Massachusetts Dems Push to Limit Public Employees' Collective Bargaining
From the Boston Globe, news of a Blue State state legislature acting all Wisconsiny. The Bay State's Democratically controlled lower chamber pushed to cut back collective bargaining for public employees:
The 111-to-42 vote followed tougher measures to broadly eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees in Ohio, Wisconsin, and other states. But unlike those efforts, the push in Massachusetts was led by Democrats who have traditionally stood with labor to oppose any reduction in workers' rights….
[House Speaker Robert A.]DeLeo said the House measure would save $100 million for cities and towns in the upcoming budget year, helping them avoid layoffs and reductions in services. He called his plan one of the most significant reforms the state can adopt to help control escalating health care costs….
I don't think that collective bargaining is choke point (choke-hold?) point in terms of state budget woes (states without collective bargaining are just as broke as those with it), but expect to see all states, whether considered liberal or conservative, blue or red, whatever, to be pushing back against out-of-whack public-sector compensation.
Indeed, here's a vid on the topic that Reason.tv did with the Heritage Foundation on the very topic: