Wisconsin Protests Swell to 70,000; Spread to Other States
Protests over a union-busting budget bill in Wisconsin are now on the seventh day and total more than 70,000 people with many groups removing their support for Gov. Walker and advocating the recall of Wisconsin elected officials.
With school systems across Wisconsin at a halt, 14 senators in hiding with no end in sight and Gov. Walker refusing to compromise, legislators from Iowa and Maine have come to visit Wisconsin to take notes on protesting similar measures in their home states. Protests already erupted in Ohio late last week, with larger demonstrations planned.
Public employees have agreed to the pay and benefit cuts proposed, but simply wish to keep the fundamental right of unions to organize, bargain and strike, all of which are threatened by the current bill.
Despite originally exempting firefighter and police unions from the measure, those groups have now joined with other government employees in a show of solidarity for worker’s rights. One such union that backed Gov. Walker during the election has now called their support a “tragic mistake” in a statement released by Tracy Fuller, Executive Board president of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Association.
On top of the protests, many activist groups are also working to recall senators in favor of the bill, in order to elect officials more sympathetic to worker’s rights. The governor himself cannot be recalled until after a year in office, but petitions have also begun to circulate demanding his removal as well.
As the U.S. continues to participate in ‘free trade’ with other nations, with no form of regulations or protections, we will see standards of living and worker’s rights eroded until they reach a level that companies consider profitable. Without any form of equalizing tariffs or regulation, ‘free trade’ will continue to drag this nation into a race to the bottom, where the only way we can be competitive is by emulating the low standards of our trading partners.
Click here to get involved with the Ohio protests!
Click here to sign a petition for Wisconsin workers!
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