Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

A Wisconsin Holiday

As the holiday shopping season ramps up, use your purchasing power to support good, local jobs by prioritizing union-made, Wisconsin-made and American-made gifts for friends and family.

Support local workers and local jobs, Buy Wisconsin! Find great Wisconsin-made products at: http://buywi.org/

In Wisconsin, we make an array of great union-made gifts– from warm socks to pots and pans, hand-crafted sausages, cold beer, durable washers and dryers and more!

At the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, we’ve put together an easy to navigate website to help you find union-made and Wisconsin-made goods. Find the perfect gift that carries a union label (Union-made items are highlighted in blue) and is made in Wisconsin at BuyWI.org.

Wisconsin-Made Gift Ideas

• Wigwam Socks made in Sheboygan. (UFCW)
• Regal Ware Pots and Pans made in West Bend. (USW)
• Miller Beer made in Milwaukee. (UAW Brewery Workers)
• Usinger’s Sausage and Smoked Meats made in Milwaukee. (UFCW and IUOE)
• Klement’s Sausages. (UFCW)
• Carmex Lip Balm made in Franklin -- a great stocking stuffer.
• John Deere lawn mowers made in Horicon. (IAMAW)
• Master Lock locks made in Milwaukee (be sure to check the label). (UAW)
• Speed Queen washing machines from Alliance Laundry made in Ripon. (USW)
• Nuk baby products made in Reedsburg. (IAMAW)

Every dollar you spend on Wisconsin-made goods helps to support Wisconsin jobs and fellow Wisconsin workers

Tell Scott Walker to veto the lame duck

In the dead of the night on Tuesday, Republican majority in the state legislature ignored the will of the voters and rammed through lame duck power grab legislation.

Scott Walker's power grab is making national and international news. Thought leaders, academics, and citizens across the country are weighing in. 

Paul F. Clark, Professor and Head Dept. of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Penn State University, had this to say about what is happening in Wisconsin. 

"What the Republicans are doing in Wisconsin, as well as North Carolina and Michigan, is something we have really not seen before in modern politics.  Their actions violate well-established and important norms about respect for elections and the transition of power, two principles that are fundamental to any democracy." 

The slate of lame duck bills is now heading to Gov. Walker’s desk for his signature. Scott Walker has a decision to make:  respect the voters or override the will of the people.

Call Scott Walker at 608-266-1212 and tell him to respect the voters and veto the lame duck power grab agenda.

Email Gov. Walker here.

Wisconsinites chose Tony Evers to be our governor. He deserves a fair chance to help us build a stronger Wisconsin.

"The people went to the polls in November and voted for change," said Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale.  "Instead, Wisconsinites continue to witness unprecedented power grabs and ruthless partisan politics from politicians in Madison. After only making bills public at 4:23 p.m. on a Friday evening, Republicans jammed through multiple lame duck measures that erode the Wisconsin tradition of fairness, transparency and decency in government in the dead of the night Tuesday. This sore loser, sour grapes recipe to cling to power and limit the authority of our newly elected Governor Tony Evers is a betrayal of democracy." 

Scott Walker now has an opportunity to show that he believes in the fundamental principles of our democracy and a peaceful transfer of power by vetoing all lame duck bills.

To try to reverse the will of the people by rigging elections and undercutting our new governor before he takes office is not only cynical party politics at its worst, but an outright betrayal of democracy.

Call outgoing Gov. Scott Walker at 608-266-1212 and tell him to respect the voters and veto the lame duck power grab agenda. You can also email him here.

In Dead of Night, Republicans in Legislature Attack Democracy

Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO released the following statement on Wisconsin’s lame duck special session.

 

“The people went to the polls in November and voted for change. Instead, Wisconsinites continue to witness unprecedented power grabs and ruthless partisan politics from politicians in Madison during a lame duck special session. After only making bills public at 4:23 p.m. on a Friday evening, Republicans rammed through multiple lame duck measures that erode the Wisconsin tradition of fairness, transparency and decency in government in the dead of the night Tuesday. This sore loser, sour grapes recipe to cling to power and limit the authority of our newly elected Governor Tony Evers is a betrayal of democracy.”

Keep Up the Calls! Lame Duck Special Session Moving at Warp Speed

On his way out the door, Gov. Scott Walker and Republican leaders in the legislature are dismissing the will of voters and playing politics by calling a lame-duck special session to take away critical pieces of Gov.-elect Tony Evers’ authority before he takes office.

Politicians are moving at warp speed to pass several measures limiting the power of incoming Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul and changing the rules of our democratic process to favor their own party. The set of bills were only made public on 4:23 p.m. Friday evening. The Senate will convene today (Tuesday) at 11:00 a.m. and the Assembly today at 1:00 p.m. to vote on the lame duck power grab bills. Rushing through legislation at this speed with limited time for public debate and input is a betrayal of democracy.

We must continue to raise our voices against these lame duck special session partisan power grabs.

• Call 866-832-1560 and tell your State Senator and Representative that you oppose these outrageous lame duck bills that attack working families and our democracy.
• Send an email to your Senator and Assembly person.

Raising our voices is having an impact. The bill to move the 2020 Presidential primary date to favor a hand-picked conservative candidate was not voted out of the Joint Finance Committee. Many attempts to rig the democratic system to one party’s advantage are still moving, including:

• Taking away key pieces of power and authority of our newly elected Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul before they take office.
• Stealing our democratic right to fully participate in the electoral process by limiting in-person absentee voting.
• Lowering hardworking construction workers’ wages by limiting the number of transportation projects subject to federal prevailing wage standards.
• Enshrining rules around Voter ID disenfranchisement into state statute making it more difficult for our new Governor to ease barriers to voting.

Take Action: Call your state senator and representative now at 866-832-1560. It is the duty of Republicans in the legislature to ensure that the menu of their lame-duck session includes more than just sour grapes.

Action List to Stop the Lame Duck Power Grab

The Legislature is convening today (Monday) for an extraordinary session to take up several bills to strip incoming Governor Tony Evers and newly elected Attorney General Josh Kaul of power and authority before they take office. This is a clear attempt to override the will of the people and the disregard the results of the last election. It is expected that the Senate and even the Assembly could convene for floor votes as early as tomorrow (Tuesday). These bills were only made public at 4:23 p.m. on Friday.

Republicans in the Legislature need to stop playing politics. Instead of being sore losers, the legislature needs to start solving Wisconsin’s problems. The people have spoken. It’s time to get to work on issues working people care about:  raising wages, restoring union rights, investing in roads and infrastructure, investing in education and securing quality healthcare.

Legislators must hear from you to stop this lame duck power grab. Here’s what you can do to take action against this lame duck special session.

1.     Attend the Joint Finance Committee hearing today.

     Joint Committee on Finance

     Monday, December 3, 2018

     1:00 p.m.

     Room 412 East, State Capitol

2.     Call 866-832-1560 and tell your State Senator and Representative that you oppose these outrageous lame duck bills that attack working families and our democracy.

3.     Email to your Senator and Assembly person.

4.     Join our phone bank and make calls to encourage others to take action to oppose the lame duck session.

Phone Bank to Oppose Lame Duck Power Grab

Monday, December 3 and Tuesday, December 4

10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, 6333 W Bluemound Rd., Milwaukee.

Contact Emily Mueller at (414) 745-8343 or [email protected] for more information.

This lame duck session is losing Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to rig the system before he leaves office. Here’s a quick look at some of the changes being proposed and voted on.

·       Take away key pieces of power and authority of our newly elected Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul before they take office.

·       Steal our democratic right to fully participate in the electoral process by limiting in-person absentee voting.

·       Waste taxpayers millions of dollars by changing long-planned election date of the 2020 Presidential Primary in order to favor a Walker-appointed Supreme Court Justice.

·       Lower hardworking construction workers’ wages by limiting the number of transportation projects subject to federal prevailing wage standards.

·       Enshrine rules around Voter ID disenfranchisement into state statute making it more difficult for our new Governor to ease barriers to voting.

Take action today. Keep the pressure up. Call 866-832-1560 and make it clear you oppose the lame duck power grab.