Will Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Doom Public Sector Unions?

Is the Madison, Wis., standoff the beginning of the end of public employee unions? Should it be? The remarkable confrontation between the new Republican governor and state employees that began earlier this month and spread to other states has raised a major public policy debate. The notion of government workers forming unions and bargaining collectively (see the U.S. News debate on whether public workers should have collective bargaining rights) was controversial in the early days of the labor movement. Even Franklin Roosevelt and other strong unionists opposed the idea. But it gradually came to be accepted. Now, in this cash-strapped era, some think the early concerns have been borne out with unions essentially spending the public's money to lobby for more public money. Where do you stand? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

• See photos of the Wisconsin protests.
• See 10 things you didn't know about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
• See a slide show of the 10 best cities to find a job.

Reader Comments Read all comments (5)

Add Your Thoughts

Comment Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Incorrect please try again

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.