The radical attacks on unions launched a year ago by Wisconsin's Republican Governor Scott Walker, at the direction of his corporate sponsors, have come at a high cost to working people. An important report issued by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO surveys the damage. It's titled "Losses to Working Families Under Governor Walker," and you can download the report here.
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| UE International Rep. Greg Cross (in dark suit) introduces State Rep. Nate Willems, a former UE Local 896 member and strong UE ally in the legislature. (Photo by Karl Schilling) |
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Just days after delivering more than one million signatures to force a recall election on anti-worker Governor Scott Walker, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO has announced a statewide "Reclaim Wisconsin Tour." Click here for details.
by Chris Townsend, UE Political Action Director
Opponents of Wisconsin's union-busting governor Scott Walker today filed more than one million signatures on petitions calling for his recall. The legal requirement was for 540,000 valid signatures. The petitions delivered to the state Government Accountability Board in Madison weighed 1.5 tons.
by Jason Whisler, Political Action Chair for UE Local 896-COGS, Teaching Assistant and Ph.D. Student in History, University of Iowa
The Senate race in Iowa's District 18 was just part of an ongoing struggle for us in Local 896, public employees in the state of Iowa, and across the nation. Last February, our membership was very involved in the protests against Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Republicans. Many of our members traveled to Madison and knew that we were only a slight majority in Iowa's Senate from having the same thing happen here.
by Chris Townsend, UE Political Action Director
The political leaders of our nation - the politicians from both parties in Washington - stand in pretty low esteem these days with working people. Public opinion approval ratings for Congress are the lowest in living memory, hovering near single digits. President Obama does better than Congress, but his rankings continue to slide month after month. C-SPAN reports that than 80 percent of the public agrees that our rigged and undemocratic two party "system" is not working to fix our problems.
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| Charlene Winchell, president of UE Local 1121 in La Crosse, WI |
UE members across the country have reason to celebrate two landmark election victories as voters in two states -- Ohio and Iowa -- overwhelmingly turned back corporate attacks on working people. UE members and retirees were very active in both contests as part of a massive labor-sponsored effort.
Members of UE's Iowa locals are involved in a special election that will decide the balance of power in the Iowa State Senate, and likely determine the future of collective bargaining rights in the state.
Back in March, the Republican-controlled Iowa House of Representatives, with the backing of Republican Governor Terry Branstad, passed an anti-union bill similar to the union-busting legislation in Wisconsin. But because Democrats held a one-seat majority in the State Senate, the bill was stopped in its tracks there.