2/27/2011

So what difference did eliminating collective bargaining make in Indiana?

Note that none of the Federal workers under Obama have the rights that are currently given public workers in Wisconsin.

So what happened in Indiana under Gov. Mitch Daniels after unions there lost collective bargaining power? Do unions protect workers with the most experience because they are the best workers? Did contracting out government services really "eliminate" jobs? Hardly. As to eliminating jobs, obviously the private companies that bid on the government contracts had to hire people. Lower taxes probably encouraged more companies to hire. The New York Times reports:

The experience of a nearby state, Indiana, where Gov. Mitch Daniels eliminated bargaining for state employees six years ago, shows just how much is at stake, both for the government and for workers. His 2005 executive order has had a sweeping impact: no raises for state employees in some years, a weakening of seniority preferences and a far greater freedom to consolidate state operations or outsource them to private companies.
Evaluating the success of the policy depends on where you sit.
“It’s helped us in a thousand ways. It was absolutely central to our turnaround here,” Mr. Daniels said in an interview. Without union contracts to slow him down, he said, it has been easy for him to merge the procurement operations of numerous state agencies, saving millions of dollars. One move alone — outsourcing and consolidating food service operations for Indiana’s 28 prisons — has saved the state $100 million since 2005, he said. Such moves led to hundreds losing their jobs.
For state workers in Indiana, the end of collective bargaining also meant a pay freeze in 2009 and 2010 and higher health insurance payments. Several state employees said they now paid $5,200 a year in premiums, $3,400 more than when Mr. Daniels took office, though there are cheaper plans available. Earlier in his tenure, Mr. Daniels adopted a merit pay system, with some employees receiving no raises and those deemed to be top performers getting up to 10 percent.
Andrea Helm, an employee at a children’s home in Knightstown, Ind., said that soon after collective bargaining was ended and the union contract expired, coveted seniority preferences disappeared. “I saw a lot of employees who had 20, 30 years on the job fired,” she said. “I think they were trying to cut the more expensive people on top to make their budget smaller.” . . . .
Bob Ziegelbauer, county executive of Manitowoc County and an independent state assemblyman, said Mr. Walker’s legislation would give him far more flexibility. For instance, it would eliminate union rules that have made it hard to close a children’s detention center that holds just one youth, a move that would save about $300,000 a year.
Union seniority rules can be especially confounding, Mr. Ziegelbauer said. He said that when he eliminated one clerical position in the county courthouse, the person who held that job bumped another person because she had more seniority. Ultimately four other workers bumped less senior workers, forcing the county to spend weeks retraining everyone involved.
“With collective bargaining in the public sector, it’s, ‘You can’t make me,’ ” he said. “It’s hard to change anything unless the union lets you.” . . .

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