Thomas over at Blue Indiana has the scoop on underreported story. Last night, the House passed a bill by a 314-97 vote granting public saftey workers the right to unionize.
Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., the bill's author, said firefighters, police officers, corrections officers and emergency medical services workers should be allowed to negotiate for wages, hours and safe conditions.
The bill, which passed 314-97, was backed by every Hoosier House member except Rep. Mike Pence, R-Columbus, who voted against it, and Rep. Julia Carson, D-Indianapolis, who didn't vote.
Unfortunately 3 of the 97 House members who voted against the bill were Democrats. Melacnon (LA), Tanner (TN), and Taylor (MS).
97 Republicans voted against the bill:
Aderholt
Akin
Bachus
Baker
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett (MD)
Barton (TX)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehner
Boozman
Brown (SC)
Burgess
Calvert
Campbell (CA)
Cannon
Cantor
Carter
Chabot
Coble
Conaway
Culberson
Deal (GA)
Doolittle
Drake
Dreier
Everett
Fallin
Feeney
Flake
Forbes
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Garrett (NJ)
Gillmor
Gingrey
Goode
Goodlatte
Granger
Hall (TX)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hensarling
Herger
Inglis (SC)
Issa
Jindal
Johnson, Sam
Jordan
King (IA)
Kingston
Lamborn
Linder
Lucas
Lungren, Daniel E.
Mack
Manzullo
Marchant
McCarthy (CA)
McHenry
McMorris Rodgers
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Moran (KS)
Musgrave
Myrick
Neugebauer
Nunes
Paul
Pence
Peterson (PA)
Pickering
Pitts
Putnam
Radanovich
Rogers (AL)
Rohrabacher
Royce
Sali
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Simpson
Smith (NE)
Smith (TX)
Stearns
Thornberry
Walberg
Wamp
Weldon (FL)
Westmoreland
Wicker
Wolf
The next time that any of these Republicans try to talk about 9-11, they deserve to have this vote thrown in their face.
This bill doesn't give public safety workers the right to strike, but it does protect their human right to bargain collectively. And it helps keep them safe, so they can keep us safe. Under current law 20 states forbid public safety workers from unionizing, and in several states when Republicans have entered the governor's office, their first move was to issue an executive order prohibiting state workers from unionizing.
It's time for that to change.