Poor Governor Scott Walker. He just can't win. Turns out his stint as Milwaukee County Executive, aside from being the current subject of an FBI John Doe investigation that has resulted in multiple felony and misdemeanor charges against his office aides, and has the Governor retaining two defense lawyers and starting up a legal defense fund .... well, now it turns out he did some things he couldn't back as County Executive and is now costing the country millions.
So guess what? Due to Walker's mistakes, you're not only broke now, Milwaukee County - you are so in debt you'll have to do massive layoffs.
Yikes.
Yeah. I think this guy will be recalled. He's simply incompetent. And too expensive to be in power. What other secret lawsuits are pending due to Walker's incompetence and disregard of the law?
It's clear why Walker wanted to remove union rights from employees - it's so he can screw them with impunity. Well, this judge says you can't, Walker. So pay back the millions you have now cost Milwaukee County through your illegal treatment of union employees.
Quote:
A judge has upheld a ruling ordering Milwaukee County to pay about 1,800 former union employees back pay for the more than four weeks of unpaid furloughs - time they didn't work - imposed as an emergency measure in 2010 by then-County Executive Scott Walker.
The cost, including mandatory interest charges, was estimated Monday at $6 million by a county official and as much as $9 million by a union leader.
Though the county and the union - District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - have been far apart on furloughs and other issues, they both agreed the sum was enormous.
The actual figure for the cut in pay due to what an arbitrator and the courts decided were excessive furloughs came to about $4 million. Compound interest required under state law and calculated on the base amount ballooned the debt greatly.
"We're talking major money," said Richard Abelson, executive director of the union.
Supervisor Joe Sanfelippo, chairman of the County Board's Personnel Committee, said the amount is so steep that if the county were forced to pay it would likely result in layoffs.
"Where is the money going to come from to cover this?" he said. The county, facing a tight budget for 2012, put only $1.5 million in a reserve fund that's likely to have other demands, as well.
Sanfelippo favors having the county appeal the decision further. The board's Judiciary Committee will hold a special meeting Wednesday to discuss a possible appeal. The issue goes to the full board Thursday.
In early 2010, Walker issued an executive order requiring a large portion of the county workforce to take unpaid furloughs, saying the county budget otherwise could end the year in the red. Employees were required to take up to 26 furlough days. The union said the action violated its collective bargaining agreement.
The Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission ruled in favor of the union workers last May, saying the county should have limited furloughs to a little more than a week's pay. The back pay would cover the portion of furloughs that exceeded 45 hours per worker. That's about 160,000 uncompensated hours, according to a county estimate.
The ruling also would allow for recalculation of pensions of some workers who have since retired, though any pension boost related to restoring furloughed time would likely be slight.
Judge William Sosnay upheld the commission finding in a ruling dated Feb. 27 that hasn't yet been publicly discussed.
The imposition of the furloughs violated the county's duty to bargain in good faith, according to Sosnay's ruling.
When Walker ordered the furloughs, the county faced a projected $15 million deficit for 2010. The county, however, ended the year with a surplus.
Furloughs weren't Walker's first choice as a budget balancer. He initially imposed a 35-hour workweek, but then abandoned that idea in favor of furloughs.
Sosnay sided with the county on another contested union issue by disagreeing with the union and the commission's finding that a tentative contract agreement for some 3,500 county union workers should be resubmitted for approval. The union had argued that the County Board reversed itself on a contract renewal offer.
The District Council 48 workers lost their union representation effective Jan. 31 as a result of Act 10, the state budget-repair bill advanced by Gov. Walker that rolls back most collective bargaining for most public employees.
"The parties cannot revert to the law as it existed in 2010, as the Wisconsin Legislature did not allow for such exceptions in drafting Act 10," Sosnay said in his ruling.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwauk...142398045.html
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