Tula A. Connell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039904
- eISBN:
- 9780252098062
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039904.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This chapter highlights the city's contentious debate over the right of public employees to bargain, strike, and otherwise enjoy the same economic and workplace rights as unionized private-sector ...
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This chapter highlights the city's contentious debate over the right of public employees to bargain, strike, and otherwise enjoy the same economic and workplace rights as unionized private-sector workers. As the numbers of public employees increased throughout the decade, both blue-and white-collar city workers increasingly asserted their rights. Their efforts raised questions anew about the role of government and the extent to which workers should have control over their working conditions. The concerted push for public-employee bargaining rights that began in Milwaukee ultimately resulted in Wisconsin becoming the first state to adopt collective bargaining for public employees. Yet municipal workers unexpectedly encountered some of their strongest opposition in City Hall, where the mayor and some liberal members of the Milwaukee Common Council proved unlikely opponents.Less
This chapter highlights the city's contentious debate over the right of public employees to bargain, strike, and otherwise enjoy the same economic and workplace rights as unionized private-sector workers. As the numbers of public employees increased throughout the decade, both blue-and white-collar city workers increasingly asserted their rights. Their efforts raised questions anew about the role of government and the extent to which workers should have control over their working conditions. The concerted push for public-employee bargaining rights that began in Milwaukee ultimately resulted in Wisconsin becoming the first state to adopt collective bargaining for public employees. Yet municipal workers unexpectedly encountered some of their strongest opposition in City Hall, where the mayor and some liberal members of the Milwaukee Common Council proved unlikely opponents.
Tula A. Connell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039904
- eISBN:
- 9780252098062
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039904.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This concluding chapter describes a historic “reversal” of state legislation in Wisconsin. The state's seemingly lightning-quick repeal of collective bargaining rights had stunned many commentators ...
More
This concluding chapter describes a historic “reversal” of state legislation in Wisconsin. The state's seemingly lightning-quick repeal of collective bargaining rights had stunned many commentators who pointed to its precedent-setting adoption of public-employee rights and long history of progressive politics. But the seeds had been planted decades before. The chapter then looks to the years following the legislation, as the postwar era through the 1950s encompassed a key transitional period for the nation, in which foundational issues such as civil rights, the role of government, and the challenges of a pluralistic society confronted the postwar status quo. In struggling to respond while at the same time shaping the course of governance, Zeidler wrestled with issues, the resolutions of which would determine the course of the next decades.Less
This concluding chapter describes a historic “reversal” of state legislation in Wisconsin. The state's seemingly lightning-quick repeal of collective bargaining rights had stunned many commentators who pointed to its precedent-setting adoption of public-employee rights and long history of progressive politics. But the seeds had been planted decades before. The chapter then looks to the years following the legislation, as the postwar era through the 1950s encompassed a key transitional period for the nation, in which foundational issues such as civil rights, the role of government, and the challenges of a pluralistic society confronted the postwar status quo. In struggling to respond while at the same time shaping the course of governance, Zeidler wrestled with issues, the resolutions of which would determine the course of the next decades.
Tula A. Connell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039904
- eISBN:
- 9780252098062
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039904.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Political History
In the 1950s, Milwaukee's strong union movement and socialist mayor seemed to embody a dominant liberal consensus that sought to continue and expand the New Deal. This book explores how business ...
More
In the 1950s, Milwaukee's strong union movement and socialist mayor seemed to embody a dominant liberal consensus that sought to continue and expand the New Deal. This book explores how business interests and political conservatives arose to undo that consensus, and how the resulting clash both shaped a city and helped redefine postwar American politics. The book focuses on Frank Zeidler, the city's socialist mayor. Zeidler's broad concept of the public interest at times defied even liberal expectations. At the same time, a resurgence of conservatism with roots presaging twentieth-century politics challenged his initiatives in public housing, integration, and other areas. As the book shows, conservatives created an anti-progressive game plan that included a well-funded media and public relations push; an anti-union assault essential to the larger project of delegitimizing any government action; opposition to civil rights; and support from a suburban silent majority. In the end, the campaign undermined notions of the common good essential to the New Deal order. It also sowed the seeds for grassroots conservatism's more extreme and far-reaching future success.Less
In the 1950s, Milwaukee's strong union movement and socialist mayor seemed to embody a dominant liberal consensus that sought to continue and expand the New Deal. This book explores how business interests and political conservatives arose to undo that consensus, and how the resulting clash both shaped a city and helped redefine postwar American politics. The book focuses on Frank Zeidler, the city's socialist mayor. Zeidler's broad concept of the public interest at times defied even liberal expectations. At the same time, a resurgence of conservatism with roots presaging twentieth-century politics challenged his initiatives in public housing, integration, and other areas. As the book shows, conservatives created an anti-progressive game plan that included a well-funded media and public relations push; an anti-union assault essential to the larger project of delegitimizing any government action; opposition to civil rights; and support from a suburban silent majority. In the end, the campaign undermined notions of the common good essential to the New Deal order. It also sowed the seeds for grassroots conservatism's more extreme and far-reaching future success.
