UPDATED: Virginia unions upset with McDonnell over Wisconsin stance

February 23, 2011 - 1:29 pm

BY OLYMPIA MEOLA

Labor unions might not be terribly strong in Virginia, but they’re angry.

Upset with Gov. Bob McDonnell for his high-profile support of his Republican colleague in Wisconsin who is trying to curb collective bargaining allowances, labor organizations in Virginia sent McDonnell a letter expressing solidarity with the Wisconsin protesters.

They charge that Gov. Scott Walker is using his state’s budget struggles as an excuse to suppress workers’ rights, considering that states, like Virginia, that prohibit collective bargaining have also faced steep budget shortfalls.

“We are deeply concerned about your expressed support for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker as he fights against workers’ rights and abuses his authority by striking a blow against all working people in Wisconsin,” reads the letter from 24 groups, including the Virginia AFL-CIO and Communications Workers of America Virginia State Council.

“In your video address last Friday, you stated that the actions taken by Governor Walker are simply a matter of course and that asking public sector workers to ‘do more with less’ is a means to ‘get Wisconsin’s fiscal house in order.’ This assessment obscures the real issue at hand in Wisconsin: Governor Walker is unscrupulously using the budget crisis as an opportunity to push forward an anti-organized labor agenda.”

McDonnell, vice-chairman of the Republican Governors Association, taped a video in support of Walker last week and has been making the rounds on cable TV to talk about his backing. On Washington’s WTOP radio this week, McDonnell credited the state’s right-to-work law as helping to attract business to the state.

Virginia prohibits collective bargaining by state and local government employees. That, coupled with the right-to-work law — a ban on requiring union membership as a condition of employment — has limited unions’ ability to grow and amass political muscle here as they’ve done in other states.

Employees in the private sector are not covered by the bargaining prohibition, nor are transit workers or federal employees in the state.

Groups as diverse as Virginia Organizing and the Sierra Club signed onto the letter, which was delivered to McDonnell’s office today.

“This is a political strategy and an attack on labor unions across the country,” Chris Lance, President of CWA/National Coalition of Public Safety Officers Local 2201, said in a statement. ”We are either going to work together and make history or the labor movement is going to be history.”

UPDATE: McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin responded to the letter, in which, he said “politically motivated union leaders are defending the unsustainable and reckless spending policies and programs that threaten our nation’s economy.”

“We disagree with them on every point. The future well-being of American workers and families depends on our ability to boldly reduce government spending and reform our pension and entitlement programs today.

“Virginians know this and support these reforms. Gov. McDonnell is leading this effort in Virginia, and Gov. Walker is doing the same in Wisconsin. It’s what voters made clear at the polls last November that they wanted to see occur at all levels of government. It is the right and responsible thing to do.”

Here is the text of the letter:

February 23, 2011

Dear Governor McDonnell;

We are deeply concerned about your expressed support for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker as he fights against workers’ rights and abuses his authority by striking a blow against all working people in Wisconsin. In your video address last Friday, you stated that the actions taken by Governor Walker are simply a matter of course and that asking public sector workers to “do more with less” is a means to “get Wisconsin’s fiscal house in order.” This assessment obscures the real issue at hand in Wisconsin: Governor Walker is unscrupulously using the budget crisis as an opportunity to push forward an anti-organized labor agenda.

Blaming public sector workers for budget problems caused by the worst economic downturn in decades is a shortsighted, misguided approach at best and opportunistic and autocratic at worst. Public sector workers in Wisconsin have made the concessions to pensions and health care benefits that the Governor has requested. The firefighters, teachers and nurses that are filing into the Capitol building by the thousands have, in fact, agreed to “do more with less.”

The problem is that Governor Walker is not bargaining in good faith. He has made it abundantly clear that this is an ideological crusade against working people and their right to bargain collectively, not simply an exercise in fiscal discipline. Governor Walker’s exploitation of Wisconsin’s economic instability for political purposes is shameful. In the struggles of his constituents, Governor Walker sees political opportunity. From 950 miles away in Virginia, we see Governor Walker prioritizing corporate interests over the interests of residents and communities.

For the last several years, states across the nation — with Democratic and Republican Governors alike — have made incredibly difficult budget decisions. The Commonwealth of Virginia is no exception. In fact, as a right-to-work state, Virginia’s budget has faired no better than those with strong public sector unions like Wisconsin. Although we accept that difficult times require difficult choices, Virginians are simply not buying the “blame the public sector workers” mentality. As organizations, we see our members and supporters suffering from several years of drastic budget cuts. We hold in good faith that our elected officials in the Commonwealth will make pragmatic budget choices and will not use our health, safety and education as bargaining chips to further a political agenda.

We stand in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of firefighters, teachers, nurses and police officers protesting in the Capitol buildings of Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. These working men and women deserve our respect and support for continuing to fight for the American dream.

Signed,

Central Virginia Chapter A.P.R.I.

Central Virginia Labor Federation

Communications Workers of America Virginia State Council

CWA Local 2204

Eastern Virginia Labor Federation

IUE-CWA Local 82161

National Coalition of Public Safety Officers

Northern Virginia Labor Federation

Richmond Jobs with Justice

Richmond Peace Education Center

SEIU Local 5