Senator Harkin calls anti-union supporters ‘enemies of working families’

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin had no kind words for Wisconsin elected officials who voted this week to limit the collective bargaining rights of public sector workers. He does, however, remain hopeful that a similar situation will not come to fruition in Iowa.

“[A] handful of Republican senators in Wisconsin trampled over the Democratic process, ramming through legislation that took away a fundamental right of Wisconsin’s public servants — the right to collective bargaining,” Harkin told reporters on a conference call Thursday. “After losing the public debate, they resorted to procedural tricks. And, in the end, over 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin went down the drain in 20 minutes. It’s appalling the content that was shown for working families by this kangaroo legislature. They are using public sector workers — our friends and neighbors — as a procedural scapegoat.”

Harkin said it’s important to remember the people impacted by the Wisconsin legislation.

“We are talking about the police officers and firefighters who put their lives on the line to keep our families safe,” he said. “We’re talking about the elementary school teachers who make sure our kids are safe and know their ABCs. Our public servants deserve respect, especially from our elected officials. They did not cause the recession and they do not deserve to be treated this way.”

Republican members of the Wisconsin Senate decided in an 18-1 vote late Wednesday night to pass the collective bargaining legislation. Senate Democrats had long since left the state in protest of the bill and to prevent the chamber from reaching a quorum and taking a vote on the measure, which was initially wrapped within an appropriations bill.

Thursday, the full Wisconsin Assembly took up the controversial measure, which passed on a 53-42 vote. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was expected to sign the legislation into law Friday.

The bill sharply limits the rights of public sector workers to bargain collectively, and requires a greater personal contribution from the workers for health insurance and pensions. Walker and Republicans who fought for the changes pointed to state budget deficits.

“The dilemma in Wisconsin has nothing to do with state budgets,” Harkin said. “They made that abundantly clear by stripping out all of the revenue provisions [in the bill]. And, if they were truly concerned about the state budget, they wouldn’t have passed corporate tax cuts just a few weeks ago.”

In order to bring the measure to a vote without reaching a quorum, Wisconsin Senate Republicans stripped all spending provisions, leaving only the passages that eliminated nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers. However, while Republicans pointed to budget deficits to justify the changes, a memo offered by the state’s Legislative Fiscal Bureau to legislators in January noted that the state was projecting a budget surplus.

A similar situation is at play in Iowa as state Republicans warn of impending deficits and Democrats point to a healthy state rainy-day fund. Although Iowa House Republicans, who hold a majority in the chamber, hope to pass legislation weakening collective bargaining rights for public workers as a part of a plan to balance the budget, Iowa Democrats hold a slim majority in the state Senate that will likely refuse such legislation. Nonetheless, for the past two days, the Iowa House has debated a bill that takes direct aim at public sector unions.

“The enemies of working families are trying to do the same thing in Iowa right now,” Harkin said. “They are pushing a bill … that would strip Iowa’s public servants from the right to bargain for pension and health benefits. This would be a shameful thing to do to our friends and neighbors who work so hard for the public good, and would only undermine the economic recovery of our great state.”

Iowans, Harkin said, have a strong sense of community that should serve to guide state lawmakers.

“[Iowans] known that in tough times it is important to support your friends and neighbors and do all you can to lift people up and not tear them down. We shouldn’t be dividing people, one against the other,” he said. “I hope that elected officials across this country will start to learn this valuable lesson and abandon these ruthless attacks on hardworking people and their families. Working families are facing unprecedented challenges, and it is time that we all come together to do whatever we can to help rebuild a strong middle class with good jobs, fair wages and benefits.”