Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Spring Election Info & Endorsements

Tuesday, April 7, is Election Day.  There will be a statewide Supreme Court Justice election, a statewide constitutional amendment and a host of local elections.  

Statewide Labor Endorsements

Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin Supreme Court    

Oppose Constitutional Amendment on Chief Justice Selection

Click here for a list of local endorsements.

 

Lookup your polling location:  Visit https://myvote.wi.gov/

Photo ID Information:  Photo ID will NOT be required for the April 7 Election.  On Monday, March 23, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the Wisconsin voter ID law.  As a result, photo ID will be required for subsequent elections, but not for the April 7 Spring Election.    

Early Voting Information:  In-person absentee voting runs for two weeks before an election, ending at 5 p.m. or the close of business (whichever is later) on the Friday before the election (April 3).  For more information on early and absentee voting, click here.

Citizens Pack Budget Listening Sessions to Sound the Alarm on Gov. Walker’s Budget

From Reedsburg, to Milwaukee, Brillon to Rice Lake, working people are packing Joint Finance Committee Budget Hearings to speak out against Gov. Walker’s budget.  Noting drastic cuts to schools, senior programs and essential public services, citizens criticized Gov. Walker’s budget as shortsighted and full of political givebacks. 

Citizens of Wisconsin want a budget that prioritizes good jobs and better wages.  Instead, they are getting a budget full of political goodies for Gov. Walker’s campaign funders. 

Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, gave compelling testimony on behalf of working men and women in Milwaukee. 

On the issue of fair compensation for Wisconsin’s injured workers, Bloomingdale stated: 

The question remains, why does Governor Walker want to split the workers compensation division in two? We know that states who have split systems like Illinois and Texas have worse outcomes. So why would we want to be like them?

Bloomingdale warned against a reckless system of borrowing for road building and urged sustainable funding for a secure infrastructure: 

The Governor has had 4 years to figure out a more sustainable funding system, rather than borrowing and forcing our children to pay for our fiscally irresponsible decisions. The Governor has rejected every idea to generate new revenue and continues to borrow more. This model is reckless.

On Wisconsin’s educational systems, Bloomingdale called upon the JFC to fully reject any move to privatize public education whether that be through a private authority for the UW System or by expanding vouchers for K-12 education:

We call on you to reject any proposal to convert our system into a private authority. We also call on you to restore funding to the UW System. Otherwise, the proposed, reckless budget cuts - for the 7^th consecutive budget cycle - will hurt the UW System and our children’s ability to access affordable higher education in our home state.

On the merging of state departments and agencies Bloomingdale questioned the motives behind these changes and asked the JFC how they will help improve efficiency.

How will all these departmental shuffles improve services? Who is asking for this agency hopscotching?  Gov. Walker’s WEDC is riddled with scandals and failed results, why should we trust further changes and departmental shifts when past experiments and have failed?

Be there! Upcoming Budget Hearings

On February 3, Governor Walker introduced his proposed budget for the 2015-2017 biennium.  Walker’s budget misses the mark and is full of bad news for Wisconsin’s working people and communities.

From “drafting errors” that cut the Wisconsin Idea, transportation funding problems, cuts to public schools, and many more concerns for working families – working families will take the brunt of this budget full of shortsighted and backwards priorities. 

Starting this week the public will have the chance to provide input and weigh in on the budget directly to legislators at hearings around the state.

Joint Finance Budget Hearing Schedule

March 18    Brillion
        Brillion High School (Endries Performing Arts Center, W1101 County Road HR)
        10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

March 20    Milwaukee
        Alverno College (Pitman Theatre, 3400 South 43rd Street)
        10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

March 23    Rice Lake
        UW-Barron County (Fine Arts Theatre, 1800 College Drive)
        10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

March 26    Reedsburg
        CAL Center Auditorium (1100 South Albert Avenue)
        9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Can’t make it to one of these four hearings?  The Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee believe that the above four hearings are insufficient for receiving public input from all corners of the state. Therefore, they will be holding additional hearings to receive public input:

March 19    Wisconsin Rapids
Common Council Chambers (444 Grand Ave.)
5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

March 21    Rhinelander
        Nicolet Technical College (5364 College Dr., Room 207)
        10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

March 21    Wausau
UW Marathon (518 S 7th Ave, Room 100- The Terrace Room)
12 noon - 4 p.m.

March 24, 2015 – Green Bay
West High School, The Thune Center
966 Shawano Ave.
4:00-7:00 p.m.


March 28    Menomonie
Menomonie Public Library (600 Wolske Bay Rd., Meeting room)
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

March 28    Platteville
City Hall, City Council Chamber (75 North Bonson Street)
12    noon - 4 p.m.

March 30, 2015 – Oshkosh
UW-Oshkosh, Reeve Union, Room 213
800 Algoma Blvd.
4:00-7:00 p.m.

March 31    Dodgeville
Dodgeville Council Chambers (100 E. Fountain St)
5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

April 11    Eau Claire
UW-Eau Claire, Centennial Hall (1698 Park Ave., Room 1614)
10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Hard working people can clearly see that this budget is a checklist for Gov. Walker’s presidential ambitions and will only further hurt the hard-working men and women of Wisconsin.  Make your voice heard at upcoming Budget Listening Sessions.

Workers want to see a budget that supports good job creation and higher wages.  Tell your legislators!  Attend a public hearing near you!

Upcoming: Community Services Conference

The annual Community Services Conference will be held March 26, 27, and 28 in Green Bay at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center.  The Community Services Conference is a call to action -- with the hope that education and information provided will allow participants to become more involved in both the labor movement and also within their communities. The AFL-CIO Community Services program is about "making the community a better place in which to live, work, raise a family and retire."  It is about mobilizing union members through their local unions and central labor councils to address workplace ans social justice issues.  By building strong partnerships with community and faith organizations, more can be achieved.

The WI STATE AFL-CIO COMMUNITY SERVICES CONFERENCE is an excellent place to receive some education, do some networking, and get new ideas for strengthening solidarity in our workplaces and the greater community.
 
The conference is scheduled for March 26, 27, and 28 in Green Bay at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center.  The room block expires next Wednesday, the 18th, so hurry now to get your reservations made and your registration forms in.
 
We look forward to seeing you there!

Forward in Solidarity

Political attacks against working families are marching across the United States.   From Michigan to Indiana, Missouri to West Virginia – working people and their unions are facing extremist politicians who rather do the bidding of those who fund their campaigns than the people they took an oath to serve.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin’s democracy is the latest victim of out-of-state special interests calling the shots in statehouses across the country.  Gov. Walker signed Right to Work into law Monday but we will never give up and we will never stop fighting for the rights of all working people.

Share this graphic to tell us you’re in and that you will never stop fighting for Wisconsin working families and all who labor. 

 

We cannot remain silent, we cannot give up, we must continue to organize and educate union members and non-union members.  When out-of-state influencers are calling the shots, it is working families and our entire middle class that loses. 

Share our strong graphic.  Let’s remind politicians that they work for the people.  And that working together, the people will prevail. 

In four years, Gov. Walker has sharply taken Wisconsin in the wrong direction.  From cuts to schools, raising taxes on the poor, attacking voting rights, mismanaging a jobs agency,  eroding collective bargaining rights for public and private sector workers and failing to take advantage of nation-wide job growth – Gov. Walker has stomped on Wisconsin’s economy and on the values and traditions we hold sacred.

Share this graphic and keep the fight alive. 

Walker signs Right to Work into law

Amidst strong opposition from Wisconsin citizens and businesses across the state, Gov. Walker signed Right to Work into law today, making Wisconsin the 25th RTW state in the nation.  

By signing Right to Work, Gov. Walker continues his crusade on the hard-working, middle-class families of Wisconsin. From refusing to expand BadgerCare for the sick, to enacting tax cuts for the rich,  gutting education and eroding collective bargaining rights for working people – Gov. Walker has shown a true disregard for Wisconsin families who work hard every day to put food on the table and a roof over their head. 

By enacting Right to Work, Gov. Walker continues to tip the scales against working class families in favor of his millionaire and billionaire buddies who fund his campaign.  Gov. Walker’s political stock amongst the campaign funding elite may be rising, but it is the people of Wisconsin who are paying the price of his unchecked political ambition. 

Wisconsin citizens should ask the Governor, who called for this Right to Work law?  Not workers and not our state’s employers who went on record to acknowledge the value unions bring to their companies. It’s time Scott Walker wakes up from his dream of higher office long enough to remember who he took an oath to serve – the working families of Wisconsin not extremist out-of-state donors.

Brothers and sisters, we will continue to stand up and fight for social and economic justice for all people.  We will never give up fighting for the rights of all workers.  We will never give up fighting for a better Wisconsin.

We will build upon solidarity and togetherness and honor the struggle of the workers who came before us who fought for safe working conditions, the 8-hour workday, child labor laws and dignity for working people. 

We move forward, shoulder to shoulder, together with our brothers and sisters to continue to stand up for Wisconsin values and a better society for all who labor. 

Tell Gov. Walker: Don't Sign RTW

Despite years of saying Right to Work was not his priority and would never get to this desk, Gov. Walker will sign Right to Work Monday, March 9. 

Despite weeks of protest from citizens, business owners and people of faith, Gov. Walker is once again putting his political ambitions ahead of what is best for the people of Wisconsin.  By weakening unions, Right to Work lowers wages for everyone, hurts the middle class and depresses down our whole economy.   We know that strong unions allow for a strong middle class and lift wages and working conditions for everyone in our state.

Email Gov. Walker now and tell him not to sign Right to Work into law.

Right to Work is wrong for Wisconsin. It does not create jobs, but it will lower wages, decrease safety standards and weaken the middle class. In a time when wages are stagnant , income inequality is rising and good jobs are hard to find, right to work is not the policy Wisconsin lawmakers need to advance.

Click here to tell Gov. Walker not to sign the bill into law.

Brothers and sisters, we can be proud of the fight back we accomplished.  Thousands of workers, union and non-union, came to Madison to oppose Right to Work. We participated in our democratic process and made our voices heard.  Now, we must continue to hold politicians accountable to the people, not to their out-of-state special interest campaign donors. 

RTW Passes Assembly 62-35

At 9:13 a.m. this morning, after 24 hours of debate, the Wisconsin State Assembly passed Right to Work 62 to 35 along straight party lines.   The passage comes just fourteen days after the abrupt announcement to rush the bill through in an extraordinary session. 

Make no mistake; passing Right to Work is reckless.  Right to work will drive down wages and benefits, decrease safety standards and weaken the middle class.  Republicans are clearly more concerned with advancing the rights of out-of-state special interests who write their campaign checks than protecting the rights and protecting the wages of hard-working Wisconsinites.

Right to work will not create jobs and will not help one family put food on the table.  At a time when wages are stagnant and good jobs are hard to find, Right to Work is absolutely the last policy lawmakers should be advancing.

Strong unions build a healthy middle class and provide a necessary check on corporate power and greed.  Unions allow workers to join together, stick together, and have each others backs in order to have a meaningful voice in the workplace. 

Brothers and sisters, we combat this attack on working people by building upon the solidarity and unity forged in the battles for fair pay, better working conditions and safe workplaces.  Remember, it was the people who came before us who fought for and won the 8-hour workday, child labor laws and safe working standards.  We move forward, together, shoulder to shoulder, proud of the values we stand for. 

We will never give up fighting for the rights of workers.  We will never give up fighting for social and economic justice.  We will never give up fighting for a better Wisconsin.

Slamming the Doors on Democracy

Thousands of you rallied today to stand up against attacks on workers, to stand up against attacks on the middle class and to stand up against Right to Work legislation.  Despite the bitter cold, we came together to tell our legislators that working people want strong unions and a healthy middle class. 

Earlier today, citizens flooded the Capitol to bear witness to the Assembly debate and vote.  After just minutes of debate, Speaker Robin Vos ordered the gallery cleared.  Clearing the gallery completely shuts the people out of our own democratic process.  It is not right.  It is not just.  It is not a transparent democracy.    

Right to Work is wrong for every Wisconsin family, union and non-union – we know that Right to Work will drive down wages, cripple worker rights and slow down the economy. 

No matter what happens in the hours ahead in the Capitol building, we will continue to educate and organize in every workplace in every city and every town across our state.

We will not give up, standing together we will ride out this storm, the road has never been easy, our fathers and mothers and grandmothers and grandfathers have fought for all the rights they’ve passed on to us, now is our turn to preserve and protect our heritage.  History has called on each and every one of us to defend the middle class and we will move forward, together in unity and togetherness.

Stand with Wisconsin

At around 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, debate will begin on the Assembly Floor on Right to Work.  Right to Work is an attack on worker wages and the ability of workers to join together as a union to have a meaningful check on corporate power and greed.  Debate is expected to go around the clock, be there to witness this injustice to the people of Wisconsin.

At 12:00p.m. noon on Thursday, March 5, workers, faith leaders and community members will rally on the State Street side of the Capitol to stand together in strong opposition to this bill.  We are raising our voices, participating in democracy and letting our elected representatives know that this bill is wrong for Wisconsin families.

For generations, citizens have been coming to their Capitol to fight for their rights and express their concerns.  Be there as Right to Work is debated on the Assembly floor. 

Come to the Capitol to participate in democracy and bear witness to this attack on Wisconsin.  Legislators need to know that workers are watching and will remember this day.