Wis.’s Walker Sends Police After Democrats
Law enforcement officers have been sent to hunt down Wisconsin Democratic state lawmakers who are boycotting a Senate vote on Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) attempts to gut pay and destroy bargaining rights for state employees. Walker earlier threatened to call the National Guard on public employees and their allies if they protested or went on strike against his attacks on the middle class.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
One Democratic senator said that he believed at least most of the members of his caucus are in another state. At least one, however, Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) said he was still in his Capitol office listening to constituents. In a press conference just off the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said that Democrats were “not showing up for work” and that police were searching for them to bring them to the floor.
Read the full story here.
Retweet: RT @lcranston1939 Law enforcement searching for Dem senators boycotting vote on Walker’s budget plan http://bit.ly/grQ2c8 #notmyWI #WIunion #StateSOS #p2
Guess Who Opposes Walker’s Plan for WI? Conservatives, Republicans and Vets
Conservative and Republican public employees across the state voiced opposition to a proposal by Gov. Scott Walker that would deny nurses, teachers, EMTs and other trusted public service providers the right to collectively bargain—a freedom that nearly every other Wisconsinite enjoys.
Calling Walker’s assault on middle-class jobs and public employees “anti-freedom” and a “big government power grab against individual rights,” the conservatives and Republicans make clear the opposition is not limited to progressives. Walker and Republican colleagues in the state legislature are attempting to rush through the measure this week.
In a press call Monday afternoon, public employees who said they are conservatives or Republicans weighed in. Here’s some of what they said:
“There is no bigger government than the one that takes away an individual’s rights and freedom—and that’s exactly what we’re seeing going on in Madison right now,” said Mike Recklies, a correctional officer in Elkhorn. “The legislature needs to think hard about what it means to be an American and stop this Big Government power grab against individual rights.”
Wisconsin’s Walker Calls for End of Collective Bargaining, Alerts National Guard
First, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) announced a state budget plan that strips state workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights, cuts pay and benefits and says there will be no negotiations.
Today, he took it even further: He announced he has alerted the National Guard to be ready in case state workers strike or rise in protest. He told the Associated Press he’s been working on contingency plans for months.
The last time the National Guard was used against public workers was the Postal Workers strike in 1970. The last time the Guard was called out in Wisconsin to quell a labor dispute was the 1934 Kohler strike by the UAW.
Walker may be suffering from a bit of right wing paranoia about unions. Today when he dropped the National Guard bombshell, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported:
The Capitol news conference where Walker announced his plan had unusually high security, with four Capitol police offers stationed outside of it and checking on who was attending the event.
What a way to conduct the state’s business!
Click here to sign our Twitter petition to Governor Walker or to sign via Twitter, just tweet: petition @GovWalker to stop outrageous attacks against #WI workers. http://act.ly/32z #Wisconsin #WIgov #p2 (Please Re-Tweet)
U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard Join Helmets to Hardhats Program
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The U.S. Army Reserve and the National Guard have joined the Helmets to Hardhats program, founded in 2003 by AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) unions, together with employers with union workforces. The Army Reserve and National Guard now join the current partners of the Helmets to Hardhats program: the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.
Helmets to Hardhats has helped more than 5,000 military vets find new careers as electricians, plumbers, roofers and other skilled trades. BCTD President Mark Ayers told Workers Independent News (WIN) that the new agreement presents
an extraordinary opportunities for all the military folks. And it’s an opportunity for us because these are the kind of people that we are seeking. They’re the best of the best in America as far as we’re concerned.
Helmets to Hardhats helps match vets and soon-to-be vets with apprenticeship and training programs offered by the BCTD’s 15 unions. Veterans can use their G.I. Bill education benefits as they complete the certified apprentice programs. Darrel Roberts, executive director of Helmets to Hardhats, says the program
is unique in that it was created with the singular intent of helping National Guard, Reservists and transitioning active-duty military members connect to career opportunities in the construction industry, one of the last bastions of solid middle-class wages for working Americans. Helmets to Hardhats recognizes this and is committed to placing veterans in careers that provide family-supporting wages, good benefits and a decent chance at realizing the American dream.
