In Ohio, Repeal Of Collective Bargaining Law Could Fuel Democrats For 2012 8NOV11

OTHER than the defeat of the "personhood" amendment in Mississippi this was the election outcome progressive Democrats needed most. Hopefully it will give pause to other fanatical right-wing gop / tea-bagger politician's plans to attack the rights and civil liberties of the 99%. From NPR....

by Elise Hu

Enlarge Amy Sancetta/AP Opponents of a law limiting collective-bargaining rights cheer in Cleveland as they hear election results sounding the defeat of the measure in the Ohio general election on Tuesday.

Ohio voters have overturned Senate Bill 5, the controversial law that stripped public employees of their rights to collectively bargain, by a nearly two-to-one vote. The law, which was the centerpiece of Republican Gov. John Kasich's legislative agenda and passed by a GOP-dominated state legislature this spring, will no longer be on the books after Tuesday night's referendum vote.
"It's clear the people have spoken," Kasich said tonight. "We'll continue to work with local governments. People obviously didn't like the tools we offered here."
This was the most closely-watched off-year election in the nation, as the repeal vote is being viewed as an important barometer in the struggle between unions and pro-business budget cutters headed into 2012. After organized labor and their Democratic allies suffered a string of defeats in states like Wisconsin and Indiana earlier this year, the Ohio campaign was an all-out battle for survival.
  This hard-earned and expensive victory for unions represents a momentum shift in their direction at a crucial time. Ohio will likely be a key electoral battleground in the coming presidential election, and supporters of the repeal say this win signals that the sweeping, Republican-led efforts to curb the power of public employee unions may have gone too far. The Columbus Dispatch reports:

Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern said public workers should not be scapegoated for the state's economic problems.
"That is the lesson John Kasich must remember after tonight, and if he doesn't, he'll be a one-term governor," Redfern said.

The state's voters showed they disliked Kasich's law, and polls indicate voters dislike Kasich, too. An October Quinnipiac poll measured the governor's approval ratings at 36 percent. While he did campaign across Ohio to support keeping the law, his opponents were the faces of police and firefighters, teachers and nurses. What does this mean? NPR's StateImpact Ohio explains:

[This shows] Democratic-leaning groups like unions can get organized and get out the vote, both important skills leading up to the 2012 presidential election, particularly in a swing state like Ohio. That energy and organization could also help Democrats get two other referendums on the November 2012 ballot and approved.
They could mean that the momentum behind Republican efforts to curb the power of public employee unions and enact education policy changes such as ending tenure and seniority-based pay has slowed.
They could mean that Kasich's approach of including both public safety workers and teachers in a single collective bargaining bill was flawed. (In Wisconsin, collective bargaining changes that largely excluded police and firefighters passed.)

Related NPR Stories

ELECTION TAKEAWAY: Mixed Messages Nov. 9, 2011

MISSISSIPPI: 'Personhood' Measure Fails Nov. 9, 2011

OTHER RESULTS: Incumbents Win Key Races Nov. 9, 2011

UPDATE FROM MOJO Wisconsin Court Election Linked to Public Union Fight Heads Toward Recount & Clerk's Error Gives WI Conservative 7K Lead In Heated Election 7APR11

ONE of the best lessons from this election is that every vote counts and that it is important to stop just complaining about things, we all need to pay attention and VOTE! DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT!!!!

A recount of “unprecedented” scrutiny is likely in a Wisconsin Supreme Court race where 204 votes separate the candidates out of almost 1.5 million cast, a state elections official said.
For now, challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg leads Justice David T. Prosser Jr., according to an unofficial tally from the Associated Press. The race became a proxy fight over curbs on collective bargaining rights enacted in Wisconsin that sparked weeks of protests and became a national cause, with millions of dollars of campaign money pouring in from outside the state.
Verifying the accuracy of the vote will take several weeks, and if there are legal challenges to determine who won the court seat, the outcome could be delayed longer, said Kevin Kennedy, director of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections.
“We are living in a time when there are charged emotions,” Kennedy told reporters yesterday at a news conference in Madison, the state capital. “Like it or not, not everyone can win this election.”
At stake is the make-up of the seven-member court that will likely rule on the union law championed by Republican Governor Scott Walker and challenged in a lower court.
A recount will officially begin today at the county level, Kennedy said, adding that he expects an official request from one candidate for a statewide re-tallying within 10 days.
While no official request for a recount has been made, the sliver-like margin separating Kloppenburg and Prosser makes it likely. Officials of both campaigns met with Kennedy yesterday.

‘Counting Them Twice’

“We’re counting the votes and counting them twice,” Brian Nemoir, Prosser’s campaign manager, said in a telephone interview.
Kloppenburg, an assistant state attorney general, declared victory yesterday, saying “Wisconsin voters have spoken.”
Lawyers have not. In the recount of the Minnesota U.S. Senate race in 2008, lawyers for Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman fought for eight months before the state Supreme Court declared Franken the winner by 312 votes in July 2009.
Almost four weeks of protests in Madison over the collective bargaining issue served as fuel for a court race that had received little notice until then.
Unions and Democrats mobilized against the bill, while Republicans rallied around Walker, who was elected in November.

Recall Efforts

Walker signed the bill into law March 11. Legal challenges have delayed its implementation, and the issue has sparked recall campaigns began against 16 state senators -- eight Democrats and eight Republicans. And the Supreme Court race became consumed in the disputes over Walker’s bargaining law.
Political groups spent almost $3.6 million on television ads in the race, with the majority supporting Prosser, according to data released by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s law school. The amount was a state record for television spending by non-candidate organizations, the center said in a statement.
Prosser, 68, was a Republican lawmaker for 18 years and became a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice in 1998. His campaign website says, “I present myself as a judicial conservative, devoted to the constitution and the rule of law.”
Kloppenburg, 57, has been a litigator in the state Justice Department since 1989, serving under attorneys general from both parties, according to her campaign website. She has donated to Democratic candidates in past years.

Primary Results

Prosser won 55 percent of the vote in the nonpartisan primary Feb. 15, while Kloppenburg was second with 25 percent, according to the accountability board.
In a news conference yesterday, Walker rejected the assertion that the election was a referendum on the union law, and said he welcomes a recount “as long as it’s fair.”
Debates about public employees’ bargaining power and benefits have unfolded in several states -- including Ohio, New Jersey and Indiana.
In Ohio, where Republican Governor John Kasich has signed into law a similar bill limiting collective bargaining for government employees, two Democratic lawmakers said they are introducing a bill to let voters recall statewide elected officials and legislators. The bill, aimed at Kasich, is inspired by efforts in Wisconsin to recall senators in the wake of the collective-bargaining fight there, said state Representative Mike Foley, a Cleveland Democrat.
The Wisconsin law, which passed with no votes from Democrats, limits most government unions to bargaining for wages alone; raises can’t exceed inflation unless voters agree. The measure requires increased contributions for health-care and pensions, and prohibits automatic dues collection from workers’ pay.
The district attorney of Dane County, which encompasses the capital of Madison, sued to block the law, saying that legislators violated the state’s open-meetings statutes in passing the measure.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tim Jones in Madison at tjones58@bloomberg.net; Marie Rohde in Milwaukee at fmarierohde@gmail.com.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net

BREAKING: Massive Upset Victory In Wisconsin!

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Peter

In an amazing show of force for the progressive movement, Wisconsin State Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg just declared victory over the Scott Walker-aligned incumbent David Prosser.
And remember: Just about 6 weeks ago, Kloppenburg lost to Prosser by 30 points in the primary. Last night, she erased that massive deficit and just barely bested him, winning 50.01% of the vote to his 49.99%.
Here’s her statement:

“We owe Justice Prosser our gratitude for his more than 30 years of public service. Wisconsin voters have spoken and I am grateful for, and humbled by, their confidence and trust. I will be independent and impartial and I will decide cases based on the facts and the law. As I have traveled the State, people tell me they believe partisan politics do not belong in our Courts. I look forward to bringing new blood to the Supreme Court and focusing my energy on the important work Wisconsin residents elect Supreme Court justices to do.”

http://front.moveon.org/massive-upset-victory-in-wisconsin/

Clerk's Error Gives WI Conservative 7K Lead In Heated Election

— By Andy Kroll

| Thu Apr. 7, 2011 4:59 PM PDT

Conservative incumbent David Prosser. Flickr/WisPolitics.com

In a stunning turnaround, the county clerk for Waukesha County, a heavily Republican district in southeast Wisconsin, announced on Thursday evening that she'd failed to count more than 14,000 votes cast in Tuesday's state Supreme Court election. The error, disclosed by a former state GOP lawmaker who's been criticized for her handling of local elections, handed conservative incumbent David Prosser a lead of 7,582 votes, flipping the result of the race after an initial tally put liberal JoAnne Kloppenburg ahead by a mere 204 votes.
The Waukesha clerk, Kathy Nickolaus, a Republican, said in a press conference that the new votes, all of which were cast in the city of Brookfield, were missed because of human error that's "common in this process." Nickolaus apologized for the mistake, saying, "The purpose of the canvas is to catch these kind of mistakes."
This isn't the first time Nickolaus' role in overseeing elections in Waukesha has been engulfed in controversy. In 2010, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that she bucked the traditional election results system in Wisconsin and instead kept the county's election results on "stand-alone personal computers accessible only in her office." Nickolaus cited security reasons for her unorthodox method. Not surprisingly, she received plenty of criticism for her unique handling of elections:

Director of Administration Norman A. Cummings said because Nickolaus has kept them out of the loop, the county's information technology specialists have not been able to verify Nickolaus' claim that the system is secure from failure.
"How does anybody else in the county know, except for her verbal word, that there are backups, and that the software she has out there is performing as it should?" he said. "There's no way I can assure that the election system is going to be fine for the next presidential election."
[…]

Mike Biagioli, the county's manager of information technology, sees risk in Nickolaus' action.
"What happens if something goes wrong on election night? We don't support her at all on election night. She was pretty clear about that. If something goes wrong, what do you do?" he said. "I would love to be able to go in and verify that everything is OK."

Other counties in Wisconsin also discovered additional votes throughout the day as they check their totals, but none of the changes were as drastic as Waukesha's. For instance, Winnebago County amended its vote total earlier on Thursday, giving Prosser a razor-thin 40-vote lead. Then Grant County released its revised totals, subtracting 113 votes from Prosser and restoring Kloppenburg's lead.
It's been a wild day in Wisconsin, and with further recounts and legal challenges likely to come, there's a ways to go before a winner is officially crowned. But the sudden revelation of more than 14,000 previously untallied votes in Waukesha is sure to fuel plenty of conspiracy theories and Gore-Bush 2000 comparisons in the days to come.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/04/wisconsin-recount-prosser-kloppenburg? 

If You Liked This, You Might Also Like...

• Wisconsin's Supreme Test

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• Nail-Biter Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Too Close to Call

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• Dem Wins Wisconsin Race, But Recount Looms

  Energized unions and progressives propelled liberal JoAnne Kloppenburg to victory in Wisconsin's heated Supreme Court election fight.

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Andy Kroll is a reporter at Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here. Email him with tips and insights at akroll (at) motherjones (dot) com. Follow him on Twitter here. Get Andy Kroll's RSS feed.

Madison's Most Famous Bus Driver 16MAR11

JUST the facts......from MOJO......
Have you heard about the bus driver in Madison who made $160,000 last year? Since he's now the poster child for public sector largesse in the state of Wisconsin, it's hard not to have heard of him. So what's up? Greg Sargent checked into this and found that the driver, John Nelson, actually earns about $50,000 in base pay. But:

Nelson was able to earn $160,000 in 2009 not because of his annual salary, but because he worked a huge amount of overtime hours. He was able to do this because of previous rules, negotiated by Teamsters local 695, that allowed drivers with most seniority — and the highest salaries — to rack up large amounts of overtime.
....But wait, it gets better. It turns out that pointing to Nelson as an example of what’s wrong with public employee unions is thoroughly bogus in another way. According to Rusch, the city of Madison went to the bus drivers union last year and told them the rules allowing the highest-paid bus drivers to snap up the most overtime were a major problem for them. Turns out the union agreed, and renegotiated a deal to limit overtime in a way that has left Metro Transit happy. And guess what: That deal was negotiated through collective bargaining.

It's possible that Nelson is just a guy who doesn't have much of a social life and likes to work. And after all, if he didn't work the overtime, someone else would. But there's also this, from a report last year on the ongoing contract negotiations:

[City officials] declined comment on current contract negotiations, which are in binding arbitration. In May, Teamsters rank and file rejected a tentative agreement between the city and union leaders that would have changed rules that let senior drivers make tens of thousands in extra pay.
....The rules don't always mean more net overtime costs but concentrate extra pay in fewer hands. The extra pay also lets those employees boost their state retirement income, which is based on an average of the three highest earning years.

Italics mine. The whole story, then, is a familiar one. Bus drivers in Madison aren't, in general, living a cushy life. Starting drivers earn about $35,000 and Nelson, who's been on the job for 36 years, earns about $50,000. There's nothing outrageous about that.
But the rules are deliberately set up so that veteran drivers can goose their earnings for a few years at the exact time that their earnings are highest. It's no surprise that the union rank-and-file initially voted down a proposal to reform this system, since the rank-and-file understand that eventually they'll all have their own chance to goose their earnings just before retirement, thus providing them with a lavish pension. Only after arbitration and a lengthy public outcry did they finally accept changes to rein in this practice.
Not everyone takes advantage of the overtime rules to the extent Nelson has, but it's nonetheless a widely used gambit to boost retirement earnings far beyond what's fair. I don't begrudge the bus drivers their pay or their benefits or their retirement plans, but I do begrudge them this time-honored scam for putting taxpayers on the hook for excessive pensions. Nelson isn't a poster boy for overpaid bus drivers — that charge really is bogus — but he is a poster boy for this kind of pension abuse. It should stop.

Wisconsin Anti-Union Law Temporarily Blocked By Judge 18MAR11

THIS aint over till the fat lady sings!
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday blocking the state's new and contentious collective bargaining law from taking effect, a measure that drew tens of thousands of protesters to the state Capitol and sent some Democrats fleeing to Illinois in an attempt to block a vote on it.
The judge's order is a major setback for new Republican Gov. Scott Walker and puts the future of the law in question.
Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi issued the order, which was requested by that county's District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, a Democrat. Ozanne filed a lawsuit contending that a legislative committee that broke a stalemate that had kept the law in limbo for weeks met without the 24-hour notice required by Wisconsin's open meetings law. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the measure and Walker signed it last week.
Secretary of State Doug La Follette planned to publish the law on March 25, but the judge's order will prevent that from happening, at least for now.
Assistant Attorney General Steven Means said the state will appeal the ruling, but he didn't say when. Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said in a statement that the governor was confident the bill would become law in the near future.
"This legislation is still working through the legal process," Werwie said.
A spokesman for Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald declined to comment, citing the ongoing legal fight.
Democrats were hopeful the ruling would lead to the undoing of the law.
"I would hope the Republicans would take this as an opportunity to sit down with Democrats and negotiate a proposal we could all get behind," said Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach, of the 14 senators who stayed in Illinois for three weeks in an attempt to stop the bill from passing.

Story continues below

The bill was part of Walker's solution for plugging a $137 million state budget shortfall. A part of the measure would require state workers to increase their health insurance and pension contributions to save the state $30 million by July 1. Other parts of Walker's original proposal to address the budget shortfall were removed before the bill passed last week. The Legislature planned to take those up later. Lawmakers are not scheduled to be in session again until April 5.
People opposed to the law converged on the state Capitol over the past month with massive demonstrations that went on for more than three weeks.

Vice President Biden Fires Up Union Activists: Organized Labor Keeps 'Barbarians From The Gate' (AUDIO)

TELL it like it is Joe!!!
WASHINGTON -- Vice President Biden gave the Obama administration's most forceful statement of solidarity with organized labor in its current battles around the nation on Thursday, encouraging activists to continue fighting for workers' rights.
"You guys built the middle class," said Biden in a virtual town hall conversation hosted by the AFL-CIO. "I would just emphasize what Hilda [Solis] said and say it slightly different: We don't see the value of collective bargaining, we see the absolute positive necessity of collective bargaining. Let's get something straight: The only people who have the capacity -- organizational capacity and muscle -- to keep, as they say, the barbarians from the gate, is organized labor. And make no mistake about it, the guys on the other team get it. They know if they cripple labor, the gate is open, man. The gate is wide open. And we know that too."
The e-mail announcement for the call went out to labor activists, including members of the growing advocacy group Working America, and it pitched the call as a conversation with 100,000 supporters about "Republican assaults on collective bargaining in at least a dozen states." AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis joined Biden on the call, where listeners were also allowed to ask questions (although Biden had to leave before that portion).
Biden's comments underscored the importance of labor not only in terms of workers' rights but also politically. He acknowledged the role that unions played in helping launch his political career, and he noted his personal identification with the activists as someone who grew up in the Rust Belt in Scranton, Penn.
"I've got to state the obvious," he said. "There's an old expression: 'You go home with them that brung you to the dance.' You guys all brought me to the dance 36 years ago in Delaware as a United States senator. You've been with me, and I've stayed with you."
Both Biden and Solis used the opportunity to promote what the Obama administration has done for this valuable constituency, such as restoring a level "playing field" at the Labor Department and the National Labor Relations Board upon taking office.
"Now look, I'm sure a lot of you out there saying, 'Gosh, why hasn't the President, why hasn't the Vice President -- why haven't they stopped these guys in the states? Why haven't we been able to do this?' Look folks. We are flat committed," Biden assured the listeners, bringing up the jobs created and retained by the Recovery Act -- many of which were for public workers such as teachers and firefighters.

Story continues below

"Now look. Here's the irony of all this. I find this ridiculous," said Biden later in the call, becoming increasingly passionate. "The very philosophy, the very conservative people who got us in this ditch, who created -- through their greed -- this orgy of focusing on the super wealthy and Wall Street without regulations, the very people who drove us into this ditch, are now the people using you guys as the scapegoats. This is what you call blaming the victim. The people of the neighborhoods we all grew up in and you guys live in, organized labor, they're the very people getting killed right now by this economy. And the audacity these guys that come along and say, 'Hey, this is the fault of collective bargaining' -- that is malarkey."
"I'm available, I'm here, I'm working with you, I wish I could be even more effective than we've been, but this is only the beginning of the fight," he ended.
LISTEN:

On Feb. 24, Biden also had on his public schedule a meeting with Solis and Trumka. In mid-February, Obama told a Wisconsin television station, "Some of what I've heard coming out of Wisconsin, where you're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally seems like more of an assault on unions. And I think it's very important for us to understand that public employees, they're our neighbors, they're our friends.”

Wis. Assembly Cuts Public Worker Bargaining Rights 10MAR11

WHAT'S next in Madison, the burning of the Reichstag.....er, Statehouse, so Ubervorsteher walker can unleash his National Guard troops on the people of Wisconsin? 

by NPR Staff and Wires

Wisconsin police tried to secure a door inside the state Capitol as thousands of angry people mobbed the area in anticipation of Thursday's Assembly vote.

Morry Gash/AP

Wisconsin police tried to secure a door inside the state Capitol as thousands of angry people mobbed the area in anticipation of Thursday's Assembly vote.

text size A A A

March 10, 2011

Wisconsin lawmakers voted Thursday to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from the state's public workers in one of the strongest blows to the power of unions in years.
The state's Assembly passed Republican Gov. Scott Walker's explosive proposal 53-42 Thursday. The state's Senate approved it the night before after using a procedural move to bypass its AWOL Democrats.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald spoke to reporters after Wednesday's vote in Madison.

Walker says he'll sign the legislation as quickly as possible.
The vote brings a swift end to a standoff over union rights that has rocked Wisconsin and the nation. Tens of thousands of protesters have converged on the state's Capitol for weeks of demonstrations.
The implementation of Walker's proposal will be a key victory for Republicans who have targeted unions amid efforts to slash government spending.
Angry people packed the hallway leading to the Assembly on Thursday. At least 50 protesters were carried out by police, and the building was locked down briefly while officers did a security review.
"The whole world is watching!" protesters shouted outside the Assembly's entrance.
Democratic representatives pounded on the locked door of the chamber before the vote, scheduled for 11 a.m. local time. It wasn't unlocked until around 11:30 a.m.

I applaud the Legislature's action today to stand up to the status quo and take a step in the right direction to balance the budget and reform government.

- Republican Gov. Scott Walker

"What more egregious, illegal, unethical step can be taken to prevent democracy in Wisconsin?" Rep. Donna Seidel (D-Wausau) said as she banged on the door along with her colleagues.
If the bill passes the Assembly as expected, it would head to Republican Gov. Scott Walker for his signature. At a news conference in Milwaukee, the governor said he'll sign the legislation "as quickly as I can legally."
Hours after Senate Republicans passed the bill Wednesday, a crowd of hundreds of protesters swelled to thousands in a rally as large as any seen inside the Capitol in three weeks of demonstrations. At one point, there were so many people pushing their way through the building's entrances that police just gave up trying to stop them.

They did this in a hurry because they knew once the public would find out, they would be furious.

- Democratic Sen. Bob Jauch

Shawn Johnson of Wisconsin Public Radio told NPR that the protesters really didn't see it coming.
"They knew there was going to be a vote on this at some point, but the way that it happened was definitely extraordinary," he said.
The Senate's 14 Democrats had stymied the bill for weeks by leaving the state and preventing the chamber from having enough members present to pass it. Walker introduced the measure to plug a $137 million budget shortfall.
Republicans needed at least one Democrat present for a quorum of 20 in order to take up any measures that spend money. So GOP leaders essentially outmaneuvered the missing Democrats by stripping away pieces of the bill that triggered the rule so that they could vote on the collective bargaining elements.
The entire process happened very quickly, Johnson said.
"At about 4 o'clock central time, Republican leaders said they were going to convene a special committee to consider this plan," he said. "Less than two hours later, that committee met and passed the bill, and just a few minutes after that, Republican senators met and voted 18-1 in favor of the plan without any debate and without a single Democrat in the room."
Spectators flooded the Senate gallery, screaming "You are cowards" at lawmakers as they voted. Republican Sen. Dale Schultz cast the lone no vote.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Democrats' chairs sat empty during the Senate vote on Gov. Scott Walker's legislation that would restrict collective bargaining for most government workers in Wisconsin. Republicans voted 18-1 to pass the bill.

"I voted my conscience, which I feel reflects the core beliefs of the majority of voters who sent me here to represent them," Schultz said in a statement.
Walker said Democrats had three weeks to debate the bill and were offered repeated opportunities to come back, but refused.
"I applaud the Legislature's action today to stand up to the status quo and take a step in the right direction to balance the budget and reform government," Walker said in a statement.
Senate Democrats met late Wednesday night to discuss when they might return. They said they would not be back Thursday, but gave no indication when they might come home.
"We are going to watch and see how the Assembly unfolds," said Sen. Spencer Coggs. "There will be fireworks. There will be a lot of people at the Capitol, and so it will be hard to get in and out of the Capitol."
Thursday's vote is something of a foregone conclusion, Johnson said, given that Assembly lawmakers passed a similar version of the bill a few weeks ago. But he said the recent maneuverings at the Capitol make it worth watching.

Interactive Timeline: Wisconsin's Union Battle

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Until Wednesday's Senate action, it appeared the standoff would persist until Democrats returned to Madison from their self-imposed exile in Illinois.
"In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin. Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten," Democratic Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller said. "Tonight, 18 Senate Republicans conspired to take government away from the people."
Speaking by phone, Democratic Sen. Bob Jauch said the vote left people in shock.
"They did this in a hurry because they knew once the public would find out, they would be furious," Jauch said.
Republicans said this was their only option, because they were convinced Democrats were prepared to stay away from the Senate indefinitely, and that it followed the letter of the law.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said he reviewed the plan with the Legislature's lawyers and budget specialists, and they advised him "that this proposal would not trigger the special quorum requirement."
But Democrats contended that it happened so fast that it violated Wisconsin law. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, the lone Democrat present on the special committee that put the bill in position to pass the Senate, shouted that the meeting was a violation of the state's open meetings law.
"The jig is now up," Barca said. "The fraud on the people of Wisconsin is now clear."
The Senate's chief clerk said hours later that the meeting was properly held.
Sen. Chris Larson said that when he and fellow Democrats got wind of what was happening, they tried to rush back to Madison.
"Personally, I tried to drive as fast as I could to get up there," Larson said. "My colleagues tried to get ready in order to do the same, but there was no chance with the very short time frame. They knew what they were doing; they intended to deceive the people."
David Newby, past president of Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, said union members are not going to sit back and let it happen.
"I'm ashamed for our state, but it means that we've got a protracted fight ... that is not going to go away," he said. "Once they pass this bill, that's just the beginning of the fight."
Walker had repeatedly argued that collective bargaining is a budget issue, because his proposed changes would give local governments the flexibility to confront the budget cuts needed to close the state's $3.6 billion deficit. He has said that without the changes, he may have needed to lay off 1,500 state workers and make other cuts to balance the budget.
The measure forbids most government workers from collectively bargaining for wage increases beyond the rate of inflation unless approved by referendum. It also requires public workers to pay more toward their pensions and double their health insurance contributions, a combination equivalent to an 8 percent pay cut for the average worker. Police and firefighters are exempt.
Despite being outfoxed, Democrats see an upside to the battle over bargaining rights.
Johnson said Democrats think the level of public energy could translate to the ballot box.
"Already, there are recall petitions being circulated against eight of the Republicans who voted for this plan. I should also mention that there are recalls being organized against some of the Democratic senators who left town," Johnson said.
"But Democrats think that overall, this is an issue that energizes their base certainly more than it was energized in last year's election."
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/10/134419331/protests-swell-after-wis-senate-curbs-union-rights?sc=nl&cc=brk-20110310-1652 

Action Alert: Tell WI National Guard to stand with public employees from IVAW 3MAR11

governor scott walker's threat to use the Wisconsin National Guard against union workers in his state is a threat that needs to be taken seriously and one that needs to be challenged by working people all across the country. Please participate in this action from the IVAW Iraq Veterans Against The War and call or e mail Brig Gen Dunbar and ask him not to deploy the WI National Guard against public workers and students in Wisconsin.

Take Action

• Send an Email to Brig. Gen. Dunbar of WI National Guard.
• Watch Youtube clip of IVAW in Madison last Saturday.
  
• Let us know if you made a phone call to WI National Guard.

• Make a donation.
  
• Send us your feedback.
  

Tell the Wisconsin National Guard to stand with public employees.

Call or send an email urging Brigadier General Donald P. Dunbar of the Wisconsin National Guard to stand with public workers, not against them.

As the struggle to preserve the existence of unions continues in Wisconsin, it is unclear how things will play out.  But Gov. Scott Walker has stated that he is prepared to activate the Wisconsin National Guard to respond to any problems that may arise.  We know that National Guard troops have been used in the past against striking workers, protesting students, and to quell urban rebellions in the U.S., at times with horrifying results (think Kent State, 1970).
But service members have the power to side with the people.
Call the public affairs office of the Wisconsin National Guard: (608) 242-3000 or send an email.
Respectfully ask that General Dunbar not activate the Wisconsin National Guard against peaceful Wisconsin workers.  Ask General Dunbar to go on the record publicly and say that the National Guard will not be used against those peacefully demonstrating for their collective bargaining rights.
If you are making the phone call, let us know how it went by sending us an email to ivaw.org/contact.
Here are some talking points:

• Members of the National Guard are also public servants. They should not be used against their fellow Wisconsin public servants who are fighting for their right to maintain decent compensation and work environments.
• Many WI National Guard members are also teachers, nurses, EMTs, firefighters, and police officers.
• Many WI National Guard members are veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.  Veterans often seek jobs in the public sector because government agencies are the only employers that follow hiring preferences for veterans as a matter of law.  Protecting the rights of workers in the public sector unions ensures that veterans have a chance to secure a decent job and earn a living wage with good benefits - something that every American worker deserves.

Make the call or email today.

Midwest IVAW members joined thousands in Wisconsin last Saturday

                
Last weekend, IVAW members gathered in Madison to stand in solidarity with workers and deliver a message to Governor Walker: troops and veterans support workers fighting for decent jobs, wages, and benefits. 
Watch the video clip of the message they delivered at the Wisconsin state capitol.
IVAW members around the country also attended local solidarity protests in their hometowns and cities.
To share our public statement on the Wisconsin GOP's union-busting efforts, click here.
Thank you!
In Solidarity,
IVAW Field Organizing Team
Aaron, Chantelle, Jason, & Joe

Wisconsin...FIGHT BACK AGAINST THE GOP & TEA-BAGGER ATTACKS ON WORKING FAMILIES from PCCC 2MAR11

WE need to support the fight against the gop and tea-bagger attacks on working families in the U.S. PLEASE click the link and contribute what you can, I did.


We're launching a powerful new TV ad in Wisconsin against Gov. Scott Walker and the Republicans. With your help, we can put it on TV day after day until Republicans cave. Can you take a look -- and chip in $3 to help us air it? Click here:

We're launching this ad with our friends at Democracy for America -- and it's already making waves, with the Washington Post, Politico, and Talking Points Memo covering it this morning.
Recent polls show Gov. Scott Walker and Wisconsin Republicans with negative approval ratings. The more pressure we add, the more quickly they will stop their war on working families.
This new TV ad may be our best ever. Please take a look and chip in $3 to keep it on TV. Click here.
Then, pass this email to others! Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Adam Green, Stephanie Taylor, Jason Rosenbaum, Amanda Johnson, and the PCCC team

P.S. Tune in to MSNBC at 8pm tonight for Lawrence O'Donnell's show. We'll be on discussing this ad! 

Paid for by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC (www.BoldProgressives.org) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions to the PCCC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

Wisconsin assembly agrees to union bill vote; troopers' search for Democrats comes up dry 24FEB11

THE DICTATOR WANNA-BE gov scott walker continues his assault on workers rights in Wisconsin, and the repercussions will be felt around the nation. The Wisconsin Senate Democrats must stay united and stay out of the state until the union-busting legislation is withdrawn. Go to the Wisconsin Is Us live blog for the latest updates on the workers struggle, there is a link to them on this blog
By Ariana Eunjung Cha and Brady Dennis
Washington Post Staff Writers

Republicans and Democrats in the Wisconsin Assembly agreed to a deal shortly before dawn on Thursday that sets the stage for a vote on a bill that would limit collective bargaining rights for public workers.
The bill has prompted several days of protests at the State Capitol by more than 60,000 union supporters .
The agreement, announced shortly after 6 a.m., follows a marathon 40-hour debate that began Tuesday morning, during which Democrats sought to delay the vote by filibustering. The vote could come as soon as Thursday afternoon and will almost certainly pass, given the chamber's Republican majority.
That would send the bill to the Wisconsin Senate, which has been unable to vote on the issue since 14 Democratic senators fled the state and left it without a quorum. Wisconsin state troopers were dispatched Thursday to the homes of the missing Democrats to try to pressure them to return to break an impasse on a budget bill.
The Senate sergeant at arms said the troopers left after not finding any of the senators at home, the Associated Press reported. The troopers had been authorized by a Senate decision early Thursday to issue a "call of the house," allowing law enforcement to be sent to find missing members.
While police cannot arrest the members, Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has said he hopes they will feel compelled to come back to debate the bill. The Republicans need just a single Democrat to return to vote.
Democratic state Sen. Robert Jauch, a longtime Wisconsin lawmaker, said Thursday morning that despite rumors that some of his colleagues had returned to the state, "everybody is outside of Wisconsin -- all of us."
He said he had just spoken to his wife at their home more than 300 miles north of the state capital and that no law enforcement officials had come knocking at his door.
"They're too cheap to send somebody from Madison up to northern Wisconsin," Jauch said. "If they had, my wife was going to invite them in for hot chocolate."
Jauch criticized what he called the "police state mentality" by Republicans in the capital and took issue with Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's assertions that Democrats who had fled the state were abandoning their duties.
"I'm doing more from the Land of Lincoln to communicate with citizens in my district than he is," Jauch said, adding that the Senate Democrats talk regularly and are "trying to reach out through back channels to see what the solution could be. This governor has dug himself in -- that's very clear."
The scene at the Wisconsin Capitol resembled a siege. Elected officials and their staffers were taking turns sleeping on couches. Some Republican representatives' offices have had to defend themselves from angry protesters who defaced signs supporting Walker. Many Assembly members have had only a few hours of sleep over two nights.
Peter Barca, a Democrat who is the Assembly's minority leader, said that around 4 a.m. he was approached by the speaker, who told him that "his members were tired and they were frustrated."
Barca said in an interview that he was given an ultimatum: "Unless we limited our amendments, they were going to just pull the plug. They were going to use parliamentary procedure to shut down the debate. It would get ugly."
The Assembly's Democrats had no choice, he said. "We very reluctantly agreed."
Under Walker's plan, most public workers - excluding police, firefighters and state troopers - would lose bargaining rights for anything other than pay and would have to pay half of their pension costs and at least 12 percent of their health-care costs. Walker, who took office last month, says the emergency measure would save $300 million over the next two years to help close a $3.6 billion budget gap.
Rep. Tyler August (R), who represents the southeastern part of the state, said that the deal announced by the Assembly is the first step toward resolving the standoff that has triggered protests in state capitals throughout the country.
"I think the Democrats thought they might be able to wear us down. But they have not done so. We certainly plan on still passing the bill," August said.
August said he had heard that several Democratic senators already had returned to the state and was hopeful they would show up so that the bill could be passed.
"This isn't a game. For them to be running around is just so unbelievably irresponsible to their constituents," he said.
chaa@washpost.com dennisb@washpost.com

Top Six Revelations in the Call Between Fake David Koch and Governor Scott Walker 23FEB11

gov scott walker is a real piece of work....just listen to this phone call to him by a blogger pretending to be one of the koch brothers...


The call made by a Buffalo blogger pretending to be billionaire right-wing activist David Koch to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is quickly making an impact on the news cycle. (You can listen to the call on YouTube: Part 1 | Part 2.)
Walker is extremely frank with the man he believes to be an important financial supporter, both of his own campaign and right-wing causes. Below are the six most important revelations we learn from listening to the Governor speak his mind.
1. Walker and the Senate Republicans are conspiring to withhold Democratic lawmakers' paychecks.
A minute into the call, Governor Walker describes a plan by the Senate Majority Leader to institute a new rule that would stop automatic deductions of lawmakers' paychecks if they do not appear in the Senate for more than two days. It would require lawmakers to appear in person to collect their checks.
Walker describes this as part of a plan he is working on with GOP Senators: "Each day, we're going to rachet this up a little bit."
2. Walker sees billionaire David Koch as "one of us."
Two and a half minutes in, Walker is describing a conversation he had with a Democratic state lawmaker, Tim Cullen, who Walker says is the "only reasonable" one among the Democrats. When the man pretending to be Koch suggests he calls Cullen, Walker says that although Cullen is reasonable, he is not "one of us." Who is the "us" that includes Walker and out-of-state billionaire Koch, but not an elected state legislator?
3. Walker is planning to threaten state workers with layoffs.
Five minutes into the call, Governor Walker says he is planning to issue between 5,000 and 6,000 "risk notices" to state workers announcing that they are at risk of being laid off. He makes this statement in the context of what he is planning to do to put pressure on Democrats to cave into his demands, not what is necessary due to the budget crunch. "If they want to start sacrificing thousands of public workers to be laid off," he says, "sooner or later there's gonna be pressure on Senators to come back. We're not going to compromise."
4. Walker has a plan to lie to Senate Democrats and pass the bill while they are not aware of the vote.
Seven minutes in, Walker describes a plan created by his chief of staff to call Senate Democrats back to "hear what they have to say." While he is discussing the issues with the Democrats, the Senate would be in recess. In actuality, once Democrats come back to the state assembly, Republicans would be able to pass the bill eliminating collective bargaining rights while Walker is in discussions with Democrats.
5. Walker considered planting fake protesters to cause trouble among the real protesters.
Fourteen and a half minutes in, the fake David Koch says that they are considering "planing some troublemakers" among the crowd of protesters. Walker responds with, "we thought about that." He expresses no moral objection to the plan, but says that he thinks it is the wrong strategy, because a "ruckus" would make people think he should compromise.
6. Walker is corrupt.
Although early in Walker says they are investigating the Democratic Senators to see if they are committing ethics violations by accepting union funds, when the fake David Koch says he will fly Walker "out to Cali and really show you a good time," Walker responds by saying "that would be outstanding."

Scott Walker's Prank Caller: I Was Going To Pretend To Be Mubarak First 23FEB11

This proves gov walker is owned by the koch brothers and other members of corporate America, and what a fool he is.....

WASHINGTON -- The man who pretended to be conservative bankroller David Koch on a prank phone call with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Wednesday that he originally planned to pose as exiled Egypt President Hosni Mubarak but couldn't perfect the voice.
Ian Murphy, the editor of the Buffalo Beast, told The Huffington Post in an interview that he was "shocked" at how easy it was to get Walker, currently the nation's most-talked-about governor, on the phone merely by pretending to be a billionaire donor.
"Fifteen minutes in, I wanted to almost stop it and say, 'Are you so dumb, I'm not David Koch. How can your staff be so incompetent and how could I get on the phone with you so easily,'" Murphy said, barely suppressing his glee. "But I didn't."
Instead, Murphy spent an additional five minutes talking to Walker about a host of outlandish proposals and takes on the protests that have erupted around the governor's anti-union budget legislation. Walker's office insists that he said nothing on the phone with Murphy that he wouldn't have said in public, but the governor pitched the Koch impersonator some bizarre plans.
Walker said he wanted to ostensibly trick Democratic lawmakers to return to Wisconsin so that he could call a quorum and quickly pass his bill to strip collective-bargaining rights from the state's public-employee unions. He also talked openly about putting plants in the crowd of protesters to sway public opinion against their favor.
"He didn't do it because it was unethical, but because it didn't work," Murphy said. "People ask me what was the smoking gun. That's what I'm saying."
How the call came to happen provides a window of sorts into how even the most audacious forms of guerrilla journalism -- if a prank call can be called that -- can affect political debates. Murphy said he came across a Huffington Post article quoting a Democratic state Senator complaining that Walker wouldn't take his calls.

Story continues below

"I just wondered ... who could get ahold of him," Murphy said.
After deciding not to call as Mubarak, Murphy said he was looking to pose as someone whose voice was "more generic." He settled on Koch and practiced imitating the billionaire's voice with the help of some YouTube videos.
Perfection, however, was elusive. Instead, Murphy just spoke with a bit more bass, with the idea of playing the part of a Koch caricature. "I just envisioned him saying 'beautiful, beautiful' a lot, and things like 'crush those union bastards,'" he said.
Calling the phone number on the governor's website, he managed to talk his way onto the line with Walker's chief of staff, via Skype. After explaining that Walker couldn't call him back because his "maid" threw his phone in the washing machine and he'd have her "deported" but she made "next to nothing," Murphy waited for 10 minutes on the phone -- a tell in itself, he noted: "You don't expect David Koch to wait 10 minutes on the phone."
Nonetheless, Walker came on. "I kind of just let him talk. I was in shock," Murphy said.
So too, apparently, was the governor. As Murphy noted, Walker seemed "thrilled" to talk to "Koch." The impression left was that the billionaire backer and the upstart governor really hadn't rubbed elbows before.
"That might be one downside of this thing, it shows that they don't have the intimate relationship people imagined," Murphy said. "It's henchmen passing envelopes back and forth and the billionaire never actually talks to the politician."
But Murphy said took another key lesson away from the prank. "If you are David Koch, you can get anyone on the phone," he said, "period."

• Scott Walker

WASHINGTON -- The man who pretended to be conservative bankroller David Koch on a prank phone call with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Wednesday that he originally planned to pose as exiled Egyp...

WASHINGTON -- The man who pretended to be conservative bankroller David Koch on a prank phone call with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Wednesday that he originally planned to pose as exiled Egyp...

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Jesse Berney: Top Six Revelations in the Call Between Fake David Koch and Governor Scott Walker

In the newly released prank call, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is extremely frank with the man he believes to be an important financial supporter both of his own campaign and right-wing causes.

Wisconsin Senate to convene without Democrats this week 20FEB11

AN update on the battle for worker's rights in Wisconsin, be sure to check out the live blog Wisconsin Is Us (link on this blog). SOLIDARITY WISCONSIN!!!!!
By RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press

AP/Wisconsin State Journal, Steve Apps

Protesters gather down State Street in Madison, Wis. after a a rally outside the Wisconsin State Capitol on Saturday.

Wisconsin's senate majority leader says the chamber will convene to pass non-spending bills and act on appointments Tuesday even if minority Democrats remain out of state.
Republican Sen. Scott Fitzgerald told The Associated Press on Sunday that he would be reviewing which bills and appointees to schedule for action. He says senators can't wait around "twiddling their thumbs" until the Democrats return.
Fourteen Democrats fled to Illinois last week to delay action on a budget bill that would effectively eliminate collective bargaining rights for most public employees. Republicans need 20 of 33 members to have a quorum to pass any spending bill but only a simple majority of 17 for other items.
Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller says Democrats will not return until Gov. Scott Walker is ready to compromise on his labor proposal.
Gov. Scott Walker predicted Sunday that Wisconsin would lead states across the country in weakening unions that have negotiated compensation packages taxpayers can no longer afford while his opponents rallied for a sixth day in the Capitol in an attempt to avoid that fate.
Democratic lawmakers, union leaders and rank-and-file teachers and firefighters called on Walker to back off his plan to eliminate most collective bargaining rights for public employees. They argued the unions had already agreed to cuts in their health care and retirement benefits that could reduce take-home pay for many workers by about 8 percent, and it was time for the Republican governor to compromise.
In a Sunday morning interview from Madison with Fox News, Walker said he did not believe union leaders were really interested in giving up their benefits and cities, school districts and counties will need weakened unions to cut spending for years to come. With Democratic Senators still out of state to delay passage of the bill, Walker said he would not compromise and predicted that Wisconsin would pave the way for other states to follow suit, much like it did with welfare reform and school vouchers in the 1990s.
"We're willing to take this as long as it takes because in the end we're doing the right thing," Walker said.
The sweeping measure led to massive protests that started Tuesday and have gained steam including an estimated 68,000 people turned out Saturday. Most opposed the bill, but the day marked the first time that a significant contingent of Walker supporters showed up to counter-protest.
Hundreds of protesters gathered inside the Capitol on Sunday, as snow turned into freezing rain that made walking outside the building a challenge. The demonstrators banged on drums and danced in the Capitol Rotunda while they chanted, "This is what Democracy looks like" and "union busting!"
The crowd swelled throughout the day, but an estimate was not immediately available. Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the state AFL-CIO, told the crowd the protests would continue until the proposal was killed. Another large protest was expected Monday, when many state workers are being furloughed to save money.
Mariah Clark, an emergency medical technician at University of Wisconsin hospital and a volunteer firefighter, said she stands to lose $250 per month from her income with the benefits concessions. Standing on a bench holding a sign reading "EMT. Firefighter. Not the public enemy," she said the pay cut would hurt but that's not why she was protesting.
"I really believe this is about workers everywhere, not just public employees," said Clark, 29. "It's pathetic that in Wisconsin, one of the places where the labor movement started, that this would happen."
Jacob Cedillo Tootalian, a 27-year-old University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student and teaching assistant, slept overnight in the Capitol for a third time this week as part of a union representing teaching assistants. He said he was worried about paying more for his health insurance and tuition, but what kept him protesting was the possibility of losing the union.
"Normalcy would be nice," he said. "But it seems the governor and the state Republicans are intent on taking these rights away."
The bill would require government workers to contribute more to their health care and pension costs and limit collective bargaining to pay increases less than the Consumer Price Index unless approved in a local referendum. Workers could not negotiate their benefits and working conditions. Unions could not force their workers to pay dues, and would face a vote every year to remain certified.
Walker denied the bill was an attempt at "union busting" and said the measure is needed to deal with the state's projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall for the two-year period that ends June 30, 2013.
He told Fox News he hoped the senators would return to work early this week.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said in a telephone interview Sunday that the senators weren't likely to come back until the governor was willing to compromise.
Erpenbach said he remained at a Chicago hotel and his colleagues were "scattered" out of state. They had a conference call Saturday night, and Erpenbach said they remained united in their effort to stall the bill.
"It's trying to slow this train down," he said. "It's making sure that obviously everybody in the state knows what we're dealing with here. It's an opportunity for the governor to calm down, take a step back, realize what he's asking for with this legislation and hopefully come to his senses."
Erpenbach said Democrats have reached out to Walker's administration but their phone calls have not been returned. He said it may take a coalition of moderate Republicans in the Senate to try to negotiate an end to the stalemate.
One of them, Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, has proposed suspending collective bargaining rights temporarily to get through the state's two-year budget, but then restoring them in 2013. That idea was endorsed Sunday by the Wisconsin State Journal, the state's second largest newspaper.
Erpenbach called Schultz brave for bucking Walker's administration with the proposal. Asked whether Democrats could accept Schultz's plan, Erpenbach said workers should not lose their rights since they have agreed to make concessions.
On Sunday, cornerback Charles Woodson, a member of the NFL Players Association, became the latest Green Bay Packer to back the public employees' cause. NFL owners and the players' union are locked in their own fight over a collective bargaining agreement. Along with Woodson, seven other current and former Packers have expressed support for the protesters.
Associated Press writer Dinesh Ramde in Milwaukee contributed to this report.

WISCONSIN IS US! IF YOU HAVE A JOB YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK from USACTION/TRUEMAJORITY

UPDATES from the struggle for workers rights in Wisconsin, click the header to go the the actual blog WISCONSIN IS US by the state affiliate of USAction/TrueMajority, Citizen Action of Wisconsin. 

	We Are Wisconsin Click here to support Wisconsin's workers. If you're not watching the events in Madison, Wisconsin, you need to check this out. In the state capitol, more than 25,000 protesters have staged a sit-in that blocks the halls, bars the doors of the Senate and fills the state house lawn.1 It's an atmosphere so electric, one Republican said it was "like Cairo has moved to Madison."2 Want to stand in solidarity with this American Tahrir Square? Click here to sign on in support and watch the news unfold from the streets of Madison -- where a team of USAction affiliated bloggers and activists are deep in the fight for workers' rights and social justice. http://www.wearewisconsin.org/ The reason for all this excitement: The tea party-backed Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, has declared all-out war on workers’ freedoms. He's slashing taxes for the richest residents of his state, and wants to eliminate the rights of workers to organize a union, bargain for fair wages or advocate for decent pay and benefits.3 In the middle of it all is your USAction affiliate, Citizen Action of Wisconsin. We're bringing food to protesters, appearing on Fox News to defend teachers and transporting secret communiques for the Senate Democrats -- who have staged a walkout in order to prevent this radical agenda from being rammed though.4 We're doing it all because this fight isn't about the Wisconsin state budget. It's part of a larger strategy by corporations that want to take control of our government. Last year the Supreme Court granted corporations unprecedented rights to influence elections. Now, they want to limit the ability of PEOPLE to organize and keep their freedoms so they can make ends meet for their families. Unions are targeted because they are effectively organizing groups that corporations cannot control. But they won't stop there. Wisconsin is on the front lines of this battle, and the people fighting there need our support. Please sign this message of support to let them know that we’re in this together, and we’ll continue this fight together in every state until we’ve secured the rights of people, not corporations, to control our government. Jeff Blum Executive Director USAction 1- http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/us/19wisconsin.html?_r=1&hp 2- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxacrTRrGY8 3- http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/wisconsin-gov-walker-ginned-up-budget-shortfall-to-undercut-worker-rights.php 4 -http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/478409/lawmakers_flee_wisconsin_capitol,_state_police_pursue;_protests_swell_to_30,000/

THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE

Posted on February 19th, 2011

Retired Cop for Workers’ Rights

Posted on February 19th, 2011

Crowds continue to build in Madison today.

Posted on February 19th, 2011

Citizen Action of Wisconsin's FB page: http://j.mp/i80ruV

We Are Wisconsin

Posted on February 19th, 2011

Wisconsin workers are on the front lines of a battle against our democracy and middle class workers, and the people fighting there need our support. Add your voice and leave a message above.
USAction affiliate Citizen Action of Wisconsin has been on the ground in Madison with the tens of thousands of workers all week long, helping organize, energize and fight back– bringing coffee and donuts to protestors and appearing on Fox News to defend teachers.
We wil bring you constant updates so you can watch the news unfold from the streets of Madison, where a team of USAction affiliated bloggers and activists are deep in the fight for workers’ rights and social justice.

What’s happening in Wisconsin?

Posted on February 19th, 2011

What’s happening in Wisconsin?

The tea party-backed Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, has declared all-out war on workers’ freedoms. He’s slashing taxes for the richest residents of his state, and wants to eliminate the rights of workers to organize a union, bargain for fair wages or advocate for decent pay and benefits.
But this fight isn’t about the Wisconsin state budget. It’s part of a larger strategy by corporations that want to take control of our government. Last year the Supreme Court granted corporations unprecedented rights to influence elections. Now, they want to limit the ability of PEOPLE to organize and keep their freedoms so they can make ends meet for their families. Unions are targeted because they are effectively organizing groups that corporations cannot control. But they won’t stop there.

Sign the message of support above and let them know that we’re in this together, and we’ll continue this fight together in every state until we’ve secured the rights of people, not corporations, to control our government.

Inside the State Capitol in Madison

Posted on February 19th, 2011

From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel