

You sure we're looking at the same news sites?

CNN's website is justifiably leading with the Tsunami, but a link to "Wisc. Assembly OKs curbs to bargaining" is on the front page.

Actually, a link to the Wisconsin fun and games has been on the CNN home page pretty much since it kicked off.

NTM

Really? They've gone so far as to have a link to it on their website? All this time? Wow.
It's really surprising that it hasn't been the top story 24 hours a day on these channels, replete with talking heads tacitly offering support, seen as the 'mainstream' media in America, (as Fox News, Rush Limbaugh et al, keep telling everyone, as if they're not part of it), is 'left' leaning and has a 'liberal bias' and is all but crying out for Communism.
Could it be that these channels are all, in fact, owned by huge corporations and that this supposed 'left-leaning'/'liberal' bias actually only exists in the heads of those that, for some reason, wish to look for it/believe it and that the idea is happily cultivated and exploited by those that stand to directly profit from perpetuating the myth?

Manic Moran

No.

I think it's more because, in the grand scheme of things, items like civil wars and tsunamis are probably a little more important.

NTM

orourkeda

Zebra3 wrote: »

Bill O'Reilly is outraged by the protests.

Which will gain the protests more support than they would have expected.

orourkeda

Perhaps I'm getting this spectacularly wrong but here goes. Some sections of the U.S media will call the right to collective bargaining "communist" or "loony left" or some similar name, but isn't america supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave where denying its citizens the right to collective bargaining should be viewed as tantamount to fascism.

Tahuti

Not really in relation to the Wisconsin Protests, but more about Canadian and the American right-wing media, I read this on Reddit a couple of weeks back, and thought it bizarre....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/fox-news-will-not-be-moving-into-canada-after-all_b_829473.html

Tahuti

amacachi wrote: »

Judging from the amount of clips The Colbert Report has shown from different news channels over the last while it seems to be being covered very well.

It was ignored initially.

Google..wisconsin protests, mainstream media, ignored...and you'll find plenty of comment on it's being ignored.

Here's an example..http://brosephstalin.tumblr.com/post/3555594487/media-largely-ignores-massive-wisconsin-protests-on