Scott Walker

Walker looks at many different legal options to limit employee benefits cost and weaken unions in order to balance the budget. Options include decertifying unions, not allowing unions to negotiate with the state, modifying current laws, and limiting or abolishing union rights. He wants to require employees to contribute 5% to their pensions and 12% to their health costs. Currently they contribute nothing to their pensions and only 4%-6% of health costs.

The bottom line is that we are going to look at every legal means we have to try to put that balance more on the side of taxpayers and the people who care about services. . . . You are not going to hear me degrade state and local employees in the public sector. But we can no longer live in a society where the public employees are the haves and the taxpayers who foot the bills are the have-nots.

Union leaders say they will fight if the state tries to modify laws governing state unions. A union director:

It’s too bad Scott Walker wants to destroy a law that assures the uninterrupted delivery of high-quality public services and has kept labor peace for more than three decades. We certainly prefer negotiation to confrontation.

Walker refuses to ask for any federal money for county projects and programs even though Milwaukee County has large budget shortfalls including $300 million for park repairs, $43 million for transit and $300 million to rebuild its mental health complex. He feels that the county and country will be better off without federal money since it contributes to unbalanced budgets.

All we are asking for is ‘do no harm.’ I’m not asking for any new projects or things to be done here. . . . The last thing you want to do is put money in hands of government, if the goal is to pull the economy from recession.

Running for reelection, Walker takes on the populist role based on his accomplishments during his first two years in office. After taking over a fiscally troubled county government, Walker is getting things back on track with his anti-tax message, cutting the budget, direct appeals to the public, and a government that is downsized, reformed and open. He feels that the government is still inefficient enough to allow for more cuts.

I’m not anti-government, but I’m anti needless government bureaucracy. . . . Cleaning the mess left over from the last administration is often not easy, and it requires some dramatic actions…The people that were swept from power want it back, I need your help to continue reforming your county government.

With a $4 million deficit, Walker plans to either layoff 400 workers or cut the workweek to 35 hours for all county employees. Labor leaders promise a court fight if Walker makes a unilateral decision:

Why should it only be county employees who take a hit? We don’t think that’s the only choice the exec has. . . . The county could ask its hundreds of private vendors to take a cut, or seek workers interested in taking voluntary furloughs.

Walker tells the unions that if they do not agree to the cut in the workweek, he will be forced to layoff people:

We feel we have a strong legal case for imposing a 35-hour workweek. The approach shares the pain across county government and minimizes the impact on the public, which will see little service reduction because workers in many cases could simply shave an hour a day off their schedules. Management has the ability to reduce workers’ hours to 35 hours a week without union approval during a budget crises.

Walker ends a tradition by refusing to accept contributions to his reelection campaign from county employees. He will return any contributions already given and he does not expect them to attend his fund-raising events. He wants to evaluate his employees on their merits, not on their political loyalty.

I’ve seen too many times in government where the expectation to give comes with the job.