Why a General Public Employee Strike Can Work in Wisconsin

[MineralMan]

A lot is being said about a general strike of public employees in Wisconsin. Some are indicating that Governor Walker will just fire them all, and they they shouldn't consider this, because they'll all lose their jobs. If Walker actually did that, he'd be the one to lose his job. Imagine, if you will, firing all public employees. They can't be replaced quickly if all of them are gone. There is no way. Now, imagine your kids' school without any teachers, the police department without any police officers, the fire department with all the firefighters gone. You can't just hire people off the street to replace them, and finding qualified new hires takes a long, long time. Then, look in the state, county, and city offices and imagine them all empty.

The Governor's threat is hollow. This is how collective bargaining operates. It's impossible to fire everyone and remain functional. If you shut down the schools, police, fire departments, and other public functions by firing everyone, you'll trigger an outcry that so far surpasses the current outcry that it would be unbelievable.

This is an empty threat by the Governor and the Republicans. If all public employees stand as one and say, "No, Governor Walker. You will not do this," he will be powerless, since the functions must continue seamlessly. But, it takes massive cooperation to stand down a threat like this one. If that cooperation is there, the threat is shown to be empty.

That's what organized labor is all about. Management threatens. Workers tell them, "OK. Go for it." Management backs down, because they must, and some agreement is reached. That's the story of organized labor. Work cannot go on without workers.

[Tippy]

1. K&R

[vanbean]

2. The police and firefighters were not included. How good is the solidarity there?

I hope they stand united.

[MineralMan]

3. I can't answer that question. They're an important part of the

equation, though. We shall see.

[Blue Meany]

4. I see this is as a last resort,..there are still a couple of options:

Challenging the law in the courts, and recalling Republicans. I think the second will be successful. In other states that do not have recall and referendum laws, it might have to come to a general strike, but while those can bring pressure to bear on business and government leadrs, they also hurt a lot of other people in the process. I'd like to see some strategies that target the culprits more precisely: e.g., a strike against providing services to Walker or Republican represenatives, boycotts of Walker supporters, etc.

[MineralMan]

5. I'm not proposing that they do a general strike. I'm saying that

it will work if they do. I'm not in Wisconsin, so it's not up to me. It's up to the public employees in Wisconsin to decide. It can work, though, if that's their decision.

[Myrina]

6. "You can't hire people off the street" -- make a bet?

.... don't think for a second that the Koch's and other RW business folk haven't been preparing 'cottage industries' to take over when the 'forced privatization' is ready to happen. That's what it all comes down to in the end, anyway & a strike is just playing into their hands.

[Yupster]

8. Lots of unemployed teachers around the country right now

How many are willing to relocate?

[MineralMan]

9. All that takes a lot of time, and a lot of them might not be

interested in relocating to an insecure job in Wisconsin.

[Yupster]

7. It worked for Calvin Coolidge

He was Governor of Massachusetts when the Boston police went on strike.

He fired them, called in the National Guard and within a year was on the ticket to be vice president, becoming president a few years later when President Harding died.

President Reagan said his favorite president was President Coolidge. The head of the air traffic controllers union I guess didn't know that about Reagan. Best to read your history.