Many of us in Maryland watched the recent recall election in Wisconsin with great interest. That state's governor, Scott Walker, stated in a conversation with wealthy business leaders that it was his intention to use a "divide and conquer" strategy to destroy unions.
Walker instituted policies that denied unions collective bargaining rights. He also reduced sick and vacation leave and pension benefits for union members. These things, he said, would help reduce the state's budget deficit.
Governors such as Scott Walker believe that working people should bite the bullet and do with less if states are to recover from the budget deficit crisis caused by our national recession.
Those of us in Maryland need to understand that there are legislators in our state who agree with Scott Walker and who would like nothing more than to institute those same kinds of policies here.
Making sure that Walker's ideas don't become realities in Maryland is one of the reasons that MCEA places such strong emphasis on communicating with our Maryland legislators, letting them know of our concerns and assuring them that we will vote to protect our interests.
The lesson for us is that, to protect the rights we've fought for and won, we need to be involved, and we need to vote!
Become active. Participate in MCEA today!