Thursday, February 24, 2011

Wisconsin and Collective Bargaining - Dick Morris' Poll

I previously posted that I didn't find the USA Today/Gallup Poll on American opinion on the Wisconsin situation to be credible, because it showed that there wasn't a majority favoring any course of action to reduce government deficits. Dick Morris commissioned a poll in the state that seems a little more illuminating.
• By 74-18, they back making state employees pay more for their health insurance.
• By 79-16, they support asking state workers contribute more toward their pensions.
• By 54-34, Wisconsin voters support ending the automatic deduction of union dues from state paychecks and support making unions collect dues from each member.
• By 66-30, they back limiting state workers’ pay increases to the rate of inflation unless voters approve a higher raise by a public referendum.
But the bad news is this:
On the issue of limiting collective bargaining to wage and benefit issues, however, they break with the Governor, opposing the proposal by 41-54.
This is a tricky area for Republicans. The more have I thought about it, the more I believe that the bargaining issue isn't core. Removing the requirement to join a union, removing paycheck deductions, and increasing the contributions of the employees to their own benefits seems sufficient to carry the day.

1 comment:

  1. They back him on all the important issues. He doesn't have to be perfect to get re-elected.

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