The Unrest in Wisconsin

The use of recession induced budget gaps as an excuse to target unions is spreading:

Wisconsin Leads Way as Workers Fight State Cuts, by Michael Cooper and katherine Seelye, NY Times: The unrest in Wisconsin this week over Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to cut the bargaining rights and benefits of public workers is spreading to other states.

Already, protests erupted in Ohio this week, where another newly elected Republican governor, John Kasich, has been seeking to take away collective bargaining rights from unions.

In Tennessee, a law that would abolish collective bargaining rights for teachers passed a State Senate committee this week despite teachers’ objections. Indiana is weighing proposals to weaken unions. ...

In many states, Republicans who came to power in the November elections, often by defeating union-backed Democrats, are taking aim ... at union power as they face budget gaps in the years ahead. ...

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