Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Early Voting Has Begun!

Early voting is underway at your Municipal Clerk’s Office and will run until 5:00 p.m., or close of business (whichever is later) on Friday, October 31.  To vote early, you will cast an in-person absentee ballot, seal it in the provided envelope, and return it to the clerk’s staff. You do NOT need a photo ID to vote.

Mary Burke and Scott Walker are neck-and-neck in the gubernatorial race. With a race this close, it’s going to come down to turnout.  We need to make sure that every Wisconsinite has a chance to get to the polls to participate in our democracy by casting their ballot.  Voting is your civic duty and we all have a responsibility to get Wisconsin back on track by voting Mary Burke!

Help turn out voters by volunteering with our phone bank and canvassing efforts.  

Not registered to vote?  No problem, you can register in-person at your local municipal clerk's office, with a special registration deputy, or at the polling place on Election Day.

To find out more about early voting, click here:
http://gab.wi.gov/elections-voting/voters/absentee

To find out more about registering to vote, click here:
http://gab.wi.gov/voters/first-time

#WIready to turn Wisconsin Around

The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO political program is firing on all fronts with union members recieving candidate information from door knocks, phone calls, mail pieces and worksite leaflets.

 

Union members and community volunteers are getting active to turn Wisconsin around.  By going door-to-door and having conversations on the phone or at the worksite, workers are helping to get out the vote Mary Burke and Susan Happ. 

Wisconsin is ready for good jobs and a strong middle-class.  Wisconsin is ready for Mary Burke.

Join our efforts!  We have volunteer locations in Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Janesville, Kenosha, La Crosse, Racine, Madison, Manitowoc, Menasha, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Superior, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids.  

Phone banks across Wisconsin were humming with voter contact as workers spent their Saturday doing the work that will make a difference on November 4. 

With early voting kicking off Monday, October 20 and running until Friday, October 31 at Municipal Clerk’s offices, workers went door-to-door to remind voters of the importance of casting their ballot in this election.  For more information on absentee voting click here. Remember, you do not need a photo ID to vote and can still register to vote through Election Day. 

Mary Burke is TIED with Scott Walker.  Wisconsin can’t afford four more years of Scott Walker’s failed leadership.  Volunteer to help us get out the vote today!  

Ebola Crisis Reminds of Importance of Worker Voices through Collective Bargaining

With the second nurse now being infected with Ebola in the United States, the eyes of the American people turn to the threat of Ebola, the health and safety of the general public and the health and safety of the health care professionals who provide front line care to patients.

The Ebola outbreak reminds us once again of the essential importance of workers having a voice in the workplace through collective bargaining.  Union rights and collective bargaining give workers a vehicle to speak up about unsafe working conditions, improper safety equipment and proper workplace procedures.  No one knows better what is needed on the job than the workers who do the work day in and day out.

“Every health care professional should be assured that the proper protocols and safety equipment are available and being used,” said Candice Owley, President of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, AFT.  “We are deeply devastated by the fact that two nurses, and potentially others, were infected due to a breakdown in protocol.  The breakdown in the system that has led to nurses contracting Ebola detail how important it is for nurses to have an independent voice in the workplace.  We call on lawmakers to ensure strong whistleblower protections for all health care staff who speak out on behalf of themselves or their patients.”  

“In times like these we value the voice of our union nurses more than ever,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  “Union nurses and health professionals have the unique ability to speak out, to speak the truth and sound the alarm on public safety without fear of being fired.  Unions fight for protective safety equipment for workers and effective safety protocols that protect both workers and the public.  When health professionals stand up for themselves, they are standing up for their patients and for the health and safety of the general public.”    

Teachers on the Move to Defeat Scott Walker

Fort Atkinson teachers hit the streets this weekend in the Madison area to share their experience in the classroom since Scott Walker took office. Explaining the impact that massive education cuts have had on the students they teach, Cynthia Bliss and Luis Perez, talked with neighbors about the Nov. 4 election.  They explained to voters why teachers are supporting Mary Burke for Governor and Susan Happ for Attorney General.

Scott Walker cut education funding for our schools more than any other Governor in our state's history.

Cynthia and Luis are art teachers and want voters to realize that Walker's education cuts are being felt in classrooms around the state.  

“Teaching has changed drastically since Scott Walker took office.  Teachers are doing more with less and it is really having a negative impact on students all around the state,” explained Cynthia.  “We’re hoping to turn things around this Nov. 4 by electing Mary Burke, a strong supporter of public schools.  We want to remind people that the election is coming up and their vote matters.”  

A beautiful fall day provided the backdrop to a day of great conversations and voter contact. 

Get involved with our election efforts ASAP.  It is never too early or too late to start.  Volunteer an hour here and there when you can. 

Together, we can make a big impact on Tuesday, November 4.   

Ready for Round 2: Debate Watch Parties

Wisconsin workers are ready to cheer on Mary Burke in the second debate match-up with Gov. Scott Walker.  In the last debate, Walker proclaimed that $7.25 was a living wage, nothing would make him accept funds to expand BadgerCare and that taking collective bargaining rights away from workers was a good thing. 

Watch parties are kicking off at 6:30 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 17, in Madison and Wisconsin Rapids.  Debate starts promtly at 7:00 p.m.

Madison Labor Temple Bar, 1602 South Park Street
Plenty of free parking in the Labor Temple lot
To RSVP or for questions, contact Greg Neil at gneil@wisaflcio.org   

Wisconsin Rapids
Good Time Charlie’s: 111 E Jackson St., Wisconsin Rapids
For questions & to RSVP contact: Sabrina Johnson,  715-572-5660; sjohnson@wisaflcio.org

Scott Walker thinks minimum wage laws "don't serve a purpose"

“I don’t think it serves a purpose” – Gov. Scott Walker on Minimum Wage Laws

Scott Walker doesn’t care about people who work for a living.  Today, Gov. Walker further showed his hostility towards laws that protect workers from abuse on the job.  When asked about the minimum wage at a panel discussion with members of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Scott Walker said, “I don't think it serves a purpose.”  Watch the video here.

Minimum wage laws guarantee a bare standard of living for workers and help keep workers from going hungry or being homeless.  Without minimum wage laws, corporations can pay workers pennies for a hard day’s work.

Now is not the time to take away these important laws. Now is the time to raise the minimum wage so that people who get up and go to work every day can have a decent standard of living. Come on Scott Walker, this is America, why do you want to roll back the clock on workers’ rights?

Scott Walker’s comments today prove just out how out of touch with the real economy he is.  He doesn’t care about our state’s workers.  Gov. Walker wants corporations to have all the power.

Minimum wage laws, safety regulations, overtime protections – these laws serve a powerful purpose to protect and fairly compensate working people. 

On November 4, stand with workers fighting for fair pay, good jobs and a strong middle class.  Vote Mary Burke.  Scott Walker’s radical views don’t deserve four more years in office.

We're Koch Sisters Too!

Karen Koch, of the Koch Sisters, joined Madison area workers on Saturday morning for a canvass kickoff and phone bank.  Urging every Wisconsinite to do what they can before Election Day, Karen Koch energized volunteers before hitting the doors herself with Kevin Gundlach of the South Central Federation of Labor. 

“Four years ago too many of us stayed home or stayed out,” said Karen.  “We need to get active and do everything we can between now and November 4.  Pick up the phone to make calls, grab a walk packet and a friend and canvass neighborhoods.  Working families have too much to lose, we can’t take another four years of bad Governors like the ones we have in Michigan and Wisconsin.” 

Joyce and Karen Koch are sisters where it counts – in spirit, in union solidarity and in their shared values. Like most Americans, they have worked hard all of their lives and want to ensure their children and grandchildren have the same opportunities they did. As Koch Sisters, they embody the values of millions of Americans and provide the ultimate contrast to the Koch Brothers

Karen Koch is a teacher and mother of two. As a college business professor, she has spent her career preparing students for internships and their first jobs. She is a member of the Michigan Education Association and comes from a United Automobile Workers family.

The Koch Sisters campaign to expose the Koch Brothers’ influence over Governor Scott Walker and other Republicans in Wisconsin is well underway as they highlight the distinct differences between themselves and the infamous brothers of the same name. 

 

Time's Up. Raise the Wage Rally

URGENT:  Join the Raise Wisconsin campaign for a rally holding Scott Walker accountable for unlivable wages on Tuesday, October 14, in Madison.

Recently, over 100 Wisconsin workers filed an official wage complaint with Gov. Walker’s Department of Workforce Development.  Last week, the Walker Administration dismissed the complaint, coldly turning its back on workers. 

Wisconsin’s law mandates that the minimum wage "shall be no less than a living wage."  Workers called on the Walker Administration to raise the wage to a living wage as outlined in our statues and were ignored. 

This is urgent!  Join us Tuesday as workers ramp up pressure to call attention to poverty wages. 

What:  Walker -- Time’s up. Raise the Wage Rally
When:  5:30 p.m. October 14
Where:  State Capitol Steps, State Street Entrance
RSVP:   http://bit.ly/LWoct14

Join us to call on Scott Walker to raise wages for workers! 

Voter ID Blocked by U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has smacked down Scott Walker's voter suppressing voter ID law. 

**Please spread the word far and wide, voters will NOT be required to provide a photo ID card when voting in the November elections.**

This is great news!  More than 300,000 Wisconsinites would have been stopped from casting their ballot because of photo ID.  Republicans were shameless in trying to change the game, confuse voters and rig the electorate at the last minute in their favor. 

“The U.S. Supreme Court is correct in ruling that the ill-advised, voter suppressing photo ID law not be implemented weeks before Election Day,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.  “Any other decision would have immediately disenfranchised voters in direct conflict with our constitution.  While Scott Walker wanted to confuse voters and rig the electorate in his favor, the Supreme Court has sided with the people.”

“This is a victory for democracy and a defeat for Scott Walker’s shady brand of politics,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.  “Gov. Walker’s policies show a pattern of disrespect for citizen rights.  Whether it is worker rights, voting rights or women’s rights – Scott Walker is on the wrong side of history.  Today’s ruling reaffirms that Walker’s out-of-touch, anti-democracy, anti-worker agenda is wrong for Wisconsin.”    

Make Calls for Mary Burke from Home

There is so much at stake Nov. 4 for people in Wisconsin who are struggling in this economy. This November, we have a choice: elect candidates like Mary Burke and Susan Happ who will fight for working families or stand by as those who attack workers' rights, like anti-worker, career politician Scott Walker, take charge and continue to derail our economy.

It’s critical we get to work right now to elect Mary Burke as governor.  

You can join working families at one of our volunteer locations around the state. Click here for volutneer locations.

Wisconsin is ready to raise wages for worker and restore dignigty and respect for all who labor. Workers are ready to get active to make that happen. 

You can even make calls from the comfort of your home.  Click here to launch a new, interative tool that allows you to make calls support Mary Burke from the comfort of your couch.

With our Friends and Neighbors calling tool, it’s easy to make calls from home to people you know and union supporters in your community who might stay home on Election Day without some extra motivation.