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Where is Michael Moore, Ed "Blow Hard" Shultz, MSNBC, the teachers, the students and the corrupt unions and Doctors? Where's rocky?  Pop quiz: What political party, in what state, this week passed a bill in the dead of night stripping public-sector unions of their collective- bargaining powers?…

 

Republicans in Wisconsin? The GOP in Ohio or Indiana?

 

Try Democrats in Massachusetts. Maybe the debate over public-sector benefits isn’t all that ideological after all.

 

That would be the view of Massachusetts Democratic Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, who late Tuesday led an overwhelming majority of his House in passing a bill divesting policemen, firefighters, teachers and other municipal employees of the power to collectively bargain most health-care benefits. The 111-42 vote took place at 11:30 at night, so as to avoid a mass of protesting union workers set to descend on the State House the next day. 

 

BOSTON - Gov. Deval Patrick urged both sides to "dial down the rhetoric" in an increasingly bitter debate over whether to sharply limit the collective bargaining power of public employees over their health insurance benefits.

Patrick said Wednesday it's important to pass legislation to ease the soaring health care burden on local city and town budgets while also guaranteeing union leaders a seat at the negotiating table.

Patrick's comments came after the Massachusetts House voted 111-42 late Tuesday to approve a measure to dramatically strengthen the power of cities and towns to change public employee health plans.

The Democratic governor praised the House for taking a difficult vote, but he wouldn't say whether he'd support the measure as written, noting that the Massachusetts Senate still has to weigh in.

"The bill that comes to my desk will have both meaningful savings for cities and towns and a meaningful role for labor," he said.

Union officials are furious at House Speaker Robert DeLeo, DEMOCRAT-Winthop, who caught them off guard by pushing through the amendment to the House budget plan earlier than they expected. DeLeo said the move could save municipalities $100 million a year.

"By spending less on the health care costs of municipal employees, our cities and towns will be able to retain jobs and allot more funding to necessary services like education and public safety," DeLeo said.

Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes said lawmakers passed the amendment "because the Speaker of the House made them."

"It is inconceivable to me that the power of the Massachusetts speaker is such that duly elected state representatives would choose to take away peoples' rights instead of stand up to one person's will," Haynes said.

Patrick urged both sides to keep cool heads.

 

Ray McGrath, a lobbyist for the International Brotherhood of Police and the National Association of Government Employee, is among those union officials who have called the House plan "Wisconsinesque."

"We are not willing to give up our collective bargaining rights," he said.

 

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Cage I really haven't been concerned with politics this week.

 

But in reading your article, this was concerning healthcare benefits?

In Massachusetts, the state where the health care act has overhauled the system?

It is my understanding that Massachusetts has what is close to a single payer system and this was inacted by Mitt Romney.

 

Cage, I know this is a lame excuse for a post, I can't get "into" politics right now and just wanted to answer your post to say hello and glad to know you are alright.

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