Making An Offer They Can't Refuse

Things are getting ugly in Wisconsin.  The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is taking names, and notes.  Local businesses are to put up signs supporting the public unions in their battle against Wisconsin taxpayers and voters, or else.

Dated March 28, 2011, the letter is addressed to "DEAR UNION GROVE AREA BUSINESS OWNER/MANAGER," in Racine County. And it begins with this warm greeting: "It is unfortunate that you have chosen 'not' to support public workers rights in Wisconsin. In recent past weeks you have been offered a sign(s) by a public employee(s) who works in one of the state facilities in the Union Grove area. These signs simply said 'This Business Supports Workers Rights,' a simple, subtle and we feel non-controversial statement given the facts at this time."... The missive concludes by noting that, "With that we'd ask that you reconsider taking a sign and stance to support public employees in this community.  Failure to do so will leave us no choice but do [sic] a public boycott of your business.  And sorry, neutral means 'no' to those who work for the largest employer in the area and are union members.

Noman is surprised at the union's willingness to divulge that government is the largest employer in the area.  That doesn't sound like any way to grow an economy, or encourage a businessman to particpate.

Wisconsin Unions Get Ugly

The Journal closes by discussing the recertification provision of the reforms passed by the Wisconsin Legislature and signed by Governor Walker.

The Walker reform that union leaders hate the most would require unions to be recertified annually by a majority of their members and let those members opt out of paying union dues....  Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels used an executive order to end collective bargaining for public workers... The number of state public employees has since fallen to 28,700 from 35,000 [and] the vast majority of those employees stopped paying union dues [from 16, 408 when Governor Daniels took office in 2005, to 1,490 today]... Similar declines have played out in Washington State and Utah, when those states gave members the freedom to choose.  This is the prospect that has Wisconsin labor leaders so furious these days...