Published 12 Mar, 2011
A steady flow of people arrived Friday in Madison, Wisconsin, anticipating tomorrow’s massive protest rally set for 11:00am. From across the country they came, union members, students and retirees from different professions, all in support of the people of Wisconsin and their fight to keep collective bargaining rights. TWU members arrived in Madison by whatever means of transportation they could, and more are on their way. Labor members and sympathetic citizens want to support the army of people that have kept up the fight by occupying the Wisconsin State Capitol building for weeks. Today, reinforcements arrived from across the country, and there were many smiles among the tired protesters.
A student photographer remarked to his friend, “we needed more people to care, and they are – they’re coming here, it’s beautiful to be here today.” Madison has become a lightning rod for many Wisconsinites and the labor movement as a whole. All consider the state capitol as “Ground Zero” in the fight to keep collective bargaining rights intact. Other states like Ohio and Indiana, Tennessee and many others, following the lead of the Wisconsin Governor, have begun their underhanded dealings to limit labor’s voice, and they have tremendous backing from the financial imperialists who want to crush collective bargaining across the country.
Governor Scott Walker’s political shenanigans have angered voters in Wisconsin, ignited the labor movement, and outraged a whole generation of young people who have turned out in droves angry, motivated and focused. Students are working with laid off and employed union members from different professions and are eager to counter-attack. A referendum to recall the governor and his Republican partisans is already under way and gaining momentum fast.
Tonight, the capitol square is lined with television crews and satellite trucks. Motor coaches, buses and trucks continue to arrive from labor organizations like: the Office of Professional Employee International Union (OPEIU), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB). The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) sent two eighteen wheelers loaded with supplies.
Tomorrow’s massive rally could lead a sorely needed rebirth of the American labor movement, and end another puppet governor.