There was much to be inspired by in Wisconsin yesterday, where voters headed to the polls to cast their ballots in the Democratic primaries for the largest recall elections in the state's history. What gets me fired up the most is that of the six Republican senators who backed Governor Walker's radical agenda and now face recall elections, five are being challenged by strong, determined pro-choice Democratic women, who want to shift the focus back to the real priorities of Wisconsin families. Think about that! Five out of six. I'm so proud of all these women: Nancy Nusbaum, Sandy Pasch, Shelly Moore, Jessica King and Jennifer Shilling.
These women are teachers, nurses, small business owners, and community leaders. They're moms, sisters, daughters, wives. Their roots go deep in Wisconsin and they know what really matters to Wisconsin families. Earlier this long, hot summer, EMILY's List made the decision to go all out -- to do everything we can to ensure these women are elected. We've been on air, on the ground and online, working to educate and remind voters that earlier this year, Governor Scott Walker and his Republican allies attacked Wisconsin workers, women and their families. Walker and his allies in the legislature pulled the rug out from under their constituents -- gutting education by $800 million while handing out huge tax breaks to corporations and the super rich, attacking health care, and ending public employees' ability to band together and negotiate fair wages.
All the work of these great women candidates and the EMILY's List community paid off yesterday, when our women triumphed, despite the ruthless and deceptive tactics employed by the GOP. First, the Wisconsin GOP actually drafted Republican candidates to run as Democrats, in order to force a primary and delay the general election. Now, I've been around quite a few races in my time and I thought nothing could surprise me any more -- but the Wisconsin Republicans have really taken dirty tricks to a whole new level. This wasn't a quiet, backroom plan -- it was openly embraced and promoted by Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. Then, allies actively campaigned to get Republicans to go vote in the Democratic primaries for the fake candidates. There were even allegations of attempts to keep Democratic voters at home. Make no mistake: the GOP in Wisconsin will clearly do just about anything to hold on to power.
But Wisconsin voters and Wisconsin families weren't fooled by these shenanigans. Now that our Democratic women have prevailed over these dirty, underhanded tactics, EMILY's List will continue to use every tool available to ensure that they make history and defeat the Republicans who abandoned women and punished their families come August. We will be there every step of the way because we want Wisconsin women to know that they have the chance to say NO to the Republican's extremist, anti-worker, anti-woman and anti-family policies, and YES to progressive women who will fight every single day in the state senate to advance Wisconsin values and will support Wisconsin families.
Fundamentally, workers' rights are a women's issue. The public employees Governor Walker and his minions are targeting are teachers, local government workers, health and home care attendants. These are all predominantly female industries. Nationwide elementary school teaching is 95% female, and nursing is 90% female. These women deserve to keep their right to join together for a fair wage in order to provide for their families, especially in an economy where more and more women are the sole income earners for their households.
This summer, I've been all over the country. I've talked to women in Texas, Montana, Maine, Illinois, and everywhere in between. It's hard enough out there -- with women making 78 cents on the dollar compared to men -- without legislators making it harder, and women have noticed, trust me. In Wisconsin, women voters know what an uphill struggle it is to keep families stable and thriving when the government puts corporate profits over bread-and-butter priorities like access to health care, decent education for their children, and a fair wage. And in Wisconsin, we're seeing the future: replacing the legislators who sold women and their families out with women who will fight for us every day.
Because what's happened in Wisconsin isn't unique. The right wing agenda being pushed by Scott Walker and his cronies is being pushed by Republicans in Ohio. In Florida. In states throughout the country. Republicans have waged an all out war on American women, and the GOP's overreach across the country and particularly in Wisconsin have sparked a national wave of buyers' remorse. Now the EMILY's List community -- nearly one million strong -- is fired up and fighting back.
Our time is now because the stakes are simply too high. What we're seeing in Wisconsin -- women and families saying, no more, and fighting for elect strong, practical, pro-woman, pro-family Democratic women can and will happen in states throughout the country. At EMILY's List, we're going to take the momentum from Wisconsin and use it to elevate women's voices and women's rights everywhere.
It's not magic -- it's hard work. It's women making some time to join Team EMILY -- calling voters in critical races and talking about what's at stake. It's women (and men!) looking at that weekly budget and figuring out if there's just a little left over to help some other EMILY's List woman run for office. It's knocking on doors and driving folks to the polls no matter how hot it is. Because on election day in Wisconsin in August, we'll see five amazing women elected to set the state on a new path. And that new path will take us through small towns in the Midwest, big cities in the southwest, from coast and everything in between -- changing the direction of our country by electing pro-choice Democratic women. Women like Shelly Moore, a teacher who's fighting back against cuts to the classroom by running for office herself. Like Jessica King, who worked her way from foster care through law school and into public service, and who knows what supports families need to thrive. Join us to elect women like them in Wisconsin and throughout the country.
Follow Stephanie Schriock on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Schriock1
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Here in Ohio when I carried petitions to gain signatures to put repeal of Governor Kasich's Union Busting Senate Bill 5 on the November ballot I never thought whether we hjelping more women than men. This is an attack on workers period. Drop the divisive dialogue. Women ansd their income are just as important to a family as a man and his, so we men have a strong interest in workers rights for women. We must together turn back the corrupt republicans as they try to further enrich their rich bosses.
This is where the democratic process comes in. In any community at any level there is going to be disagreement about the level of taxation AND what those taxes are to pay for. There will never be consensus.
It is a balancing act. Persuasion must be used to convince people that your cause or idea of where to spend the money is the right way to go. That is not easy, but it wasn't meant to be.
Pesonally I don't like my tax money going to fund sprawl, excessive roads, sports stadiums, subsidies for businesses, etc. So that's how I vote. I also don't like WASTE in any goverment endeavor ... and I feel there is a lot of waste even in good programs that I support, schools.
The issue is competeing interests. We cannot have it all. We must prioritize and we must cut the waste. We cannot afford to do otherwise.
DEMAND transparency. Demand to know where every tax dollar is spent, and keep on top of goverment offialdom where a lot of money gets squandered. As citizens it is our DUTY to get involved and revamp the system of how OUR money is spent. Your neighbors may not always agree with you ... but the more people involved and aware of where the money is being spent makes for better goverment.
In reality, fundamentally, worker rights are human rights issues and are issues of all people, women and men. Despite the fields mentioned having significant females represention, saying that workers rights are a womens issue is devisive and fundamentally wrong.
I have worked with and in the labor movement in a variety of positons and directly as a Union Representative and Organizer representing workers in grievance investigations, contract negotiations, contract enforcement and a fundamental apsect of representation is due diligence and fair representation that is not influenced by such things as gender as well as race and other irrelevant factors-all members are workers, bottom line, fundamentally.
When individuals in leadership makes such broad statements such as this they do a gross disservice to such basic principles of unity and solidarity. It is not only incorrect but fundamentally wrong to say that worker's rights are women's issues. Eventhough these fields may have a greater percentage of females in the workforce, it does no good to make such statements and fundamentally is devisive and simply a rediculous statement esp. from someone in a leadership position such as yours/hers.
Labor rights are rights of all people regardless of gender, class, sexual orientation, religious preference and yes, again, gender.
May I suggest that you also support finally getting the ERA ratified?
If we can get many more strong women in office, and get the support of our younger generation of women, perhaps we can finally get this done!
I supported in back in the '70s, and I was dismayed to read that it was never ratified.
(in swiss accounts too) to want to destroy the middle class lower everbody wages??? And help the RICH only! What is the price there getting for selling out the American People
How does this work in government? It seems if a company hits hard times(like govenrment has been having lately), there are reductions in employees or compensation. The government employees do not want this and want more taxes on their neighbors for their raises or keeping what they have. If this was a private company, they would have to adjust expenses or go out of business. If liberals think government can manage most things, then that same government should be able to take care of its employees without unions. Am I wrong or just naive?
The people who gain political office wind up being courted/flattered by the rich. They start to think like those people. The rich offer campaign money. Elected officials begin to think they work for rich people, not us. They begin to see taxes as _their_ money, and public sector employees as _their_ employees instead of citizens who work for us.
Public sector workers often make less than the equivalent job in the private sector. What has been the trade-off has been the pension and benefits. Over the last twenty years, those benefits have been chipped away, while wages have stagnated.
Unions do not simply ensure decent rates of pay, safe working conditions, and fair benefit packages. They provide a more just and fair workplace, with standards for just dismissal. They set an example for workplace conditions - conditions which private sector employers have imitated over time.
Public sector workers need their unions - and our support.
PS: try not to buy into the stereotype that public sector workers don't work hard, are lazy, don't do jobs that are important. I have friends who work for their local city and state governments. Believe me, they work their tails off. They are very committed people, and they have to take a lot of verbal abuse from people who _start_ their interactions with them from a belligerent and disrespectful place, and the government employees mostly remain pleasant and helpful even so.
Is it fair to hit your neighbors up for more money? I am just saying in the private sector there is a check and balance between unions and the company. The company must do well for the employees to keep their jobs. Not true with govt.
I agree that most govt. employs work hard. This is not about that.
For govt to have unions, then the govt should be run like private
companies. The union members should have our support just as much as the tax payers deserve our support
First, If you look at donations given according to FEC site. The 2 main groups that give more then 80% to one side are unions and trial lawyers given most to dems. Corporations give to both sides an gave more to Obama in 08 than McCain.
Second, unions give to dems in local elections to officials then DIRECTLY negotiate with the official they help elect for salaries and benefits. Some very bad deals have been made over the past 20-30 years. We dont have the money of cover all those costs even if you tax the rich.
Third, federal employees dont have these rights and Obama has frozen their pay. Why do you jump on him?!!
Democratic governors in Mass, NY, and Maryland are doing similar things. But HuffPo or the lefties dont mention them. This anger towards Wisconsin is political!!
Its nice to see people start to stand up against the unions and limit their power. But progress will always be slow when the union members themselves blindly do the bidding of their masters. In Wisconsin, the union members are so distraught that a worker has the DECISION to not join their union, and thus save those dues, making their OWN choices, that they are actually REWARDING the democrat "representatives" that fled the state rather than do their jobs.
The unions of today desire nothing but power, and if they have to squeeze others to get it, they feel entitled to do so.
You'll find few here that'll admit such. Rather, they'll stress the importance of getting 15 minute breaks per hour, coffee, cheap insurance, healthcare, and a very
The reason why this is a problem is because these non-union members will enjoy the benefits of the union without paying for it. Therefore, anything the union has bargained for or litigated with respect to the employees' rights these non-union members will not have contributed a dime for. Since you are so concerned about people not paying their own way I should think such an arrangement would be a problem for you.
http://educationclearinghouse.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/supporting-the-women-democrats-of-wisconsin/
Now why do you think this is? Why don't men care about the younger generation? Since boys are your only focus, why do you think men care so little about boys and their formative years?
I'm just waiting to see how you blame women for men's disinterest in boys and children in general.
Here some quotes from random reading on the topic:
"Nelson said there's a stereotype that men aren't nurturing and so they can't be teachers.
"There's a message in our society that nurturing isn't valuable," he said.
Nelson said in order to steer more male college students toward teaching, he believes the climate needs to change and that schools should embrace different teaching methods that accommodate male and female teachers.
http://www.menteach.org/news/male_teachers_in_mississippi_elementary_schools
"But Nelson, who took a graduate fellowship at Harvard to study men in secondary school teaching, found that overzealous suspicions of sexual abuse are one of the top three reasons why the teaching profession doesn't draw more men. From his research, the other two reasons are perceptions about men's nurturing abilities and low social status combined with low pay."
The Mistrusted Male Teacher:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5670187&page=1
During this same period, John D Rockefeller spent in todays equivalent amount, $60 Million dollars to support the clamour for prohibition to become law. He wanted desperately to deny the fuel that Henry Ford's vehicles were powered by, farm-made ethyl alcohol, forcing the auto industry to be totally dependent on the monopoly of Standard Oil, Rockefeller's company.
While fomenting the emotional and disingenious cause of prohibition, John D Rockefeller used the religious and puritanical outrage to his advantage and caused the 18th Amendment to our constitution to be written. (Sort of a mini-version of Citizens United effect, very mini)
So while the congress added an amendment for John D Rockefeller, those in league with keeping control of women, refused to give women equal treatment by law.
They changed the constitution for big business but wouldn't change it for women. The 18th Amendment even preceded the womens right to vote.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_US_Suffrage,_1920.svg