Take My Concessions — Please

Were the leaders of the Wisconsin state employees and teachers unions wise to announce, as soon as Governor Scott Walker introduced his “budget repair,” that they were happy to take concessions on benefits, as long as they could keep the right to bargain? WEAC, the state teachers union, actually offered concessions before Walker pounced.

It made the unions look reasonable, in the eyes of non-members. They were willing to compromise; the governor was not. They were willing to do their share. No one could call teachers and parks workers greedy. Members could say they were fighting for democratic rights, not grubby money.

Dave Poklinkoski, president of an Electrical Workers local in Madison, said, “It smoked out what Walker’s true intentions were. That might not have gotten through to the general public otherwise.”

But Walker took compromise not as a sign of reasonableness but, apparently, as weakness. He didn’t move an inch. If union officials were willing to make concessions even in the midst of the mightiest uprising the state had ever seen, why not go for his whole wish list?

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Besides the fact that members weren’t consulted about offering the pay cuts, granting Walker’s right to concessions also seemed to buy in to the notion that state employees are overpaid and should be blamed for the budget deficit.

Instead, the argument could have been, “We didn’t create the red ink. The corporate tax cuts did, and the recession caused by the banks. Make them pay.” As the weeks went on, this idea got more and more traction.

The public sector unions set an example of struggle for all the other unions—but have they also set the tone that concessions are justified?