Scott Walker may have just dumped his Presidential aspirations for 2016, but he wants to show his billionaire donors that he is still a front runner in wrecking havoc in his own state. Today, Scott Walker announced he is backing proposed legislation that would gut Wisconsin's civil service system. Exact details of the legislation are not known as the bill hasn't even been published, but Scott Walker is using it as a way to get positive attention in Conservative media. This is also Scott Walker's opportunity to get complete control of Wisconsin State government. More below the orange noodle...
Exact details of the legislation gutting the Wisconsin Civil Service System won't be known until next week, but according to this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, it will:
• "Drop the exams that job candidates for state government are often required to take. Steineke and Roth said those exams don't effectively measure how qualified applicants are and that resumes would do a better job".How can Scott Walker politically benefit from changing the Wisconsin Civil Service Process?• "Make the new personnel division within the Department of Administration responsible for all hiring rather than individual state agencies."
• "Define 'just cause' for firing employees more explicitly to make it more clear that the state could dismiss employees for showing up to work drunk, being physically violent or engaging in sexual harassment, stealing taxpayer goods, not showing up to work for three days in a year with no notification or watching pornography on their work computer."
• "Shorten the appeals process for employees being disciplined or fired.."
Look at the first bullet point. Removing the civil service tests means that applicants won't have to prove they have the basic skills needed for the job.
How basic are those skills? • Want to be a clerk in an office? The civil service test asks you to put a list of names in alphabetical order. • Want to be a secretary? The civil service test asks you to proof a letter. • Want to work in the Dept. of Motor Vehicles? The civil service test asks you about customer service best practices. • Want to work in the Unemployment Department? The civil service test asks you to read two pages of regulations, then asks you to apply those regulations to twenty different situations.
Every Wisconsin civil service test covers several different skills and individuals taking the test have 4 hours to complete it. Individuals have to pass each Wisconsin civil service test with a score of 70% or higher*, to become a certified applicant for that job title. When a position with that job title opens, certified applicants are invited to interview for that job. *Wisconsin Civil Service does have a program that assists veterans and disabled veterans in getting state jobs. Depending on a veteran's service and disability, they are given preference points which are added to their test score. The increased score helps veterans become a certified applicant and get more job interviews.
Scott Walker may hold the highest post in Wisconsin State Government, but he has never taken a Wisconsin civil service test to prove he has even the most basic of administration skills. Walker has moved ahead in his state career by leveraging his personality, and by the collecting and dispensing of political favors.
The Wisconsin civil service system and civil service tests have created a real fundraising problem in Scott Walker's universe. Walker just can't easily give an entry level state job to a rich supporter's son as a "thank you" for a hefty donation.
If Walker wants to thank a donor, he has to give them to an administration position that doesn't require a state civil service test. However, recent history has shown that the media quickly learns when Walker quietly gives away a $81,000/year job to donor's son.
Ditching the civil service tests and the resulting test scores, and moving to a "resume" based process will make it much easier for the "Resume Reviewer" to choose "the Governor's approved" applicants as "certified applicants". Becoming a "certified applicant" ensures "the Governor's approved applicants" get interviewed for jobs.
Which brings me to the second bullet point: "Make the new personnel division within the Department of Administration responsible for all hiring rather than individual state agencies."
The second reason Scott Walker can't give away more state jobs as a "thank you" to a rich donor, is that the individual state agencies still currently interview the certified applicants for their job openings and make their own hiring decisions!
Yes, even after 5 years of Scott Walker governing Wisconsin, there are still many administrators inside Wisconsin state agencies who are focused on their department's duties, not on partisan politics. Those administrators are also focused on hiring the best qualified applicants for the job openings in their areas, not on currying political favors.
At this point in time, Scott Walker only has complete control of the Department of Administration (DOA). You can be sure Scott Walker's appointees have been busy filling the DOA's ranks with staff who are politically aligned with Scott Walker, and Walker's political agenda.
By creating a new "Personnel Division" within the DOA and giving that "Personnel Division" the power to hire all state employees , Scott Walker is giving himself the perfect tool to gain complete control of state government!
Consider this: The new "Personnel Division" will review every resume, it can ensure "the Governor's approved applicants" become certified applicants, , it then interviews "the Governor's approved applicants", and gives them the job they were promised by Scott Walker!
Basically this new "Personnel Division" will enable Scott Walker to give away any job in Wisconsin state government, which will, in turn, allow Scott Walker to generate more donations from thankful donors, and to create a Wisconsin state government that is truly "Open For Business".
The only thing I can say about the last two bullet points, is that making it easier and faster to fire state employees will open up even more jobs, which will surely help the bottom line of Scott Walker's campaign fund for 2018.
Under Scott Walker, Wisconsin has lost the title as the "most progressive state in the union", but the state capitol of Madison is quickly earning a new one: "The Crony Capital of the United States"
