By Karl Rove
A union defeat in Wisconsin could hurt the presidents re-election bid.
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. During the past eight days thousands of Wisconsin teachers walked out of classrooms shutting down schools. Tens of thousands of public employees staged an apparent wildcat strike flooding Wisconsins state capital in a round-the-clock protest and Democratic legislators engaged in a most undemocratic action fleeing Wisconsin to deny the state Senate the supermajority required for a quorum.
And why is the President of the United States trying to bully the Wisconsin governor? After all Arizona Utah Arkansas Louisiana Mississippi Alabama & West Virginia are among the states to explicitly prohibit collective bargaining for public employees which is far beyond what Mr. Walker is seeking. The answer is found in four digits: 2012.
Democratic legislators fled the state to oppose Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walkers efforts to require public employees to increase contributions to their retirement and health-insurance plans and to rein in their collective-bargaining power to negotiate for higher benefits.
President Barack Obama has joined labors attacks criticizing Mr. Walkers proposals as an assault on unions.
According to news reports Mr. Obamas personal political machine Organizing for America was thrust into the battle providing buses to transport striking government workers to the protests mobilizing phone banks and rallying protesters from nearby states.
Unlike those other states Wisconsin is a 2012 battleground.
Gerald McEntee president of the American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees told a reporter from this newspaper last week that a union defeat in Wisconsin can put Mr. Obama in some danger of losing the next election.
Labor spent $400 million to elect Mr. Obama in 2008: Mr. McEntee was sending a not-so-subtle message that unions would be unable to spend so
generously on his behalf in 2012 if they continue hemorrhaging members and dues money.
And hemorrhage they have.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last year alone 612000 U.S. workers dropped their union memberships each representing as much as $500 in lost dues. While labor is still powerful its decline has been precipitous among private- sector workers. According to the BLS just 6.9 of private-sector workers (7.1 million) are unionized while 36.2 of public- sector workers (7.6 million) are. And the number of public-sector union members is rising.
The growth of public- employee unions has paid off handsomely for some. The BLS reports the average annual wage for a state-government employee is now $48742 but $45155 for a worker in the private sector. Whats more the Bureau says the cost of benefits for state and local government workers has risen 50 more than those for private-sector employees since 2001.
This matters to taxpayers. Public-employee unions push to increase their numbers and get more benefits by expanding governments cost and size. This often puts them at odds with the citizens who pay the bills.
Union demands have helped produce an estimated $3.5 trillion in unfunded liabilities for state and local government pension and health-care plans. Theyve also led to personnel practices that tie the hands of local elected officials often resulting in perverse outcomes. For example union insistence on Last In First Out often means the best and brightest teachers are let go when districts downsize or schools close.
Wisconsins governor knows this firsthand.
In 2003 during his first term as Milwaukee county executive Mr. Walker faced a huge budget deficit. He could have either raised already astronomical property taxes or found savings in personnel costs the biggest part of his budget. Collective bargaining tied his hands and once unions refused concessions his only option was to fire people. He reduced the county governments work force by 20.
Seared by this episode Mr. Walker now wants statewide local governments and school districts to have the management tools to avoid layoffs. Hence his proposals to limit collective-bargaining rights for benefits and to require public approval of pay raises greater than inflation.
Fortunately for Mr. Walker and others contemplating his course theres a lesson in the experience of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. Upon entering office in
2005 Mr. Daniels signed an executive order ending collective bargaining for state workers. This and other controversial actions caused his approval ratings to fall into the 30 range.
But by re-election time Mr. Danielss decisions had paid off. The states finances were in good shape and Indianas economy was doing better than its neighbors. While Mr. Obama was carrying the state in 2008 Mr. Daniels won a second term with 58 proving that the right policies are often the right politics.
Events in Wisconsin have offered a vivid contrast between two chief executives:
- Mr. Walker is taking meaningful steps to achieve fiscal balance.
- The other Mr. Obama is encouraging public employees to violate their contracts while his policies cause record deficits and reckless spending.
Lets hope the differences between the two wont be lost on Badger State residents or the rest of America.
Mr. Rove is the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.
