“Fox and Friends” with David Newby?

That isn’t a misprint.  On Thursday morning, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby participated in a debate about labor history in schools on the Fox News Network.   Although he was given less than half the speaking time of his opponent, Newby pointed out that the history of labor unions and collective action is an important and often overlooked part of American history: http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/27951023/reading-writing-and-organizing.htm#q=David+Newby

“I didn’t get to say everything that I might have wanted to, but I felt that it was important to bring even a brief mention of labor history to a national audience,” said Newby after the program aired.

For those who do not regularly view “Fox and Friends,” Milwaukee area blogger and past President of the Wisconsin Labor History Society Kenneth A. Germanson provided this humorous and insightful take on Newby’s appearance: http://advoken.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/%E2%80%98fair-and-balanced%E2%80%99-my-eye/

In case you hadn’t heard, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle recently signed a law requiring that the Superintendent of Public Instruction include the history of organized labor and collective bargaining in the model academic standards for social studies.   Please check out our previous blog post on the subject:  http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/wisconsin-state-afl-cio-blog/2009/12/labor-history-victory-governor-doyle-signs-ab-172-into-law.html