Cutting Salaries OK, But So Are Unions, Says Delaware Governor

By Kaeun Yu

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s (R) budget-repair bill goes too far, says Delaware Governor Jack Markell (D).

“I’m not the likeliest candidate to speak out on behalf of the labor demonstrators in Wisconsin,” Markell wrote in op-ed for Politico. “But I also believe the call to get rid of unions goes too far.”

Walker’s bill, which is currently on hold as Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate have fled the state, aims to reduce the state’s $3.6 billion deficit by limiting the collective bargaining rights of public employees and requiring them to make higher pension and health insurance contributions. In return for such concessions, Walker has promised them that their jobs will be safe.

However, he has also warned on more than one occasion that 1,500 state employees could be laid off by July unless Democrats allow a vote to occur. Democrats insist that they will only return if Walker agrees to drop the collective bargaining lanuage from the bill.

Markell, who has fought his own battles with state employees — highlighted by his proposal in 2009 to cut worker pay by 8% — wrote that he could sympathize with Walker on the need to cut spending, but defended union members who have waged vehement protests in Madison.

“It’s true that my job as governor would be easier without having to deal with public-sector unions,” Markell wrote. “But my job as governor is not to make my own job easier.”

“It’s better for our state when unions have he right to speak out and to have a place at the table,” he added.