Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

GOTV Support from NFL Players

Proud union members Tori Gurley, Jermichael Finley and Alex Green, all current Green Bay Packers, lent their support to Wisconsin workers and the GOTV efforts to oust Scott Walker this afternoon proudly tweeting:

 

Chris Maragos, a former Badger and current Seattle Seahawk is also tweeting in support of Wisconsin workers.

Show them some love #WIunion and retweet them back!

Madison Recall Activities in Full Steam

From phone banks to concerts to canvassing, Madison is buzzing with recall activities this weekend. Folks from all walks of life are pitching in to make sure Wisconsinites get out the vote for Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell on June 5.

Patrick Hickey who works at a nonprofit called the Workers’ Rights Center was at the Madison Labor Temple bright and early on Friday to sign up for a shift talking to voters at the doors. His organization helps workers who do not have collective bargaining rights, so he has seen how bad it can be when workers don’t have a seat at the table to talk about their workplace conditions.

 He took a few days off to go door to door because:

“It really is going to take everybody to win this and the other side has the money so we need all the people we can get… This is not just for Wisconsin, but for the whole country.”

Rob Henn, a volunteer from the Teaching Assistants’ Association at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, spent almost 10 hours going door to door in Madison on Friday. He was part of the group that first organized the occupation of the capitol and remains dedicated to the grassroots movement that started over a year ago:

“This is about the labor movement here in Wisconsin. We have to repudiate Walker. We have to show that when you fight working people, working people fight back.”

 

 

 

 

The phone bank room was operating at full capacity, and in between calls volunteers shared why they wanted to be involved with the GOTV effort.

Retired state employee Shelly Glodowski, who worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said she was volunteering because:

“I feel very strongly about this election. I think Walker has done a lot to hurt the middle class and hurt workers. We need all the help we can get [to recall him], every little bit helps.”

 

Also making calls was Harlan Johnson, a rising junior and Political Science major at the University. He got involved after Walker started going after collective bargaining rights and was part of the activities in Madison last year. He stayed involved with the recall efforts because he believes all workers should have the right to a voice in the workplace:

 

“If we volunteer and work with the AFL-CIO, more of these rights will be extended to workers in the private sector.”

Patsy Miller said she was just a concerned citizen from Madison and gave a simple reason for signing up to volunteer:

            “I want Barrett to win, so I wanted to help.”

Volunteers and their friends and family also received some musical motivation in the form of a free concert featuring Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, Jackson Browne, Tim McIlrath of Rise Against, Wisconsin-bred hip hop artist Brother Ali, and Mike McColgan of the Street Dogs. Local acts Centime and the Solidarity Singers warmed up the crowd.

The concert concluded with a massive sing-a-long as all the acts returned to the stage and Tom Morello invited concertgoers to come up as well. Morello stressed the importance of volunteering for GOTV efforts by telling the crowd:

“The wheel of history is in our hands and what we do or don’t do with it is up to us!”

Whether you’re a student, an educator, a worker in the private sector, a union member, or a retiree, we are all working together for the same goal—new leadership in Wisconsin that will unite our state and move us forward toward our shared goals of more jobs, an economy that works for us all, and a government that listens to the people, not the 1%.

In the few days we have left before the election, it’s more important now than ever to get involved. You can help with GOTV activities at volunteer locations across the state. We will win this election and put Barrett and Mitchell into office if we pitch in all that we can.

 

Horicon Volunteers GOTV for Barrett, Mitchell & Compas

Retirees Claudia and Ken Tibbetts grilled burgers and brats for volunteers in Horicon over the course of a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Claudia is a former music teacher and was the president of her AFT local back when she was teaching. She and Ken had retired to Florida when they saw the occupation of the state capitol on the news. Claudia says she turned to Ken and told him, “I don’t want to divorce you, but I gotta go back to Wisconsin.” Luckily, he came with her.

They bought a house in Wisconsin and decided to stay and be a part of the movement to reclaim Wisconsin and recall Governor Scott Walker.

As a retiree, Claudia says her pension is very important to her and she’s spent her time back in her home state letting fellow teachers know that if Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell are not elected on June 5, those pensions won’t be around for much longer.

Another couple who came by to volunteer was the former mayor of Horicon, Jim Grigg, and his wife. They stopped by to pick up materials and maps before driving out to go door to door in the area. As a former mayor who served three terms, he saw that Scott Walker was not conducting state business in a way befitting of an elected official.

Griggs remarked:

“When I saw how Act 10 went through, I said, ‘If we had a public meeting like that, we would’ve been thrown out of town.’”

Volunteers in Horicon are also working to get out the vote not only for Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell, but for State Senate candidate Lori Compas as well. With less than three days until the June 5 Election Day, every minute and every hour spent working to get out the vote for our candidates count.

If we all work together and put in the effort, we will make history this Tuesday. Make sure to sign up to volunteer for GOTV activities at the location nearest to you!

Let's GOTV!

At 13 offices across Wisconsin, union members are geting out the vote for working families!  Whether going door to door, making phone calls, receiving messages in the mail, or flyer-ing worksites the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO member to member program is firing on all four cylinders in support of Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell. 

The time is now!  We are in the final days of our historic campaign to recall Scott Walker and restore democracy to Wisconsin.  Together, our grassroots efforts will make the difference on June 5. 

Volunteer offices are open across Wisconsin daily until 8:00 pm on Tuesday, June 5.  Click here to find a location near you. 

At a Milwaukee phone bank Kathy Brenner, a retired Briggs & Stratton Machinists, makes calls to talk about Walker’s worst-in-the-nation job record.

“If we keep Scott Walker in office, we will have no jobs left by the time he gets out,” explained Brenner.  “As Governor, he is pushing backwards policies, like rejecting high-speed rail and making deep cuts to our communities, which cost our state jobs.” 

Janet Bollow, a retired teacher, explains that every person who signed a recall petition needs to get to the polls to vote on Tuesday. 

“People are very disenchanted with the state of affairs in Wisconsin,” said Bollow.  “Scott Walker lied his way into office.  Never once did he campaign on attacking collective bargaining rights.  That was his hidden agenda.  He refuses to compromise, he refuses to listen to the people, his whole leadership style is disrespectful.” 

We need all hands on deck now!  Every door knocked, every phone call made, will make a difference on June 5. 

Sign up for a GOTV shift here, or help make calls from home by clicking here.

750 for a Buck? WTF!

ATTENTION HUNTERS:  Scott Walker wants to take away your hunting rights.  His newly hired Deer Czar from Texas, Dr.James Kroll, advocates privatizing hunting land and selling it at a high price to individual hunters.

Stop Scott walker on June 5 by voting to support Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell.  Polls are open Tuesday, June 5 from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.  Find your polling location here.

Wisconsin has a proud tradition of freedom to hunt – let’s keep it that way and recall Walker on June 5.

Bill Clinton Fires up Wisconsin Voters

President Bill Clinton energized voters at Pere Marquette Park in Milwaukee Friday morning joining Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell in the final days of the historic recall vote. 

Clinton attacked Scott Walker’s “divide and conquer" leadership approach saying that no elected official can be successful without collaborative cooperation. 

Noting that the Pledge of Allegiance mentions the idea of a nation "undivided under God," Clinton declared, "Every day when a child in Wisconsin says the Pledge of Allegiance, it's a rebuke to the far right's winner-take-all, take-no-prisoners, divide-and-conquer, constant-conflict philosophy of government."

"Ordinarily, I'm against recall elections," Clinton said. "But sometimes it's the only way to change a disastrous course."

Join Bill Clinton in supporting Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell, leaders who will bring our state together to create jobs.  Vote on June 5 and make history!

Join us this weekend to get out the vote as we go door to door and make phone calls. 

Click for volunteer locations.  

Sign up for a shift.

In Green Bay and Menasha, Volunteers Encourage Others to Help GOTV

Before they go out to hit the doors, retired AFSCME 1889 members Laurie Grandaw and Julie Jansch have a cup of coffee and strategize over how to talk to as many people as possible. Grandaw and Jansch each worked over 30 years with the City of Green Bay and have seen many changes, but none as disturbing as the dismantling of workers’ rights in Wisconsin.

Collective bargaining is a decades-old practice in the state and Jansch remembers when workers and management were able to work together and innovate to solve budget issues.

“There was a time when you negotiated, really negotiated and had great conversation… Now there’s huge disrespect for the contract and for the workers.”

Last year when Governor Walker stripped public employees of their voice at work, it was not only a politically motivated attack on groups that didn’t support him, it was also the first step in his “divide and conquer” plan to rid the state of unions in both the public and private sector at the request of wealthy donors and corporate interests.

Said Jansch,

“It scares me that people don’t understand what’s going on. Million dollar donators are buying Wisconsin.”

Donovan Jurss, a maintenance worker with UFCW 1473 who was also door knocking in Green Bay, agreed,

“Walker is making the state his own playground for the rich and that’s not what Wisconsin is about. Wisconsin is about strong unions and hard work.”

Volunteers across the state are standing up for all working Wisconsinites and their right to a voice at work and at the polls by going door to door during this last week before the June 5 election. Because of the long hours volunteers have put in talking to people in their neighborhoods, working people have seen through the lies of Walker’s multi-million dollar advertisements and the race for governor is a dead heat. Getting as many people as possible to the polls to vote for Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell is what will determine the outcome of the recall.

Laurie Grandaw says when she goes to the doors, she tells everyone,

“Get out and vote and bring at least one or two of your friends! That’s what’s gonna turn this election in our favor.”

And for those who are wondering what more you can do before the June 5 election day, volunteer offices are open all across the state where you can sign up to help the Get Out the Vote effort for Barrett and Mitchell.

In Menasha, forklift driver and IAM Local 1260 member Bonnie Polster had a few simple words of encouragement for new volunteers as she headed out for her second round of door knocking for the day,

“Just try it, you’ll like it!”

 

Find your nearest volunteer location and be a part of the movement that’s working to get our state back on track.