Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Bill Clinton Joining our Fight!

JOIN US:  Tomorrow we are welcoming former U.S. President Bill Clinton to Milwaukee, where he will rally with Tom Barrett!  

Bill Clinton will join Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Friday, June 1 at 10:00 a.m. at Pere Marquette Park.

This event is free and open to the public.  Pere Marquette Park is located on N. Old World 3rd Street between E. State Street and W. Kilbourn Avenue.

Bill Clinton said in a statement that “folks in Wisconsin have been on the front lines of fighting for working, middle-class families across America for more than 16 months. I'm coming to Wisconsin to help Tom and the extraordinary grassroots volunteers on the ground.”

The tide is turning and the momentum heading into the final five days of our fight to recall Scott Walker, Rebecca Keefisch and four anti-worker Senators, is on our side.

Click here to find a volunteer location near you and rally with Bill Clinton tomorrow, Friday June 1! 

11 Good Reasons to Fire Scott Walker on June 5

This is a cross-post from the AFL-CIO Now Blog by Mike Hall.

Why should Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) lose his job in next week’s June 5 recall election against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett? Here are 11 good reasons:

1. Scott Walker eliminated the collective bargaining rights of hundreds of thousands of public employees.
2. Scott Walker has led Wisconsin to last place in the nation in job creation.
3. Scott Walker has disenfranchised tens of thousands of young voters, senior citizens and minority voters with voter suppression and voter ID laws.
4. Scott Walker has put the health care coverage of 17,000 people at risk with unfair budget cuts.
5. Scott Walker has allowed the extremist, corporate-backed American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to exercise “extraordinary” influence in Wisconsin lawmaking.
6. Scott Walker has made wage discrimination easier by repealing Wisconsin’s Equal Pay enforcement law.  
7. Scott Walker has attacked public workers’ retirement security.
8. Scott Walker blocked the path to skilled middle-class jobs for young workers by repealing rules on state apprenticeship programs.   
9. Scott Walker killed the creation of more than 15,000 jobs when he rejected $810 million in federal funds to construct a passenger rail system between Milwaukee and Madison.
10. Scott Walker’s new tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations will cost the state $2.4 billion over the next 10 years.
11. Scott Walkers’ unfair budget cuts to the state's Earned Income Tax Credit will raise taxes on 145,000 low-income families with children.  

 

Add your own reason by posting a comment to our Face Book page or tweeting us @wisaflcio.

UAW Local 9 Brewery Workers Leaflet Miller Brewery

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, just one week before the historic June 5 recall election, United Auto Workers (UAW) leafleted Miller Brewery in support of Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell in the upcoming recall election.  Reminding workers to cast their vote and make history on June 5.

Newly elected UAW Local 9 President Lance Agbuis, who works in fermentation at Miller Brewery, spearheaded the leaflet effort shaking hands and high-fiving members on their way in-to and out-of work. 

The shift change was energetic with workers passing by exclaiming “you don’t need to remind me to vote Barrett,” “There are no jobs, we need a new Governor,” “I’ll be voting on June 5,” and “I always vote and I always vote for the union candidate.”    One worker even joked “I don’t care what you can tell me, I am NOT voting for Scott Walker.” 

Agbuis, who has worked at Miller Brewery for over ten years, explained why the leaflet was a crucial part of a June 5 victory.

“We are out here leafleting in support of Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell because working families need to get out and vote in large numbers on June 5.  A vote for Tom Barrett is a vote to protect union rights, education and health care -- all of which are essential in maintaining strong middle class communities.” 

Polls show that the race is a dead heat with the momentum shifting our way.  Every leaflet, phone call and door knock matters!  Click here to volunteer. 

Wisconsin cannot take another 2 years of Gov. Walker’s job-killing leadership.  Private sector employees realize that they are the next target of Scott Walker’s “divide and conquer” plot to bust all unions and the check they provide on corporate power.

Under Scott Walker’s reign public employees have been stripped of their collective bargaining rights, our schools, communities and health care system have taken deep and massive cuts and our state is DEAD LAST in job creation. Not to mention, Gov. Walker is at the center of an ongoing John Doe corruption probe.  His top staff has already been charged with 15 felonies for stealing thousands of dollars intened for war veterans and their families.

 

 

We need real leadership.  Vote Barrett & Mitchell on June 5.   

Recall Volunteers in Superior Make Sunday News

Volunteers in Superior made the Sunday evening news in a story that highlighted their door-to-door and phone banking efforts to recall Gov. Scott Walker.

The Superior Labor Temple has been holding volunteer activities for weeks.  Union member Ruth Ludwig is featured in the clip below as she goes door to door, talking with voters.

"We are just hitting peoples' houses today, encouraging them to get out the vote," said Ludwig who is supporting Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell on June 5. 

Check out the video here:

  

It’s great to see the hard working volunteers in Superior—and all across the state—be recognized for the time and effort they’ve been spending to get out the vote for Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell in the June 5 election.

Find out where you can volunteer to help with the recall election and be a part of this historical moment.

 

Special Delivery! Wisconsin Recall Mail Headed your Way

If you have been following our blog you know that union members are knocking on doors and making phone calls to talk with fellow union members about why recalling Scott Walker is essential to preserving a strong middle class in Wisconsin.   

What you may not know is that as part of our member-to-member political program, union members are also taking the time to hand-write notes to fellow union members about the upcoming June 5 election.  

This grassroots form of communication is letting union members know how other workers have been personally impacted by Scott Walker’s union-busting attacks on the middle class.

Kari Held, a blind occupational therapist at Milwaukee County Mental Health and member of Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, volunteered her time Saturday to hand-stamp postcards at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.  

Held works with schizophrenic, bipolar and people with serious and persistent mental illness (S.P.M.I.) at the day treatment center at Milwaukee Mental Health.  

Despite her 22 years of experience working with S.P.M.I. patients, then Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker proposed to eliminate Held's position in 2009.  You can read the full-story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here.

“As Milwaukee County Executive, Scott Walker did not have the peoples’ interests in mind,” explained Held.  “He certainly did not have our patients’ interests in mind when year after year he excessively cut mental health services.  Now, as Governor, Scott Walker again does not have the people's interest in mind and is overturning important laws.  He is taking away union rights, he is taking away equal pay rights for women and he is costing Wisconsin jobs.”

Held continued, “I know Tom Barrett will have the peoples’ interest in mind.  He will do more for the people of Wisconsin and more for our mentally ill.  We need to vote Scott Walker out of office on June 5 and elect a true champion for working people, Tom Barrett.”  

Held, alongside her service dog Trista, hand stamped over 1,000 postcards on Saturday.

If you are a union member in Wisconsin, check your mailbox for this special delivery and head to the polls on June 5 to vote for Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell.

If you want to volunteer, click here for list of locations. 

 

Recall Volunteers Go Door to Door in Racine

Nearly 100 volunteers spent their Saturday afternoon going door to door in Racine to speak with community members about what Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt called the “twofer in Racine.” Voters in Racine have an opportunity to not only elect a new Governor and Lieutenant Governor but a new state senator as well which prompted President Neuenfeldt to tell the crowd, “You’re twice as lucky in Racine!”

 

SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin Vice President Bruce Colburn was also present to offer the group words of encouragement, saying, “This is the place where together we reverse the attacks on working people…This is the place where all of us together say enough is enough. Ten days from now we’re going to fire Scott Walker!”

Robert Paar, a member of the International Association of Machinists Local Lodge 66 and a Support Technician at Ocean Spray, says he started volunteering for the recall effort “as soon as petitions were available to download off the internet.” He was able to collect some 1000 signatures for the recall.

Paar is a U.S. Army veteran and the recall efforts have an especially important meaning for him this Memorial Day weekend:

“It’s important because we have a lot of vets out there who defend our rights daily and it’s a shame to see our rights being legislated away. Everyone should exercise their civic duty and get involved.”

Fellow military veteran Zach Stoner, a repairman at AT&T and member of CWA 4603, was part of all the actions in Madison when the collective bargaining fight first began. He said after being involved from the very beginning, it was “tense but exciting” to be so close to the end. He called on more people to come out and volunteer for the recall efforts:

               

“If you carried a sign in Madison, you helped to start this fight. To finish it, your vote isn’t enough. You need to do the doors, get sometimes voters out to vote. Because on June 6^th, you don’t want to wonder if there’s something more you could’ve done.”

 

Volunteers reported back having a positive experience at the doors. At one home, a retired Computer Technician from Gateway Technical College said she was going to vote for Tom Barrett and John Lehman because she saw for herself the importance of having a union in the workplace.

 

Thanks to the efforts of volunteers in Racine and across the state, more and more voters are learning about the issues and are being motivated to elect new leaders for our state on June 5^th. 

To join in our efforts to reclaim Wisconsin, click here and find your nearest volunteer location. Offices are open daily, including Memorial Day, through June 5!

Recall in the Rain

Although it was a rainy start to Saturday in much of Wisconsin, there was no stopping recall volunteers from taking to the streets or picking up a phone to talk with fellow union members about recalling Scott Walker, Rebecca Kleefisch and four anti-worker state Senators on June 5.  

In Duluth, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Horicon, La Crosse, Madison, Menasha, Milwaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, and Wausau union members were out in full force having one-on-one conversations with fellow Wisconsinites.

Bonnie Pedraza explained that a little rain did not bother her as she grabbed a walk packet from the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.  

A retired nurse from the VA hospital, Pedraza was volunteering with her union Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (WFNHP).  

“I’m here because we need to recall Scott Walker.  If he stays in office, tens of thousands of poor people will lose their health care," said Pedraza.  "Besides for being amoral, in terms Scott Walker should understand, this is not cost effective for our state.”   

Sherry Pearce, an RN, was volunteering to call fellow union members before her p.m. shift, encouraging all she spoke with to vote for Tom Barrett on June 5.   

“I support Tom Barrett because he will stand up for Wisconsin.  He will stand up for our nurses and for health care rights. Tom Barrett will be an advocate for working people,” said Pearce.    

Maryan Torres explained that “as a Milwaukee County nurse Scott Walker has taken away my right to collectively bargain with my employer and that is why I am working to recall.  We have lost our contract, we have lost our voice at work and we have lost our ability to speak out on behalf of our patients to improve their care.”  

John Behote, a painter with International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) D.C. 7 from Oak Creek, hit the streets to talk with fellow union members with John Jorgensen, also a painter. 

“I want to recall Scott Walker because we need jobs," said Behote.  "Under Scott Walker, Wisconsin is dead last in job creation.  We need Tom Barrett because we need more jobs.”  

To join in our efforts, click here and find your nearest volunteer location.  

Offices will be open Memorial Day and everyday through June 5! Hours are 9:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Saturday and noon to 7:00 p.m on Sunday.

Vote to reclaim Wisconsin.  Vote Barrett & Mitchell on June 5.  For more photos of recall action click here.  

Veterans Against Walker

Heading into Memorial Day weekend, U.S. Veterans gathered at Milwaukee’s Red Arrow Park to express their opposition to Governor Scott Walker and to support the efforts to recall him from office. 

Tracy Sperko, a U.S. Navy Veteran explained that “Gov. Walker has given us many reasons to be here today.  In the past, Governors have recognized our sacrifice, but Gov. Walker, through his legislation, his actions and his personal decisions ignores our sacrifice of life and blood.”  

Milwaukee County Supervisor and U.S. Marine Veteran, John Weishan, was quick to point out that Gov. Walker’s record does not match his rhetoric, calling Gov. Walker’s actions against Veterans “atrocious.”  

Citing that as Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker routinely cut funding for Veteran programs, services and for the War Memorial at the Lake Front.  

Veterans also discussed the ever widening John Doe corruption probe in which former top-aides of Gov. Walker were charged with embezzling thousands of dollars intended for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families and used those funds to go on an exotic vacation.  

“What kind of leadership do we have in Wisconsin?” asked Roger Quindell, a Vietnam War Veteran and Purple Heart recipient.   “We have criminals who rip off $60,000 from Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and their families and a leader who refuses to take responsibility.  Gov. Walker knew they were thieves; they had a record of stealing when he hired them.  Any leader like this does not deserve to be in office.”  

Another clear example of Gov. Walker’s policies negatively impacting Veterans is SB202 which strips veterans of their right to sue their employer for punitive damages.  

Lieutenant Colonel Mike Gourlie a Vietnam Veteran and 25 year member of the Wisconsin National Guard stated that “there has been misleading and incorrect information on this bill from the Governor’s office and from supporting legislators.  On this Memorial weekend I want to say to Gov. Walker that our current war veterans serving our country deserve better than what you have given them.”  

 

Stand with Veterans this Memorial Day and volunteer your time to recall Gov. Walker.  Find your nearest volunteer location here.

Dead Last in Jobs

The facts are clear.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the standard metric which all other 49 states use and which Gov. Walker used  for 15 months, Wisconsin is dead last in creating jobs.  

First, Gov. Walker foolishly turned down high-speed rail initiatives which would have created jobs and boosted our infrastructure.  Then, he mothballed brand new trains and broke a business contract with a leading multinational company, Talgo.  

Instead of creating jobs, Gov. Walker raised taxes on working families and attacked worker rights.  He made deep cuts to education and health care while giving billions of dollars to big corporations without any accountability.  As a result, Wisconsin has spiraled to last in the country in terms of job creation.  

On June 5, we have the opportunity to stop Gov. Walker’s job-killing reign in its tracks by voting to support Tom Barrett for Governor and Mahlon Mitchell for Lieutenant Governor. 

The time is now.  Join the effort to reclaim Wisconsin.  Volunteer at one of our statewide locations to help get-out-the-vote for working families.

We know that Gov. Walker’s attacks on public sector workers is just the first step in his “divide and conquer” plot to bust unions and the check they provide on corporate greed.  

 

While we are fighting for a balanced economy that works for all, Gov. Walker is fighting to consolidate power into the hands of a greedy few.   

If you want more jobs, vote Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell on June 5.  

http://standwisconsin.org/

Volunteer to Reclaim Wisconsin this Weekend

The time is now!  We need all hands on deck in the final days of our historic grassroots campaign to recall Scott Walker and reclaim Wisconsin.  Can you volunteer this weekend to get-out-the-vote for working families? If so, stop into one of our recall locations listed by county below. 

Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m and Sunday, noon to 7:00 p.m.

 

Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington & Waukesha – 633 S. Hawley Rd, Milwaukee 53213

• Contact – Jenissee Volpintesta – 262-364-6751

 

Racine, Kenosha, Walworth, Rock – 1840 Sycamore Ave, Racine 53406

• Contact – Justin Geiger – 414-745-4177

 

Dane, Jefferson, Dodge, Columbia, Sauk, Iowa – 1602 S. Park St, Madison 53715

• Contact – Greg Neil – 608-556-9521

 

La Crosse, Vernon, Crawford, Richland, Monroe, Jackson, Trempealeau – 1307 Market St, La Crosse 54601

• Contact – Andy Thompson – 715-456-4113

 

Eau Claire, Clark, Chippewa, Dunn, St. Croix, Pierce  – 2233 Birch St, Eau Claire 54703

• Contact – Andy Thompson – 715-456-4113

 

Marathon, Rusk, Taylor, Price, Oneida, Lincoln – 318 S 3^rd Ave, Wausau 54401

• Contact  – Scott Wright – 920-450-2121

 

Brown, Kewaunee, Door, Oconto, Marinette – 1570 Elizabeth St, Green Bay 54302

• Contact – Greg Hinds – 920-540-2309

 

Calumet, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Winnebago, Waupaca, Outagamie – 1244A Midway Rd, Menasha 54915

• Contact – Greg Hinds – 920-540-2309

 

Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland – 2002 London Rd Suite 99, Duluth, MN 55812

• Contact – Judy Hack – 715-392-3598

 

Sheboygan, Manitowoc  –

• Contact – Greg Hinds – 920-540-2309

Wood, Portage –

• Contact – Scott Wright – 920-450-2121