What became a reality in Wisconsin may be coming to California. Lanny Ebenstein, a lecturer from UC Santa Barbara, is sponsoring a ballot petition drive to place an initiative on the 2012 ballot that would strip public employee unions of their right to collectively bargain.

The public employee unions, in a published opinion of Mr. Ebenstein, have used their collective bargaining powers to inflate their compensation packages.

But law enforcement and public employee unions have said that their ability to collectively bargain enables them to improve the compensation packages for their employees so that they can retain more talented individuals.

The chance that this initiative, that wouldn’t only affect state employee unions but also ones at the municipal level, qualifies is slim. Financial support for such a long-shot petition will be hard to find, and opposition to the plan would be plentiful.

From the San Bernardino Sun:

Petitions are being circulated for a ballot measure designed to end collective bargaining for California’s public- employee unions.

The End Public Sector Bargaining Act would eliminate collective-bargaining rights for public employees such as teachers, nurses, police officers and firefighters. It is similar to a Wisconsin law passed this year.

The measure would apply not only to state employees, but to employees at local government agencies such as counties, cities and school districts.

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