We need to redouble our efforts when responding to policies and laws that stand in the way of prosperity in Ontario. We must learn from Wisconsin and act together for the good of all Ontarians.
Thanks to the support of our members OPSEU will be leading this effort. Ontarians have a lot to think about before the next election. There are real choices to be made. Get involved, and vote when election day comes.
A lot more activity is right around the corner, including a series of video productions setting out the threats we face and the promise ahead, if we all get involved in our communities we will be part of a change that can benefit everyone. That is what unions are all about.
Act 10 = Plan B
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March 28, 2014 In 2011 Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker didn’t need to enact a "Right to Work" law to destroy the state’s public service unions. He devised a long list of union-busting legislation known as Act 10.
Act 10 was designed to cut public employees' take home pay and neuter their unions. And it worked. Today there are fewer state employees in Wisconsin, they earn less and their unions are floundering. Perhaps this is what Tim Hudak was thinking when he suddenly announced he was ditching his beloved plan to bring union busting "Right to Work" laws to Ontario. And then, in his next breath said, “Our agenda is a lot bigger, and a lot more ambitious than JUST that”.
Some of the specifics of Governor Walker’s Act 10 and Tim Hudak’s Plan B “Path to Prosperity” white papers differ but the big ticket items are the same.
- A two-year wage freeze.
- Slash the number of public employees.
- Contract out Government services.
- Privatize as much of Government as possible.
And, oh yes! - Change the labour laws so you can cripple the public service unions that stand in your way.
In Wisconsin, the fear now is that slashing the public service was just the first step. Right wing billionaire businessmen are sinking big money into the campaigns of Tea Party Republicans in several US states. The ultimate prize – privatizing the public education system.
It’s a prospect that makes Madison, Wisconsin special education teacher Peggy Coyne's stomach sick. Teaching is Coyne’s life work.
After Act 10 She Is On Food Stamps
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Video of 4jsOTk43nksMarch 27, 2014 Tim Hudak claims he’s changed his mind about bringing American style "Right to Work" laws to Ontario. Maybe we can believe him, maybe not. It wouldn’t be the first politician to renege on a promise.
What we do know for sure is that he is still determined to destroy public sector unions and even though "Right to Work" turned out to be a non-starter with Ontario voters, he has a few other union busting planks in his policy platform.
That’s what happened in Wisconsin when newly elected Republican Governor Scott Walker made attacking Wisconsin’s state employees his number one priority and without ever mentioning "Right to Work".
Thirty-year-old mother of three Leah Lipska is now paying the price.
Lipska is an IT specialist with Wisconsin’s Department of Correctional Services. She makes $35,000 a year but after Walker imposed a two-year wage freeze (Hudak has also promised a two-year freeze for OPSEU members) and “reforms” to her pension and health plans (starting to sound familiar?) Lipska takes home 10 percent less pay than she used to. She’s had to turn to food stamps and other government welfare programs to survive.
Solidarity Singers
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Hudak is a big fan of US anti-Labour legislation
March 26, 2014 PC leader Tim Hudak claims to have dropped his plan to bring American style Right to Work laws to Ontario. But there’s more than one way to bust a union. He has a list of other anti-Labour legislation he will enact if he is ever elected Premier of Ontario.
Hudak is a big fan of US anti-Labour legislation and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has shown right wing politicians on both sides of the border how to destroy public service unions without passing a Right to Work law.
In March 2011, Walker and his Tea Party allies in the Wisconsin legislature passed Act Ten. It took away the right from public service unions to collectively bargain on pensions, health and safety, overtime, wage increases above the cost of inflation and abolished meaningful grievance procedures. In short, anything the union could do for its members.
Predictably membership in the public service union (AFSCME) fell from 19,000 to 8,000 in just three years. Even so, union members aren’t giving up. Every day they go to the Wisconsin Legislature to serenade Governor Walker with songs of defiance.