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 After fading to low single-digits in recent public opinion polls,
the Republican Wisconsin governor unveiled the package of anti-union
measures on Monday that he said were inspired by the 2011
union-busting campaign in his state that propelled him to national
prominence.
At a construction equipment company in Las Vegas, Walker
acknowledged the measures, including eliminating the National Labor
Relations Board, would be much more difficult to achieve at the
federal level, given that Congress would have to approve nearly
every part of his plan.
“If you’re a big-government union boss in Washington, this is a
threat to you and to all of the politicians that you have under your
control in our nation’s capital,” he told a Nevada resident at the
rally.
Flanking him to his left and right were both orange construction
cranes and screens reading, “Power to the People; Not the Union
Bosses.”
Michael J. Lotito, a labor expert and co-chair of the San
Francisco-based Workplace Policy Institute, called Walker’s platform
highly aspirational.
Lotito wrote in an e-mail message that “eliminating the NLRB and
shifting its powers to the courts and the National Mediation Board
might sound good, but many would assert it would produce significant
delays in the handling of cases.”
Even so, Gary Chaison, professor of industrial relations at the
Graduate School of Management at Clark University, said Walker is
the unions’ worst nightmare because of his unyielding mission to
weaken them.
“The question that labor leaders must be asking is, 'can unions
survive a Scott Walker presidency?’” he said.
Chaison added that candidates for the Republican party nomination,
including front-runner Donald Trump, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and
Ohio Governor John Kasich, have not broached union power in their
economic platforms, and labor leaders would likely prefer to be
ignored than strongly opposed as Walker is doing.
Walker is trying to use that to his political advantage, telling his
audience, “Nobody else in this race is talking about this.”
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Walker had been leading among the 17 Republicans seeking the party's
nomination for the November 2016 election in the early voting state
of Iowa, which borders Wisconsin. In the latest Quinnipiac
University survey last week, just 3 percent of likely Republican
caucus voters said they supported Walker, down from 18 percent in a
July poll.
Las Vegas is home to casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire
and long-time Republican donor who has spent tens of millions
dollars to weaken unions.
Trying to pique Republican interest as he previewed his proposals in
a post on conservative website Hot Air, Walker wrote: “The fact that
this is occurring at a time when the IRS and VA lurch from one
scandal to another and struggle to provide basic services to those
they are charged with serving underscores the need for reform.”
(http://hotair.com/archives/2015/09/14/hot-air-exclusive-walker-pledges-to-end-federal-public-employee-unions/)
Beyond his stated goal of saving U.S. taxpayers money and make the
federal government more efficient, part of Walker's pitch includes
curbing the political spending power of unions that benefit
Democrats almost exclusively.
He would use his executive authority once in office to stop
government unions from deducting money from paychecks of federal
employees used for political activities.
For more on the 2016 presidential race, see the Reuters blog, “Tales
from the Trail” (http://blogs.reuters.com/talesfromthetrail/).
(Reporting by Erin McPike, Editing by Ken Wills)
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