Right-to-work coming to Maine?

That’s the plan, at least.  The current situation in Maine is as follows: people don’t have to belong to a union to work, but non-union employees (both private and public sector) may still have to pay the unions a ‘service fee.’ This supposedly represents the recouping of the cost of unions ‘representing’ non-union members in labor disputes – whether or not the non-union members wanted to be part of the labor dispute in the first place – and it’s a common feature in contract negotiations in Maine.  There’s legislation going through the state legislature right now to close that loophole; new Maine governor Paul LePage (R) is enthusiastically supporting it.

Whether this will work or not will largely be up to the Maine grassroots.  Maine is currently majority-Republican in both houses of the state legislature, but it’s, well, Maine: I found LePage to be pretty tough-minded, but there’s a limit to how much he can do without legislative backup.  And, needless to say, the unions have already begun the usual reactionary Koch conspiracy theorizing.  Everybody involved is expecting a fight; and the impression is that Governor LePage, at least, is looking forward to it.  Interesting times ahead…

Moe Lane (crosspost)

Wisconsin GOP Senate fights dirty.

Which they should.

They’ve taken over the approving of time sheets and photocopier requests for staffers of AWOL Wisconsin legislators.  The ballot can be found here; the photocopier restrictions are particularly rigorous, given that the staffers in question will have to go get permission every time they want to make a copy.  Speaking as somebody who has worked in an office that generated a lot of paperwork, that restriction is downright vicious.

But is it petty?  No.  Petty is Democratic state senators literally hiding from their job responsibilities – and risking the jobs of their constituents – because union bosses demand it of them*.  This is merely a sign that said Senators’ colleagues are getting tired of pretending that their hiding is acceptable behavior.  Or particularly mature.

Via @kevinbinversie.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*In 2010, the currently-hiding Wisconsin state senators received roughly one-fifth of their total campaign contributions from union sources.  Explains a lot, doesn’t it?

#rsrh Libyan insurgents turn the taps back on.

The report is that they’re shipping crude again: which is almost certainly at least partially propaganda, but what the hell.  I was merely willing to let Qaddafi keep his life in exchange for him ending his nuke program; I’m perfectly happy to alter the deal now.

By the way: when this is over, I’d like to have the status of the Lockerbie bomber… clarified.  I’m willing to pay a little extra for that.

Via Ace of Spades HQ.

Moe Lane

#rsrh Andrew Sullivan to go to Daily Beast?

In April, apparently.  You realize, of course, that Andrew Sullivan showing up there so quickly forces thoughtful people to doubt whether the man ever really wrote for the Atlantic at all.

Hey, all I’m doing is speculating.  If he doesn’t have anything to hide about having had a ghostwriter since 2007, what’s the harm at looking at Andrew Sullivan’s paystubs?

Rick Snyder’s (R, MI) good budgetary fortune.

Ignore everything written in this Washington Post divide-and-conquer attempt targeting new Michigan governor Rick Snyder: there is no adversarial relationship between the governor and his Republican colleagues. In fact, it would not surprise me in the slightest if Rick Snyder makes a point of ending each day by thanking God for Chris Christie, John Kasich, and – most assuredly – Scott Walker. If they didn’t exist, Snyder would be the target of a lot more media attention right now.

And it’d be very hostile media attention, mostly because of the budget proposal that Governor Snyder revealed last week. It is a fascinating proposal; which is to say, it is an exercise in raw political courage even by the currently-high standards of state Republican organizations. Elimination of state Earned Income Credits. Lifetime cap on welfare benefits. The current corporate tax break system largely ripped out and replaced with a flat tax. Cuts to education and police services, not to mention local municipalities. And – this is the one that is going to cause Snyder problems with the GOP – the imposition of state taxes on public and private employee pensions. This last one is actually pretty standard, but it is still a new tax… on senior citizens.

Oh, and $180,000,000 in concessions from unions. Governor Snyder will be happy to let them work out how they can come up with the money for that. And just as long as it’s understood that this is independent of public sector unions paying for more of their healthcare plans. Continue reading Rick Snyder’s (R, MI) good budgetary fortune.