Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recall election victory was as much as a
defeat for labor unions as it was for his opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom
Barrett. Since then, the signs that unions are in trouble have been
mounting rapidly.
“Many labor unions are going through a real struggle,” Michael Eastman, executive director of labor policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told The Daily Caller. “But it’s not related to labor laws like the unions are trying to say; it’s related to their own management issues.”
One of America’s largest public employees’ unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), is a prime example of this struggle.
Last year, after failing to block Walker’s budget repair law, which included the elimination of automatic dues collection and limited union bargaining power, AFSCME watched its membership drop by 55 percent in the state. When federal workers in Wisconsin were given the choice of having membership dues withdrawn from their paychecks, 34,000 of them used their newfound freedom of choice to say ‘No.’ Determined to exact revenge, public-sector unions underwent a mission to unseat Walker.
Still reeling from this defeat, AFSCME is now embroiled in a heated leadership battle following the retirement of former union President Gerald McEntee.
McEntee’s right-hand man, hand-picked successor and the union’s secretary-treasurer, Lee Saunders, is facing a tough challenge by Danny Donohue — the union’s leader in New York.
The pair will face off in a debate at the union’s 40th international convention that began on Monday in Los Angeles.
“Many labor unions are going through a real struggle,” Michael Eastman, executive director of labor policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told The Daily Caller. “But it’s not related to labor laws like the unions are trying to say; it’s related to their own management issues.”
One of America’s largest public employees’ unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), is a prime example of this struggle.
Last year, after failing to block Walker’s budget repair law, which included the elimination of automatic dues collection and limited union bargaining power, AFSCME watched its membership drop by 55 percent in the state. When federal workers in Wisconsin were given the choice of having membership dues withdrawn from their paychecks, 34,000 of them used their newfound freedom of choice to say ‘No.’ Determined to exact revenge, public-sector unions underwent a mission to unseat Walker.
Still reeling from this defeat, AFSCME is now embroiled in a heated leadership battle following the retirement of former union President Gerald McEntee.
McEntee’s right-hand man, hand-picked successor and the union’s secretary-treasurer, Lee Saunders, is facing a tough challenge by Danny Donohue — the union’s leader in New York.
The pair will face off in a debate at the union’s 40th international convention that began on Monday in Los Angeles.
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