By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
In a new poll asking voters to weigh-in on the showdown between Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the state’s public employee union, nearly half are siding with the governor.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 48 percent of likely U.S. voters agree more with the governor than with union workers in the on-going dispute. Only 38 percent agree with the unions.
The strong ties between labor unions and the Democratic party make politics an influential factor in how people voted. For instance, 54 percent of Democrats support union workers in Wisconsin, but 68 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of voters unaffiliated with either party side with the governor.
The dispute is over a bill proposed by the new Republican-controlled state house to reduce the states $3.8 billion deficit that would force public employees to pay more for pensions and health care, and would limit their collective bargaining rights. Public safety workers, such as police and fire department workers, are exempted from the bill.
Overall, only 38 percent of voters think teachers, firemen and policemen should be allowed to go on strike, with 49 percent saying they should not have that right.
According to Rasmussen, union support has been falling among the general republic with the numbers for and against at a virtual tie; 45 percent say they support unions and 45 percent now say they don’t.
This could be critical information for state lawmakers in other cash-strapped states that are considering similar bills to reign in lucrative union pensions that they can no longer afford.
A sizable majority of Americans told Rasmussen that their states are now having major budget problems, and believe spending cuts, not higher taxes, are the solution. Fifty percent of voters say they favor reducing their state’s government payroll by one percent a year for 10 years either by reducing the number of state employees or by cutting the pay of state workers. Only 28 percent opposed such measures.
A whopping 78 percent of Americans say politicians’ unwillingness to reduce government spending is to blame for the budget crises in many states with another 70 percent saying they’re willing to make harder choices about cutting spending than their elected officials.
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