Tuesday, February 15, 2011 6:30am
Very cool interview with the president of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Association... fills in some interesting gaps between the "Wisconsin State Troopers' Association" a lobbying group and the actual union... the "Wisconsin Law Enforcement Association".
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Much of the backlash comes from the fact that the Wisconsin State Troopers' Association, a lobbying group which is not affiliated with the WLEA, endorsed Walker during last year's campaign, against the wishes of many in the union. And the Troopers Association was quick to applaud Walker's move to exempt the State Patrol from the curtailment of bargaining rights. The Troopers' Association, a group that lobbies for benefits, isn't affiliated with the WLEA,
But Fuller doesn't think Walker is paying off the Troopers' Association for its support. He thinks Walker needs the support of the largest police contingent under his control. The State Patrol has about 380 troopers and more than 100 inspectors on hand -- not to mention the fact that the State Patrol provides the governor's personal bodyguards. And while Walker has raised the specter of calling on the National Guard to step in if needed due to any strikes, quelling any unrest from his assault on public workers will likely fall to the State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies.
"What we think is he needed to have the State Patrol because it fits into whatever plan he had for dealing with the fulfillment of his budget proposal," Fuller says. "There's conversation from other unions about walkouts and things like that. There are going to be protests here in Madison at the Capitol that he'll most likely need to have law enforcement coverage for. And to me, the State Patrol is ideally suited for that."
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A lot more...
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/crime_and_courts/blog/article_056546c2-388b-11e0-8f1e-001cc4c03286.html.