Associated Press
What does it take for one of the nation's most infamous union-busting Republicans to discover the value of union workers? Apparently, a blown call on Monday Night Football does the trick (thanks to B.W. for the tip).
Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who made a national name for himself by going after public employee unions last year, posted a message on Twitter calling for the return of the NFL's locked-out unionized officials after a disputed call led to a Seattle Seahawks 14-12 victory over the Packers on Monday night.
"After catching a few hours of sleep, the (hash)Packers game is still just as painful. #Returntherealrefs," Walker tweeted early Tuesday. [...]
The NFL locked out the officials in June after their contract expired. The league has been using replacement officials, and through three weeks of the regular season there has been much criticism over the way some games are being handled.
Walker's spokesman Cullen Werwie tried to spin the governor's post on Tuesday, saying it wasn't meant as a pro-union political statement.
No, of course not. This is simply a matter of an anti-union Republican, unimpressed by the results generated by the free market, preferring to see qualified, union workers return to the job so they can provide him with a level of skill, professionalism, and expertise to which he's accustomed.
Why would anyone read something into that?
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I wish our the guv held his own state workers in as high of regard as he does NFL refs.
I wish the governor valued his own employees as much as he seems to value the NFL refs.
Did Scotty have a come to Jesus moment?
Highlighting the cunard of "race" may be the most important of Ms. Maddow's many contributions. There is only one race- human or homo sapiens. The trap of race is that the ignorance of its use nullifies anything that follows. Would you listen to a doctor who believed in phrenology? Thank you
My friend who teaches in Milwaukee told me that many of the elementary school teachers there have as many as 50 kids in their classes.
But it's good to see Wisconsin has it's priorities in order.
So I'm a little out of my league here. Not a football fan, not really big into politics, and my experiences in life have led me to sway a little towards anti-union. I appreciate and understand what they have done for American families in the past but I just can't find any examples of necessity now. After reading all of these comments I can point out just a few themes, so if you want a recap without reading every comment you are in the right place. Here is a summary:
Democrats and liberals have taken Walkers comment as pro-union, and as someone who was until recently a union employee, I can say with near certainty that his statemtent is being largely misinterpreted. Couldn't the union ref's work while still negotiating? Unions started forming when there was a very serious need for them and that intense need has mostly (I did not say completely) dissipated as at-will employers seek the best possible candidates to add to their roster and usually compensate those people accordingly. Having a union does not guarantee greater pay, skills, or job stability. As one person pointed out, if simply joining a union suddenly gave you skills to perform a specific duty extremely well we would all sign up.
Main point here: Walker (who does not share my political views) made a statement that should not be interpreted as pro-union. The union itself does not guarantee any specific level of performance from its members. If the referees that are not working due to union issues are better at their job than their replacements then they should be referred to as just that: better referees. The league has experienced what happens when you have less skilled workers filling in for better ones and hopefully they will get the union ref's back on the field soon. If they are that much better they should be wanted on the field and their employer should be wiling to pay them according to their skill and experience. Maybe this had to happen to call attention to their importance. This has little, if anything, to do with capitalism itself. Drawing a line from here to there is shaky at best.
It irks me to read so many people connecting "union" to "skill" as mutually and permanently linked. The union did not "make" any better referees. It's job is to protect them from unfair labor practices. I agree that the revenue of the corporation and the importance of a persons job should be part of the compensation equation. That said, can we please stop assuming that the union produced or made skill for its members? If their union was dissolved, the referees that had been members would not lose any of their skills. They became professionals like any other employee would- they work, they train, they improve their abilities just like people (who want to work) at every other company, union or not.
Sorry for the long post. Brevity is the soul of wit, but I wasn't seeking either here. As an employee who was part of a union until very recently I see this situation a little differently than some. I am glad to be out of the union I was in. For every one person it helped, it either prevented or made it much more difficult to get rid of four more who did not deserve the jobs they had. Unfortunately, even those four people who would have been terminated if they were at-will employees, they were earning the same amount of money as I was while doing far less work at much lower quality. Some read their union handbook and memorize it so they know exactly how little they can do while keeping their job secure. I've seen that dozens of times in the last 2 years with my employer, and not a singe instance where the union stepped in and saved a job for someone who truly worked for and deserved it.
That's all I have (once again, sorry... long post) so feel free to slice and dice me in whatever method works best. Happy to see so many people interested in this story, it certainly highlights shortcomings all over the place.
-NSP@MetroDetroit