Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Hardhats for Hillary! Rally and Canvass Success in Pewaukee

Hundreds of union members gathered in Pewaukee on Saturday morning to go door-to-door for labor-endorsed candidates like Hillary Clinton and Russ Feingold. Before grabbing walk packets and fanning out to nearby neighborhoods to talk with voters about the importance of creating jobs and protecting union rights, volunteers heard from General President of the Ironworkers Union Eric Dean, James “Bud” McCourt, General President of the Heat & Frost Insulators Union, and Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio.

Saturday’s Hardhats for Hillary canvass was part of our Labor 2016 voter education and mobilization plan which aims to give union members the facts about candidates on the ballot this November and encourage all our members to cast their ballot on November, 8. Unions are learning about candidates through worksite leaflets, phone calls, door knocks and union mail.

James “Bud” McCourt, General President of the Heat & Frost Insulators union explained that Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for jobs and investment in clean energy and infrastructure.

“Hillary Clinton knows the road to a strong middle class is a road paved with union jobs,” said President McCourt. “There’s a lot of reasons Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for labor. She supports Davis Beacon, she supports strong collective bargaining rights, she backs apprenticeship programs, she has detailed plans for economic and clean energy. She knows what is required to make progress in our country.”

General President of the Ironworkers Union, Eric Dean, emphasized Hillary Clinton’s plan to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and stressed the importance of down ballot elections. He reminded union volunteers of Trumps support of Right to Work, support of outsourcing and history of stiffing working people.

“Trump only builds union when he has to, not because he wants to, he goes open shop when he can” explained President Dean.  “All Trump’s steel and aluminum is purchased in China, costing good workers jobs here in the USA. The Make America Great Again candidate is full of crap. He makes the conscious decision to buy Chinese Steel and manufacture all his products – shirts, ties, suits, and on and on – overseas. He has a history of stiffing workers, contractors and subcontractors. He is not a good business man. Maybe his greed is good for himself, but not good for people.”

President Dean shared a personal story that gives him extra motivation to get out on election day. “My granddaughter has leukemia and I am not going to let Trump take away her healthcare because she has a preexisting condition.”

Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio closed down the pre-canvass rally stating, “democracy comes down to knocking on a door. It comes down to working class people in Milwaukee, in Youngstown, all across the country, getting together to go out and knock doors to talk with people about participating in our democracy and elections. Democracy comes down to a door knock.”

 

With just days to go before Election Day, our Labor 2016/Working America program is talking to voters around the state. Stop in to volunteer. Click here for our Get out the Vote Volunteer Schedule and Location List.   

 

Scott Walker’s Puppets

Scott Walker puppets are on the ballot this November. Along with the Presidential and U.S. Senate race, there’s a slew of local state assembly and state senate seats up for grabs. Stand up to Scott Walker by voting for our statewide union-endorsed candidates on November 8!

Even better, volunteer this weekend to get out the vote with our Labor 2016/Working America canvasses and phone banks.

Candidates like Senator Luther Olsen (R- SD 14), Dan Feyen (R-SD 18), Rep. Todd Novak (R-AD 51) and Pat Snyder (R-AD 85) want to walk in the steps of Scott Walker by attacking union rights, slashing funding for our neighborhood schools and continuing the culture of pay-to-play political givebacks for special interest campaign donors.

Scott Walker’s Puppets:

• Attacking Unions
• Slashing Schools
• Corruption
• Pay-to-Play
• Special Favors
• Outsourcing

Your union has done the research and has endorsed candidates who will stand up to Scott Walker. Help us turn the page on Scott Walker’s disastrous agenda by voting for our endorsed candidates on November 8.  

Get involved this weekend to stop Trump and the Walker puppets running for office. Help us get out the vote by talking to voters at their doorstep or over the phone.  Stop in at one of our volunteer locations around the state to make a difference on Election Day.

“Hardhats for Hillary” Labor Rally and Canvassing Event

 

 

Join us as we make a final push to maximize voter turnout for our endorsed candidate for President of the United States, Hillary Clinton.

WHEN:  October 29, 2016; Doors open at 8:00 AM; Program begins at 9:00 AM

WHERE:  Insulators Local 19 Union Hall -- N 27 W23155 Roundy Drive, Pewaukee, WI  53072; Phone: 262- 548-0606) 

GUESTS:

• James “Bud” McCourt – General President; International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers
• Eric Dean – General President; International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental & Reinforcing Ironworkers
• The Honorable Tim Ryan – Democratic Congressman; 13^th District of Ohio

GOTV CANVASSING:  Canvasing will be from 10 AM to 12:30 PM, followed by lunch at the Local 19 Hall from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM   Additional Canvasing from 1:30 PM to 4 PM.

Milwaukee VA Workers and Veterans Rally to Say “No to Privatization”

Milwaukee area VA employees and local veterans held an informational picket to raise awareness of potential VA hospital closings proposed by the controversial VA Commission on Care and endorsed by Senator Ron Johnson.

Senator Ron Johnson, who has voted against properly funding the VA and has proposed the privatization of the Veterans Health Administration, is being challenged this November by Russ Feingold. Working families are supporting Feingold for a strong VA. Russ is ready to stop bad trade deals like the TPP, work to raise wages for working families, and support strong unions to rebuild our middle class and combat income inequality.

Iraq War veteran Gwen Sheppard, spoke to the rally in support of a strong VA. “When I came back from serving my country, the VA was the place for me. Going to the private sector was not an option. They don’t know how best to treat and diagnose patients coming home from war with our unique concerns and issues. The patience, care and treatment we see at the VA does not happen in civilian hospitals." 

Ms. Sheppard continued, urging action to keep the promise to veterans by fully-funding and staffing the VA.

“We need everyone to write, call, email their Senators and Congresspeople and tell them it’s a bad idea to privatize the VA. To privatize is to make it about money, not about veterans. I served my country. Give me what I’m due.”

VA employees and members of AFGE Local 0003 rallied outside the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center on National Ave Friday night and were joined by AFGE District 7 National Vice President Dorothy James, AFGE Chief of Staff Brian DeWyngaert, Local 0003 President Joe Junemann and WI AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Stephanie Bloomingdale.

Dorothy James, AFGE District 7 Vice President, fired up the rally. “We’re here and we’re ready to fight to the last drop to stop privatization.  It’s simple – fully fund and staff the VA. It’s the Koch Brothers who are behind these privatization efforts. They are trying to line their pockets, get their money. The focus of our VA should be quality patient care, not profits.”

Around the country, AFGE members are showing they stand for veterans by rallying against privatization of the VA.

 

Turn the Page on the Walker Era

It’s not just Hillary Clinton and Russ Feingold on the ballot November 8. There’s a host of competitive state senate and state assembly races with candidates whose policy decisions will have a huge impact on the lives of working people and our communities.

It’s time turn the page on the disastrous, scandal-plagued Scott Walker era. Let’s start by voting for our union approved, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO endorsed candidates this November.

These candidates have been given the thumbs up by your union because they will stand up to Scott Walker and his corporate special interest campaign funders by putting a check on his wage-lowering, anti-worker agenda. Will you help us get out the vote before Election Day? Stop into one of our Labor2016/Working America volunteer locations across Wisconsin to knock doors or make phone calls to talk with our friends, family and neighbors about what’s at stake, up and down the ballot, this November

Our labor-backed candidates are ready to stand up to Scott Walker by fighting to:

·         OVERTURN so-called “Right to Work” and protect collective bargaining rights for strong unions

·         STOP corporate pay-to-play politics that uses our tax dollars to outsource Wisconsin jobs

·         CREATE family-supporting jobs with good wages

·         RE-INVEST in great public schools & the UW System, and reduce class sizes

VOTE November 8. Volunteer before Election Day. Our union approved candidates are ready to turn the page and move Wisconsin forward. They share our values and will put Wisconsin’s working families first.

Labor 2016: Firing on All Four Cylinders

Labor 2016 is firing on all four cylinders as we head into the final weeks before Election Day on November 8, 2016. Union families are talking with their friends, family, and neighbors so that every working person knows the facts about the candidates this election.

Union members are talking to their coworkers in the workplace, on the phones, at the doorstep and by mail to spread the word that candidates like Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold, Tom Nelson and a host of union-backed state candidates will fight to create jobs, work to raise wages, support strong union rights and stop bad trade deals that ship our jobs overseas.

Lori Hagen a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers and her husband Bob Thorson went door-to-door in Eau Claire over the weekend to get out the vote for working families.  

"We're here for every reason,” said Lori. “Stopping Donald Trump and Ron Johnson is important."

Gail Clayton, with the Mail Handlers Union, was out in Milwaukee talking with voters about Hillary Clinton and Russ Feingold’s strong record of supporting working people. 

“It’s critical as union members to vote for Hillary Clinton and Russ Feingold. Republicans are trying to pass laws to lower wages and attack union rights,” said Clayton. “We need Hillary Clinton because she will create jobs for people. Feingold is a solid friend of workers. He stands with working families and helps with labor issues that make workplaces better for everyone.”

In the past week, worksite leafletting has been taking place in Manitowoc, De Pere and Green Bay, just to name a few spots.  Informative union mail is landing on the doorsteps of working families all across the state.  Phone banks are rocking after work and on the weekends. 

 

We have Labor 2016 volunteer locations in Milwaukee, Madison, Eau Claire, Racine, Kenosha, La Crosse, Wausau, Superior, Oshkosh, Steven’s Point, Wisconsin Rapids and Menasha. Stop in and volunteer today. Every conversation makes a difference on Election Day! 

Trump Chooses China

Released just this week, a new Newsweek investigation reveals that in two of Trump’s last three construction projects, Trump choose to purchase his steel and aluminum from Chinese manufacturers rather than from United States mills based in states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. By opting to buy steel from foreign companies, Trump is depriving local workers of good jobs.

Trump has said that if he becomes president “it will be American steel that sends our skyscrapers soaring into the sky.” Yeah right. His hypocrisy from his past action rings loud and clear for Wisconsin workers.  

We need to spread the news that Trump is already costing Wisconsin workers jobs. Will you volunteer this weekend to talk with voters about the real Trump? Stop into of our Labor 2016 Volunteer Centers to get started.  

Donald Trump may claim to care about American jobs and the American economy, but his past business practices clearly show that he does not have Wisconsin workers or American workers in mind. By failing to purchase made-in-America or made-in-Wisconsin steel for his latest construction projects, Trump is depriving local workers of good jobs and taking money away from local economies. Instead, he chooses to send the money and the jobs overseas to China.

Refusing to buy American steel is further proof that unpatriotic Donald Trump has been stiffing American workers to pad his own pocket. Whether it is by failing to procure American-made products for his construction projects, making his ties, shirts, sheets, and clothing overseas in places like Mexico, Vietnam and Honduras, or by refusing to sit down and negotiate with the workers who run his hotels, Donald Trump has shown time and time again that he is no friend of working people or the working class.

Trump always chooses his own self-interest over workers. Volunteer this weekend to stop Trump. We can’t afford to risk a Presidency driven by corporate greed.

Veterans, VA Workers, Union Members Rally for a Strong VA

Milwaukee area VA workers and local veterans rallied in downtown Milwaukee today to raise awareness of potential VA hospital closings proposed by the controversial VA Commission on Care.  They were joined by local union members standing in solidarity for a strong VA. The picket took take place outside of Sen. Ron Johnson’s office at the Federal Courthouse. Sen. Johnson, who is being challenged by Russ Feingold this November, has voted against properly funding the VA and has proposed the privatization of the Veterans Health Administration.

Joe Junemann, AFGE Local 0003 President, spoke to the rally, explaining that “shifting our care to a private system means fragmented care, gaps in treatment and missed opportunities to help our veterans. I interact with veterans daily, talking about the care they receive, no one knows veterans like the VA.  It’s time to tell Congress, privatization means inadequate care. Not in my VA.”

All independent assessments agree that the VA’s health care is best for veterans on both cost and quality. Veterans themselves overwhelmingly want their health care to come from the federal government, not private hospitals. Every single Veterans Service Organization outside the Koch Brothers-backed sham group is opposed to privatizing the VA.

“Veterans and veteran groups stand in chorus to denounce the idea of privatization,” said Will Fischer, Marine Corps veteran and Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council. “Privatization is just another way of politicians saying they are ready to let their billionaire buddies make a profit off caring for our veterans. There’s work to be done, improvements to be made, but we’re moving in the right direction.”

Fischer continued tying the importance of this election to the future care of our veterans,

“Donald Trump denounces Gold Star families, dodged service, says that veterans with PTSD ‘aren’t strong’ and that he always wanted a Purple Heart. He is anti-veteran and anti-working class.  Ron Johnson voted against funding for veteran education benefits, he voted against funding for veteran healthcare benefits, Ron Johnson voted against veteran job training benefits. Russ Feingold and Hillary Clinton have always stood with veterans, they have always had our backs and will continue to stand with veterans and have our backs when we elect them in November.”

Veterans have earned the right to receive first-rate healthcare, good job opportunities and quality education and training. Hillary Clinton and Russ Feingold have a plan to help veterans. Cast your vote for veterans and working class families on November 8, 2016.