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Politics

Actually, Americans Do Support Government Union Reform

Explaining why Wisconsin voters likely won't recall their governor

Emily Ekins | 6.4.2012 12:15 PM

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If Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker survives the recall election tomorrow it will signal to other governors that refoming public employee unions is politically feasible. In-depth analysis of national and state-level public opinion about reforming these unions reveals that although polls often find popular support for public sector unions, this support fades as Americans learn more about this distinct type of labor union.

In February 2011 more than 70 percent of Americans had heard of the Wisconsin protests over Gov. Scott Walker's controversial budget reform bill to curb public employee union collective bargaining and balance the budget. National media had shown tens of thousands of protesting public workers outside of the Wisconsin state capitol protesting the law's reform of government labor unions. Myriad polls, for instance see CBS/New York Times, Gallup/USA Today, NBC/Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Rasmussen, revealed that upwards of 55 percent oppose eliminating "collective bargaining rights" as they were so described. Some concluded the public opposed efforts to reform public unions, see here, here, and here.

Yet a comprehensive analysis of public opinion data collected since 2011 reveals the American public actually favors public sector union reform, even perhaps curbing public unions' collective bargaining power. This openness is likely driven by declining union membership and favorability toward unions, perception of unions' negative economic impact, and compensation inequality between public and private sector workers.

Public Unions' Role and Reform

The figure below summarizes what Americans think public sector unions should and should not do:

Summary Policy Preferences for Public Sector Union Workers

 

Americans believe workers have a right to unionize, even public employees (67 percent). In the absence of public dialogue explaining important differences between private and public sector union employees, most Americans think they are essentially the same. This is bolstered by a February 2011 Pew poll finding identical favorability (48 percent) of both private and public sector unions. Consequently, Americans overwhelmingly think both kinds of unions should be treated the same, in fact 77 percent think public sector workers should "have the same right to bargain when it comes to their health care, pension, and other benefits" as private sector union employees.

Although Americans think workers should be allowed to unionize, this does not mean they favor union monopoly power over workers; nearly half think workers should have more than one union to choose from. Nevertheless, they think workers should have the opportunity to sit down and talk with their employers about health care benefits (69 percent), salary and wages (69 percent), and pensions and retirement benefits (68 percent). One should not conclude, though, that Americans think unions should get whatever they want. In fact, Americans often oppose what unions want.

Several state-level polls ask specific policy questions of Wisconsin and California voters regarding public sector' pay, benefits, and collective bargaining. Analyzing these state polls suggest what Americans in general might think about various policy changes for public sector unions in their states.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly support reforms that require public employees to contribute more toward their own retirement benefits and pensions. A February 2011 Wisconsin Policy Research Institute poll found 81 percent favor "requiring public employees to contribute to their own pensions." Similarly a January 2012 Marquette Law School poll and a Reason-Rupe poll found upwards of 70 percent favor increasing public employees' required contributions to their own pensions and health benefits.

According to Rasmussen, 57 percent of Wisconsin voters oppose requiring school districts to buy health insurance from a union-created insurance company. This suggests voters would favor allowing states and municipalities greater flexibility to re-negotiate union contracts. According to the same poll, upwards of 60 percent of Wisconsin voters oppose initiating disbursement of lifetime retirement benefits before early-retired government workers are about 65 years old. This also suggests these voters would oppose "double-dipping," in which retired government workers collecting lifetime retirement benefits in their 40s and 50s go back to work and receive a paycheck in addition to the retirement benefits.

Wisconsin voters are also open to voter referenda before implementing enhancements to public union benefits. They are evenly divided over whether pay raises for state workers that would increase government spending should require voter approval (41 percent oppose, 40 percent favor). However a plurality (48 percent) of Wisconsin voters thinks increases to pension benefits that increase government spending should require voter approval. This suggests many respondents understand the difference between long-term obligations, such as retirement benefits, and annual pay raises.

Half of Wisconsinites favor ending automatic union dues deductions for public employees and half don't think workers should be required to pay union dues as a condition of employment. Essentially, these results suggest openness to right-to-work laws.

Although Wisconsin voters would prefer public employees contribute more toward their pensions and health benefits, they are uncomfortable with "reducing" worker pay and benefits (53 percent oppose). Somewhat ironically, requiring public employees to contribute more toward their pensions and retirement benefits is a form of a pay cut. In fact, the Reason-Rupe poll finds similar contradictory results in the same poll. Like Gallup, Reason-Rupe finds roughly half of Wisconsinites oppose "reducing public employee benefits" yet 74 percent favor requiring public employees to "contribute more toward their own pensions and health care." It appears framing these kinds of reforms as increasing contributions rather than decreasing benefits increases public support.

Wisconsin residents also favor several others measures that would reduce the cost of public employee retirement benefits. Sixty-nine percent favor transitioning new public employees from defined-benefit guaranteed pensions to 401(k)-style accounts. Seventy-nine percent favor raising the retirement-benefit eligibility age to at least 60 and half favor raising the eligibility age to 65.

California

Many Americans are also uncomfortable with breaking agreements on what pensions will pay current retirees. However, a UC Berkeley Field Poll of California voters found that 58 percent favor reducing promised retirement benefits for new employees and future unworked years of current employees. According to the same survey, 52 percent approve of giving state and local governments legal authority to modify existing pension agreements with their current workers.

California voters are also open to several reforms to reduce the overall cost of public employee retirement benefits. Seventy-three percent of California voters favor establishing a salary cap when calculating pension benefits of public employees. Sixty percent favor increasing the minimum age at which public employees can receive pension benefits. Fifty-six percent favor replacing the current pension system for public employees with a new system that would combine 401k-style benefits with reduced guaranteed payments.

Based on the reaction to the Wisconsin public union protests in 2011, it may have appeared the public was unwilling to accept public union reforms. Yet when concrete policy questions are asked, Americans are in fact quite open to reform.

Why Open to Reform?

There are several factors driving openness to reform, namely declining union membership and favorability toward unions, perception of unions' negative economic impact, and compensation inequality between public and private sector workers.

Over the past decades, union membership has plummeted from 20.1 percent in 1982 to 11.8 percent by 2011. Back in 1982, an ABC News/Washington Post poll found 51 percent of non-unionized workers wanted to join a union. However, by 2011 a plurality of Americans say they prefer not to be in a union. A fast-paced, upwardly mobile, and increasingly globalized economy has shown the benefits of non-union membership. Individuals can be compensated for their own work ethic and merit, rather than be tied to the production of their co-workers.

Today, only 6.9 percent of private sector workers are unionized. An astounding 37 percent of public employees, however, are unionized, five times higher than the private sector. In the private sector, expectations for compensation adjusted with economic and social changes. However, much of the public sector continued using a collective bargaining model, promising retirement benefits in the form of guaranteed pension payments and using collectivized negotiation over pay and health care benefits.

The divergence in retirement plans has led to the perception that public employees receive better retirement benefits than private sector workers. For instance, 65 percent of Wisconsin residents think government workers receive "better retirement benefits than workers with similar jobs in the private sector." Likewise a plurality (41 percent) of Californians in 2011 said public workers' pensions are "too generous," up from 32 percent in October 2009. Nationally, about half of Americans think public employees have better benefits than those with similar jobs in the private sector. The difference in public and private sector unionization coupled with the perception of stark compensation inequality likely bolsters support for reform.

Not only has union membership declined, but so has favorability toward labor unions in general. Favorability toward labor unions has steadily declined from a high of 75 percent favorable in October 1953 to 52 percent in 2011. An August 2011 Gallup poll found 55 percent of Americans expect unions to become weaker in the future and 67 percent do not think this is a "bad thing." In fact, the same Gallup poll found 42 percent would like to see labor unions have "less influence" in the United States, up from 28 percent in 2007.

 

Americans also tend to believe unions have a negative impact on the economy and global competitiveness. Gallup finds a plurality (49 percent) believe "labor unions mostly hurt the United States' economy in general." Although a significant number (35 percent) of Americans think labor unions did little to impact the economy in 2011, a plurality (40 percent) thinks labor unions did "more to hurt the economy." Likewise a plurality (36 percent) also think labor unions have a "negative" effect on American companies' ability to compete globally. Interestingly, a survey conducted by Gallup for Phi Delta Kappa found that nearly half of Americans think teachers' unions "hurt" the "quality of public school education in the United States." In contrast, only 26 percent thought teacher unionization has helped and 25 percent think it has made no difference.

There is also concern over labor union power. A clear plurality of Americans, 43 percent, believe labor unions "have too much power" about half of that believe they don't have enough and 28 percent think they have an adequate amount. A plurality of Americans (36 percent) also says "labor unions have too much influence on American life and politics today."

A combination of declining union membership, declining union favorability, belief of unions' negative economic impact, and perception of stark compensation inequality between public and private sectors, have likely created an environment ripe for reform.

Emily Ekins is the director of polling for Reason Foundation where she leads the Reason-Rupe public opinion research project, launched in 2011. Follow her on Twitter @emilyekins.

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Emily Ekins is a research fellow and director of polling at the Cato Institute.

PoliticsWisconsinReformLaborPublic UnionsGovernment employeesPensionsPolicy
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  1. Res Publica Americana   13 years ago

    "Americans believe workers have a right to unionize, even public employees."

    And because the Constitution (or certain parts of it, varying from time to time) doesn't mean shit unless enough people care (Oh Glory, Democracy!), things like this will remain a gigantic issue. Thanks a lot, fellow Americans.

    1. PS   13 years ago

      To be fair, it never really occurred to me to question the difference between public and private sector unions. Until I started reading Reason like a year ago. It's something that should be obvious but really isn't.

      And I was never a big fan of unions, having been forced to be an AFL/CIO member when I worked at UPS in CA.

    2. anon   13 years ago

      Well, come on RPA. I can support someone's right to unionize while still allowing the employer the discretion to fire every one of their asses. Unfortunately, somehow forming a union means that nobody can be fired, which I think is stupid.

      1. anon   13 years ago

        I'd also like to throw in that I do not support unionization of any type; just noting that one's support does not necessarily indicate they are a parasite.

      2. Res Publica Americana   13 years ago

        I was referring solely to public unions.

        1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

          I was referring solely to public unions.

          I believe tax leeches is the preferred nomenclature.

    3. Anonymous Coward   13 years ago

      Americans believe workers have a right to unionize, even public employees.

      A cartel of labor serves only to manipulate the market value of labor, like a cartel of sugar exists only to manipulate the price of sugar.

      1. anon   13 years ago

        There's nothing inherently wrong with people trying to get more money for their labor, especially if there's nobody else willing to perform the labor.

        That said, Unions today are nothing more than groups of government educated fools trying to squeeze every last penny from their employer.

        1. BarryD   13 years ago

          They tend to do a good job of squeezing money from their members, too. Do union bosses and their staffs tend to make less than members do?

          1. anon   13 years ago

            I don't know. What I've seen of unions in my past experience indicates they're just there to help incompetent people keep their jobs, helping even more incompetent people keep their powerful union positions.

            I will never again live in New York.

          2. Concerned Citizen   13 years ago

            I do know firsthand that OEA bosses drove cars that were leased for $700/mo. back in the early 1990s. Who knows what they're driving now. OEA is the Ohio Education Association, protector of the poor, downtrodden teachers.

            1. fried wylie   13 years ago

              LIKE A BAWSS!

            2. Sharon Stone   13 years ago

              Why do you hate teachers, Concerned Citizen?

              -OEA

              1. Anonymous Coward   13 years ago

                Why do you hate teachers, Concerned Citizen?

                Teachers killed my father and raped my mother. Or was it the other way around? Did I accidentally send my father a mother's day card? Did I forget father's day? Either way, you guys suck.

        2. fried wylie   13 years ago

          if there's nobody else willing to perform the labor

          There's always somebody. Until the Final Solution of killing everyone besides God Fearing American Citizens comes to pass. Which wont matter as that will be followed by the Final-Final solution of finishing off non-ruling-class citizenry. I can die happy at that point knowing that the robots intended to replace us will kill the few remaining humans soon after.

          1. anon   13 years ago

            There's always somebody.

            I suppose I should've said "Willing and able," which there is definitely *not* always somebody.

      2. Heroic Mulatto   13 years ago

        A cartel of labor serves only to manipulate the market value of labor

        Yes, if by cartel, you are referring to, perhaps "drug cartel". Like drug cartels, military juntas, and the mafia, labor groups attempt to control by force.

    4. Zeb   13 years ago

      Well, they have a right to try to unionize. That doesn't mean that employers are obliged to cooperate.

      1. alan_s   13 years ago

        ^^This

  2. mr simple   13 years ago

    Has everyone seen this leftist obfuscation?

    Out of every dollar that funds Wisconsin' s pension and health insurance plans for state workers, 100 cents comes from the state workers.

    This article is a year old, and reason handled it at the time, but I've seen people pushing it in message boards recently like its new. You only have to give these people one soundbite and they think they have the whole argument figured out.

    1. Zeb   13 years ago

      Well, I guess he is technically correct in a way, but misses the point entirely. 100% of every dollar is also given them by taxpayers.

      I wonder if this guy also thinks that it is unfair to include pension and benefits when comparing public sector and private sector salaries?

  3. Paul.   13 years ago

    OT: Gas prices in Seattle have finally begun to decline downward...

    1. ?Ex Nihilo?   13 years ago

      decline downward...

      As opposed to declining upward??

      ;-]

      1. anon   13 years ago

        As opposed to declining upward??

        I'm sure this will be some kind of campaign ad for Obama in the near future.

      2. Paul.   13 years ago

        Yes. Previously, gas prices on the west coast were declining upward. We were treated to story.. after story... after story about how low gas prices were getting all over the country.

        Every day, it was like having a Crazy Eddie commercial shoved down your throat. "Gas prices so low, they're in-saaaane!"

        So it became a running joke about how the gas prices had declined up another 5 cents.

        1. ?Ex Nihilo?   13 years ago

          ...on the west coast...

          Say no more fine sir, these four words say it all. I guess it could have been 'new math' as well.

        2. Episiarch   13 years ago

          Decline? I filled up yesterday and noticed that regular was $4.50/gallon (this was in Queen Anne). That's declining? I love it when one trip to the gas station is over $70. Really, I do.

          1. Paul.   13 years ago

            I'm going by SeattleGasPrices chart which, overall is pretty accurate. If you check the chart, the suggestion is they're juuuuust beginning to tip.

          2. Randian   13 years ago

            $4.50?! Holy Diver.

            I am filling up today for $3.40.

            1. Episiarch   13 years ago

              Believe me, I was shocked myself. Last time I filled up (about two weeks ago) it was something like $4.15.

              1. Paul.   13 years ago

                Yeah, I filled up in Federal way the other day, was something like $72.

                1. ?Ex Nihilo?   13 years ago

                  I filled up over the weekend, $135. But that is normal for me.

          3. Invisible Finger   13 years ago

            My mom used to go to the gas station and tell the attendant to put in two dollars worth.

            OK, to be fair that was about 100 miles worth of gas. Today I can get about 100 miles worth for about 7 dollars.

            I have no point to make.

    2. sage   13 years ago

      See? The Chairman's energy policy is working.

    3. anon   13 years ago

      OT: Gas prices in Seattle have finally begun to decline

      I'm sure that has absolutely nothing to do with people fleeing the euro for the USD nor decreased demand due to shitty economic conditions... :p

  4. Pro Libertate   13 years ago

    "Unions make us strong." Just who does the "us" apply to?

    1. anon   13 years ago

      Thugs that would take by force what they cannot earn by merit.

    2. sage   13 years ago

      Can't spell unions without us.

      1. R C Dean   13 years ago

        You also can't spell it without "I".

        1. Pro Libertate   13 years ago

          Or "onus."

          1. Zeb   13 years ago

            Or "sin", "sun" or "nouns" for that matter.

            1. ?Ex Nihilo?   13 years ago

              Unions do seem to boggle the mind.

            2. John Galt   13 years ago

              Or "anus." Or maybe not..

            3. R C Dean   13 years ago

              "nuns", too.

              These would be some great culture-jamming signs to take to one of the union protests. The goons are waving signs that say "You can't spell unions without us", and someone is standing next to them waving signs that say "You can't spell unions without onus" and "You can't spell unions without nuns".

          2. SugarFree   13 years ago

            Onus The Screaming Anus

            OOOOOOOOOOOOO!
            This is how I know...
            This is how I know...
            This: OOOOOOOOOOOOO!
            The rosebud of mystery
            Pulse! Pulse! Gape! Gape!
            The whole world boiled down
            bloody syrup
            sticky with dead hope, dead hope
            OOOOOOOOOOOOO!

            1. Episiarch   13 years ago

              Now I'm hungry. Thanks, NutraSweet.

              1. anon   13 years ago

                I had a dream about you Epi. Somehow I knew you in real life. Your name was Ed something, and I was like "Oh that's Epi!"

                Holy shit my dreams suck.

                1. Episiarch   13 years ago

                  Your dreams are not accurate. I will not be employing you as my psychic. However, I do have a position open for a monkey butler if you're interested. I offered this position to Warty but he refuses to work for bananas.

                  1. Warty   13 years ago

                    You think that's all I'm worth? I demand plantains, at least, you fucking skinflint.

                    1. Episiarch   13 years ago

                      You want plantains, go work for Harry Belafonte!

                    2. Warty   13 years ago

                      'Cause you see, I feel that life's a game
                      You sometimes win or lose;
                      And though I may be down right now
                      At least I don't work for Jews.

                    3. Randian   13 years ago

                      There's a quasi-racist plantation joke in there somewhere.

                      As a matter of fact:

                      1. Monkeys? Check
                      2. Harry Belafonte? Check
                      3. Banana Plantations? Sort of Check.

                      I declare this whole thread racist.

                2. Spoonman.   13 years ago

                  Oddly I have had a dream where I stayed in Epi's bizarrely over-kitchened condo.

                  1. Killazontherun   13 years ago

                    I had a dream where I was walking around in Hell the other night. Way overrated. Too clean. Been in worse bars.

                    1. Killazontherun   13 years ago

                      Oh, just remembered this bit, Neil Young was the entertainment. I could never actually see him, though patrons kept pointing in the direction of the stage, and I kept looking. However, he was stuck on that one note from Cinnamon Girl. I honestly wanted to kill him to make it stop.

            2. Brandybuck   13 years ago

              Rosebud of mystery? I wonder if undiluted Clorox will get that image out of my mind...

    3. ?Ex Nihilo?   13 years ago

      "Unions make us strong." Just who does the "us" apply to?

      The fuckstain holding the sign of course.

      1. Pro Libertate   13 years ago

        Ah, the royal "us."

        1. Zeb   13 years ago

          I think it includes the other fuckstains standing next to him too.

          1. Pro Libertate   13 years ago

            Either way, not me.

            1. fried wylie   13 years ago

              That's your own retard fault for not-joining the thugocracy.

              Personally, I'm gonna stop complaining and start lobby washington for a mandate that everyone buy a personal website, with multiple datacenter hosting, every expensive microsoft web product in existence (and a few imaginary ones too), as well as a guarantee of thousands of hours for modification/support every month.

      2. JW   13 years ago

        Weapons make us strong.

  5. sloopyinca   13 years ago

    I have no problem with private sector unions. All I have a problem with is the DOL interjecting themselves into employer/employee negotiations.

    As far as public sector unions, the only way I could support them is if they fully funded their own pensions and they had to negotiate their contracts with random folk off the street, preferably people who are under- or unemployed. And I wish all police unions had to negotiate their contracts with a panel of victims and family of victims of police abuse.

    1. TheAtomicOption   13 years ago

      That would be nice.

      People think that the public are the customers of the police. This is not the case. The government and specifically the prosecutor's office is the only customer of the police police. The public is the product that the police are selling.

  6. Espantapajaros   13 years ago

    One thing I've noticed largely absent from Reason's coverage of the WI recall effort is the criminal investigation against him. I'm saying this as one more or less opposed to recalling the squirrelly little Kochsucker, but he's the only governor in the nation with a criminal defense fund. We may perceive this externally as a one-issue recall, but Walker's opposition has been tireless about painting Walker as a criminal -- which he may in fact be.

    1. R C Dean   13 years ago

      Details, please. What is he being investigated for? Who is doing the investigating? Is this investigation a partisan hit job, or is it legit?

      1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

        Google search results for "Scott Walker Defense Fund". It's full of the usual suspects: Kos, HuffPo, MotherJones, ThinkProgress, etc.

        Here is the first story that pops up from a news agency. There are no details what it could possibly be, but it does say 4 of Walker's former aides have been charged with...something. It doesn't say whether or not they are related to the Governor or his office, however.

        Question: has Obama bundler (read: aide) Jim Corzine set up a legal defense fund?

      2. Espantapajaros   13 years ago

        There's a state and federal investigation. Three former aides and a donor have been charged; thirteen more (including his spokesman) have been granted immunity. Less is known about the federal investigation.

        It seems legit, but obviously there's the question of how much he was actually involved vs. how much the recall crowd wants the voters to believe he was involved. Personally, when it comes to politicians, I presume guilt until innocence is proven.

        There's a link going around the FB pages of some Wisconsin friends. The lefty bias is palpable, but it does include actual facts:

        http://www.thedailypage.com/da.....icle=36926

        1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

          Try my link. It's not dripping with partisan operators, innuendo and baseless accusations.

          From yours: With the recall election less than two days away, federal prosecutors are closing in on Governor Scott Walker, according to veteran political reporter David Shuster, former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, and former district attorney Bob Jambois.

          In a conference call organized by state Democrats on Saturday evening, June 2, Shuster, Lautenschlager, and Jambois laid out evidence that Walker is a target of a federal investigation.

          "I stand by my reporting 100 percent," Shuster said in the conference call. "It's clear to me that he is, in fact, a target in a federal investigation."

          And this guy wants to be taken seriously as a journalist?

        2. R C Dean   13 years ago

          As near as I can tell, Walker hasn't been charged or named as a target.

          It seems to have been brought by the Milwaukee County DA (hardly immune from suspicions of partisanship), and piggybacked by Holder's DOJ (ditto).

          Strikes me as a wait and see. I would be surprised if there was anything very damning of Walker, yet, or it would have been leaked.

    2. sloopyinca   13 years ago

      WI recall effort

      I broke into a sweat upon first reading that. I was afraid a grassroots movement had started to invite Godesky back.

      1. fried wylie   13 years ago

        to invite Godesky back.

        That's not it at all. We spend a day in remembrance of WI, and conclude the ceremony with a celebration of registration.

        1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

          [wipes sweat from brow]

          1. fried wylie   13 years ago

            I wish everyone would settle on a date, so I know how long I have to complete these feathered headdresses.

            1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

              Get Lizzie Warren to help you. I'm sure she has plenty of training from her summers with grandpa on the reservation.

      2. Sevo   13 years ago

        "a grassroots movement had started to invite Godesky back."

        Uh, that would be 'grassroot'; can't be more than one.

    3. Randian   13 years ago

      And the alleged charges are...?

      1. anon   13 years ago

        Charges?

        Where we're going, we don't need ... charges...

        /pathetic play on back to the future.

      2. Espantapajaros   13 years ago

        Mostly having to do with illegal campaigning from the county exec office. If true it's possible he had nothing at all to do with it, but in terms of the recall the relevant question is whether Wisconsinites think he did.

        1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

          It may effect a reelection bid, but the recall election is a Walker slam dunk. Team Blue would do well to distance themselves from that state, lest the rest of Blue-run America find out how that state is doing after Walker kicked most of the unions in the balls.

        2. Sevo   13 years ago

          "but in terms of the recall the relevant question is whether Wisconsinites think he did."
          So you're hoping a good dose of innuendo will do the job for you?

  7. TheAtomicOption   13 years ago

    What shocks me is not that 57% of people think that an employer shouldn't be required to buy things from a union created insurance company, but that 43% think it *should* be required to. That people so freely approve of using force to make others purchase things they don't want is a testament to the total failure of ethical thinking this country is now facing.

    1. anon   13 years ago

      Once again, more evidence that my choice to never have children is the correct one.

      1. Brandybuck   13 years ago

        ... that and a willing partner ...

        1. anon   13 years ago

          I will my own partners.

  8. lunettes de soleil pas cher   13 years ago

    favor allowing states and municipalities greater flexibility to re-negotiate union contracts. According to the same poll, upwards of 60 percent of Wisconsin voters oppose initiating disbursement of lifetime retirement benefits before early-retired government workers are about 65 years old. This also suggests these voters would oppose "double-dipping," in which retired government workers collecting lifetime retirement benefits in their 40s and 50s go back to work and receive a paycheck in addition to the retirement benefits.

  9. maillot de bain magasin   13 years ago

    tt Walker's controversial budget reform bill to curb public employee union collective bargaining and balance the budget. National media had shown tens of thousands of protesting public workers outside

  10. Chaussures nike shox   13 years ago

    Although Americans think workers should be allowed to unionize, this does not mean they favor union monopoly power over workers; nearly half think workers should have more than one union to choose from. Nevertheless, they think workers should have the opportunity to sit down and talk with their employers about health care benefits (69 percent), salary and wages (69 percent), and pensions and retirement benefits (68 percent). One should not conclude, though, that Americans think unions should get whatever they want. In fact, Americans often oppose what unions want.

  11. pet winkel   13 years ago

    This openness is likely driven by declining union membership and favorability toward unions, perception of unions' negative economic impact, and compensation inequality between public and private sector workers.

  12. ralphs   13 years ago

    http://www.libertarianinternat.....-worldwide

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