It is thumbsucker Sunday in the universe of Wisconsin labor disputes, meaning there is a featurey feel to the coverage, rather than a lot of hard news to report.
Gov. Scott Walker remains the focal point in the local and national press, where the question du jour is:
Has the GOP governor re-ignited the American labor movement and restored our deep-rooted respect for the groundbreaking battles against greedy and selfish owners and bosses that have led to better wages, benefits and health and safety regulations (which, of course, non-unionized workers have cashed in on, as well).
“The challenge for us is to take this moment and turn it into a movement,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, tells The New York Times.
But Harry C. Katz, dean of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, says in the Times' story that he thinks the odds are stacked against a union comeback. “I would worry more about whether unions can hold off the onslaught than whether they can get a big snapback,” Katz said.
A survey of all the polls taken in Wisconsin over the nearly three-week standoff between the workers and the Walker-led state GOP shows the governor is losing the public relations battle for the hearts and minds of independent, centrist swing voters.
Craig Gilbert writes in the Journal Sentinel, "In other words, opinion has sharply polarized around Walker within two months of his taking office, with staunch opponents now outnumbering staunch supporters."
The damage already may be spreading for Walker to other states, where his overreach may make him a Republican pariah, Rick Ungar blogs for Forbes.
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