Co-authored with Brooke Jarvis
In one sense, the struggle over union rights in Wisconsin is over. It took some breathtaking, possibly even illegal, shenanigans, but the union-busting "Budget Repair Bill" has been passed, signed, and celebrated. In other ways, though, the weeks of historic protests in and around Wisconsin's capitol were just the first act of what may prove to be a far longer -- and larger -- struggle.
Around the country, state governments are targeting union rights, workplace protection, social services, and the ability of middle-class and working poor to have a voice. But, in large part thanks to the momentum of the Wisconsin protests, they're finding it difficult to do so quietly. In state after state, the Americans whose rights and services are being cut are rising up against the decades-long shift of wealth and power to corporations and the very wealthy.
Wisconsin Moves on to "Phase Two"
The passage of Wisconsin's anti-union bill on March 10 came after weeks of protests, an extended occupation of the state capitol building, and the self-imposed exile of 14 Democratic senators, whose absence prevented a vote on the bill as it was originally drafted.
Following Thursday's passage of the Wisconsin bill, hundreds of students in Madison's middle and high schools walked out to join those demonstrating at the capitol. Then, in the largest protest since the bill was proposed, an estimated 100,000 people filled the streets and squares around the state capitol on Saturday. The Family Farm Defenders and the Wisconsin Farmers Union joined the protests, bringing more than 50 tractors with them.
"This is the beginning of phase two," Fred Risser, one of the 14 Democratic senators, told the crowd.
He was referring to a rapidly growing campaign to recall eight GOP senators who supported the bill; the Wisconsin Democratic Party reported yesterday that over 45 percent of the necessary signatures have already been collected. Because Wisconsin law only allows recalls of officials who have been in office at least a full year, Governor Scott Walker and other supporters of the bill are not yet eligible to be recalled -- though opponents of the anti-union law are already laying the groundwork for a recall next year.
Other States Target Workers' Rights
Though the weeks of demonstrations have focused national attention on Wisconsin, workers' rights are on the line in dozens of states across the country, and workers are fighting back. Newly elected Republicans in state legislatures and in the U.S. Congress are pressing -- and in some cases, passing -- deeply unpopular measures that target workers' rights to unionize and such basic protections as minimum wage laws.
The Ohio Senate has passed a bill that takes Wisconsin union-busting one step further, Reuters reports. The bill prohibits collective bargaining for nearly 62,000 workers and blocks 300,000 others (including firefighters, police, and public school teachers) from striking or negotiating about health care benefits. In Indiana, House Democrats, taking a cue from Wisconsin legislators, have left the state to prevent a vote on a bill that limits collective bargaining rights. Idaho has approved a measure to limit public school teachers' right to bargain collectively. Michigan is on track to approve a law that would allow the state to break union contracts. And union dues or collective bargaining are also on the line in Iowa, New Hampshire, Kansas, Tennessee, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Washington, Alaska, and Arizona.
Nor are unions the only form of worker protection under attack. The Missouri House of Representatives has approved a bill that caps the state's minimum wage, even if the Consumer Price Index rises, essentially revoking a law that was passed just five years ago and supported by 76 percent of voters. Seven other states are considering similar bills, according to the Progressive States Network.
Other proposed measures would cut deeply into education funding, public safety, health care, and infrastructure maintenance. These bills are presented as necessary in order to balance state budgets, but recent state and federal tax giveaways to the wealthy make that a questionable claim.
Undermining the Political Power of the Working Class
Instead, this may be an example of what Naomi Klein describes in her book, The Shock Doctrine: Wealthy elites often use times of crisis and chaos to impose unpopular policies that restructure economies and political systems to their further advantage.
Unions are a bulwark of political power on behalf of middle- and working-class Americans, a long-standing counterweight to the political influence of the wealthy.
And many of these policies are deeply unpopular with the American public. Recent polls show that more than 60 percent of Americans believe that pubic employees should have the right to bargain collectively; that states should not be able to renege on pension commitments to retirees; that the minimum wage should be raised; and that tax breaks for wealthy Americans are a bad move. According to a recent Bloomberg poll, one of the reasons that "Americans reject Republican efforts to curb bargaining rights" is that they widely believe that union power is "is dwarfed by corporations."
Of course, the proliferation of anti-union bills isn't just an economic blow. Unions are a bulwark of political power on behalf of middle- and working-class Americans, a long-standing counterweight to the political influence of the wealthy. Not only do they give employees bargaining power within the workplace, they allow workers to join their voices to have some say in the political debate.
When union members' economic power is weakened, so is their political voice -- a fact not lost on those leading the charge against them. As Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a leading proponent of the state's anti-union bill, noted in an interview with Fox News, "If we win this battle, and the money is not there under the auspices of the unions, certainly what you're going to find is President Obama is going to have a much difficult, much more difficult time getting elected and winning the state of Wisconsin."
A Sleeping Giant Wakes Up
"If there is one good thing about this bill, it's that it has brought middle class workers together, made our unions stronger and our relationships closer," Mahlon Mitchell, the president of the Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin, said in an interview with YES! Magazine.
Indeed, all over the country, the attack on union rights has awakened a dormant class-consciousness. "I think that what's happening in Wisconsin is sort of Ground Zero for workers," said Jane Cutter, a 47-year-old teacher who attended a Wisconsin solidarity rally in Seattle. "It's going to drive down wages and living standards for all different kinds of workers."
In the weeks since Wisconsin teachers and firefighters began occupying their state capitol, thousands of others have been inspired to make their opposition more vocal. Protests many times the size of the Tea Party demonstrations are spreading across the nation. Some are being organized by unions and their supporters; others, by MoveOn.org and Van Jones to "Defend the American Dream." Still others are part of US Uncut, which is organizing flash mobs to confront corporations that haven't been paying taxes. From Indiana to Ohio and Tennessee to Texas, workers are demanding to know why corporations and the wealthy get bailouts and tax breaks while teachers and steel workers bear the burdens of budget crises they didn't cause.
One of the farmers who rode through downtown Madison on his tractor summed it up on his handmade protest sign: "Walker woke a sleeping giant."
Sarah van Gelder and Brooke Jarvis wrote this article for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions for a just and sustainable world. Sarah is the co-founder and executive editor of YES! Magazine; Brooke is the web editor. Additional reporting in Seattle by Oliver Lazenby and Robby Mellinger.
Follow Sarah van Gelder on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SarahVanGelder
I do agree that the discussion on public unions is a good one but there are far too many other factors going on here. I heard far more hyperbold coming from FOX news and the right then from the Librals. . People argued that Teachers are over paid and that the job is only a part time job. why give tax cuts to businesses then expect the middle class to pay for them.
As a nation we’ve gotten used to making our decisions on 8 sec. sound bites & 30 sec. inflammatory commercials. (both sides)
Reps had been much better at condensing their story, ”Little guy TAXPAYERS! Unite against….the other BIG BAD GUY side” (conveniently left out that big corp. business brought us to this fiscal situation - oh that's right, they were funding the commercials.....)
I know several people who voted for Walker thinking they were voting for fiscal responsibility, not dismantling the middle class. Thought the belt-tightening would be shared by all.
Dems/Independents better get their 8 sec sound bite ready. Although I am heartened that voters will now actually read what is going on and make a more informed decision.
The middle class and lower classes are being kicked into the gutter. Thanks to the Republicans, guns are very accessible. How long before some one or two or three people snap and go after the targets they believe have caused their ruin. It could turn into a bloodbath...
Buying into the "country is on the brink of bankruptcy" sales pitch? Is the oil industry bankrupt? Nah! Rolling in the bucks! Insurance industry? From ear-to-ear. Banks? Laughing all the way to... themselves! Defense industry contractors? Gazillionaires! Lobby industry? Ha-ha-ha! Strange that the same people telling us that our states and country are on the brink of bankruptcy on account of a pension plan and assorted minutia aren't quite as concerned over the fiscal solvency of the industries funding them?
I do realize that you ate just repeating talking points. However, do you actually have a link showing how the SS pay checks of granny and grandpa are being stolen?
Let us activate the labor movement. See how successful was the October revolution in overthrowing the czars and USSR became a great success. USA then with the help of capitalist destroyed USSR.
Cuba and Venezuela are still the last few success stories
Which is exactly why Republicans want to bust the unions.
Scott Walker was just the first of the new Repub Governors to trot out a bill that stripped the Unions. Busting Unions has long been one of the pet projects of the right. Even though Walker and the Repub Senators pulled a fast one last week, I hope it will be overturned by the legal system. I love how this whole issue has erupted. Thank you once again to the fab Dem 14 who left Wisconsin so that the bill could not pass and what was in it was revealed to all.
No more hiding under rocks for the Repubs. They have been outed as greedy and only interested in helping Corporate interests and wealthy Americans. Everyone should pay their fair share. When the Corporations get out of paying taxes due to changes in the tax code voted in under GWB, and the top 2% get an extension of the Bush tax cut that they don't need because Boehner holds unemployment benefits hostage, it makes their agenda obvious. Enough already.
So many people in this country seem to have finally woken up to the agenda on the Republican side. The Republican propaganda machine is heavily financed by the billionaires and there is a lot of money at stake if their status quo is interrupted. The American working class say ENOUGH.
Yes, Wisconsin made a mistake in trusting our representatives, but that doesn't mean we therefore deserve to be mistreated.
And the left doesn't?
What has Obama been doing?
I know Rahm has left for Chicago, but what was that he said;
about not letting a crisis go to waste, or something to that effect?
Not letting a crisis go to waste was more like a comment about energizing people and waking them up to the reality of the wreck the GOP and their corporate owners have made of this nation. I'd say the GOP should be shamed of themselves, but they don't have consciences and don't give a rat'sass about America. All they see in that word are the letters "me" and "e", and that's all they care about.
Suuuuure.
I suppose you also believe that the Dems aren't heavily influenced by Wall Street either.
Let's see, who did Wall Street give the most to in 2008; McCain or Obama?
Is Timmy Geithner your hero?
How about Rahm Emmanuel? "Not letting a crisis go to waste was more like a comment about energizing people and waking them up to..." how to put Dems in power, and stay as long as possible; so they can enjoy being in power.
When you say "...the GOP and their corporate owners...", how are the Dems not owned by Wall Street? The Dems are just good at being duplicitous; they work both Wall Street and the unions, neither of which are acting in anyway other than self-interest.
Your highly judgmental attitude is more one sided than inaccurate; although it's that too.