Tens of thousands gathered around the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, March 10 to mark the one year anniversary of Governor Scott Walker’s legislation stripping the collective bargaining rights from most of Wisconsin’s public workers. Chants of “This Is What Democracy Looks Like!” filled the air once again.

The event’s organizers estimate the attendance around 60-65,000 people but the state Department of Administration estimated 25-35,000. Many of those in attendance were public employees who were stripped of those collective bargaining rights. The state chapter of the AFL-CIO organized the event and its president Phil Neuenfeldt called on the protestors to increase their efforts to remove Walker from office.

Walker helped push the law through that stripped most public workers of collective bargaining rights. This law forced the employees to pay more for their benefits and pensions and was essentially a pay cut. Walker and the Republicans said this was necessary to balance a $3.6 billion budget deficit.

The Democrats and labor leaders argued that the purpose of the law was to undermine the unions. The unions are an important part of the Democrats’ constituency. At the time the bill was proposed the Democrats fled to Illinois to stall the vote but the Republican-majority within Legislature maneuvered around this and Walker signed it into law in March 2011.

Moves were made immediately to recall Walker and several Republican senators. In January more than a million petition signatures were submitted to begin the process of recalling Walker, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and four senators.

Now a year later the gathering at the Capitol shows the recall movement still has momentum. Lori Compas provided proof of the continued momentum when she held up a memo from the Government Accountability Board. The memo declared the validity of a recall against Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald that Compas organized. At this time she is the only declared candidate in the race against Fitzgerald.

John Nichols, writer and Washington correspondent for The Nation magazine reminded the crowd that during the March 2011 rallies Japan was suffering from the tsunami and nuclear disaster. Nichols spoke of how the rally last year closed with a prayer for the people of Japan because “we never lose sight for the rest of the world.”

He then read an email from Japan’s Trade Union Federation that demonstrated the rest of the world hadn’t lost sight of Wisconsin either. The email said, “We send our greetings to the Reclaim Wisconsin rally. We are watching you…we are following what you are doing because you are giving us the courage to rise up here in Japan and stand for worker’s rights.” Live streaming of the event made it possible for all to see.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/rahimageworks/

The article Reclaim Wisconsin Rally Brings Thousands to Capitol appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Politics remains staunchly divided in Wisconsin and the local Labor Day parade is just another example of the divide. After the vote earlier in the year in Wisconsin led by Republicans to limit collective bargaining rights, a Wisconsin union has voted to ban Republican politicians from a local Labor Day parade. The Marathon County Central Labor Council, which sponsors the parade, includes some 30 local unions.

Council President Randy Radtke said in a statement on the group’s website that politicians are only welcome at the festivities if they have demonstrated support for workers’ rights.

“It should come as no surprise that organizers choose not to invite elected officials who have openly attacked worker’s rights or stood idly by while their political party fought to strip public workers of their right to collectively bargain,” Radtke said.

“It is a time for working families to come together to celebrate their hard work and a time where we recognize the labor movement for all they have given us — the weekend, the 40 hour work week, child labor protection, a safe work environment.”

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), a federal congressman representing Wausau released a statement decrying the vote. “Having walked in this parade in past years, Congressman Duffy was hoping that for a moment, we could set our differences aside and simply have some fun in a family-friendly event,” a Duffy spokesperson said.

“[The congressman] walks in a lot of parades, and staff called to register a spot last week and was informed in colorful language that no Republicans were being allowed to participate this year,” added Duffy Chief of Staff Brandon Moody in an email to The Huffington Post.

In February, 14 Democratic state senators fled the state in order to prevent a vote on the controversial collective bargaining bill. Thousands of protesters flocked to the state capital in Wisconsin to protest the legislation. Through a last-minute budgetary and possible illegal move, Republicans were able to pass the measure without any Democrats present. All but one GOP state senator voted for it.

Radtke said the reaction to his decision has been mixed, with “some negative comments but mostly it has been overwhelmingly positive.” Other politicians who won’t be welcome at the parade include state Sen. Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) and state Rep. Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon).

Image Courtesy of  Shaun Greiner

The article Wisconsin Remains Bitter Over Collective Bargaining appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker conceded that he made a mistake last February in the way he limited collective bargaining power that led to weeks of massive protests in Madison. However, he still defends his policies and believes that ending collective bargaining was somehow a cost-saving measure to the state.

Nationwide, Walker was criticized for trying to end state worker rights. He was also heavily criticized for his bullying tactics that did not allow any debate on the issue, but rather forced the law through.”The mistake I made early on is, I looked at it almost like the head of a small business: identify a problem, identify a solution and go out and do it,” Walker told Reuters at the National Governor’s Association meeting in Salt Lake City.

“I don’t think we built enough of a political case, so we let … the national organizations come in and define the debate while we were busy just getting the job done,” he said.

Walker continues to argue that his extreme policies helped prevent layoffs for state workers, even though restricting collective bargaining has not saved one cent. The political fallout from the controversy is still being felt. Six Republican senators who supported the measure will be forced to defend their seats during a recall election in August. Three Democratic senators are also up for recall. Democrats vow to recall Walker in January after he has served one year in office and will be eligible for recall according to state law.

If Democrats gain just three of the seats at stake in the special summer elections, they will take control of the upper house and have some control at preventing Walker’s draconian slashing measures. But, Republicans will still control the Assembly.

“If the Republican candidates are outspent two to one, it’s pretty difficult,” Walker said of the recall effort.

“Conversely, if things end up being relatively even and the message gets out,” the party will have a better chance of prevailing, he said. Walker said he did not plan to campaign in the contested districts.

Last November, a large majority of states fell to Republican governors who promised to provide jobs to the nation’s long suffering unemployed. However, they have failed to deliver and their approval ratings are plummeting. Walker believes that his poll numbers will improve when voters see improvement in the economy.

But, while Washington fights over the ridiculous debt ceiling and each state is trying to ban abortion and other morality clauses, the unemployment rate stays stagnant. Sorry, Scott but your numbers aren’t going to improve any time soon. Slashing spending throughout the country DOES NOT help jobs.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.175221569161761.46634.175220979161820

The article Scott Walker Admits He Made a Mistake appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Despite the media’s obsession with Anthony Weiner’s downfall, there are actual news events happening. Like in Wisconsin where Governor Scott Walker still thinks he is somehow special even as the recalls are ramped up in the state. Both Republicans and Democrats in Wisconsin are gearing up for the summer’s state Senate recall elections that are widely seen as a referendum on Walker’s fight with public unions.

The summer certainly won’t be slow in Wisconsin. The collective bargaining issue may be settled for now by the courts, the issue is still on everyone’s mind in the state and nationally. Six state Republicans are up for recall and three Democrats are also facing recall challenges. Primary elections for the Republicans will be held on July 12.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a conservative group, is funding a recall effort against state Democrats. Over the weekend, conservative activists were volunteering at a phone bank to call residents about the recall elections. “It’s called the Wisconsin Freedom Phonebanks,” said Matt Seaholm, state director of AFP-Wisconsin. “It’s set up for citizen identification, asking people where they stand on the issues — just kind of identifying people to see what they think of the recalls going on, but also the governor’s plan on collective bargaining.”

Marjorie Haun, a public school teacher in Colorado, said she was closely following events in Wisconsin and decided to help out at the phonebank because she felt the collective bargaining issue was a national fight. She called about half a dozen people. Two hung up, one was unsure on the issue, and one replied, “I have to think about it.”

“The main question I had was, ‘Do you support Scott Walker’s efforts to balance the budget by limiting the public sector union ability to collectively bargain?’” Haun told The Huffington Post. “I’ve been very concerned about the way that the unions in Wisconsin have reacted to his effort to balance his budget — through not taking away what they have, but through limiting the way that they can take taxpayer money to support their pensions, which are huge and very lavish, especially compared to the one I have in Colorado,” she added.

Nearby, a progressive group was holding a Netroots Nation conference in Minneapolis. Former Wisconsin senator Russ Feingold, labor leaders, and other activists focused on the fight in Wisconsin during the event. On Sunday, Democracy for America (DFA) was busing participants over to Wisconsin to knock on doors on behalf of candidates in the recall elections. According to a tweet from DFA Deputy National Field Director Nick Passanante, about 20 volunteers joined up with them to canvass.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/antrover/

The article Wisconsin, The Recall Battle appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld the controversial act that stripped most public sector unions of the right to collectively bargain.

By a 4-3 majority, the Supreme Court ruled that Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi had “usurped the legislative power which the Wisconsin constitution grants exclusively to the Legislature” when she issued an injunction prohibiting the enforcement of the act due to violations of the state’s open meetings laws.  “There is no constitutional requirement that the legislature provide access to as many members of the public as wish to attend meetings of the legislature or meetings of legislative committees,” the court said.

In her dissent from the majority opinion, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson accused the court’s conservative majority of displaying partisanship in their ruling.  She also argued that the case should not have been allowed to leapfrog the usual appellate process.  “Only with a reasoned, accurate analysis can a court assure the litigants and the public that a decision is made on the basis of facts and law. free from a judge’s personal ideology and free from external pressure by the executive or legislative branches, by partisan political parties, by public opinion or by special interest groups,” she said.

The Secretary of Administration, Mike Huebsch, has said that his office will start implementing the law “when appropriate.”

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/wisaflcio/

The article Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Scott Walker’s Collective Bargaining Law appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

In a nod to the holiday classic, the collection of tents that have popped up around the capitol in Wisconsin have been named, “Walkerville.”  Protesters began camping out last week to protest the budget cuts which could be enacted this week, led by Governor Scott Walker. That budget bill may also include the anti-union provisions which passed but then got tied up in a court challenge over the procedures used to pass them.

The Walkerville protest is more organized than the spontaneous marches that erupted in February and lasted for weeks when the state Republicans tried to pass the measure banning collective bargaining.   Organizers have a permit for Walkerville until June 20. David Boetcher, leader of pro-union coalition We Are Wisconsin, which organized the tent city, estimated that about 80 tents and 250 people were camped out over the weekend.   Boetcher said the protests would continue until the state budget is voted on.”This is about changing the minds of the people of Wisconsin,” Boetcher said.

On Monday, at least eight people were arrested during a large protest organized by former Senator and liberal champion Russ Feingold. Thousands of protesters and taxicabs marched around and in the capitol. Despite the recent court ruling that requires the Capitol building to remain open to the public, protesters were arrested for entering the public building. The ACLU successfully sued the Department of Administration after the government attempted to limit access to the building during the February protests. Capitol police officers tackled and arrested reporters in an effort, so it seems, to prevent video of them locking the doors. Another disturbing event happened last week at a Joint Finance Committee meeting.  Protesters engaged in civil disobedience were carried out of the room during the meeting.

At a news conference Monday, Chief Charles Tubbs said Capitol police would be looking to recruit more state law enforcement officers to work in the Capitol in the coming weeks.”We’re looking at all types of security measures,” Tubbs said. The police chief said four people were arrested Monday for disorderly conduct in the Capitol, and one more person was arrested for opening the doors on the first floor of the Capitol that are currently locked. At least three protesters were arrested and ticketed at the rally Monday around the Capitol Square.

Suzanne Tucker / Shutterstock.com

The article Wisconsin Sees Protests Again appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The controversial collective bargaining law that plunged Wisconsin into weeks of intense protests has been struck down by a judge.

Back in February, Governor Scott Walker introduced a Budget Repair Bill that contained provisions stripping most public sector workers of the right to collectively bargain.  But Senate Democrats opposed the measure and ended up fleeing the state in order to deny Republicans the special quorum necessary to pass fiscal legislation.  With neither side willing to compromise, the legislative proceedings seemed to be at a standstill until, on March 9, the Republican leadership hastily convened a meeting of the Joint Committee of Conference.  The committee stripped the fiscal provisions from the bill, which meant that the collective bargaining provisions could be passed even without the presence of the Senate Democrats.

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi ruled that the legislature violated the state’s Open Meetings Law by failing to give at least two hours’ notice of the meeting.

“The legislators were understandably frustrated by the stalemate existing on March 9, but that does not justify jettisoning compliance with the Open Meetings Law in an attempt to move the Budget Repair Bill to final action,” Sumi wrote in her decision.

“It is not the court’s business to determine whether 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 is good public policy or bad public policy,” she continued. “It is this court’s responsibility, however, to apply the rule of law to the facts before it.”

Sumi’s decision is almost certain to be appealed to the state Supreme Court.  The high court is already scheduled to hear oral arguments on June 6 relating to an earlier challenge to her authority.

The article Judge Voids Scott Walker’s Collective Bargaining Law in Wisconsin appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Ohio has followed Wisconsin’s lead, passing a law on Wednesday even tougher on union and collective bargaining than the controversial bill Wisconsin passed earlier this month. The Ohio state House passed the draconian measure by a vote of 53-44.  The legislation already passed in the Senate with a 17-16 vote at the beginning of the month. Republican Governor John Kasich signed the bill the next day.

Senate President Tom Niehaus threatened to clear the chamber ahead of final legislative action on the bill as pro-labor protesters shouted insults at senators and threatened to unseat them in the next election.  Chants of “Shame on you!” filled chambers as they voted against the public workers.

Ohio Senate Bill 5 would affect 350,000 public workers.  The legislation would prohibit government workers from striking and would face imprisonment and fines if they did.  The legislation would eliminate contractual patterns for wage increase, putting total authority for hiring, firing, and outsourcing in the hands of public sector managers.  It would cut government workers pay by 20 percent by forcing them to pay that much for their health care premiums.  The bill would deny collective bargaining rights to teachers, professors, and workers hired through private contractors.  Whereas in Wisconsin, police and fire personnel were not affected by the limits in collective bargaining, in Ohio they will also be denied the rights to bargain over salary and benefits.  It would broaden the factors that can determine layoffs or dismals to public employees and limit vacation days and paid holidays for long-term workers.  The bill would privatize some prisons.

Even though the Ohio measure was even worse than Wisconsin’s measure by pro-labor standards, Ohio unions were never able to garner the support that Wisconsin had.  The largest protests in Ohio’s state capital were 8,500, a number that pales in comparison to the 75,000-100,000 that demonstrated in Madison nearly every day.  Many believe the proximity of the University of Wisconsin to the capital helped in those protests.

Like Governor Walker in Wisconsin, Kasich and other Republicans have defended the bill by saying it is necessary to cut the deficit.  “This state cannot pay what we’ve been paying in the past,” said House Speaker Bill Batchelder. “Local governments and taxpayers need control over their budgets. This bill, as amended and changed, is a bill that will give control back to the people who pay the bills.”

Opponents of the bill, like State Rep. Robert Hagan, a Democrat from Youngstown, do not believe the bill was about austerity measures.  “Don’t ever lie to us and don’t be hypocritical and don’t dance around it as if it’s finances, because you know what it is: It’s to bust the union,” Hagan told his fellow lawmakers.

Democrats, including former Gov. Ted Strickland, and unions have vowed to mount a campaign to overturn the measure through a referendum in November.

The article Ohio – The Next State That Has Passed Union Busting Legislation appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker continues to prove that he is suffering from delusions of grandeur.  He and the Republican lawmakers in his state used questionable tactics to ram through the controversial measure that would eliminate collective bargaining.  Democrats maintain that the law was passed illegally and challenged the matter in court.  A judge in the state ordered that the law not be published until the court could review the matter.  Walker, however, published the law anyway.

Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi ruled earlier this month that Senate Republicans may have violated the state’s open meetings law when it passed the collective-bargaining bill.  Judge Sumi said more time was needed to examine the actions of the legislators.  Despite her ruling that the law not be published, last week the Legislative Reference Bureau, a legislative service agency not named in the original restraining order because they don’t normally publish laws, went ahead and published the law.

Using that loophole, Walker began to implement the law.  The Walker administration announced Sunday that, in accordance with the collective-bargaining bill, it would no longer collect dues on behalf of the unions and that public employees would be charged more for their pension and health-care obligations.

Judge Sumi issued a second order late Tuesday to stop the state from violating her original ruling.  In her ruling, Sumi criticized the administration for violating her original ruling. “Apparently that language [in the ruling] was either misunderstood or ignored, but what I said was the further implementation [of the collective-bargaining bill] was enjoined. That is now what I want to make crystal clear,” she said.   Sumi warned against legislators who may act “in willful defiance of a court order” may be subjecting them to sanctions.

Even after that clear ruling, Walker is still acting like the bill is law.  Walker aide Mike Huebsch issued a statement following the ruling saying the administration will evaluate the new order. “We will continue to confer with our legal counsel and have more information about how to move forward in the near future,” Mr. Huebsch said.   The next hearing on the case is Friday.

The article Wisconsin Judge Again Orders Injunction on Collective Bargaining Law appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Without the boisterous protests of Wisconsin, legislation in Ohio that would severely curb collective bargaining is speeding toward passage.  The Ohio bill narrowly passed in the state senate on Wednesday by a margin of 17-16.  Although protests have been held daily at Ohio’s capital for the past two weeks, the numbers have been nowhere near as large as the numbers in Wisconsin.

Ohio’s bill could go to House committee hearings as early as next week. The measure is likely to receive strong support from the full chamber and Republican Gov. John Kasich.  The legislation is even more damaging to unions than the proposed measure in Wisconsin.  It would restrict the bargaining rights of roughly 350,000 teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees. They would no longer be able to negotiate health care benefits or certain working conditions, and they would be barred from striking.  The bill would also eliminate all paid sick days for teachers.  Whereas in Wisconsin the limits on collective bargaining would not apply to firefighters and police officers, in Ohio—there is no exemptions.  The attack on the middle class is not hidden anymore, but plainly obvious.

Protesters and union members were surprised at the speed in which the bill was pushed through in Ohio.  Democrats are far outnumbered in the state and were helpless to try to stop the bill.  “For as far-reaching this thing is and how many lives it will affect, I can’t believe how fast it moved,” said Columbus Police Sgt. Shaun Laird.

Like in Wisconsin, the government claims that they need to limit collective bargaining to fix a budget shortfall.  What is not well-reported is that Ohio has done all sorts of idiotic things that do the opposite of saving money.  For starters, they eliminated corporate income tax a couple of years ago.  Hey, that might have something to do with your budget shortfall, dudes.  Now, the state, under Kasich, is trying to repeal the estate tax.  Another money saving idea.  These people are brilliant.  Kasich, a multi-millionaire who raised money on Fox News where he used to work, also has rejected a $400 million federal grant to upgrade the state’s passenger rail system, which would have created at least a thousand direct jobs and thousands more indirectly, along with a jump in state tax revenue.  Kasich meanwhile gave a huge raise to his chief of staff paying him $40,000 more than the chief of staff of his predecessor.  He has hired at least four commissioners to sit on a “job creation” panel with annual salaries of roughly $150,000 each.   The commission has been structured to operate without formal accountability to the legislature or taxpayers of the state. After he was elected governor, Kasich refused to live in the governor’s house in Bexley and instead maintained residence in Westerville. This cost taxpayers a few million dollars in security overhauls for his own personal house, plus transportation costs.  He also rented the 30th floor of the Riffe Center for his primary office, not in the Statehouse, which would be free.

And, yes, this complete idiot and his cronies in the state GOP have the nerve to ask firefighters, teachers, and police officers to sacrifice.  They do not know the first thing about sacrifice.  I, along with many others in America, can talk about difficult choices, crushing debt, and overdue bills.  Kasich obviously has no clue what that is like.  It would seem to be that either Republicans are brain dead morons – a distinct possibility – or Kasich is hiding these public numbers pretty good.  Unless you are in the top .1 percent of earners in Ohio, I haven’t got a clue why this attack on the middle class is justifiable.  It is time for a recall.  No one should get away with this complete abuse of power in the name of austerity.

The article Union Busting in Ohio appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.