Monday, June 08, 2015

Fond du Lac Union Members, Do The Math

Map of Wisconsin highlighting Fond du Lac County
Map of Wisconsin highlighting Fond du Lac County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It seems Fond du Lac County workers are making less money than their non union co workers. It seems because of ACT 10, they are capped on wage increases.


County considers workaround of Act 10 restrictions for union: "Act 10 removed the ability of public employees unions to negotiate for anything but a pay increase limited to the Consumer Price Index. The county board approved a 1.57-percent increase for the union's members, which is the maximum allowed under the law this year.
Other non-union county employees received a 2-percent increase without similar restrictions at the beginning of the year.
"In other words, this group is being penalized by the state because they didn't decertify their union," Board Chairman Martin Farrell said.
Marx recommended the board approve a supplemental pay increase for the more than 70 employees affected to make up for the difference. The extra pay would work like a bonus, being paid once in a lump sum in the first pay period of December."

If the union members would just do they math, they would be coming out ahead. If they decertify the union they would get a higher wage increase and keep their union dues. It a win, win to throw out the union. What's so hard about keeping more of their own money!


Do the math people!






Sunday, June 07, 2015

Wisconsin's Walker Needs To Change

Michael Dukakis on tank
Michael Dukakis on tank (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was in Iowa over the weekend riding a cycle with Iowa's Senator Joni Ernst.

Will someone please tell Mr. Walker he needs to wear a better looking helmet and a pair of sunglasses. Get rid of the bowl helmet and the safety glasses! Looks as bad as"Dukakis in the tank in 1988 or John F Kerry in the bubble wrap at NASA in 2004.

The story with images - The Latest: Will the Iowa presidential straw poll survive? - Yahoo News:



New Wisconsin Democrat Party Chair

English: Logo of the Democratic Party of the U...
English: Logo of the Democratic Party of the United States. Light blue D inside a darker blue circle. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Will Martha Laning carry on as former Wisconsin state Chair Mike Tate?

Laning was elected Saturday as the new chair of the state democrat party.

Her basic plan to lift the dem party of Wisconsin out of it's obscurity is messaging.

This and more from her web site.
Messaging » Martha Laning for Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair: "In the past several electoral cycles, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has failed in its attempt to connect with Wisconsin voters. The fundamental problem is that our message is not resonating with voters across the state. The Democratic preference for detailed, fact-filled messaging seems to leave glazed-over voters in our communication wake. 
Republicans, on the other hand, are masterful storytellers. They consistently show vs. tell voters about issues and candidates by using emotional stories and anecdotes instead of facts and figures. They've had great success positioning themselves as real people reaching out to real people. As much as we'd like to believe otherwise, voters often choose their candidates on the basis of perceived chemistry, and if that candidate champions their most pressing personal issues, so much the better. "

Language choice goes far beyond good grammar and political correctness, as we learn from Dr. George Lakoff. Lakoff taught linguistics at Berkeley, CA. He authored the book, Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know your values and frame the debate. This is bedrock. I will establish a Messaging Task Force made up of an equal representation of stakeholders from all levels of the party and areas of our state. We will:
Time will tell if Laning uses the Lakeoff spin towards voters and will she get the full participation of the Wisconsin media to help her pull the wool over the eyes of the people of Wisconsin. What do you think?

Jerry Bader in Northeastern and Central Wisconsin talk radio should have a field day with this on Monday.

Update: Also reported by Jerry Bader, Laning recently just joined the Wisconsin democrat party. She didn't know you had to be a pay money to join the democrat party? Wisconsin dem party front and center!  Link to JSOnline story.