Is Indiana Gov. Daniels Trying to Whistle Past the Right To Work Graveyard?

Is Indiana Gov. Daniels Trying to Whistle Past the Right To Work Graveyard?

According to an article at BigGovernment.com, the only thing holding Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels back from holding a Republican presidential primary frontrunner position is his holding back Indiana's Right To Work law passage.   Numerous calls and other contacts from our members in Indiana confirm that on several occasions Republican politicians have put the blame directly on Daniels' shoulders for the legislative hold-up on Right To Work.  Certainly, trying to avoid the issue will not enhance any presidential hopes that he may have nor help working Hoosiers breath free air again. From BigGovernment.com: The rise of the Tea Party movement illustrates that people are looking for political leaders who will forcibly address issues and stand on principle. Yet, according news reports, Gov. Daniels is trying to avoid a decision and even a debate on freedom that influences every worker and business in Indiana. This is not leadership. On the other hand, should Gov. Daniels embrace Right To Work legislation that provides all Hoosiers the right to choose or not to choose to pay into a union, then he could easily ride a wave of success and become the Republican Presidential Nominee to beat. Should Gov. Daniels sign the 23rd state Right To Work law, he will be able to bounce back-and-forth from appearances in early presidential primary Right To Work states like Iowa and South Carolina to ribbon cutting ceremonies for new businesses in Indiana boasting of rising employment numbers and a more stabilized state budget. Gov. Daniels will be able to say that he fought the Democrat party’s most fierce ally, Big Labor, and he won it for Hoosiers and that he will stand up for all Americans as well. Or, Gov. Daniels can let the golden opportunity for the citizens and businesses of Indiana, as well as for himself, slip through his hands in attempt to avoid Big Labor attacks – attacks that will come against any Republican presidential nominee regardless of their mollycoddling. Unfortunately, it appears that Gov. Daniels has chosen to make the Right To Work issue his Waterloo rather than his San Juan Hill.
Change in Wisconsin

Change in Wisconsin

 Newly elected Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is not backing down from a fight to protect taxpayers.  Walker has proposed reforming the state's collective bargaining laws to protect taxpayers.  The Wall Street Journal takes note:  Wisconsin Governor-elect Scott Walker has laid out an ambitious agenda, such as turning the department of commerce into a public-private partnership and lifting the cap on school vouchers. But his boldest idea may be rescinding the right of government employees to collectively bargain. Mr. Walker floated the idea last week in response to union opposition to his modest proposal to require employees to contribute 5% of their pay to their pensions and to increase their health-care contributions to 12% from as low as 4% today. Even along the Left Coast most state workers contribute 10% of their salary to pensions. The Republican estimates that these changes would save the state $154 million in the first six months. Over two years they'd reduce the state's $3.3 billion budget gap by nearly 20%. The ability of public workers to form unions and bargain collectively is a phenomenon of the last century when state and local governments were relatively small. But it has proven to be a catastrophe for taxpayers, as public unions have used their political clout to negotiate rich deals on wages, pensions and health care. California governor-elect Jerry Brown greased the wheels for his state's long fiscal decline when he allowed collective bargaining during his first stint in the statehouse in the 1970s. Republican Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana and then Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri rescinded collective bargaining by executive order in 2005, and the change made it easier to cut spending and restructure government services. In Wisconsin, the legislature would have to rewrite the Employment Labor Relations Act, but Republicans will control both the assembly and senate and have the political incentive to go along with Mr. Walker.Rescinding public collective bargaining rights restores a better negotiating balance between taxpayers and government employees who ostensibly work for them. Political officials are no longer on both sides of the bargaining table—representing taxpayers in negotiations with the unions while seeking union cash and endorsements when running for re-election.