PR Watch Live Blog: Protest Rally in Madison, Wisconsin
Tens of thousands of Wisconsin residents march on the Wisconsin State Capitol at Madison to demonstrate opposition to a proposed plan to end collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin public workers. PR Watch, a project of theCenter for Media and Democracy, is on the ground live blogging from the protests.
6:15pm From Lisa Graves: Walker calls boycott by Democrats a 'stunt'. A better definition of stunt might be calling stripping workers of their right to organize "budget repair."
5:58pm Erica Pelzek reports with some interesting photos from the events.
The front of this UW-Madison student's sign says "Even I Look Less Ridiculous Than Scott Walker." He is wearing a "grass skirt" and toga-type top made entirely of candy necklaces. The back of the sign: Middle Class: CLOSED FOR BUSINESS
5:41pm Mary Bottari reports that another crowd of thousands thronged around the Wisconsin Capitol this evening at a rally that began at 5:00pm. One of the first speakers was John Nichols of the Madison Capitol Times Newspaper. He said “Today 14 Democratic State Senators were listening to the people, and they heard what they had to say, and they went to Illinois. They went over the state border, making the ultimate sacrifice to spend a night in Illinois.” Then he said that now “Scott Walker is doing an interview with FOX News. He has finally found his constituency. He is saying that the Democratic Senators may have democrat in their name, but they are acting undemocratically. But those are the senators who are listening to the people and that is why they are crossing the state line.”
After Nichols, Phil Neuenfelt, head of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO greeted the crowd and said “Good evening, America,” and pointed to the enormous satellite trucks surrounding the Capitol.
There are now national news trucks including ABC, NBC and CBS as well as local affiliates present. Neuenfelt said “We are drawing a line in the sand. No more blaming the working people for the bad economy. I have not met a working person yet who moves jobs overseas. I have not met a working person yet who was responsible for the Wall Street meltdown. We need to remember that as the labor movement goes, so goes the middle class.”
A number of Assembly Democratic elected officials addressed the crowd with a similar theme that they are listening. One announced that there were “17 hours of testimony before the Joint Finance Committee when it shut down proceedings at 3:00am on the morning of Thursday February 17, and it was followed by 63 hours of continuous public testimony that was not heard by the Republicans. There are 230 people still left to testify. We are listening to you, we are here for you,” said the Assembly Democrats.
As far as we know the vote is still scheduled in the assembly tomorrow. The question is if the Assembly Democrats will join their Senate colleagues out-of-state in Illinois.
5:39pm Erica Pelzel reports that there is a very powerful march of public safety officials on the Capitol Square right now. The march is leading to the mayoral conference at a city-county building. Major crowd support and cheering.
5:28pm Erica Pelzek reports in with another clever sign: Run Democrats Run!
5:17pm Erica Pelzek reports that in response to blistering criticisms that Madison teachers were AWOL and leaving their students behind, a sign spotted: I'd Rather Be Teaching
5:13pm Brendan Fischer reports that he has just attended a press conference held by University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin.
On Wednesday it was revealed that University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin was quietly backing a plan by Governor Walker to spin the state's flagship school off from the rest of the university system. Martin had been pushing for greater flexibility and more freedom from state rules on purchasing, pay and other areas, but remaining within the university system.Many have claimed the so-called "Public Authority Status" was not put forth in the many listening and information sessions held over the past months about restructuring the university. Board of Regents member David Walsh tells the Capitol Times: "I am critical of this being done behind closed doors. . . It's too important to Wisconsin. It needs to be discussed, aired in the open."At a 4pm CST press conference, Biddy tried to sidestep accusations that she was anything less than transparent."This decision is based on data, and the data has been available for years. The statement that the decision was made behind closed doors, without public input, is false."In response to a question that this model was not presented to students in past listening sessions, Martin said "the Public Authority Status model has been on the website as a possible option."In response to a question about whether the plan would make UW Madison a "pawn for Governor Walker," as the Board for the newly-independent school would likely be made up of Walker political appointees, Martin replied "I don't believe the UW is a pawn for Walker or any other governor."
5:01 Want to be a part of history? Wisconsin Education Association Council has compiled a list of resources, including parking information and a schedule of events to help you participate in this unprecedented event. It is important that you make your voice heard, so visit this link to find out more.
5:00 pm News Roundup for Thursday, February 17 from WI protests:
Wisconsin State Journal, Senate Dems stage walkout, in 'secure' location outside Capitol
The Capital Times, Budget battle gets hotter
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Legislature could act Thursday on budget plan
4:46pm Submitted by Tom Johnson in St. Paul
4:38pm Watch this short video of protesters outside the capitol building earlier today. Submitted by Paul Baker.
4:32pm Read Erica Pelzek's recent piece about firefighter support.
Despite Gov. Scott Walker’s exemption of unionized public safety workers—firefighters, police officers and the like—from his union-busting budget repair bill, the International Association of Fire Fighters wants to make one factor clear: Wisconsin firefighters are on the side of labor rights.“We’ve got firefighters at the Capitol right now,” said 5th District IAFF Vice President Joseph Conway.Loud cheers met all firefighters and police officers joining the national news-making protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol earlier this afternoon.
Read the piece in its entirety here.
4:31pm From Mary Bottari: I think it is notable that I have not seen one Tea Party sign.
4:30pm Mary Bottari reports that the next big rally at the capitol will be starting around 5:00 pm. Reporters have confirmed that the missing Senate Democrats are ensconced in a neighboring state, safely outside the jurisdiction of the capitol police. How long their vacation will last no one knows. Attention now turns to the Assembly. Will they attempt vote there tomorrow? Are Assembly Democrats headed out of state? Stay tuned....
4:24pm From Dave Zaber in Monona, WI
4:16pm Super bowl XLV champs support public workers.
We know that it is team work on and off the field that makes the Packers and Wisconsin great. As a publicly owned team we wouldn’t have been able to win the Super Bowl without the support of our fans. It is the same dedication of our public workers every day that makes Wisconsin run. They are the teachers, nurses and child care workers who take care of us and our families. But now in an unprecedented political attack Governor Walker is trying to take away their right to have a voice and bargain at work.
Read the full item published on WisPolitics.com here.
4:12pm Time Magazine reports:
One of the ironies of the protests is where they're happening. In 1959, Wisconsin was the first state to give public workers comprehensive collective-bargaining rights, and the governor's bid to take most of them away has given rise to debates and demonstrations across the state. After work Wednesday, Moore traveled to the closest university, in Little Falls, where a hastily called meeting drew some 600 people.
Read the full item here.
3:40pm Steve Horn reports that Chancellor Biddy Martin of University of Wisconsin Madison will hold a press release at 4:00pm in Bascom Hall. She will address the New Badger Partnership plan that would sever the flagship university from the rest of the UW system. Read more here from the Badger Herald.
3:37pm Lisa Graves reports that citizen action groups are springing up to take action, like this effort to boycott Walker's corporate supporters. Donors of $5000 or more include:
TDS TelecomWal-Mart Stores/WAL-PACAT&TDeere & CompanyEli Lilly and Company PACWellPAC Wellpoint Inc
3:08pm Erica Pelzek sends a photo from the front lines.
2:52pm This is what the rotunda looks like packed to capacity. Photo shot from the catwalk on the capitol dome.
Photo coutesy Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
2:14pm Brendan Fischer reports that a rumor is circling in the Capitol that Representative Kapanke's office told teachers that their opinion did not matter because they do not produce anything.
2:00pm Mary Bottari reports that the state capitol police are scouring the Wisconsin Capitol in an attempt to track down the Wisconsin Senate Democratic Caucus. The Wisconsin Senate was slated to vote on the budget bill today, but they were prevented from doing so because all Democratic Senators walked out denying the Republicans a necessary quorum. The Republicans issued a "call of the house" empowering the state capitol police to round up missing Senators, but the Democrats were prepared for this and promptly departed the building and may even have left the state. FromWispolitics:
Sen. Jon Erpenbach told WisPolitics this afternoon Senate Dems left the state in an attempt to force Republicans to negotiate a compromise to proposed changes to the bargaining rights of public employees. Erpenbach would not disclose where he was or how many of the Dem senators were with him. But he said he believed all 14 were already out of state by early this afternoon. "We were left with no choice," Erpenbach said. Erpenbach said Republicans should look at how the proposed changes are tearing the state apart and realize a different path is needed. "This isn’t anything that we do lightly at all. This isn’t a prank. This isn’t a joke. This is Democrats standing together saying slow down."
As long as Senate Democrats stand together and remain missing, there can be no vote on the Governor's proposal to end Wisconsin's 50 year history of collective bargaining.
1:52pm Brendan Fischer reports that the hearing room explodes in applause when Representative Hebl announces all Democrats are out of the state.
1:47pm Brendan Fischer reports that hundreds are blocking Senate exits.
1:45pm Lisa Graves has provided the following information for your convenience:
Governor Walker's official e-mail address:GovernorWalker@wisconsin.gov
And, here is the switchboard for his office: (608) 266-1212
And, here is his fax number: (608) 267-7888
1:40pm Erica Pelzek reports that a fast-marching swarms of high school students shouting "kill the bill" are approaching the Capitol. Guess they are doing something with their day off!
1:37pm Lisa Graves reports on tracking the specific effort to "repeal collective bargaining rights for University of Wisconsin hospital and clinics" employees. When right-wing politicians say they are just "repairing" the budget, that's newspeak for stripping nurses of their right to organize. Here is the link to the precise proposal, tucked into the budget as an "addendum":http://www.thewheelerreport.com/
1:30pm Mary Bottari reports from the 3rd floor of the Capitol where she has spotted a young man holding a sign that says “I went to Iraq and came home to Egypt?”. His name is Zach Laport from Spooner, Wisconsin. He served in Iraq from 2004 to 2007 and is now a student at the University of Wisconsin Madison. When asked why he was at the rally, he said “My Grandma is the librarian at Spooner Elementary School. My Mom is a public health worker. My Aunt and Uncle are teachers. Spooner is four and a half hours away and they couldn’t be here, so I came for them. My brother and I signed up for the military because we needed the extra income to go to college. Wisconsin has some of the best benefits in the country for its students, and we don’t want to lose that. I feel that Scott Walker is acting like a dictator. He is not negotiating, he is just giving orders. This week he came after worker rights and next week he is going to take one billion dollars out of K-12 education.”
1:20pm Lapham elementary school student Zoey White stands up for her teachers.
1:15pm Read Erica Pelzek's piece about the rally.
UW-Madison student protesters, including shouting Teachers Assistant Association (TAA) members swarm outside the Wisconsin Capitol's Mifflin and State Street corner, their chanting growing more impassioned as the clock nears 1 p.m.Gov. Scott Walker's radical and controversial budget-repair bill would strip all UW System employees and many unionized workers of their collective bargaining rights for wages, hours and working conditions, to help patch an alleged $137 million state deficit.But most in Wisconsin will tell you that Walker's budget-repair bill is not about fixing the deficit. It single-handedly seeks to bust unions across the state and punish those who did not support Walker's election campaign.Cue mayhem across the state, with teachers, nurses, steelworkers and even cops and firefighters--who would be exempt from the curtailing of their collective bargaining rights under Walker's bill--descending upon Madison to storm the Capitol.Watching the action are three business representatives from Milwaukee's Teamsters "General" Local Union No. 200, their navy hats proudly emblazoned with gold crests.
12:30pm Lisa Graves has provided the following information for your convenience:
Governor Walker's official e-mail address: GovernorWalker@wisconsin.gov
And, here is the switchboard for his office: (608) 266-1212
And, here is his fax number: (608) 267-7888
And, here is the switchboard for his office: (608) 266-1212
And, here is his fax number: (608) 267-7888
12:22pm Erica Pelzek reports that not only have Democratic Senators left the building, but they have also left the state. Read the full item here from Local NBC News 15.
12:17pm Erica Pelzek reports that a fast-marching swarms of high school students shouting "kill the bill" are approaching the Capitol. Guess they are doing something with their day off!
12:13pm Lisa Graves reports on tracking the specific effort to "repeal collective bargaining rights for University of Wisconsin hospital and clinics" employees. When right-wing politicians say they are just "repairing" the budget, that's newspeak for stripping nurses of their right to organize. Here is the link to the precise proposal, tucked into the budget as an "addendum": http://www.thewheelerreport.com/
12:05pm Mary Bottari reports on where to go from here now that the Senate Democrats have walked out. According to Article 8, Section 8 of the Wisconsin Constitution, in order to pass an appropriations bill 3/5 of the body must be present. Senate Republicans have 19 members, and would need one more person to pass the bill. But for now, all Senate Democrats have walked off the floor.
12:00pm Mary Bottari reports from the 3rd floor of the Capitol where she has spotted a young man holding a sign that says “I went to Iraq and came home to Egypt?”. His name is Zach Laport from Spooner, Wisconsin. He served in Iraq from 2004 to 2007 and is now a student at the University of Wisconsin Madison. When asked why he was at the rally, he said “My Grandma is the librarian at Spooner Elementary School. My Mom is a public health worker. My Aunt and Uncle are teachers. Spooner is four and a half hours away and they couldn’t be here, so I came for them. My brother and I signed up for the military because we needed the extra income to go to college. Wisconsin has some of the best benefits in the country for its students, and we don’t want to lose that. I feel that Scott Walker is acting like a dictator. He is not negotiating, he is just giving orders. This week he came after worker rights and next week he is going to take one billion dollars out of K-12 education.”
11:50am Erica Pelzek sends photos of creative signage from inside the Capitol. This one reads: If I jam this in here, it'll balance, right?
11:45am Steve Horn reports that Iron Workers Local 383 just took center stage of the rotunda.
11:41am Mary Bottari Reports that thousands of workers jam the house of the Capitol today. Their chants echo up to the top chambers of the building as the Senate debate begins. It is difficult to hear the proceedings over the roar of the crowd of about 5,000 people inside the building and many more outside. It looks like Senate Democrats have stood up and walked out en masse as the crowd cheers.
11:32am Steve Horn says that the United Council reports that 6,000 students are walking out on 12 campuses.
11:27am Erica Pelzek reports that within the sweltering rotunda there are makeshift preschools where the under-6 crowd reads picture books amidst the chanting and marching.
11:25am Steve Horn reports that Democratic State Senators have left the Capitol. This is great news because the Senate will not be able to vote because they will not have quorum. Steve urges protesters to stay in the Capitol.
11:20am Steve Horn reports that the rotunda is packed with no room to move. A drum circle beats loudly from the center of the Capitol rotunda. He estimates thousands are present both inside and outside of the Capitol.
11:15am David Johnson reported on Wisconsin protests for Campaign for America's Future. Read the full item here.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has launched an all-out attack on public-employee unions, proposing to take away the right to collective bargaining. He has threatened to use the National Guard to put down any action by state workers in response.
11:03am Steve Horn reports that Cops For Labor have enetered the Capitol rotunda. Donuts and hot dogs are being distributed to those who are present. Steve estimates that 4,000 people are present.
11:02am Erica Pelzek reports on some clever signage from the rally: "I too am a college dropout, can I be Governor?" and "Walker is not a Badger, he's a weasel!"
11:00am Erica Pelzek reports that the Capitol rotunda is extremely loud and the protesters cheer raucously every time a new union or group of protesters shows up. Iron Workers Local 383 march around the second floor East lobby to impassioned chanting. Their signs read: "United we bargain, divided we beg"
10:55am Erica Pelzek reports that there are at least three Teamster Unions present at the rally. Local 494 IBEW is present. Larry from 494 IBEW says "Walker is trying to become like the President of the Republicans. He's just trying to bust all the unions and set a precedent across the country. Now they're trying to bust unions in Tennessee, in Ohio."
10:50am Steve Horn reports that over 2000 students showed up to march from the Library Mall to the Capitol. More instructors are gathering now in Library Mall as well.
10:45am Mary Bottari reports that the governor calls for a budget vote that would gut the collective bargaining rights of public workers, rights they have had for 50 years in Wisconsin. That union with the funny name, AFSCME, was founded in Wisconsin in 1932. Schools across the state are shut down today. Madison schools are entering their second day of the walk-out. Superbowl champions and ground zero for the war on the working class.
10:40am Steve Horn sends his photos from the midst of the State Street march.
10:35am Mary Bottari reports that one protester sat near a snow bank, waiting for a little help from Egypt.
10:30am Steve Horn reports that thousands of students, professors, and staff from University of Wisconsin Madison are marching down State Street headed for the Capitol now.
10:15am Mary Bottari reports that inside the capitol building last night, teachers gave Fighting Bob LaFollette an apple for his support and good behavior. Robert Marion La Follette, Sr. was a leader of the Progressive Movement in Wisconsin in the early part of the 20th century. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was the Governor of Wisconsin, and was also a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin (1906 to 1925). He ran forPresident of the United States as the nominee of his own Progressive Party in1924, carrying Wisconsin and 17% of the national popular vote.
10:10am Mary Bottari reports that another protestor says she yearns for the good old days when republicans were somewhat reasonable.
10:00am Steve Horn reports that hundreds of students are already lined up for the march and rally to the Capitol.
9:45am Steve Horn reports that the University of Wisconsin Madison history department professors are joining their students in the march to the Capitol to take place at 10:30am today, Thursday February 17.
9:30am Read Brendan Fischer's recent piece about the Governor's proposal. Find it here.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is trying to end collective bargaining rights for public employees in Wisconsin, and thousands have converged on the state capitol in protest of what many consider a radical and blatantly political move. Walker's plan threatens the rights of all Wisconsin workers, and if it prevails in this state, could threaten the rights of working people across the nation, and would reverse the legacy
of Dr. Martin Luther King and all those who have fought for economic justice through the power of organizing.Although federal collective bargaining laws protect private sector employees, Wisconsin has been a leader in extending those rights to the public sector. The American Federation of State, City and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) formed in 1932 in Madison, Wisconsin. The "dairy state" was the first to pass collective bargaining rights for local government workers and teachers in 1959. The push for public sector unionization extended through the sixties.
9:15am Steve Horn will be live-tweeting from the inside. Follow his updates:@Steve_Horn1022
9:00 am News Roundup for Thursday, February 17 from WI protests:
Wisconsin State Journal, Controversial budget bill passes committee, moves to Senate
The Capital Times, Walker budget outrage
WisPolitics.com, Budget Blog: Senate to take up amended budget repair bill first
The New York Times, Angry Demonstrations in Wisconsin as Cuts Loom
Wall Street Journal, Angry Demonstrations in Wisconsin as Cuts Loom
Washington Post Teacher sickout closes Madison schools
7:30 am AFSCME says there will be lobbying in the capitol starting at 10:00am today, Thursday February 17, and a rally at 12:00 noon, with continued lobbying afterwards. A Senate vote today may come as early as 10:00am. It is anticipated there will be another teacher's rally at 5:00 tonight, Thursday February 17. A summary of the bill and other lobby materials resources can be found at: AFSCME.
7:00am Steve Horn reports that the Joint Finance Committee voted the bill out of committee last night 12-4. Activists in the Capitol were anxious to keep the testimony going on the bill all night long and they succeeded in the goal. Many people who wanted to testify camped out in the Capitol with sleeping bags and snacks. The majority of the activists were teachers assistants at University of Wisconsin whose pay is on the line. About 200 spent the night, and report that there were no problems with state Capitol police.
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