workers' protests swell in the Midwest, the budget battles continue

Republican lawmakers heart of the nation might be feeling if heartburn after the balance sheet accounts have generated protests in at least three states, which the protesters seen as an attack on workers 'rights'.

The crowd in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana met Tuesday in a series of budget battles that the problems of long-standing rights and benefits granted to unionized workers, while raising questions about the financial health of state and local governments.

"This is really a metaphor for some of the big issues we face," said economist dambis Moyo, author of "How the West was lost."

"There is too much emphasis on short-term issues like the deficit and unemployment, which are important issues," said Moyo. Politicians have long hidden the true costs of the financial obligations of their state while ignoring the longer-term issues of debt and structural "he said.

"The proverbial chickens have turned against them," said Moyo.

If the fighting continues the opening act for a broader budget debate, or just the latest stalemate is a rough-and-tumble arena of state policy, the proposed law, however, has made thousands of statehouses throughout the Midwest.

In Indiana, House Democrats tore a page from the book of Wisconsin by going off on a Republican bill that would cut back trade union rights in the private sector.

Republicans, who represent 60 of the 100 seats in the House, there was no two-thirds majority needed for a quorum.

"It is unbelievable that this bill is described as a step toward reform, when in fact it would mark a big step backwards for most Hoosiers," said Democratic House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer in a written statement.

The bill would prevent private-sector unions to demand that workers pay dues for representation.

Meanwhile, a bill to limit the power of collective bargaining for certain public sector workers has sparked protests in neighboring Georgia, where crowds packed the state capital, Columbus, for the second week.

The measure, known as Senate Bill 5, which would eliminate tenure as when making decisions for dismissal, workers must pay at least 20% of their health insurance premiums and pay the institute based on the credit for certain workers public.

Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich said the proposed reductions in collective bargaining rights are designed to "rebalance the system," not to destroy the unions.

Critics say the bill not only cons undercut workers' rights, it does not deal with deficit problems systemically.

The state faces a deficit of 8 billion.

In Wisconsin, the draft budget for repairs like Scott Walker Governor's proposal seeks to address a deficit of $ 137 million at June 30 and increased contributions from state workers their pensions and insurance health. It requires collective bargaining units to conduct annual voting to maintain certification. It also eliminates the right of unions to the contributions deducted from salaries of workers.

Walker defended his budget, saying it is necessary to take measures to deal with a gap of $ 3.6 million budget for 2013 that could cause thousands of layoffs.

"Now, some wondered why we need to reform collective bargaining to balance the budget," he said Tuesday in what was billed as a televised "conversation" with Wisconsans. "The answer is simple: The system is broken It costs taxpayers money serious - especially at local level as a former county official, I know first hand ...

"For years I tried to use the modest changes of pension contributions and health insurance as a way to balance our budget without layoffs or furloughs. At almost every turn, "said local unions (authorized by collective agreements) to me further and dismiss employees. It is not acceptable to me. "

Fourteen senators have boycotted the state Democratic Legislature and fled to Illinois to prevent a quorum to pass the bill. Opponents of the measure have said they will not allow a vote unless Walker traded on the plan to eliminate collective bargaining for everything except wages.

Walker urged Democrats to return to Madison "and do their job."

One of the Democrats who left the State Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller said the response to Rockford, Illinois, that Walker would be "to acknowledge that he got what he wants," concessions on pensions and health insurance and up to the curb collective bargaining rights.

"Wisconsin is one of the oldest traditions of workers' rights in the country, Miller said." We were the first state to have injuries, we were the first state to the UI, we were the first state to recognize the right of employees to negotiate those rights should not be discarded lightly . ".

"A good solution is, after all, do not get what they want," Miller said. "In a democracy you get what you want or very little of what you want, but you can not get everything they want."

The unions, who have traditionally favored Democrats, have argued that collective bargaining, a process of negotiations aimed at regulating the working conditions, helped to protect the wages and health care, implementing workplace safety and provide a way to arbitrate employee complaints.

Walker warned that not passing the bill would result in at least 1,500 public employees dismissed in the short term and could result in 6,000 layoffs in the next budget cycle.

However, the Wisconsin Retirement System has more than 80 billion dollars invested, while pensions account for only 1.35% of state budget expenditures in 2008, according to Keith Brainard, research director of the National Association director of the state pension.

"Pensions are not the driver of Wisconsin's financial problems," said Brainard.

The greater the difference in the national debate appears in public-private pension contributions, where state and local governments have contributed an average of more than three times their private counterparts in 2009, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

Public employers also paid on average more than twice as much on health care this year.

"That amount is high, because many private employers do not offer a comparable health coverage," said the economist Wayne Shelly and an employment agency.

Meanwhile in New Jersey, Chris Christie presented the Governor a budget $ 29400000000 Tuesday, asking workers to shoulder more of the cost of their co-payments and premiums in an attempt to save the state an estimated $ 323 million . In 2014, the governor would require workers to pay 30% of their medical benefits, up 8% today.

Christie has also urged state lawmakers to reform the state pension system attached, which has a deficit of 54 billion dollars.

budget bills have worked their way through legislatures in Tennessee and Idaho, which would end or limit the ability of teachers to bargain collectively contacts, raising questions about whether the legislature may restrict expect clashes similar to those in the Midwest.