Here was the initial involvement by
OFA Wisconsin and the
DNC.
President Obama's
statement (Feb. 16):
"Some of what I've heard coming out of Wisconsin, where you're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally seems like more of an assault on unions. And I think it's very important for us to understand that public employees, they're our neighbors, they're our friends. These are folks who are teachers and they're firefighters and they're social workers and they're police officers.
"They make a lot of sacrifices and make a big contribution. And I think it's important not to vilify them or to suggest that somehow all these budget problems are due to public employees."
DNC chairman: Wisconsin governor waging war on public workers VP Biden's
statement (Feb 24):
"Public employees are not the problem. The problem goes much deeper...We are going to see the economic conditions that they (Republicans) created used as an excuse to fundamentally go after the social agenda that the far right has been trying to accomplish for a long time."
Secretary Solis'
statement (Feb. 26):
I’ve been following the developments in Wisconsin, and Ohio, and many other states across the country.
<...>
And we’ve seen our brothers and sisters in the public employees unions willing to give there share, and to negotiate in good faith to help their states get through tough times.
But the governors in Wisconsin and Ohio aren’t just asking workers to tighten their belts, they’re demanding that they give up their uniquely American rights as workers.
<...>
All these workers want is the opportunity to sit down at the table, like grown ups, and work together to solve problems.
That’s what collective bargaining is all about.
Remarks by the President and the Vice President to the National Governors Association (Feb. 28)
<...>
Those of you who are in this room obviously are on the front lines of this budget debate. As the Recovery Act funds that saw through many states over the last two years are phasing out -- and it is undeniable that the Recovery Act helped every single state represented in this room manage your budgets, whether you admit it or not -- you face some very tough choices at this point on everything from schools to prisons to pensions.
I also know that many of you are making decisions regarding your public workforces, and I know how difficult that can be. I recently froze the salaries of federal employees for two years. It wasn’t something that I wanted to do, but I did it because of the very tough fiscal situation that we’re in.
So I believe that everybody should be prepared to give up something in order to solve our budget challenges, and I think most public servants agree with that. Democrats and Republicans agree with that. In fact, many public employees in your respective states have already agreed to cuts.
But let me also say this: I don’t think it does anybody any good when public employees are denigrated or vilified or their rights are infringed upon. We need to attract the best and the brightest to public service. These times demand it. We’re not going to attract the best teachers for our kids, for example, if they only make a fraction of what other professionals make. We’re not going to convince the bravest Americans to put their lives on the line as police officers or firefighters if we don’t properly reward that bravery.
So, yes, we need a conversation about pensions and Medicare and Medicaid and other promises that we’ve made as a nation. And those will be tough conversations, but necessary conservations. As we make these decisions about our budget going forward, though, I believe that everyone should be at the table and that the concept of shared sacrifice should prevail. If all the pain is borne by only one group -- whether it’s workers, or seniors, or the poor -- while the wealthiest among us get to keep or get more tax breaks, we’re not doing the right thing. I think that’s something that Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree on.
<...>
Summary: Don't vilify public employees; public service is vital; teachers are underpaid; you can't put the burden on workers, seniors and the poor while supporting tax cuts for the rich.
Sec. Hilda Solis: At the TableThe President is handling
collective bargaining issues at the federal level.
In Wisconsin,what can the President do to change Walker's mind that WI Dems and the protestors couldn't?
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