Mass. gov calls for toning down rhetoric on municipal union debate

[The Northerner]

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick today chided labor leaders for comparing the House plan to curb the collective bargaining rights of municipal workers regarding their healthcare to the more sweeping efforts to cut union bargaining rights in Wisconsin.

“It’s very important that we dial down the rhetoric,” Patrick said. “This is not Wisconsin. That’s not what the House did. I’m not going to sign a Wisconsin-type bill in the end. We’re going to have a meaningful role for labor, and we are going to deliver on the savings for municipalities.”

The Democrat applauded House lawmakers for taking a “very important vote” and said it demonstrated that the House is serious about trying to ease the burden of rising health care costs on cities and towns. But he refused to endorse the specifics of the bill, or say whether it met his demand that any effort to cut local healthcare costs must preserve a “meaningful role” for labor.

“There is room for debate,” he said when pressed on the details. “The bill is not final.”

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/04/patrick_calls_f_1.html?rss_id=Top+Stories

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. I can't believe this is happening.

Not in Massachusetts, anyway.

[rpannier]

2. Go Unions

Screw you Patrick

[Little Star]

3. "The bill is not final"......

Don't even tell me this is going to be one of those we can fix it later things!

I can't believe this anti-union shit is even on the table here in MA!!! WTF!

[sasha031]

5. I have an idea for MA to save money, instead of attacking unions

go to single payer like Vermont.

[Matt Shapiro]

7. Exactly! Single payer would probably save a state like Mass. billions

nt

[msongs]

4. he takes bipartisan lessons from the guy in DC lol nt

[suffragette]

6. Calling for toning down the rhetoric while posing the choice between

limiting collective bargaining (The House) or limiting it not as much (Patrick).


http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/7242/mass_dems_push_bill_to_eliminate_collective_bargaining_as_we_know_it/

The State of Massachusetts currently faces a budget deficit of $1.9 billion. House Democrats say that by limiting the collective bargaining rights of public employees over healthcare they can save the state $100 million a year. Democrats in Massachusetts, much like Democrats in New York, have focused on cutting basic government services and workers’ wages instead of raising taxes on the richest. Thus, House Speaker DeLeo proposed the plan that would limit the rights of employees to collective bargain over healthcare. And many Democrats, who have been supported by labor unions in the state, passed it.

“We are going to fight this thing to the bitter end,’’ Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, told the Boston Globe last night. “Massachusetts is not the place that takes collective bargaining away from public employees.’’

The plan, which now goes to the State Senate, gives local officials the ability of municipal governments to set copayments and deductibles for municipal workers. Only the amount of yearly premiums paid by workers would be on the negotiation table for public workers.

Meanwhile, playing good cop to House Speaker DeLeo’s bad cop, Governor Deval Patrick has sought a more moderate proposal on limiting collective bargaining rights. Patrick’s plan gives unions a limited time window to bargain before local officials would be allowed to impose their own health care benefit plans unilaterally without coming to a collective bargaining agreement.




Sounds like: please be quiet while we decide how far we'll go in taking away your rights. If you're quiet enough, we might leave you some small ones.

Appalling when proposed by any legislature and deeply disturbing that Democrats are the ones responsible there.

I doubt people will tone it down, if anything, they need to amp it up.