Over 65,000 Wisconsinites marched on the Capitol on Saturday, March 10, 2012 to mark the one year anniversary of the passage of Gov. Walker's union-busting bill. Check out the great videos of protesters who took to the streets in support of worker rights.
Hum along with retired music teacher Frank Koczan and friends in this two minute video.
Take a peek behind the scenes with this video of pre-rally prep.
One Year Longer, One Song Stronger. Listen to song #308 from Wisconsin's own Solidarity Singers.
Footage from Friday, March 9 candelight vigil in Madison.
It has been six days since Congress let unemployment insurance expire for over 1,019,500 Americans and 44,000 Wisconsin residents. Every second, someone loses his or her emergency unemployment benefits.
In the videos above and below two Wisconsin residents share their personal unemployment stories and call on Congress to take action.
Dora Herrera-Mier has a Master's in Business Administration and eight years of experience. Due to budget freezes and department relocation she has been looking for work for two years. Unemployment insurance provides a vital lifeline for Dora, her two children, and millions of Americans out of work due to the recession.
Desmond Taylor was laid off after 20 years at Milsco Manufacturing. In his video, Taylor asks Congress to extend unemployment insurance so he can support his family and put his children through college.
Never before has Congress let unemployment insurance expire when so many Americans are out of work. With the unemployment rate at 9.8%, now is not the time to cut benefits.
This is a matter of survial for millions of families, and playing political games is unacceptable. Working people, and those who would like to be working, are speaking out.
Tomorrow, December 7th, is the online day of solidarity for unemployed workers. Please take a moment to call your Congressional Representative and urge them to extend unemployment insurance.
Tell Congress to extend emergency unemployment benefits by calling 877-662-2889.
USW Local 2-469 member Norb Gossens had an epiphany during the 2008 election cycle. He realized that many of the candidates he had previously supported actually worked to ship Wisconsin jobs overseas. With economic concerns at the top of his agenda, he began volunteering with the AFL-CIO’s member to member political program.
This year, Gossens is contacting fellow union members in Northeast Wisconsin, working harder than ever to ensure that candidates who will rebuild our middle-class get elected or reelected.
Senator Russ Feingold is at the top of that list, because Feingold opposed unfair trade deals such as NAFTA and CAFTA from the very beginning. Feingold is also a cosponsor of the TRADE Act which will level the playing field for American manufacturers.
Feingold’s challenger, multi-millionaire Ron Johnson, supports the trade policies that have sent tens of thousands of Wisconsin jobs overseas. He has famously celebrated such job losses as “creative destruction.”
With only 27 days left before the election, every volunteer shift counts! Contact your local Service Area Organizer to get involved with Labor 2010 today.
(Photo: Norb Gossens of USW Local 2-469 encourages a fellow union member to vote for Sen. Feingold and other AFL-CIO endorsed candidates during a recent Labor Walk. Photo Credit: Linda Gossens.)
This Labor Day weekend, a new AFL-CIO TV ad will be airing across the country, celebrating the contributions of America's workers and the unions of the AFL-CIO.
Watch the ad below, then grab your cell phone and text STRONGER to 225568.
Commericial script:
"We work to build our country...We work to make our communities safe...we work to give our kids a better life."
America's workers: the people we rely on everyday the backbone of our communities. Making things, innovating, working together. That's how we've always moved our country forward, and that's how we'll do it again. We are the unions of today's AFL-CIO -- working together for a stronger America. Happy Labor Day.
At the August 21st Labor Walk in Milwaukee, District 4 Congresswoman Gwen Moore thanked union volunteers for their hard work this election season. In the video clip above, Moore says she is grateful to have the power of organized labor behind her. Let’s make Moore proud by fighting for candidates like Sen. Russ Feingold and gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett who will stand up for working people.
Rep. Gwen Moore asked working people, and those who would like to be working, who stood by them during the economic crisis. She reminds us that since 1959 Congress has always extended unemployment benefits during time of crisis. But this year, many members of Congress turned their backs on the unemployed and played brazen partisan politics with relief American families need. Come November, we must remember!
Gwen Moore reminded union members that the economic stimulus package saved jobs and kept our economy from falling off a cliff. “This is not a time to backslide, now is the time to bristle up and to harden up, now is the time to preserve gains made so that we can move forward with our agenda.” Don’t let this election season pass you by; get involved with the Labor 2010 program today to keep America moving in the right direction!
And finally, Rep. Moore pointed out that a lot has been accomplished in the past two years, and that working people need to send strong majorities back to Congress to build upon the gains that have been made. This election season we have a choice and we need to keep rebuilding America for working families.
“This is a big year because we have to elect a governor who supports working class families. Tom Barrett is the candidate that we trust and endorse,” according to Martha Williams, registered nurse and recent Milwaukee area labor walk volunteer from WFNHP-AFT Local 5001. As a shop steward for her Local, Williams has heard about dangerous cuts to the Milwaukee County mental health system under Scott Walker’s administration.
“I take care of two elderly clients. I don’t want to see their quality of life deteriorate because of bad political decisions,” says Karen Black, member of SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin.
On Saturday in La Crosse, Black participated in her first member to member labor walk. “It was a lot of fun, and it was such a worthwhile thing to do. We are helping undecided union workers figure out which candidates to choose, and we are motivating people who otherwise might not vote. I’m certainly going to keep doing this.”
Over the past week, Labor 2010 volunteers in Appleton, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Waukesha and Wisconsin Rapids have hit the doors in support of Senator Russ Feingold and gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett, in part because they will defend the vital public services that sustain our communities and create family-wage jobs.
Two separate Labor Walks took place in Madison last week. On August 4th, members of AFT Local 3220, SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin, SEIU Statewide Council and UFCW Local 1473 visited union households in support of Russ Feingold and Tom Barrett. And on August 7th, volunteers from AFSCME Local 2412, AFSCME retirees, AFT Local 3220, AFT International, SEIU Local 1199, and SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin went door to door to talk to their fellow union member about politics.
In Appleton on Saturday, members of AFT-Wisconsin, DALU Local 24111, USW District 2, USW Local 2-20, USW Local 2-144, USW Local 2-169, USW Local 2-213, USW Local 2-469 USW Local 2-1279, and USW Local 1096 encouraged fellow union households to support Rep. Steve Kagen, Senator Russ Feingold and Tom Barrett for Governor. The Appleton labor walkers used the USW District 2 offices in Menasha as their headquarters for the day.
Also on Saturday, August 7th, the La Crosse labor walk featured members of AFSCME Local 1947, AFT - Wisconsin, ATU Local 519, SEIU Local 150, SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin, and UA Local 434 calling on all union members to support AFL-CIO endorsed candidates.
In the Milwaukee area on Saturday, participants from AFT Local 212, AFT Local 2169, AFT Local 8047R, AFSCME District Council 48 Sub-Chapter 36, AFSCME Local 24, AFSCME Local 33, AFSCME Local 47, AFSCME Local 170, AFSMCE Local 758, AFSCME Local 1055, AFSCME Local 1954, CWA Local 4603, DALU Local 24111, NALC Branch 397, SEIU Local 1, OPEIU Local 9, SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin, SEIU Statewide Council, UA Local 75, WFNHP-AFT Local 5001, and the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans shared information about endorsed candidates, including State Senator Jim Sullivan, with union families.
In Wisconsin Rapids over the weekend, volunteers from LIUNA Local 268, SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin, and USW District 2 walked in support of Senator Russ Feingold, Tom Barrett for Governor, and Julie Lassa for Congress.
(Top Right Photo: Martha Williams, registered nurse and recent Milwaukee area labor walk volunteer from WFNHP-AFT Local 5001. Photo Credit: Jenissee Volpintesta. Top Left Photo: Willard "Willy" Jonas of UA Local 434 and Karen Black of SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin review their walk packet before heading out in La Crosse. Photo Credit: Andy Thompson. Middle Right Photo: Odessa Robinson and Bonita Strauss of SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin were invited into the home of 91 year-old UAW Local 9 retiree John Hayburn during the Milwaukee area member to member walk. Bottom Left Photo: Julie Stein of USW Local 2-144 signs-in at the Appleton labor walk. Photo Credit: Sylvia Hinds. Bottom Right Photo: Odessa Robinson of SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin leaves a flier for a member who isn't home. Photo Credit: Jenissee Volpintesta. For more pictures of recent labor walks, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/collections/72157624464005331/.)
What kinds of conversations take place when union members go door to door to discuss politics? In the video above Dean Scanlon of LIUNA Local 268 shares an experience from his recent labor walk in Eau Claire.
“How are we going to get our message across? We have to speak from the heart and talk face to face, worker to worker. We have to counter the well-funded corporate agenda by getting to union members at home and in the workplace,” says Ken Greening of UA Local 75. “When we cut taxes and services, we are really cutting the support systems that sustain working families. We’ve got to make sure that people are voting in their own best interest.”
Two weeks ago union members across Wisconsin got into the swing of the political season by participating in the 2010 Member to Member Walk Kick-Off. Now that we are warmed up, working people must follow through with a sustained effort to elect high quality candidates in November.
On August 3rd, Waukesha union members held their first labor walk of the year in support of Russ Feingold and Tom Barrett. IAMAW Local 1377 opened up their hall as labor walk headquarters.
Volunteers from AFT Local 212, AFT Local 2169, AFT retirees, IBEW Local 494, UA Local 75, USW District 2, and USW Local 3740 encouraged their fellow union members to support candidates who will create jobs and stand up for working people.
Tomorrow member to member walks will take place in La Crosse, Madison, Menasha, Milwaukee, and Wisconsin Rapids.
What are you waiting for? Call your friends, hit the doors and make sure that Wisconsin workers are well represented in Madison and Washington.
(Top Photo: Ken Greening of UA Local 75 prepares to hit the doors in Waukesha. Bottom Photo: USW Service Rep. Lorretta Tyler and David Hinkley of USW Local 3740 with their walk packets in Waukesha. Credit for Both Photos: Justin Geiger. For more pictures from the Waukesha labor walk, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/sets/72157624654345412/.)
In the video above, Eau Claire bus driver Florian Skwierczynski describes how working families rely on public transportation during this economic downturn. As the President of ATU Local 1310, Skwierczynski urges union members to volunteer with Labor 2010 today so that vital services aren’t cut after the election.
As Milwaukee County Executive, Scott Walker has slashed funding for transportation. Now that he is running for governor, we’ve got to ask: How are people going to get to work?
Friday afternoon seems like a good time to share a fun video clip from one of our members.
Zach does have a serious point. The Tea Party is politically active in Wisconsin, twisting populist rhetoric to further a corporate agenda which includesbusting unions and lowering the standard of living for working families.
Tea Party style deregulation already brought us one economic crisis.
Working people aren’t going to swallow additional economic lumps brought
on by more tax cuts for the wealthy and deep budget cuts at the expense
of our communities.
Union members know that we can’t cut our way towards prosperity, and we aren’t going to let extremists frame the political debate. Teatime is over.
