Act 10 in 2011 and Right to Work in 2015 were both created and enacted into law to diminish the power of labor unions in Wisconsin. To the joy of many politicians, including Gov. Scott Walker, it seems to have worked.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wisconsin union membership has dropped to a new low. In 2000, there were 456,000 union members and today there are 223,000. That is a staggering 51 percent decrease.
It looks like Walker and company have succeeded in doing what they set out to do, and it is only a matter of time until the effects on the economy are known.
This continues a dangerous precedent former President Ronald Reagan started in the 1981 air traffic controller strike. Reagan decided to completely decimate the air traffic controllers union, fired everyone on strike and replaced them with non-union members. At the time, this was probably the right call. Having air traffic controllers is extremely important to keep planes flying smoothly. But what it also did was give political figures the authority to upend labor unions.
By completely shattering the integral idea of collective bargaining, Walker could act on this precedent. In trying to be a true Reagan conservative, Walker pushed Act 10 and Right to Work through the state Legislature, ensuring collective bargaining would no longer sway any contract negotiations.
In turn, Walker ensured the common worker would not have a fighting chance.
There is the argument that unions had more power than they needed, but policies in this state have all but eliminated them. Taking away a union’s right to collectively bargain takes away the main reason workers join unions. This leads to the current circumstance — only 223,000 unionized Wisconsin workers.
Unions brought the state minimum wage legislation, worker safety regulations, worker compensation protections and the 40-hour work week. If unions don’t exist anymore, no one will stop a regression from the norm set over the past hundred years.
There are people who continue to try to hemorrhage workers’ rights. U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wisconsin, believes businesses should be allowed to require seven-day work weeks. This is why unions are as important as ever.
Grothman sets dangerous precedent on level of fanatic conservatism
Walker and Republicans may believe dismantling the right to collectively bargain, which effectively kills off labor unions, is good for the economy. But a good economy is worth nothing to a people who don’t have weekends off or negotiating power to get higher wages.
A good economy is worth nothing to people who don’t have a fighting chance.
Luke Schaetzel ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism and political science.
