Wisconsin’s budget battle can be described in several ways. However, the resistance of public employee unions to the any change which would diminish their collective power is evidence of a dying entity clinging to diminishing influence.
Union membership dropped by over 600,000 last year alone, continuing the trend steady decline in nationwide union membership over the last quarter century. Most the falling numbers in union membership have been in the private sector, leading to new ways of attempting to increasing private sector union numbers. However, nearly every attempt to increase private sector union membership and power has been thwarted: Card-Check, an attempt to eliminate the private vote in organizing a union, has not made significant advances, and; UPS’s attempt to force their competitor FedEx into greater union control by changing FedEx’s regulator classification, hasn’t worked yet.
So, union organizers have one final stronghold wherein they can still look to maintain influence and power; that final stronghold is in the public employee unions. Therefore, any attempt to diminish this precious final bastion of union power, will lead to protests which resemble Greek-style-riots. We will see any manner of dishonest activities, like bloggers impersonating wealthy conservatives to embarrass Republican governors. However, while many claim that Governor Walker was embarrassed or duped (which is arguable), the sort of dishonesty and crazy protesting which we’ve already witnessed is only the beginning.
Governors like Christie in New Jersey, Daniels in Indiana and Walker in Wisconsin will continue to be media targets in a way which could make the Left forget how much they detest Sarah Palin. The last few weeks of MSNBC’s constant vitriol toward these three governors will inevitably continue, class warfare rhetoric will be recycled in a way unseen since Newt Gingrich’s speakership, week-long protests could become the new norm, and Democrats in the minorities in state legislatures around the country will continue to run away to avoid votes which could diminish union power.
The truth of the matter is that unionization is a dying principle, but those in the seats of union power will not go way gracefully. Those in union power will hold on to public employee benefits and influence like a thumb-sucking-screaming-child clinging to a blanky.
This subject was discussed on our podcast last Friday.
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