I am not sure if I’ve ever completely tipped my political hand on the “pages” of my blog. These feelings are obviously my own, but my feelings are strong enough that I feel I am compelled to share them publicly. (re-posted from Facebook)
If you’ve received a public education, been cared for by a nurse, hired an electrician, been saved by a fire fighter or police officer, driven a car, or are one of the Union members who work in these sectors, this message is about what you can do to help them.
The news media has never been very friendly to unions. There is a mass distortion going on that is hiding an important fact about the dispute over the Budget Repair Bill. You have probably heard that unions are fighting against the inevitable fiscal facts of tough economic times. Do not believe it!
1) Our governor gave a tax break to corporations equal to that amount he wants unions to contribute.
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_90196216-3b66-11e0-a327-001cc4c03286.html
2) Nevertheless, Wisconsin’s major unions have offered concessions on all economic portions of the bill, but refuse to give up their rights of collective bargaining (a fact I heard every single large WI union president repeat during a rally this afternoon).
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/blog/article_0b783598-3bb4-11e0-b872-001cc4c03286.html
Said another way: our governor manufactured our state’s financial problem, and even though our labor unions are willing to bend, he and the Republicans are SET on destroying our unions. This dispute is NOT about money — it is about workers’ rights.
If you see your local (or national) media outlet perpetuating this distortion — call them on it! If they are not covering it at all — ask why! Send them a comment online, it’s easy, and it’s vital that all of the players here in WI get a fair shake.
– Is this really an attack on unions? Why? –
Thanks to the “Wisconsin 14,” we’ve had enough time to dig up the real story on what is going on here. You are free to make up your own mind, but I find what is going on to be an appalling attack on the working class.
* I’m not a Rachel Maddow viewer, but I think this 15 minute clip paints an accurate picture of what is going on – rich, corporate interests are trying to dismantle their one source of fiscal competition in the political sphere: labor unions.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/41655758
* Where is the money for all of the political action groups that Maddow refers to coming from? In large part, from the Koch brothers.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/wisconsin-scott-walker-koch-brothers
Don’t know the Koch’s? They are billionaires who use their money (filtered through organizations) to push their far right wing agenda.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer
* The Republican party in Wisconsin is also playing games with the process. When Assembly Democrats tried to offer legit amendments, the Republicans pushed the process along without them. This has the Assembly Democrats (along with Wisconsin workers) MAD as hell!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZsOKNfNkfQ
When faced with dirty tricks like this, who can blame the Senate Democrats for leaving the state? Who can blame the 70,000+ people who marched for labor rights at Wisconsin’s capitol today?
I know what I’ve presented here is lot to read and watch, but Wisconsin, workers, and anyone who leans any direction but far right MUST be educated on these issues. If you can, please boycott these companies that have contributed to our Governor:
Johnsonville, Menards, Home Depot, Quik Trip, Walmart, SC Johnson, Stainmaster, Brawney, Dixie cups, AT&T, TDS, Hal Lenord publishing, Woodmans, Metcalfe’s Sentry
I am not currently a union member, and I would take a financial hit if the budget repair bill passes. Nevertheless, I’ve been at the capitol for the last 5 days because I firmly believe that there is great value in the public sector – these are the workers to which we entrust our health, safety, and public welfare.
Thanks again for your kind words and support. Forward!
Late in posting a comment, but great write up. The mantra, “Its not about the money.” is getting tiresome I think for some, but working. As the fact that unions have made financial concessions gets spread, yet the Governor continues his course, it becomes more and more apparent that the budget crisis argument was just a convenient (though related) smoke screen to the real political issue of crippling big supporters of the Democratic party. Its not even about worker rights, its about politics, which makes it even worse. The short story to all of the last two weeks is that: Walker is putting politics BEFORE the people of this state. While I give credit to Walker’s consistency on the playback of his phone call, just by his attitude it solidifies in concrete that this bill move has been, from the start, about busting unions. My brother-in-law shared with me last night that, the longer this goes on the more people associate the general negatives of the situation with the people in power. Like any organization, unions have their issues, but lets focus on how to collectively mitigate that impact working with the municipalities (if that’s the real goal as Walker claims it is) rather than trying to make the climate difficult for them to exist.
Thanks, Scott. I’m thinking of updating this post a bit, but have also toyed with the idea of more regular updates. It’s hard to find the balance between the ease of social networking and (finding the time for) the depth you can get with a blog post.
Other readers, you might also check out Scott’s blog for some thoughts on being on the front lines.