The Wisconsin union standoff continues to strengthen with solidarity.
Now in its 2nd week, state union workers are getting an ever growing amount of support from fellow union workers, as they demonstrate against Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to cut union bargaining rights. In addition to Democrats fleeing the state legislature in protest of the governor’s moves, fellow Democrats and union members in Ohio, Indiana, and now California have joined in support of their Wisconsin counterparts.
70,000 people storming the Capitol steps of Madison, Wisconsin last week, with more expected to fill the city’s streets in the days ahead, paving the way for the clash between union rights protesters and state legislators to get messier before it is resolved.
In the boldest move yet of his political career, Republican Gov. Scott Walker introduced a bill that strips away collective bargaining for everything other than wages and removes other union rights from non-law enforcement state workers. His reasons: to repair the state’s $3.6 billion budget gap over the next 2 years.
But critics say Walker is merely engaged in a union-busting stunt, meant to gain notoriety and bragging rights among his fellow Republicans following the November midterm elections.
“The perception is that Walker wants to prove he belongs in the same conversation as [New Jersey] Gov. Chris Christie and that he is someone who can be seen nationally as an innovator in cutting government and who deserves national attention,” says JR Ross, editor of Wisconsin Politics, an online media outlet that covers state news.
The saga continues…
