Wisconsin Budget Protest: On Wisconsin!

AFL-CIO:

Workers who are under attack—and the communities that know and respect them—have created such a powerful show of solidarity that all 14 Democratic members of the Wisconsin state Senate left the Senate chambers in protest, indefinitely delaying a vote on Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-worker bill. And Republicans are starting to waver.

The electricity and energy and solidarity we’re seeing with Wisconsin workers is truly unprecedented. But it is only the beginning. Now, as one supporter said to us on Twitter, “We must keep the momentum going & growing. Now is the time & we cannot give in or up.” That’s true in Wisconsin, and it’s just as true in all our communities.

When steelworkers union president Leo Gerard spoke to the thousands rallying outside, hundreds in the crowd standing in the slush and ice waved placards his union had distributed reading: "One More Day."

"We've used that slogan through many struggles," he said.

"We know it's smart to fight when we believe we can win. What it takes is outlasting the boss by one day - fighting a day longer than he does. And that's what we all are doing now. It's how we will defeat Walker. We will fight a day longer than him, no matter how many days it takes."

His words seemed to warm the crowds, who broke out into prolonged cheering and applause.

Gerard described what he had seen minutes before when he toured the occupied Capitol.

"I saw fat, white middle-aged men like me," he said.

"But I saw them linking arms with people of every race, creed, color and age, fighting together for their rights and for a future for their children and grandchildren."

Again, the people cheered.

25 February update:

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) calls on all U.S. military service members to refuse and resist any mobilization against workers organizing to protect their basic rights. IVAW stands in solidarity with the multitude gathered in Madison, Wisconsin and many other cities to defend their unions.

Iraq Veterans Against the War to Troops: “We Are Public Employees Too!”

We believe military service members are public employees too. It is dishonorable to suggest that military personnel should be deployed against teachers, health care providers, firefighters, police officers, and other government employees, many of whom are themselves serving in the National Guard.

Workers with prior military service 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. According to the Army Times, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are unemployed at a rate of 15.2%, higher than the national average. The picture is even worse for African American veterans who face nearly double the rate of unemployment. Protecting the rights of workers in public sector unions ensures that veterans have a chance to secure a decent job, earning a living wage and good benefits.

Madison, WI is ground zero for a fight that will likely define the relationship between public sector unions and the governments that employ them for decades to come. Similar to the federal government's defeat of the 1980 Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike, which signaled the beginning of a thirty-year decline of real wages, benefits, and union membership for private sector workers. What happens in Madison today is likely to affect whether governments across the country can destroy a decent standard of living for public sector workers in the future.

Governor Scott Walker recently stated that he was preparing the National Guard to respond to “labor unrest” following the introduction of union-busting legislation in Wisconsin. Governor Walker has attempted to justify this attack on collective bargaining by pointing to state budget shortfalls. Missing from this explanation is an acknowledgment that these deficits have been created and exacerbated by the ongoing trillion dollar wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, federal and local governments across the U.S. are cutting back on the public sector.

Troops have been called out in the past against worker strikes, campus protests, and urban uprisings. However, recent events in Egypt and numerous examples from U.S. history have shown that service members have the power to side with the people and refuse to use violence against their fellow citizens. Troops activated for duty in Madison, WI will have to decide if public sector workers are really the enemy. IVAW says they are not and that troops should support workers fighting for decent jobs, wages, and benefits.

We know firsthand that the U.S. military is already overextended from a decade at war. Through our Operation Recovery campaign, we have been fighting for the right of our troops to heal, rather than being involuntarily redeployed with severe physical and psychological injuries. Adding another mission to an already overburdened military for the purposes of suppressing the rights of workers is irresponsible and not worthy of our service.