Here & Now

John Gard On Right-To-Work Bill

Frederica Freyberg:

Passage of right-to-work in Wisconsin would make it the 25^th state with the law on its books. As we’ve mentioned, not all private sector employers are in accord that it’s the right move. We’ll hear support for the bill from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, which represents 3,700 employers. But there’s also a coalition of 450 businesses in the building trades that oppose right-to-work. It’s called the Wisconsin Contractor Coalition. Working with it are lobbyists and they are Republicans of note, including former Assembly Speaker John Gard. He’s a busy guy. We were able to catch up with him on our set earlier today. John Gard joins us now. Thanks for doing so.

John Gard:

Happy to be here.

Frederica Freyberg:

Why doesn’t this Coalition of employers like right-to-work?

John Gard:

I think they believe it’s an intrusion by the government into private sector contracts between employers and employees. And I think these folks would oppose government involvement in lots of ways. But we’ve got a great tradition. The great working relationship among the trades in the construction industry in Wisconsin has really bolstered our economy. We just think it’s an unnecessary intrusion.

Frederica Freyberg:

What about what it might do to the members of the unions, wages or benefits or training opportunities, that kind of thing?

John Gard:

Well, we believe the operating engineers, the carpenters, all the trades in Wisconsin, thousands and thousands of guys, they vote to take money out of their own paycheck to pay for their own training, for their own healthcare, for their own pension. They don’t ask the taxpayers for a nickel. I think that’s what people are saying that they wanted to have happen in Wisconsin. We feel like, you know, a lot of our guys are looking around going, “What did we do wrong? What are we not doing right here? “We bring value to the taxpayer. We’ve build things ahead of schedule, under budget. We really have a great amount of skilled guys who are really doing great things in Wisconsin. And we think this certainly endangers that. And, you know, that’s why people spoke out as aggressively as they did.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, Scott Fitzgerald describes the relationship between road builders and their unions as a cozy one,that artificially keeps costs up, increasing the cost of taxpayer-funded projects and also one that freezes out private contractors. What’s your reaction to that?

John Gard:

We have 433 private contractors with us in this discussion. This notion that there’s some good relationship with employer and employee, is that like a bad thing? I mean, it doesn’t make sense as far as I’m concerned from the standpoint employers and employees should not be in a constant state of combat. That is not productive. It’s not good for families, It’s not good for communities, It’s certainly not good for the economy. Look at Mercury Marine! They signed a ten-year contract with their union and they brought 1,700 jobs back to Wisconsin from a right-to-work state. So, I think, for us, we give taxpayers one of the greatest values across America. Our per-mile construction cost in Wisconsin is one of the–is in the lowest ten costs in the nation. We’ve got great projects. We’ve got great skilled labor. We’ve got great contractors, and they are giving taxpayers an amazing value for the work that’s done. Just look at in Dane County. Go out and look at Verona Road. Look at Marquette Interchange. Look at the Zoo Interchange. You go to Green Bay, you look at 29 and 41.Look at these guys working with their lights in the middle of the night, and say those guys are the problem with the economy? That doesn’t make any sense.

Frederica Freyberg:

So where is this criticism coming from?

John Gard:

I think there’s– You know, people are certainly entitled to their opinion. We understand that. Our point is these are the folks, the dirt under the fingernail guys, who pay for their own training, their own health care, their own pension. That’s what we should be celebrating in Wisconsin. We think this whole discussion endangers that. We hope that we can bring the teams back together and get people to work cooperatively to grow this economy. There are certain–uh, certain political philosophy behind some of this and I can certainly understand that. Our group of guys I would say for the most part are pretty much your average Wisconsinite. They reflect what Wisconsin’s heritage is all about, and we want to grow that moving down the road.

Frederica Freyberg:

How weird is it for you to be on the opposite side of all of these Republican leaders?

John Gard:

Well, they’re great guys. I mean, I consider them friends. We just have a different point of view. I, in my political life, I always stood with the operating engineers. I believe in those guys. I believe in the carpenters. I think they add tremendous value. In the small town I grew up in, the folks that got up before the sun rose and went to bed after it went down and they work all day, that’s what we, as folks involved in politics, should be promoting and trying to get more of. And I think, you know, I’m proud to stand with these guys. I think they deliver a tremendous value to the taxpayers of the State of Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

John Gard, thanks very much.

John Gard:

Sure.