Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker warns of layoffs as unions step up efforts

Republican Gov. Scott Walker speaks at a news conference inside the Wisconsin State Capitol February 21, 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin.

/ Getty Images/Eric Thayer

As public workers across Wisconsin continue into a second week of protests against Republican plans to roll back their benefits and bargaining rights, Republican Gov. Scott Walker is warning that state employees could receive layoff notices as early as next week if they don't agree to the changes.

With Walker standing his ground, politicians and activists on both sides of the conflict are digging in their heels. Democratic state lawmakers remain out of the state in protest of the Walker's proposals, but Republican state legislators are increasing pressure at the state capitol for the Democrats to return.

Meanwhile, national labor unions are ratcheting up their support for public employees in Wisconsin with a new ad airing in the state, as well as a new poll indicating the public is on their side.

Walker has repeatedly said that as many as 1,500 workers could lose their jobs by July if his plan isn't enacted. In a statement to the Associated Press today, the governor said notices of layoffs could go out next week, though he said they would not take effect immediately. He did not say which workers would be targeted. "Hopefully we don't get to that point," the governor said.

Public sector unions have conceded to Walker's proposal to roll back their benefits in order to help balance the state budget, but they say rolling back collective bargaining rights goes too far. Both proposals are a part of Walker's "budget repair bill."

In a press conference Monday, Walker acknowledged that union leaders have agreed to increase public employee contributions for pension benefits to 5 percent and health care to 12 percent. However, he insisted they must also give up collective bargaining rights, or else local governments will not be able to balance their own budgets, WisPolitics.com reports.

The Wisconsin Senate was slated to vote on Walker's "budget repair bill" last week, but Senate Democrats fled the state to deprive the legislative body of the 20-vote quorum needed to pass any spending bill. With Senate Democrats still gone, the state Assembly will take up the bill this morning, but Assembly Democrats plan to introduce hundreds of amendments to slow down the process, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Meanwhile, state Senate Republicans are turning up the heat on their Democratic colleagues by starting work on a voter ID bill that Democrats strongly oppose, according to the Journal Sentinel. Republicans say they can modify the bill so that the spending provisions are removed and it can be passed without Democratic lawmakers present -- a threat they hope will compel Democrats back to work.

Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach told the Journal Sentinel he was "dumbfounded" by Republicans' insistence on stripping away most public union collective bargaining rights.

"They have the money to balance the budget," Erpenbach said. "I don't understand what their end game is, other than they want to break unions, they want to privatize."

Erpenbach added that "the ball is in Governor Walker's court" and that he should simply concede on the collective bargaining portion of his bill.

A poll, commissioned by the AFL-CIO and conducted by Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, suggests Wisconsin voters agree. When asked about Walker's specific agenda, 52 percent of Wisconsin voters said they oppose the plan, according to the poll. Forty-two percent said they agreed with the plan.

When asked whether public workers should have their collective bargaining rights stripped, even if they agree to pay more for health care and retirement, 74 percent said no.

Another poll from Rasmussen Reports suggests the opposite. The automated survey of national likely voters found that 48 percent agreed more with Walker, while 38 percent agreed more with "the union for teachers and other state employees." Rasmussen has been known to show bias in favor of Republican proposals and may have used biased questions in this poll, as reported by Nate Silver of the New York Times.

Along with their poll, the national AFL-CIO, the SEIU and AFSCME are also backing an ad that begins airing today in support of public workers. (Watch the ad above.)

The ad features Racine, Wisconsin, firefighter Mike DeGarmo (even though Walker's proposal exempts police, firefighters and state troopers).

"When our crew is face to face with a fire, we stand together, or we fall together. It's that simple," DeGarmo says. "Now nurses, teachers and other public employees have come together to stand up for Wisconsin workers."

The firefighter points out that unions have already agreed to scale back their benefits.

No compromise in Wisconsin budget battle
Wisconsin Gov. Walker: I won't accept compromise
Wisconsin battle over state workers turns into national debate

21 Photos

Wisconsin protests

[qquest1]

Federal unions have no collective bargaining rights. These are state unions. They are not private unions, they are public unions. Obama is, as usual, totally hypocritical, and is merely pandering to a voting base that he finds useful in order to make personal gains. He could otherwise care less about Wisconsin. He just wants votes in the next presidential campaign. He continually tramples on state rights of self determination, essentially guaranteed by the enumerated and intentionally limited powers give to the federal government by the constitution and accentuated by the 14th amendment. In other words, in no way is this Obama's business, yet his arrogance drives him to intervene. This is similar to his intervention in the little tiny state complaint agaisnt police by the arrogant and obnoxious Harvard professor. This is similar to his unprecedented and intentionally deceitful comments about a Supreme Court decision at a prior state of the union address. Obama is an arrogant snot who cannot stay out of anything, except keeping out a frays in the middle east in which he should be involved. Are you really unable to see that he has dictator characteristics and aspirations? Darn good thing we have checks and balances in his way.

[qquest1]

Collective bargaining is less of a problem that forced unionization upon its members, collection of union dues by state government, and use of union dues to finance only democratic candidates. Those are forced contibutions right out of the pockets of indivisual taxpayers. That is very different that corporate contributions to Repulbican candidates, the money for which is very diffuse and does not come directly out of the pockets of taxpayers. My wife was a schooltacher. In no way did I want for her to belong to a union. We had no choice. $1000 per year forced contribution to the democratic party. Bull crap on that.

[csthigpen]

I believe Governer Walker should have started LAY-OFFS as soon as the DEMOCRATIC Members skipped town & didn't bother to come back with-in a few days. It's one thing to do something to prove a point, but quite another to refuse to do their JOB!!!!! As far as the protester's childish behavior, hey we all have to make sacrafice's & they get paid better than any private individual & certainly have better benefit's than a regular worker. I personally don't see the PROBLEM other than the fact that the UNION BOSSES are afraid they are going to lose $$$ out of there pocket's. The people on strike should think about that! THEY HAVE LINED THE POCKET'S OF THE UNION "FAT CATS" LONG ENOUGH!!!! They should all get over their selves & put thier state & their obligations as professional's before anything else & GET THEIR SELFISH BUTT'S BACK TO WORK AT ONCE! I would have FIRED ALL THEM THE 1st WEEK!!!!! Give the GOVERNER A BREAK - HE IS JUST DOING THE JOB ALL OF YOU ELECTED HIM TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lewis-Guignard]

Notice the writer attacks Rasmussen for being right wings 'as reported by New York Times'. I suppose she wants the reader's to believe the AFL-CIO is honest and upstanding. Give me a break. The AFL-CIO is about power and this whole episode is about using the power of government to take from those who don't want to be part of the union to use the government to take from the people to give to the union.

[Rodeo_Joe]

Gov., you have a call on line 2. Who is it?

[bigsk8fan]

the jig is up. time for the republicans to give up this ruse. their union busting bill has nothing to do with the 'budget'. it is a cynical attempt and repayment for campaign financing by the koch brothers.

[cbvill72]

It's Wednesday and nothing has changed. The proposal must be voted on. When it gets voted on, it will pass. It really is THAT simple. The democrats hiding out in motels is only prolonging the inevitable.
Democracy is about voting on issues and if you lose the election, you deal with it. The democrats in Wisconsin shouldn't have to leave their state and hide out in hotels to figure this out.

When it comes to tough issues, there is a mommy party and a daddy party. The mommy party left Wisconsin (read also took their ball and went home) and are hiding out. Great job guys!

[MB-1234]

hen it comes to tough issues, there is a mommy party and a daddy party. The mommy party left Wisconsin (read also took their ball and went home) and are hiding out. Great job guys!

And the difference between that and the Republican's fillibustering more times during the last Congress than ANY TIME IN OUR HISTORY is exactly what? Once again, the Republican party show's itself to be the hypocites that they really are - they can dish it out but they can't take it when someone uses their own tactics right back on them!

[desert8lizard]

sorry libs & communist unions:

CHECKMATE !!!

[rationall7]

The Hitler Brothers have thier puppet all wound up and ready to destroy the working classes, phase I) close the factories in America phase 2) take the rights away from workers and establist a socialist pay level for all blue collar and dirty white collar workers.

[noloyalisti]

The reason there are these budget issues, besides the obvious genocidal occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, is that the CONSERVATIVE POLITIICANS HAVE TURNED HUGE AMOUNTS OF TAXPAYER MONEY OVER TO THE GIANT CORPORATIONS.

There is plenty of money, it is just in the hands of a few evil rich who are DOING NOTHING TO HELP OUR SOCIETY.

[sjc_1]

This guy looks like a doofus on the podium. Just another numb nuts wrong winger, a dime a dozen.