[B]Indy Star
Exodus: Dems trigger Statehouse showdown[/B]
[release]Seats on one side of the Indiana House were nearly empty today as House Democrats departed the the state rather than vote on anti-union legislation.
A source tells The Indianapolis Star that Democrats are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky. They need to go to a state with a Democratic governor to avoid being taken into police custody and returned to Indiana.
The House came into session twice this morning, with only three of the 40 Democrats present. Those were needed to make a motion, and a seconding motion, for any procedural steps Democrats would want to take to ensure Republicans don’t do anything official without quorum.
With only 58 legislators present, there was no quorum present to do business. The House needs 67 of its members to be present.
House Speaker Brian Bosma said he did not know yet whether he would ask the Indiana State Police to compel the lawmakers to attend, if they can be found.
Today’s fight was triggered by Republicans pushing a bill that would bar unions and companies from negotiating a contract that requires non-union members to kick-in fees for representation. It’s become the latest in what is becoming a national fight over Republican attempts to eliminate or limit collective bargaining.
Gov. Mitch Daniels had warned his party late last year against pursuing so-called “right to work” legislation. While he agreed with it philosophically, he said it was a big issue that needed a state-wide debate and noted no Republican had run on this in the November election.
But now that his party is pursuing it, Daniels has not spoken against it. He has so far issued no statement, has held no news conference and has not been interviewed by any Indiana reporters in the Statehouse. Daniels did do a radio interview Monday with National Public Radio in which he discussed the labor fight which has caused a government stalemate in Wisconsin — where Senate Democrats have fled to Illinois to prevent a vote on a bill that limits collective bargaining --a now, apparently, his state.
Today, the union members who have filled the Statehouse — an estimated 4,000 according to the Indiana State Police — held a rally, chanting such things as “Ditch Mitch” and “Save Our Families,” which he must have heard as he worked in his nearby Statehouse office.
Union supporters say the bill which has sparked the protests, House Bill 1468 such a measure would weaken bargaining power because companies under collective bargaining agreements would no longer have to hire union members. Supporters, including the state's Chamber of Commerce, say it would makes Indiana more appealing to business and will bring jobs to the state.
Tim Kilbourne, a plow truck mechanic for the city of Indianapolis, said he and other workers would keep coming to the Statehouse until legislators kill the bill.
"All these bills here is to kill the worker," he said.
House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, “has taken a page out of the Wisconsin Senate playbook apparently” by keeping his caucus in hiding, Bosma said. “They are shirking the job that they were hired to do.”
In Wisconsin, Senate Democrats have fled to Illinois to deny Republicans the quorum they need to pass legislation limiting collective bargaining for many public employees.
Asked at what point he would call in the Indiana State Police to attempt to round up the Democrats, Bosma said: “We’ll see how the day goes.”
Bosma said he spoke to Daniels and said the governor is “very supportive of our position to come in and try to do our work. He was not pleased that the Democrats weren’t here to do their work. And like me is just waiting to see how the course of the day proceeds.”
Austin told reporters that “it doesn’t matter where they (Democrats) are at this point. What matters is that they’re trying to figure out a way to save the state from this radical agenda.”
Asked if they were in the state, Austin said only: “They’re working hard.”
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said it’s not important where the Democrat lawmakers are.
“This is a principled fight,” Parker said.
What’s important, he said, is that they are standing up to an agenda they believe will cut wages for Indiana workers, both in unions and those who do not belong to unions. They’ll return, he said, when they drop the bills Democrats see as an “assault on the middle class.”
Bosma, though, said Republicans are “counting on common sense and a sense of responsibility to prevail and that they would get back here and do the job that they were elected to do."
The last time a prolonged walk-out happened in the Indiana legislature was in the mid-1990s, when Republicans were in control and tried to draw new legislative district maps, eliminating a district that likely would have been a Democrat one, in the middle of the decade. Democrats won that standoff, staying away several days until Republicans dropped the plan.[/release]
[url]http://www.indystar.com/article/20110222/NEWS/110222004/House-Democrats-flee-Indiana-stop-votes?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|IndyStar.com[/url]
Other Sources and Sites covering this:
Politico: [url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49974.html#ixzz1EkO3X7Cw]Indiana Dems AWOL, Mitch Daniels wants GOPers to abandon labor bill[/url]
FOX: [url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/02/22/democrats-stay-away-indiana-house-amid-union-protests]Anti-Union Bill Splits Republican Leaders in Indiana[/url]
So now we have more runaways. Who's fleeing next?
Anti-Union legislation is bad legislation.
dems is bad dems, amirite?
Why would you take away collective bargaining rights or even unions for that matter?
If you want happy workers and keep from being abused by shitty employers you [i]need[/i] unions. Why the Hell do you think a number of the southern states in the union are in the shitter when it comes to education?
You take away a teacher's voice and benefits and union, big surprise, they become shitty teachers.
You rather the state fire them because they can't afford them? The States can't print money like DC can.
[QUOTE=Glaber;28224028]You rather the state fire them because they can't afford them? The States can't print money like DC can.[/QUOTE]
Fire others that are less important than education, or legalise a substance and tax it.
[QUOTE=Glaber;28224028]You rather the state fire them because they can't afford them? The States can't print money like DC can.[/QUOTE]
The state could just as easily NOT strip them of their collective bargaining rights in this benefit bill but the fact that they are doing it for the teachers and not the firefighters just shows it's not a budget bill but simple union busting.
[editline]22nd February 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Coffee;28224076]Fire others that are less important than education, or cut back on military funding.[/QUOTE]
Don't be dumb. Wisconsin doesn't have a defense budget.
Oh boy, now my state's involved. Let's see how this one turns out.
[QUOTE=Glaber;28224028]You rather the state fire them because they can't afford them? The States can't print money like DC can.[/QUOTE]
Meg Whitman of California took a shot at Unions and claimed that they were the evil of America, no way. Jerry Brown did not touch Unions and he has looked at many other alternatives into solving California's crisis (reducing bureaucratic hassle, create jobs, cutting down on excessive budgets) The AFL-CIO has been the Democrat's big milking tit and they just want to bust it. This is no different, why would they be cutting the benefits and rights of the most important job in the United States? Why isn't this governor looking at alternatives instead of just rushing this shit legislation through?
[QUOTE=Glaber;28224028]You rather the state fire them because they can't afford them? The States can't print money like DC can.[/QUOTE]
false dichotomyyyy
this pain inside of me
when arguments strike like pins and needles,
and my premise fails and I start to wheedle,
I know you'll be there, False dichotomyyyyy
[QUOTE=RBM11;28224083]Don't be dumb. Wisconsin doesn't have a defense budget.[/QUOTE]
I'm not from Wisconsin so I wouldn't know that.
[QUOTE=Coffee;28224183]I'm not from Wisconsin so I wouldn't know that.[/QUOTE]
Uhhh, Defense Budget is handled by the Federal Government, not state-by-state
[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;28224209]Uhhh, Defense Budget is handled by the Federal Government, not state-by-state[/QUOTE]
I'm not from America so I couldn't know that.
[QUOTE=Glaber;28224028]You rather the state fire them because they can't afford them? The States can't print money like DC can.[/QUOTE]
Someone doesn't understand the article he posted. :rolleye:
Why does this sound like something out of the 1800s? The conflict that is.
Unions have their ups and downs.
On one hand, the Teamsters helped my father keep his job after he seriously injured his back, but I've heard countless stories of union corruption as well that just make them all get a dark tint.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;28224486]Unions have their ups and downs.
On one hand, the Teamsters helped my father keep his job after he seriously injured his back, but I've heard countless stories of union corruption as well that just make them all get a dark tint.[/QUOTE]
hey, i've heard of corruption in the government too
we should also get rid of that
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;28224486]Unions have their ups and downs.
On one hand, the Teamsters helped my father keep his job after he seriously injured his back, but I've heard countless stories of union corruption as well that just make them all get a dark tint.[/QUOTE]
The positives of unions vastly outweigh the negatives.
[QUOTE=Mr. Scorpio;28224535]hey, i've heard of corruption in the government too
we should also get rid of that[/QUOTE]
Except the department of defense, double their budget.
[QUOTE=DanRatherman;28224854]Except the department of defense, double their budget.[/QUOTE]
because the military is incapable of being corrupt
[QUOTE=DanRatherman;28224854]Except the department of defense, double their budget.[/QUOTE]
Snip that before Congress sees this.
[quote]"do the job that they were elected to do."[/quote]
I see this and my respect falls for the people that say it.
Republicans think that they're elected to vote on things? What a bunch of nincompoops.
Officials are elected to serve the people, which are exactly what the Dems are doing right now.
People seem to forget the reason laws exist and look at the laws themselves.
You know what glabber?...
[img]http://drenath.sdrone.net/images/internet/officespace.gif[/img]
[QUOTE=Mr. Scorpio;28224535]hey, i've heard of corruption in the government too
we should also get rid of that[/QUOTE]
[img_thumb]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FOIrYyQawGI/TC0thVs0DoI/AAAAAAAAC3w/AfRWy2zTqPo/s1600/StrawMan.jpg[/img_thumb]
So this is the first thing on the agenda for the new crop of Republican leadership? Gut as many unions as possible? Not reduce the deficit, not defense, not job creation, but union-busting?
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;28225161][img_thumb]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FOIrYyQawGI/TC0thVs0DoI/AAAAAAAAC3w/AfRWy2zTqPo/s1600/StrawMan.jpg[/img_thumb][/QUOTE]
It was actually an acceptable analogy for the situation
[editline]22nd February 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;28225171]So this is the first thing on the agenda for the new crop of Republican leadership? Gut as many unions as possible? Not reduce the deficit, not defense, not job creation, but union-busting?[/QUOTE]
Bust unions, make abortions as hard to get as possible, deny rights to LGBT individuals, you know, the usual shit that fuckstick conservatives do when they get into power.
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;28225171]So this is the first thing on the agenda for the new crop of Republican leadership?[/QUOTE]
Naw the first priority they had was defunding abortion.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;28225279]It was actually an acceptable analogy for the situation
[/QUOTE]
It had nothing to do with what I had said. I was talking about unions. Tell me, where did I mention the government in that post?
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;28225310]It had nothing to do with what I had said. I was talking about unions. Tell me, where did I mention the government in that post?[/QUOTE]
You said unions have their ups and downs and highlighted their corruption as a down, so he highlighted corruption as a down of the government and showed that it isn't a legitimate reason (on its own) to get rid of the government.
Just like how it isn't a legit reason on its own to get rid of unions.
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;28225171]So this is the first thing on the agenda for the new crop of Republican leadership? Gut as many unions as possible? Not reduce the deficit, not defense, not job creation, but union-busting?[/QUOTE]
Just took a look through the 2008 Republican Party Platform because you mentioned that union busting might be new.
I found some stuff. Emphasis mine.
[quote]
We support approval of the free trade agreement with Colombia, currently blocked by Capitol Hill [b]Democrats and their union boss supporters[/b], as an overdue gesture of solidarity for this courageous ally of the United States.
[/quote]
[quote]
[b]The Failed Model of Employer-Employee Relations[/b]
The Democrats’ approach to employment policy is a retreat to failed models of the past: new regulatory burdens on employers that make it more difficult for businesses, big and small, to hire and keep employees. That failed model [b]empowers union bosses at the expense of their members[/b], ... *snipping irrelevant stuff*. Its goal is not to create jobs but to control the workplace and the work force.
[/quote]
[quote]
The Democratic Party’s repeated undermining of tribal sovereignty to advantage union bosses is especially egregious.
[/quote]
They really don't like union bosses.
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