Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Help Recall Walker without Leaving Home

ALEACTION ALERT: Click here to be one of the first to use our brand new "Friends and Neighbors" tool.

Recently, we shared with you a video of Gov. Scott Walker revealing his plan to divide and conquer Wisconsin’s working families.

Fortunately, Gov. Walker underestimated the historic opposition from you and hundreds of thousands of other Wisconsinites who worked together in unprecedented ways to stand up to his policies that have hurt working families and our communities.

And, it is going to be those same grassroots efforts of people like you talking to their friends and neighbors until Election Day that will show Walker he cannot divide and conquer us. That’s why we are excited to give you the first opportunity to help us test and provide feedback about a great new online tool we are piloting, called the Friends and Neighbors (FAN) program, to connect with people you know about the recall elections.

Click here now to sign up for free and start using the new FAN tool to make calls, send personalized mail and other messages to help us recall Walker on June 5 all from your computer.

Walker and other extreme politicians who are facing recalls may have millions of dollars and the backing of extreme, out-of-state special interests groups. But they don’t have our ability to reach out to people and talk to them about what is at stake on June 5.

And, with the free FAN tool, it makes it even easier for you to connect with the people you know and other Wisconsinites about why we must recall Walker, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and Senators Scott Fitzgerald, Van Wanggaard, and Terry Moulton.

Click here now to be one of the first to test out this great new tool and tell us what you think.

Walker was wrong last year when he thought he could divide and conquer us. Let’s show him in these final weeks leading up to the recall elections on June 5 that Wisconsin is more united than ever and ready to take our state back.

We also have phone banks and canvasses locations running around the clock all across the state. Click here for a list of locations where you can volunteer.

20 Day Count Down!

There is no time to waste!  In just 20 days Wisconsinites will head to the polls on June 5 and make history.  We will stand up to reclaim Wisconsin.  We will vote to put an end to Scott Walker’s worst-in-the-nation jobs record.  We will join together to preserve a Wisconsin that honors and respects its working people. 

We are fighting for a Wisconsin where the right to vote is encouraged, not taken away.   A Wisconsin where our Governor does not have a criminal defense fund.  A Wisconsin where our schools and communities are given the proper support to thrive. 

Vote Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell on June 5.  They will fight for working families and a strong middle class.

Together, united, we will defeat Scott Walker on June 5.  With less than three weeks to go until recall election day, there is no time to lose.  Here are simple ways that you can help:

1.    Volunteer - Click here for statewide locations where you can volunteer. 

2.    Donate – Click here to the Wisconsin Worker Defense Fund.  Checks can be sent to:

6333 W. Bluemound Road, Milwaukee WI, 53213

 

In the next 20 days, we must make sure that every person in Wisconsin understands that recalling Scott Walker is about preserving a strong middle class and stopping his job-killing policies which reward out-of-state corporate millionaires at the expense of Wisconsin families.

We have the opportunity to show the world that a people-powered movement can overcome corporate money, but we need each and every one of you to get involved and to vote on June 5. 

Wisconsin Union Members: Working to Recall

Wisconsin union and community members took to the streets last weekend going door-to-door to talk with fellow Wisconsinites about the importance of the June 5 recall elections. 

In Duluth, Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Menasha, Milwaukee, Racine and Wausau phone banks and canvass staging locations were buzzing with talk about reclaiming Wisconsin and recalling Gov. Scott Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Sen. Moulton, Sen. Fitzgerald, Sen. Van Wanggaard and Sen. Petrowski. 

The St. Louis Sisters from Milwaukee and Racine were at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council to make phone calls.  The sisters collected thousands of signatures to recall Scott Walker and his fellow cronies last winter.  Doris, Jean, Mary and Doloris stood on street corners ranging from the corner of Hope and Capitol, 13th and Oklahoma, Brady St. and Wisconsin Ave.   One sister is a retired member of Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (W.F.N.H.P.). 

“We are working to recall because Gov. Walker is trying to destroy the middle class,” said Doris St. Louis.  “He is trying to divide us as working people and as middle class Wisconsinites.  Trying to bust unions is no way to move forward.” 

Michael Hauser, an 8th grade teacher at MPS and member of Milwaukee Teachers Education Association grabbed a walk packet from the Milwaukee Area Labor Council before knocking on doors in the Milwaukee area. 

“I like to keep it simple,” said Hauser.  “Scott Walker is for the rich and I am for everyone else.” 

Candice Owley, President of the W.F.N.H.P., and Michael Rosen, President of A.F.T Local 212 pumped up their members before hitting the streets.

Mahlon Mitchell, a Wisconsin Fire Fighter, who is running against Rebecca Kleefisch on June 5 for Lieutenant Governor also addressed the crowd in Milwaukee. 

“Our Governor is talking to a billionaire about how he wants to divide and conquer middle class citizens of our state,” said Mitchell.  “They have the money but we have the people and we are ready to do the hard-work of knocking on doors and talking with our friends and neighbors about the June 5 election.” 

$0 in taxes?!

 Have you seen the video?  Scott Walker’s divisive ‘divide and conquer’ strategy caught on tape!

A new video has surfaced in which Gov. Walker tells billionaire businesswomen Diane Hendricks, owner of ABC Supply Company, that attacking collective bargaining rights for public employees is just the “first step” in his “divide and conquer” plot. 

Diane Hendricks recently gave Gov. Walker $500,000 dollars and is Gov. Walker’s single largest campaign contributor.   What you may not know is that Hendricks’ company, ABC Supply, pays $0 in corporate state income taxes.
 
According to the report by Institute for Wisconsin’s Future, ABC Supply paid exactly $0.00 in state corporate income tax in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, according to the state Department of Revenue. Tax data for more recent years were not available when the information was requested from the department.

Visit http://www.wisconsinsfuture.org/  to view the report Who Does Not Pay Taxes.

Forbes magazine calls ABC Supply “the nation’s largest roofing, window and siding wholesale distributor.”  It is estimated that annual sales approach $5 billion.  While ABC Supply may be a huge money-maker for Hendricks, the Wisconsin corporate income tax returns she files claim the company makes not a penny in taxable profit.

Why is it that Gov. Walker publicly states that he does not want to destroy private sector unions, but the truth only comes out when he is kissing and hugging a billionaire campaign donor?

What Gov. Walker did not anticipate is that the people of Wisconsin would unite against his “divide and conquer” strategy and mount one of the largest grassroots efforts to reclaim their state in recent memory.  Recall Walker, June 5. 

 

“You use Divide & Conquer” - Gov. Scott Walker

We’ve always known that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.  That is why when Scott Walker unleashed his attacks on public employees last year, private sector union members, non-union members and community members alike rushed to the Capitol in solidarity to join in their fight to kill the bill.

Now, we have proof that destroying collective bargaining rights is just the “first step” in Gov. Walker’s plot to bust unions and cripple the middle class. 

A new video obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel shows Gov. Walker telling his single largest donor, Diane Hendricks, that destroying collective bargaining for public workers is just the "first step" of his “divide and conquer” plan.

"Any chance we'll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions -" asked Hendricks. 

"Oh, yeah," Walker broke in.

"- and become a right-to-work?" Hendricks continued. "What can we do to help you?"

"The first step”, Walker replied.  “Is we're going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer.”

 

It can’t be any clearer, Gov. Walker does the bidding of his campaign contributors and puts their needs before the needs of the people of Wisconsin.  His divide and conquer "leadership" has lead Wisconsin to be dead last in job creation.  On June 5, make history and recall Gov. Walker. 

 

Click here to view the video.

 

The video was filmed by Brad Lichtenstein as part of his documentary  "As Goes Janesville." A sneak preview of the film will be shown Wednesday, May 16, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Discovery World in Milwaukee.   For a ten minute clip visit http://asgoesjanesville.com/

Unity Runs Strong in Wisconsin Recall Race

Chants of “Recall Walker” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Scott Walker has got to go” rang out loud and clear through the streets of downtown Madison yesterday as hundreds marched up State Street in support of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Wisconsin Fire Fighter Mahlon Mitchell. 

Barrett and Mitchell won statewide primaries on Tuesday.  Barrett will take on Scott Walker in the gubernatorial election and Mitchell will challenge Rebecca Kleefisch for Lieutenant Governor.  Both recall elections, along with four State Senate recall elections, will take place on Tuesday, June 5. 

Solidarity was the theme of yesterday’s rally and it was clear that removing Gov. Scott Walker from office is a unifying goal.

“We have to recall Scott Walker now,” said M.L.H., an administrative support worker at UW-Madison who gathered signatures to recall Walker and Kleefisch last winter and was in attendance Wednesday’s rally.  “Everyone has to get involved, no one can sit this one out -- this election is too important.  Scott Walker is diabolical.  Why is he making it harder for people to vote and taking away worker's rights?  The thing I am most disgusted with is what he has done to destroy collective bargaining rights.” 

Unity March, Madison, May 9, 2012

Speakers at the rally included Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt, We are Wisconsin’s Kristen Crowell, John Nichols of The Nation, Kevin Gundlach of the South Central Federation of Labor, State Representative Chris Taylor, Mary Bell of the Wisconsin Education Association Council and Jim Garity of AFSCME Council 40. 

 

Get involved in reclaiming Wisconsin today!  Click here for a statewide list of locations where you can volunteer. 

Primary GOTV Schedule & Locations

Help us get out the vote for working family candidates for Tuesday’s primary!  Can you volunteer to do a 3-hour shift before Tuesday?  You can bring a friend or come solo.  All locations will be running the following shifts during primary GOTV, but feel free to stop by anytime as shifts are flexible. 

•    Saturday, May 5:  9am-Noon; Noon-3pm; 3pm-6pm; 5pm-8pm
•    Sunday, May 6:  Noon-3pm; 3pm-6pm; 5pm-8pm
•    Monday, May 7:  9am-Noon; Noon-3pm; 3pm-6pm; 5pm-8pm
•    Tuesday, May 8:  9am-Noon; Noon-3pm; 3pm-6pm; 5pm-8pm

Locations

Milwaukee-area
•    Milwaukee Area Labor Council - 633 S. Hawley Road, Milwaukee, WI 53214
•    WI for Falk Office - 8431 W. Cleveland Avenue, West Allis, WI 53227
•    WI for Falk Office - 701 W. National Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53204
•    WI for Falk Office - 6918 W. Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee, WI 53223
•    WI for Falk Office - 2510 East Capitol Drive, Shorewood, WI 53211

Madison-area
•    Madison Labor Temple - 1602 S. Park Street, Madison, WI 53715
•    WI for Falk Staging Area - Liberty Park Pavilion - Mount Horeb, WI
•    WI for Falk Office - 1571 Ivory Drive, Sun Prairie, W 53590
•    WI for Falk Office - 412 S. Baldwin Street, Madison, WI 53703
•    WI for Falk Office - 122 State Street, 5th Floor, Madison, WI 53703
•    WI for Falk Office/AFT-WI - 6602 Normandy Lane, Madison, WI 53719

Northeast WI/Fox Valley
•    WI for Falk Office - 325 Towbridge Drive, Fond du Lac, WI 54937
•    WI for Falk Office - 1104 Wisconsin Avenue, Sheboygan, WI 54081
•    WI for Falk Staging Area - 1124 Washington Street, Manitowoc, WI 54220
•    Winnebago Labor Hall - 2211 Oregon Street, Oshkosh, WI 54902
•    WI for Falk Office - 2256 Main Street, Green Bay, WI 54302
•    WI for Falk Office - 614 W. College Avenue, Appleton, WI 54911

SD 13 & Waukesha
•    WI for Falk & We Are WI Office - 916 Clinton Street, Waukesha, WI 53186
•    WI for Falk & We Are WI Staging Area - 1015 Labaree Street, Watertown, WI 53098

SD 21/Racine
•    Racine Labor Temple - 1840 Sycamore Avenue, Racine, WI 53406

SD 23/Eau Claire & Chippewa Falls
•    Eau Claire WEAC Office - 2004 Highland Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 54701
•    Eau Claire Labor Temple (member-to-member phones only, 3-8pm Sunday, noon-8pm Monday) - 2233 Birch Street, Eau Claire
•    WI for Falk Office - 1219 Menomonie Street, Eau Claire, WI 54703
•    We are WI Office - 1 North Bridge Street, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

Menomonie
•    WI for Falk Office - 105 21st Street. N., Menomonie, WI 54751

La Crosse
•    IAMAW District 66 - 1307 Market Street, La Crosse, WI 54601

SD 29/Wausau
•    WI for Falk & We Are WI Office - 120 Clark Street, Wausau, WI 54401

North-Central WI
•    WI for Falk Staging Area - 1901 W. River Street, Rhinelander, WI 54501
•    WI for Falk Office - 1205 2nd Street, Stevens Point, WI 54481

Superior
•    WI for Falk Staging Area - 916 Hammond Avenue, Superior, WI 54880

Workers on Strike at Ashland Industries

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (I.A.M.A.W) Local 621 at Ashland Industries are the newest victims of Scott Walker’s union-busting attacks on the middle class.   

For over four weeks, 43 Machinists at the earth moving equipment manufacturer in Ashland have been on strike.  At issue, is not wages and benefits but the right to a strong union. 

At a rally on Saturday, April 28, community members rallied in support of striking workers

The Ashland Daily Press reports that Joe Groshek, Washburn stood in solidarity with the strikers:

“I don’t know any of these individuals on strike, but if one of us is on strike, all of us are on strike. Workers have to stick together.  That’s why we’re all here today supporting these folks, because they’re representing all of us, all the working people in Wisconsin and the United States.” 

Rick Lunda, of Ashland, attended the rally to support his striking friends and their families. Lunda said he was not only supporting Ashland Industries workers, but to also supporting unions in general.

“Personally, I hope it opens the eyes of the companies out there. They can’t treat workers this way.  It’s more than just the bottom line. It’s about fairness."

The company is attacking the union’s security and does not want to offer new hires adequate health insurance.  The company claims that they are simply giving the workers a choice whether or not to join the union.  The workers made their choice clear when they voted down the contract 40-0. 

“It feels good to see all these people here to help our cause to get back to work again,” said James Pupp, a welder who has been employed at Ashland Industries for 10 years. “All we want is our security and our family health plan.”

The company is ramping up its corporate attacks on the workers by advertising for replacement workers in local newspapers, radio stations and on the company website.

The striking Machinists are standing up to corporate greed and fighting for every working person.   They are striking to ensure that everyone who works hard and plays by the rules can have a decent paying job and a middle class life. 

Scott Walker’s attacks on unions are spreading like a disease across the private sector in Wisconsin.  First, it was Manitowoc Cranes, now it is Ashland Industries.  This is a time to come together in solidarity to support our striking brothers and sisters.  When workers come together to have a voice at work through their union we all benefit. 

At this time we are asking for strike assistance in the form of money and food donations.  Checks can be sent to:

        Al Daoust, Local Lodge 621
        115 18th Street E
        Ashland, WI 54806

Please drop off non-perishable food items at the following locations:

Ashland                                                    Milwaukee            
Chegueamegon Dems Office                   IAM District 10 Office
316 W. Main St.                                          1650 South 38th Street.
Ashland, WI 54806                                    Milwaukee, WI 53215
715-682-2769                                            (414) 643-4334

Media Coverage of the Strike

•    Ashland Daily Press:  Striking workers receive support at rally 

•    ABC, Ashland Industries Strike Continues, Replacement Workers Wanted

•    Northlands News Center:  43 Members of Ashland's Local 621 On Strike

•    91.3 KUWS, Machinists union strikes Ashland Industries

•    Ashland Industries hires replacement workers

May 8 Primary Voter Guide

With the May 8 recall primary elections less than two weeks away, we wanted to be sure that you had the necessary information to cast an informed ballot at your local polling location. 

You can look up your polling place and check to see if you are a registered voter by visiting https://vpa.wi.gov/.  Early voting is now underway in all six recall primary races.  You can cast an in-person absentee ballot until the close of business on May 4 at your local municipal clerks’ offices. 

Remember, you do NOT need a state issued ID to vote and can register to vote in-person on the day of the election.  For more informatio on how to register to vote visit http://www.wisconsinvote.org/.

There are two statewide primary elections being held on May 8.  One for the office of Governor and one for Lieutenant Governor.  There are also primaries in four Senate Districts.   Republicans are running fake Democrats in all six primary races so it is important to know the facts about the candidates before heading to the polls.

The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has made the following endorsements:

•    Lori Compas - Senate District 13
•    John Lehman - Senate District 21
•    Kristen Dexter - Senate District 23
•    Donna Seidel - Senate District 29
•    Mahlon Mitchell – Lieutenant Governor
•    Kathleen Falk – Governor

The above candidates are committed to fighting for worker rights, education, health care and a fair economy.  They will work to advance the needs of working class and middle class Wisconsinites – not out-of-state millionaires and billionaires. 

Cast your ballot on Tuesday, May 8 and mark your calendars for the general election which will be held on Tuesday, June 5. 

April 21 Member-to-Member Walk Schedule

In addition to this upcoming Saturday's canvasses, walk packets are available daily from Service Area Organizers. 

Milwaukee
April 21st: 10am-2pm
Milwaukee Area Labor Council, 633 S. Hawley Road, Milwaukee, WI 53214
Contact: Jenissee Volpintesta: (414) 771-7070 x12; jvolpintesta@wisaflcio.org

Racine
April 21st: 9am-1pm
Racine Labor Temple, 1840 Sycamore Avenue, Racine, WI 53406
Contact: Justin Geiger: 414-745-4177; jgeiger@wisaflcio.org

Madison
April 21st: 9am-1pm
Madison Labor Temple, 1602 S. Park Street, Madison, WI 53715
Contact: Greg Neil: 608-556-9521; gneil@wisaflcio.org
Additionally, the Madison Labor Temple phone bank is running daily.

Eau Claire
April 21st: 10am-1pm
Eau Claire Labor Temple, 2233 Birch Street, Eau Claire, WI 54703
Contact: Andy Thompson: 715-831-3353; athompson@wisaflcio.org

Wausau
April 21st: 10am-2pm
Wausau Labor Temple, 318 S. 3rd Avenue, Wausau, WI 54401
Contact: Scott Wright: 920-450-2121; swright@wisaflcio.org

Fox Valley
April 21st: 9am-1pm
Fox Valley Labor Temple, 157 S. Green Bay Road, Neenah, WI 54956
Contact: Greg Hinds: 920-540-2309; ghinds@wisaflcio.org