Anybody else find it ironic, karmic, or just plain funny that Massachusetts – the state that drafted the template for the federal health reform law looming over us – has suddenly bucked its "maverick-y" ways and jumped on the organized labor beat-down bandwagon.
Yup, House lawmakers in this historically labor friendly state have passed a bill reigning in the collective bargaining rights of municipal workers. [See Massachusetts votes to limit unions] This move makes Massachusetts the ninth state to tackle this type of legislation.
(It's worth noting only 30 states allow public workers such collective bargaining rights to begin with.)
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But this marks the first time a Democratic-led state house moved to curb these labor rights, perhaps signaling the peak of the labor backlash. And this was no squeaker: The House voted 111-42 in favor of it, with more than 80 Democrats supporting the measure.
And while this bill likely will die a quick death in the Massachusetts Senate, this historic move could be the canary in the coal mine when it comes to states struggling with both suffocating debt and inflexible labor groups.
Now if they could only do something about all that money they're pouring into that health care system of theirs.
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