SB 286 'is An Attempt to Cripple Public Sector Unions,' Panel Told
A bill that makes subcontracting a non-mandatory subject
of bargaining "undermines the very foundation of collective bargaining,"
a WEAC researcher said Thursday (January 29, 2004) in testimony before
a Senate committee.
Assembly bill on fast track Assembly Bill 598, which is a companion bill to
SB 286, is on a fast track and may come up for an Assembly floor
vote in February. Both bills promote subcontracting and undermine
public sector collective bargaining. WEAC President Stan Johnson urges members to go
to the OnWEAC Cyberlobby
in the Members Only section to contact legislators and ask them
to kill both AB 598 and SB 286. |
"For what good is negotiating and signing a contract,
if the next day all of the jobs covered by that agreement can be subcontracted?"
negotiations specialist Greg Spring asked. "That Senate Bill 286
is an attempt to cripple public sector unions is obvious."
Spring testified before the Senate Labor, Small Business
Development and Consumer Affairs Committee. SB 286 is authored by Sen.
Ron Brown (R-Eau Claire) and Rep. Mark Gottlieb (R-Port Washington).
Spring said the bill is based on two misconceptions:
that collective bargaining is bad, and that subcontracting, or privatization,
is good.
"Through collective bargaining, union workers
have gained decent wages and benefits that translate into strong communities,"
he said. "Union workers shop at the local grocery stores, send
their children to local schools, and pay large portions of their incomes
in taxes. Through collective bargaining, unions have brought dignity
and respect to working men and women."
As for subcontracting, he said, it is no secret that
subcontractors often "low ball" their bids, "only to
raise their prices once their hands are in the pockets of us taxpayers."
"And while costs are going up, quality of service
is going down. Driven by their desire for profits, the subcontractors
cut costs by cutting corners. They hire inexperienced workers at low
wages; workers over whom the local governments have no control, because
after all, these workers are no longer their employees. In our schools,
subcontracting will lessen the school districts' ability to screen,
train, and manage quality employees who will be working with our children."
Meanwhile, he said, the money from private sector
profits "slips away out of the community, away from those public
employees who used to buy local products and pay local taxes."
WEAC President Stan Johnson did not testify, but later
said SB 286 is an example of the union-busting Republican agenda that
targets public education and public sector employees. The bill, he said,
would jeopardize hundreds of public sector jobs held by education support
professionals, such as food service workers, school bus drivers and
school maintenance employees.
Posted January 30, 2004