Peter Robinson · February 25, 2011 at 6:47pm

My participation on Ricochet will prove a little thin over the next couple of days.  This weekend I'll be flying to Washington, where I'll be conducting a slew of interviews for Uncommon Knowledge, and today I'm holed up, reading research materials and pulling together some notes.  

Before I disappear, though, one paragraph--just one!--that struck me as I was preparing just now for my interview on Sunday with Mitch Daniels. ("With Mitch Daniels?"  Excuse me.  I meant to say--and if I don't correct myself, Trace Urdan will--I meant to say "with Ricochet's own Mitch Daniels.")

From "Ride Along with Mitch," Andy Ferguson's Weekly Standard cover story on Gov. Daniels that appeared this past summer:

The reforms began instantly.  On his first day [in office as governor] Daniels reversed an executive order signed by a Democratic predecessor granting collective bargaining rights to state employees.  Union membership plummeted overnight....Unhindered by union demands, the governor instituted a "pay for performance" scheme, rewarding state employees who met explicit goals with raises ranging from 4 to 10 percent.  The salaries of underperforming employees stayed flat.  No one was fired, but every time a job went vacant a supervisor had to justify hiring a replacement.  The number of state employees has fallen from 35,000 to under 30,000, back where it was in 1982.

And with that, my fellow Ricochetians, I bid you, for awhile, adieu.

P.S.  Would somebody be sure to help Rob with his bow tie on Oscar night? 

Comments:


Robert Barraud Taylor
Joined
Jul '10
Robert Barraud Taylor

Does the Robinson descent upon Washington signal an opportunity for an Inside the Beltway Ricochet Soiree? We can have one of those cocktail parties which seem to magically sap us of our ideological fervor. 

Maybe we could invite Sally Quinn? 

I would nominate as a gathering place the Round Robin bar at the Willard...it's where Coolidge drank.

Mark Belling Fan
Joined
Sep '10
Mark Belling Fan

 Unfortunately for Governor Walker, he needs to change the law, and not merely an executive order from a previous governor.

From some information i've read it seems that Indiana public school teachers can still collectively bargain. Is this true or not? The reports seem to be mixed.

Matthew Osborn
Joined
Oct '10
Matthew Osborn

Mark Belling Fan:  Unfortunately for Governor Walker, he needs to change the law, and not merely an executive order from a previous governor.

From some information i've read it seems that Indiana public school teachers can still collectively bargain. Is this true or not? The reports seem to be mixed. · Feb 25 at 10:30am

The rule of man vs the rule of law has, among its many defects, vulnerability to the change of personnel.  How many times will we have to fight the 'Bush tax cuts'? BTW, were Bush's taxes actually cut?

Brian Watt
Joined
Jun '10
Brian Watt

Mark Belling Fan:  Unfortunately for Governor Walker, he needs to change the law, and not merely an executive order from a previous governor.

From some information i've read it seems that Indiana public school teachers can still collectively bargain. Is this true or not? The reports seem to be mixed. · Feb 25 at 10:30am

Peter's post and embedded quote is about Mitch Daniels not Scott Walker.

Mark Belling Fan
Joined
Sep '10
Mark Belling Fan

Brian Watt

Mark Belling Fan:  Unfortunately for Governor Walker, he needs to change the law, and not merely an executive order from a previous governor.

From some information i've read it seems that Indiana public school teachers can still collectively bargain. Is this true or not? The reports seem to be mixed. · Feb 25 at 10:30am

Peter's post and embedded quote is about Mitch Daniels not Scott Walker. · Feb 25 at 10:52am

And? Are the two men not fighting similar battles from which we can compare and contrast strategy/tactics?

 

Ursula Hennessey

I think we'll all be happy to help Rob "tie one on" Sunday night.

Tuscarora Jack
Joined
Feb '11
Tuscarora Jack

Mark Belling Fan

Brian Watt

Mark Belling Fan:  Unfortunately for Governor Walker, he needs to change the law, and not merely an executive order from a previous governor.

From some information i've read it seems that Indiana public school teachers can still collectively bargain. Is this true or not? The reports seem to be mixed. · Feb 25 at 10:30am

Peter's post and embedded quote is about Mitch Daniels not Scott Walker. · Feb 25 at 10:52am

And? Are the two men not fighting similar battles from which we can compare and contrast strategy/tactics?

  · Feb 25 at 10:58am

FWIW, I immediately grasped your comparison to and contrast with the Walker and Daniels situations.


Joined
Dec '10
Nickolas

Tuscarora Jack

FWIW, I immediately grasped your comparison to and contrast with the Walker and Daniels situations. 

Welcome to Ricochet. And how did you manage to get such a large profile image?

Brian Watt
Joined
Jun '10
Brian Watt

Mark Belling Fan

Brian Watt

Mark Belling Fan:  Unfortunately for Governor Walker, he needs to change the law, and not merely an executive order from a previous governor.

From some information i've read it seems that Indiana public school teachers can still collectively bargain. Is this true or not? The reports seem to be mixed. · Feb 25 at 10:30am

Peter's post and embedded quote is about Mitch Daniels not Scott Walker. · Feb 25 at 10:52am

And? Are the two men not fighting similar battles from which we can compare and contrast strategy/tactics?

  · Feb 25 at 10:58am

Similar only in that Daniels fought his six years ago and won. Walker is taking up the cause that Daniels has already put to bed. Walker is attempting to change the law through legislative action and he is halfway there. At the time Daniels didn't have that option. I am not intimately familiar with whether the Indiana legislature subsequently passed a law forbidding collective bargaining. Perhaps a Hoosier who knows can tell us or I'll eventually dig it up myself. Bottom line, the battles are similar but the circumstances are different. 

Brian Watt
Joined
Jun '10
Brian Watt

Nickolas

Tuscarora Jack

FWIW, I immediately grasped your comparison to and contrast with the Walker and Daniels situations. 

Welcome to Ricochet. And how did you manage to get such a large profile image? · Feb 25 at 11:46am

Yes, welcome. Perhaps the profile image is related to the hat size.

Mark Belling Fan
Joined
Sep '10
Mark Belling Fan

Brian Watt

Mark Belling Fan

Brian Watt

Mark Belling Fan:  

Similar only in that Daniels fought his six years ago and won. Walker is taking up the cause that Daniels has already put to bed.

Is that the case? I'm still looking for clarification on the public teachers in Indiana. Some of the other threads about Daniels seem to imply that the teachers are still able to collectively bargain.

Pilgrim
Joined
Jun '10
Pilgrim

Mark Belling Fan

Brian Watt

Mark Belling Fan

Brian Watt

Mark Belling Fan:  

Similar only in that Daniels fought his six years ago and won. Walker is taking up the cause that Daniels has already put to bed.

Is that the case? I'm still looking for clarification on the public teachers in Indiana. Some of the other threads about Daniels seem to imply that the teachers are still able to collectively bargain. · Feb 25 at 12:00pm

MBF: The link is here.  Local news article citing the pending Senate Bill that would restrict Indiana teacher's collective bargaining to economic issues.  Governor Daniel's executive order six year ago was for state employees, as in "employees of the state" not "public employees", i.e. school district employees.

 


Joined
Dec '10
Nickolas

Pilgrim

Mark Belling Fan

Is that the case? I'm still looking for clarification on the public teachers in Indiana. Some of the other threads about Daniels seem to imply that the teachers are still able to collectively bargain. 

MBF: The link is here.  Local news article citing the pending Senate Bill that would restrict Indiana teacher's collective bargaining to economic issues.  Governor Daniel's executive order six year ago was for state employees, as in "employees of the state" not "public employees", i.e. school district employees. 

That's different from what other reports seemed to indicate. Apparently teachers in Indiana still have whatever collective bargaining rights they had before Daniels became governor.

This means the Wisconsin bill goes well beyond the current state of affairs in Indiana. From what I've read the Wisconsin bill extends to "public employees" down to local levels including, of course, school districts.

Edited on February 25, 2011 at 10:43pm
Tuscarora Jack
Joined
Feb '11
Tuscarora Jack

Nickolas

Tuscarora Jack

FWIW, I immediately grasped your comparison to and contrast with the Walker and Daniels situations. 

Welcome to Ricochet. And how did you manage to get such a large profile image? · Feb 25 at 11:46am

A big hat perhaps?


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