Tens of Thousands Protest in Madison, Wisconsin
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Related subjects: Economic Recovery, Education Policy, Legislation, Open Government, Rights & Freedoms, U.S. Economy, U.S. Politics Comments (4)
Tens of thousands of citizens of the state of Wisconsin joined the sixth consecutive day of mass protests in Madison, to protest extreme budget cuts and a plan to eliminate all collective bargaining rights for state employees. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to peaceably assemble, which means government acts to prevent organization for the purpose of protecting rights are prohibited. Today, the protests reached their largest numbers yet, and are reported to be spreading.
Republicans in the state legislature have urged the governor to accept changes to the labor proposal, allowing for some collective bargaining. The Wisconsin Assembly may vote tomorrow on whether to pass a total prohibition of collective bargaining rights for public employees. There are allegations this evening that the governor is using distorted budget numbers to make it appear the state needs severe budget cuts and the elimination of public workers’ rights, in order to serve an ideological agenda.
One Wisconsin Now, a progressive organizing group, says hundreds of thousands of citizens of Wisconsin are supporting the protest movement. There were reportedly 2,000 people involved in protests on Monday, 15,000 on Tuesday, 30,000 today, and the protesters are now occupying the state capitol building. There are calls for a public sector general strike in the state, in support of the movement.
Wisconsin’s protest movement leaders say what is taking place in Wisconsin is the beginning of a nationwide campaign, designed to deprive American workers of collective bargaining rights. Reports from Wisconsin suggest there are at least 50 different “mobilizations” of protesters in cities across the state.
There are reports of school closings and parents supporting the teachers and other public workers hoping to protect their right to have a say in the terms of their contracts. According to one local report:
Many Madison parents found themselves scrambling Wednesday morning to make plans after finding out Madison Area School District had canceled school.
Imagine Tanya Kirtz’s surprise, as she dropped off her 6-year-old at Orchard Ridge Elementary School, only to find out school was canceled. But Kirtz said she wasn’t upset about the inconvenience.
“I’m totally fine with the school being closed (Wednesday),” Kirtz said. “I think it’s going to speak a lot louder to our governor.”
Scott Walker, a new governor committed to a reorganization of state taxes to transfer public revenues to the wealthy, has already pushed through tens of millions in direct tax benefits to the wealthy. He is accused of rigging budget numbers, ignoring the official balance sheet, and using those figures in order to claim the cuts he’s pushing are intended to “balance the budget”. He is, in fact, the single leading cause of strains on the state’s budget.
The same unions he is now attacking made sacrifices during the Great Recession in order to make sure the budget was balanced. Walker appears to be fabricating a budget crisis in order to kill the unions, undermine the public sector, make it easier to transfer wealth to wealthy out-of-state interests. And now, his proposed cuts to public sector employment would eliminate at least 9,000 jobs, deprive the state of an estimated $111 million in revenues and threaten economic recovery.
Protesters today called for the governor’s resignation. There are accusations he is using his office to try to benefit specific interests that funded his campaign, and that he is trying to reorganize the state’s political infrastructure to concentrate power among his friends and allies. Students from the state’s public universities turned out in the thousands today and called for a meeting with Gov. Walker.
The governor’s office reportedly refused to meet with the students, to hear their input on the benefits of collective bargaining rights for the quality of education in the state. There are calls to vastly expand the protests on Thursday, and the hope they can fill the state capitol building and pressure lawmakers to make significant changes to the proposed bill.
UPDATE, 10:37 EST: Schools in Madison and three other districts will be closed as teachers, parents and students protest the governor’s effort to strip teachers of their right to have a say in how their contracts are written. The schools may remain closed throughout the week, as teachers aim to widen the strike and bring more Wiscononites to the protest site.
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This is monumental. A line has been drawn in Madison, Wisconsin.
Join us there tomorrow in support of worker’s rights. Noontime rally at the capitol.
If Wisconsin falls, the rest of the states who are left will go next. The country, and the world, are watching.
These people protesting need to get a life. Know one ever wants to give pay or benefits up but money is tight and all of us in the private sector have had to take pay cuts or pay more in to our medical benefits and I know of know one in the private sector that dosent have to contribute to theyre 401K if they want a retirement fund. Also I as a tax payer am paying these public sector workers and I would have to guess the majority of Wisconsin’s people would feel the same way. Bottom line is just because you are a public worker you are no better than the rest of us and you need to absorb some of this to. Now GET OVER IT!!!
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With all due respect, “These people protesting need to get a life.” is a childish response to 1) a splendid display of what a democratic society is supposed to celebrate and 2) sad, shabby and immature rhetoric.
First of all, most private sector workers are not taking pay cuts. Layoffs are an unfortunate result of hard times, but most workers are not taking pay cuts. Second, contributing to a 401k is one thing; paying half of all benefits is prohibitively expensive for most public sector workers. Third, you are paying the salaries of everyone who works for every entity you give any money to. You are funding the huge salaries of the executives who run the bank that’s charging you those high interest rates; you are paying for the mega-profits of the oil companies that are taking $40 billion in taxpayer money to boot. Clawing back some of that money might be a more constructive way to spend your energy than vilifying your neighbors and friends who have devoted themselves to public service.
Finally, the protesters are not arguing that public sector workers are “better than” anyone. Gov. Walker’s proposal strips them of basic rights every other American enjoys, and that’s with the Constitution supposedly guaranteeing equal treatment before the law. Do you support stripping your fellow citizens of their basic rights, for the sole reason that an unimaginative governor has no better solution?
Consider that your rights are reflected in theirs. If their rights are so easily wasted, yours might not be as secure as you would like to believe.