by Jenn Breckenridge
February 25, 2011
From inside the Wisconsin State Capitol, RAN ally Ryan Harvey reports:
“Hundreds of cops have just marched into the Wisconsin state capitol building to protest the anti-Union bill, to massive applause. They now join up to 600 people who are inside.”
Ryan reported on his Facebook page earlier today:
“Police have just announced to the crowds inside the occupied State Capitol of Wisconsin: ‘We have been ordered by the legislature to kick you all out at 4:00 today. But we know what’s right from wrong. We will not be kicking anyone out, in fact, we will be sleeping here with you!’ Unreal.”
You can find more updates from Ryan Harvey on Twitter @ryanharveysongs and his blog Even If Your Voice Shakes.
UPDATE: This video says it all. It makes me proud of my neighbors. “Let me tell you Mr. Walker, this is not your house, this is all our house.”
The prison gates are open... 
This is the best news I have heard in a week. The police were told to clear the Capitol by 4am. They entered the capitol and joined the demonstration. They work for the people, not Scott Walker. He is in enough trouble for sending the troopers in to find the 14 Senators who were not in the State. That is illegal under State Law. No crime was committed by the 14 Senators and the governor used the police in a manner to be involved in political issue. People around the nation don’t have to watch Fox News to find out what’s happening. They woke up to the GOP’s tricks and to how they are in bed with the billionaires. The narrative has changed and the Republicans lost the people’s trust.
Get your facts straight. It is not illegal under state law. [comment deleted: no ad hominem attacks] He had the authority to send troopers to compel the missing lawmakers who have abandoned their job to return.
Actually it is illegal to use the state troopers in this sense of employer/employee issues.
Whether it is illegal or not, he is wasting tax payers resources. He should take his own personal car and put his own gas into it and drive to their houses like any other person would have to do.
Below I quote two credible sources which say that the governor of Wisconsin does NOT have the authority to use troopers to compel lawmakers to return. If you have evidence that both Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the Associate Press are in error, cough it up.
Absent that evidence, it would appear that your comment is untrue from beginning to end: Don Mersel got the facts straight (you did not), it is illegal under state law, and the Governor does not have that authority.
—
Associate Press (c/o HuffPo)//Frustrated by the delay, Senate Republican Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, Jeff Fitzgerald’s brother, ordered state troopers to find the missing Democrats, but they came up empty. Wisconsin law doesn’t allow police to arrest the lawmakers, but Fitzgerald said he hoped the show of authority would have pressured them to return.// http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/25/wisconsin-assembly-passes-anti-union-bill_n_828060.html
National Journal//”Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sent a letter to Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board requesting an investigation into whether Walker’s request was an improper use of the State Patrol. “Governor Walker overstepped his authority and violated the law,” CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan wrote in a letter to the accountability board. “Nothing in the agency’s mission indicates WSP officers may be sent on political errands by the governor or members of the state legislator.” And not just that. “The governor’s conduct is especially egregious in light of a Wisconsin law specifically barring troopers from taking part in any dispute between an employer and employee over wages, hours, labor, or working conditions — the subject of the governor’s bill,” Sloan wrote.//http://nationaljournal.com/politics/watchdog-says-wisconsin-governor-s-use-of-state-troopers-broke-the-law-20110224
Freedom ??? wrote
“He had the authority to send troopers to compel the missing lawmakers who have abandoned their job to return.”
I would like to see something in writing about this alleged “authority” These excerpts are from the Constitution of the United States which is the basic law of the land
Amendment I
NO LAW, ABRIDGING THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE AND TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES
According to a recording which is available to all, this governor and others (presumably his buddies in the Legislature) considered bringing in out-of-state agents provocateurs (if you know what this means) to disrupt the protests which so far have been totally peaceable He only refrained because” any violence that would have provoked might have forced him to negotiate” That means he would have resorted to ILLEGAL actions.
AMENDMENT IV
THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO BE SECURE IN THEIR PERSONS, HOUSES, PAPERS AND EFFECTS.
…SHALL NOT BE VIOLATED..
they haven’t abandoned their job, they are DOING their job.
You’re the one who needs to get his facts straight, sir. The law specifically prohibits the use of the State Patrol for such political purposes.
Yeah, but pretty sure it’s not okay to plant fake trouble makers in the crowd and expect the police to put their own safety on the line to fix it. Either way, not respecting the proper role of law enforcement.
Sending troopers to Senators’ homes was political and spent tax payer money to bolster their undemocratic actions in the legislature. They are all for not wasting tax money and yet go ahead and waste it with impunity. They knew the legislators were out of state yet still sent troopers to the homes to intimidate families even those with small children. Smacks of gestapo tactics.
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This is great news. However, I, too, am troubled that for nearly two weeks there has been virtually no mention of the fact that these illegal, immoral oil wars run by big-time felonious clowns are bankrupting the country to the point where a felonious small-time clown like Walker can even attempt to pull this.
http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/2011/02/its-war-economy-duh-by-cindy-sheehan.html
TEARS are rolling down my face! Thank you, WI police, for showing a new kind of heroism to the world!! I love you!!
“Tears rolled down your face” when police violate given orders. My gosh, get a life
They didn’t violate any orders, Tom. Your ignorance fails you in understanding this. They marched with the Wisconsin workers while they were off-duty. We have an officer of Wisconsin who even commented somewhere on this article, stating the exact same thing.
So seriously, get your facts straight before making such a fallacious claim.
Tom, its your cowardice attitude of unquestionable loyalty without criticism that has gotten us here in the first place. Sometimes it is brave to disobey orders, especially when those orders hurt the people you were sworn to protect.
Couldn’t agree more. Police should always follow every order given to them and have no conscience, opinion or thought as to their legality. And the President should use the army or the FBI to round up any Congressmen who don’t show up to voters.
GREAT NEWS!
Thank God and those who will not be led to the slaughtering of our constitutional rights, TODAY I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!
What Constitutional right says you get to make the demands of your Boss? Your Boss is your boss for a reason. Your Boss tells you what your job will be, what your pay will be. If you don’t like the terms of your employment, you can find a different job. These cops work for the people. I applaud them for not running the people out. But they don’t have the authority to strike. They are violating the law by doing so. They can and should be fired, every last one of them. We can’t have public employees paid by tax dollars thinking they can strike and still get paid by we the people because they simply don’t want to do a job they were hired to do.
@Freedom Fighter; I’m going to have to disagree with you here wholeheartedly. If we were to just fire every worker in history that went against the law by standing up for their rights as a working class member of America, then we’d still be going into debate rooms, wondering whether or not blacks, women and homosexuals should be hired into the work force.
Illegal activity, led by the unions, are the very backbone of what’s made this country what it is today! I find it very reactionary of you to call for their firing and arrest.
Yeah, good idea…fire 600 cops….see what happens….fire all the teachers that called in sick…good idea….NOT VERY WELL THOUGHT OUT!!!! DUH!!!!
@ Freedom Fighter. What do you do for a living ?
I am one of those cops and we didn’t strike. All of us were off duty at the time. We are well within our rights to protest or to take part in a symbolic strike. Try to fire me for that and you’re gonna have one hell of a fight on your hands!
You need to read The Grapes of Wrath or The Jungle and report back.
Those books pretty much tell it like it is about what working in America and “finding a new job” was like before unions.
If you like begging on the streets or breaking your back doing hard labor 18 hours a day, maybe unionless America is for you. Hell, maybe you should move to India or South America – that’s where all the corporations are sending your jobs anyway. But we still keep giving them tax breaks… so they can break unions and screw us over.
Wake up from your dream!!!!
As to them “not wanting to do their job”, PLEASE.
Why don’t you go and get the training to be a teacher, a prison guard, a hospital worker, a police officer, a firefighter? Maybe then you wouldn’t have to be so jealous of their alleged laziness.
People like you make me question the future of our country.
“freedom” fighter???? yeah, and my sheite smells like roses.
F.U.
Freedom ??? wrote
“What Constitutional right says you get to make the demands of your Boss? Your Boss is your boss for a reason. Your Boss tells you what your job will be, what your pay will be.”
The writer probably got no further in reading the Constitution of the United States than Article I. Section 2
“…According to their respective numbers which shall be determined by adding to the whole numbers of free persons, \INCLUDING THOSE BOUND IN SERVICE FOR A TERM OF YEARS
and excluding INDIANS not taxes
THREE FIFTHS OF ALL OTHER PERSONS..”
This is what some people quote and remember so fondly as
THE GOOD OLE DAYS OF OUR FOUNDING FATHERS (and want to return to it, if one interprets the above correctly)
when there were
SERFS persons in slavelike conditions under the feudal system, bound to their masters’ lands and transferred with them
and
SLAVES, at the time, blacks, transported against their will in chains aboard slaveships like cattle, from Africa
I wonder if the writer is one of those professed “Christians” who read the Bible every night. If so, he should know that all humans were created in the image and likeness of the Almighty ( so could God be part black, brown, yellow, ???)
Serfs and slaves received no pay for their job. They worked under unhuman conditions determined by their OWNERS
The Koch brothers own this governor of Wisconsin, body and soul. my question, does he own this writer also?
If you are told that your job hours will be 8 to 4:30 there is nothing wrong with asking if you can start at 8:15 and leave at 4:45 so you can get your child on the school bus or whatever. Then your boss says, what about 8:10 to 4:40 as you need to do a specific task at 8:15. That is called “negotiation” and is much more efficient when you have representatives negotiating for a large group rather than hundreds (or thousands) of people all trying to strike their own deal for working conditions, wages, benefits. And no one is on strike — don’t know where you get that. I went to the protest after work, some people go before work or on lunch hours. Not everyone works a 9 to 5 Mon through Fri. work week you know.
It is a person’s right to decide not to go to work. More-over, it is also right and legal that if multiple employees are dis-satisfied with the state of their employment, they are perfectly within their rights to collectively stop going to work, in an effort to wake up their employer, who is as much or more dependent on them to complete the work that needs completing. The employer is of course then perfectly within his/her rights to hire others if they can, to work under the same previous aggrieved conditions. But that is the way and point of collective bargaining. People band together when they have had enough, and compromises are reached. Making this illegal, is fascist and violates the constitution…
Uh. The first amendment. The right to free assembly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_assembly
Fighter of Freedom:
They are not violating any laws by striking. That’s absurd.
And NO ONE is claiming there is a Constitutional right to collective bargaining.
Those are both just straw men.
Don’t think for a minute that those same cops are not trampling all over your rights on any given day. Their participation in the demonstration is entirely self serving. Their protecting their high pay, great benefits, early retirement and excellent pensions. Get real.
Actually, the average Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper or Inspector only earns about $41,600 a year. Of that, 5% is immediately placed into a retirement fund by the state, so that knocks them down to roughly $39,600 before taxes. Toss in a home mortgage, car loan, expenses for children (because most of these officers do have families), and utility costs… Well, that’s not a whole lot. And, as I said before, this is just an average. Sure, some officers are paid more, but for every officer that falls into a pay bracket above the average, another falls below it.
And perhaps you need some reminding, but working as a police officer is not always glamorous. Behind the crisp uniform and the sense of authority is the dirty work of responding to car accidents, informing loved ones that a member of their family has passed away, and arresting criminals at a great risk to themselves.
I know cops. I’ve seen them on their good days and their bad. And I think that they aren’t paid enough. But, that is where their “great benefits” come into play. Admittedly, they’re good. But they aren’t the best. On such a relatively low salary (as compared to the hours that they work and the things they must deal with) the benefits serve as a form of compensation. “Sorry we don’t pay you shit, but here’s some health care and we won’t throw your family to the wolves if you die.” I suppose it’s the least we tax payers can do… After all, it’s not like the cops protect us or something.
But you did get one thing right! They are self serving bastards, aren’t they? Those damn pigs… They’re just out to make sure that they don’t lose their privileges! Well, what can I say? It’s true. But I don’t blame them. In fact, I support them. If anyone deserves to get knocked down a few rungs, I’d have to say it would be our politicians. I believe in paying people for their services and at this point I think the vast majority of our “representatives” probably owe this country.
Now, if you want a breakdown of what sort of pay and benefits a police officer in Wisconsin is entitled to, I’d check out http://www.dot.state.wi.us/about/hr/jobs/trooper-insp/salary.htm . I would also suggest that you go back to fifth grade grammar and brush up a bit. You’re confusing your “there”s. The use of “there” states a location or place, “they’re” is a contraction for “they are” (which you failed to use at all), and “their” is used in the case of ownership (which you used correctly and then misused). I just thought you’d want to know that.
Love, Your Friendly Grammar Teacher
Fabulous, I was wondering when they would step up and join in. This is great news. Walker is not working for Wisconsin residents, he is working for the Koch’s brothers. He needs to realize that with us, there is no Wisconsin. The working class that voted for the Republicans, are losing faith in them quickly. There are a few that still believe in them, but wait until it affects them and see how they change.
He is working for the people of wisconsin you dolt. Why should my tax dollars go to people who want to be greedy? Have you ever actually looked at what these whiney ass complaining teachers, who complain about making so little, actually make? Before you go and join in on the lies of making didley shit from teachers, look into what they actually make. You might be suprised.
Cut the bullshit, “freedom fighter”. Walker isn’t working for the people, and you know it. This man is working for the private corporations that are cutting down the wages of workers in Wisconsin, and the Koch brothers are just a piece of that puzzle. Give me a break with your deluded, anti-worker rhetoric.
I am a teacher so I am aware of what I get paid. Let me tell you this: the average manager at Starbucks makes more than me. Whiney ass-now that’s funny. Perhaps you should get your facts straight before you post ignorant things.
Dear Freedom fighter. You sound like all of your information comes from Fox News. Answer this one question. Have you read the 140 page bill? If you haven’t then you are out of this discussion.
Your Tax dollars are going to the KOCH Brothers who OWN Walker. His bell has a no bid contract for the Kochs to by publicly held power plants at any price they choose. The Kocks and Walker are fascists and so are you Freedom Fighter. Evidenlty your name does NOT describe you.
I’m guessing “Freedom Fighter” here is a Tea-Party member. Their use of the slogan “Freedom Fighting” only goes so far to meaning freedom for the Wall Street banks and every other capitalist politician to exploit the valuable labor force of every hard working American.
The Koch Brothes, the Tea-Party movement, and Wall Street are all one in the same. These are fat cat capitalists seeking to destroy every right the workers of Wisconsin, let alone all of America, hold dearly.
The average wage of a WI teacher is $57,000 *including* ~$17K in benefits.
That’s an average wage of $40,000 before taxes, or $20 and hour. Starting wage is about $24K before taxes, or $12 an hour. If you assume that there are as many beginning-of-career teachers as end-of-career teachers, a teacher retiring this year is earning $28/hour.
That’s ok money for people with a post-graduate professional degree, but it’s nothing to cheer about.
You might have a point it if teachers’ salaries had been linked to private sector income growth for the last 20 years. But it wasn’t, so you don’t.
Tell us how stupid and ignorant we are again. Go on. We all know you want to. We won’t expect you to cite your evidence though, because we already suspect that your only source is a recruiting ad for the University of Phoenix.
I see that Bottom Feeder aka Freedom Fighter….has left the building…if not…he should!
This “whiney ass complaining teacher” makes less than babysitting wages. Freedom Fighter, maybe you should TRY to spend some time with kids — up to 200 a day, many of whom do not have parents at home, or who have to fend off bad situations. Teachers feed kids, provide them with school supplies, listen to their hopes, dreams, fears, and scary times. We deserve to be able to go to a bargaining table as a group and to defend ourselves from outrageous accusations and those occasional vindictive administrators. Please get a grip (and a clue) before you start hurting yourself.
um, to the guy who laces all tea partiers in this movement. you just placed me in this crap! sorry but not all freedom loving people want to see this junk, and i stand with several thousands who are against mr. walker! i stand behind the working people, as well as the message the tea party has been preaching. you as well need to get your facts straight on this subject. as for freedom fighter, really? you really think what your saying is facts? you sound like you copied something from the news network that dont give out information except for what is told to them by any party. he, mr. walker, maybe a rep. but note this, not all rep. stand for this guy. i so love the fact that some say what is the law and isn’t. they, the police, on tax payers, they can strike. that is what unions do. they strike.
I am a teacher and I make less then my niece who manages a Starbucks. You think before you type before you insult more people.
I have to laugh at people that use the “my tax dollars”for their excuse of why State workers have no say.
Excuse me, do you not think that “we State workers” pay taxes?
Damn states want to kill state workers who make the “most” money and pay the most taxes of the hard workers of America.. yet the States scream they have no $$$$$.
So when they un-employ the major workers who exactly is supporting the Politicians paychecks??
That is the question.
This so called “freedom fighter” that has posted above is a shill… get your boots out he/she is
a disinformation spammer to smear the sheeite…..
I can smell it from Oregon.
Bull crap. If it was about money then the union has already agreed to give up the money. All this is a a strong arm move by the masters of Walker like the Koch brothers. So do the people run this country or is it the Kock Brothers. We’ve already seen proof of that.
Hahahaha…. Funny you should bring up teachers. I was actually just thinking of that! You know, teachers really are just glorified babysitters. I mean, they sit at a desk and hand out homework that half the time YOU have to help your kid do. Come on… What do they do all day? So I came up with a great idea! Teachers should be paid the average hourly wage of a babysitter.
Now, I haven’t babysat in a few years, but I think my starting salary was somewhere around $3 per kid per hour. Sound good? Ok.
So, teachers work what… 7:45 to 3pm (’cause you KNOW they’re out of that door the second that bell rings!). Toss in a 45 minute lunch break and that comes to 6 1/2 hours a day. Pretty nice, huh? Now, 6.5 multiplied by 3.00 equals $19.50 a day. See, now we’re getting somewhere…
Oh, but I almost forgot! The average classroom size is now somewhere between 20 and 30 students… So we’ll go with 25. After all, we can’t overestimate this. Those teachers are just robbing us of our hard earned cash! So we’ll just multiply 19.50 by 25 and that’s… $468 a day if every parent pays the low, low price of $3.00 per hour for 6.5 hours.
But, just to have a load of fun, let’s see what that comes out to for the year. After all, those teachers get weekends and prime holiday time off, plus the summer! So it has to even out, right? Now… 468 times 180 (the number of days an average teacher works, for those of you who’ve been goofing off or sleeping in the back of the classroom. Freedom Fighter, that means you. Eyes on the board, mister!) comes out to… Oh wow… My calculations MUST be off! $84,240 a year! That’s pretty impressive, especially considering that the average teacher’s pay is around $50,000 a year. Starting salaries are even lower.
Now, if you’d like, I can redo all of those calculations and show you what someone with a Master’s Degree or one of those “whiney ass” special education teachers should make if they get paid the prime babysitting rate of $7.75.
Also, you spelled “whiny” wrong. A teacher could have helped you with that.
Andrew, this was not the first time the cops stood up and joined in. Ask anyone who has been at the Capitol over the last two weeks. Local cops were marching with the protestors starting on day one. Unfortunately a lot of them are working long hours covering the protests and cant get out as often as they would like.
Power to the People!
This is unbelievable how strong these people are. I am in total amazement that when someone really is evil and wrong. That people can only tolerate so much and they have to say enough. I get it here and I get it overseas. Hang in there the people of Wisconsin! Love you all!
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Many gov’ts pass unethical & illegal laws to advance an agenda. Remember how Mubarek said his Constitution made it impossible to call a new constitutional convention if he were to step down & he had to remain in order for “reform & change” to proceed? Well he designed that way.
Another case is some gov’ts make it illegal to strike, or to refuse the military draft on the grounds of conscientious objection or a voting poll tax or other tests to eliminate some voters. Others coerce parents to agree to questionable medical procedures such as vaccinations.
A more extreme case is the anti-Jewish laws of the Nazis. Were the ones who defied them breaking the Law? Yes. Is it moral & legal to disobey an immoral law & hide Jews or disobey an order to fire upon civilians? (My Lai, Viet Nam, Kent State, & Tripoli, Libya) This question each person must answer for themselves.
These “designer” laws & regulations are properly answered by civil disobedience. That’s what the first Tea Party & the Nuremberg trials were all about.
How many of you are willing to walk in to a burning building to save a life(remember 9/11)? How many of you are willing to spend your money to buy supplies for kids in school? How many of you want to work 14-16 hours plowing when there is a major snowstorm? Wisconsin has no right to protest? Oh, yes, they do. This is still a Democracy and protesting is as age-old as our country! Keep in mind the top 10% have 50% of the wealth in this country.
YES!!! Absolutely right on the mark!
it’s more concentrated than that – the richest 2% own more than 1/2 the wealth!
I actually have a statistic here that will blow your mind and just show you how out of whack things are here in America of late. This is just exactly why people like Walker have the audacity to go after the working class like this–the billionaires are drunk with their own power and obscene wealth and they feel…invincible. Here’s the statistic: the top 400 richest people in the USA have a capital worth of 1 trillion 500 billion dollars. This is more than twice the bailout has been for the collapse of the entire banking system since 2008. Isn’t that obscene?? I actually think putting caps on personal wealth (say… 300 million?) would help things from getting so out of hand. And no one could call a country where you can have a personal net worth of 300 million dollars…a communist country. I mean, 1/3 of a billion dollars is a hella lot of money for one person to have.
I was a republican until WALKER HAPPENED!!! Now I am re-evaluating everything, because WALKER IS WRONG!!!! PRAISE GOD for the cops joining the protest, instead of ending it…THANK YOU to each and every one of the 600 police officers who REFUSED to clear the building, and join the protest instead!!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!!
YES!!! These cops are true heroes.
Now THAT is the best news I have heard in weeks! My hat is off to the officers standing with the rest of Wisconsin protesters and for letting Walker know he has a true fight on his hands! AWESOME!
This is wonderful news. Thank God! This is what we need to happen, to save the middle class. Thank you to all the law enforcement who have joined this fight.
At the end of the day, both sides are ultimately using money as motivation to go justify what is right and wrong, when money has nothing to do with right and wrong. I support standing up for yourself, but theres alot of people out there, even wisconsin, that have not heard a single word of this. they hear “survival” where these people are hearing “older used car instead of fancy new toyota”. This is a battle for money, which has been wrong when both sides fund a lifestyle beyond many in wisconsin. Do something worthwhile and protest for more love
This news makes me proud to be American. Thank you to the police for choosing the right side of this debate and for standing with the people you are sworn to protect. It was not an easy choice I am sure but it was the RIGHT choice. I wish you all well from New Mexico
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WOW! Freedom Fighter you are an ignorant piece of work, to say the least. Teachers do not get paid NEARLY what they are worth. Do you have children? If so, do you even care about their future and the future of you possible grandchildren? Walker is NOT for the people. He is for himself and the KOCH brothers who paid for his campaign and now he is working for THEM. He is typical Republican who is money hungry grubbing piece of a$$ who could care less about 95% of the people. Check your facts before spewing crap! Walker is breaking up our state, families, etc and it’s all so very sad.
You scared poor little Freedom Fighter away. And welcom to Sara for seeing what is right before our eyes everyday The Raping of America by Robert Reich.
God Bless ALL Of you Fighting the GOOD FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t be with you physically but I am with you 210% spiritually!!
Thank you to the Officers who joined today. This is what we need to continue. I will continue calling, writing and trying to persuade those who are not understnding what this all means to us. There’s more here at stake than they can imagine~and I am amazed at what people DO NOT know!
Hang tough!! Stand TALL! We’re with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When the soldiers of this nation make what the teachers and government workers make, maybe some compassion. They cannot strike they can not speak out against there nation they go to work and have to put in 20 yrs to get a pension. for a helluva lot less money than these greedy people making.
No offense intended here because I do support our troops and recognize the sacrafices they make. But let’s compare apples to apples. It takes a degree to be a cop in WI (or to do a lot of these governent jobs), but not to be a soldier. And 20 yrs to get a pension isn’t bad. I thought I was doing pretty good with 30 and out. And doesn’t the pension include lifetime health benefits in the military? My governmnet job doesn’t. I am a cop. I cannot strike. I go to work as a neutral servant everyday and remain impartial while at work. I reserve my right as an American to protest in y off-duty time.
I was just woundering do I have to have a union card or pledge some kind of allegence now in order to get a cop,fire dept, nuse ect…
Meant to say authored by Robert Reich–Book titled Raping of America.
We need more and more Ian Murphys to expose these hypocritical creeps.
People are waking up! Wake up America! At last!
And must say a big congratulations to Noble Wray, Police Chief of Madison WI for calling Walker on his quote regarding the use of trouble makers being planted among the protesters. That could have endangered protester as well as police officers trying to keep the peace. Walker is an evil-doer to quote you know who.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE of WISCONSIN!!!! Thank you to the officers taking a moral stand-we;the people of Wisconsin salute you!!! I too,am a State employee.I make LESS than the raise the Gov. has proposed for himself during this FISCAL CRISIS…we already work 16-20 hour days,6 day weeks. We BARGAINED for the benefits he is stripping in lieu of monetary gain…PLEASE don’t tell me we are OVER PAID.After 20 years,I make LESS than the same job in the private sector! Stand strong Wisconsin,we CAN make a difference!!!!
Thank God we live in a free sxtate. Thank God for these police. I am so proud of each one of the police.
Freedom Fighter is a 4 letter word expletive that begins with a c.
Have a nice day. :)
too funny Anonymous!
No, his name is accurate. He’s fighting Freedom.
The primary purpose of Government is to protect and maintain “Individual” Rights.
It is not the duty of Government to protect Collective Rights. Collectivism – is opposite to an Individual’s Rights because the Individual surrenders certain Rights of liberty to be a part of the whole. Unions are a perfect example of this. Individuals surrender their own voice to have someone not speak on their behalf, but for the collective whole.
WI Individuals don’t even need a union to protest, and have their voices heard,
What a Paradox!!!
Get a clue people you don’t need a union.
I am coming to the same conclusion. We are having similar problems in Louisiana and the Union is not even voicing an opinion much less trying to make compromises that actually work for the people.
Instead they continue on collecting the dues and do nothing.
Koch brothers don’t need a union. They own Walker and the GOP, and pump millions to the GOP. So that is just money and not loyalty of caring about the people. I get sick of hearing the poor down rich people that control out government. Now it’s getting with Citizens United the court and the rich have been totally sold out to. This is pure Fascism.
A lot of unions are there for the people. Yes, there are some unions that aren’t even worth the dues, but that’s when you start fighting back against them. Get in contact with other unions and persist on. We wouldn’t have the freedom’s we have today if it wasn’t for the unions.
Michael-Isn’t Gov. Walker doing the same thing by claiming to be acting ‘for the people of Wisconsin’?
You are defeated by your own warped logic.
I am not going to argue the right or wrong of the different parties involved here. But to “C. Grussing”, I hate the argument that only those protesting, and only those sacrificing for their unions are willing to do the work involved. Obviosly many people are willing to spend their money for school supplies as the growing numbers of home-schooled children shows. In my children’s school district in CA, there are AT LEAST three parent volunteers in each class, freely giving their time to assist the teachers (without pay, in case you missed it). If you check the garages and barns in rural areas you will find snow plows rusting away because the unions won’t allow non-union members to plow their roads. I am in the Coast Guard and I don’t buy the argument that being in the military sets someone apart, because I know that there are plenty of people willing to do my job. I won’t argue the right or wrong in WI, but I hate false points in the arguments of others.
Anyone else find it a bit disturbing that the image tag at the top is a lot like the Soviet flag……and the red ant symbol looks a lot like the Chinese flag? Communism anyone?
That’s because I am a Communist. If you have a problem with that, then you don’t have to post here. Good day.
Hmmm… communism versus dictatorship. That is a tough one?
The hammer and sickle didn’t tip you off, genius?
Conflating the philosophy of Communism with Totalitarian dictatorships that co-opted the term is as ignorant as saying Democracy is terrible because the US engages in Totalitarian tactics overseas.
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WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Badgers! Way to fight for your rights.
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I sure hope this guy and all the other cops, don’t lose their jobs… that will be his next move… revenge
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To all the protesting comrades in Wisconsin. As a Trade Union Organiser in Australia, my heart swells with pride to see all those people together to try and stop such an immoral law. Solidarity brothers and Sisters, and good on the Wisconsin Police. A lesson to other Police around the world, that is how you protect and serve.
You guys need to lighten up.
Y 4 ?
All teachers, police, and students, if you can, I’d give this article a read as well. Walker’s bill is much more than just wage cuts. He’s going after the entire public sector of working class Americans:
Keep in thought who we have as “Speaker of the House” now.
This is true. Boehner is an absolute joke.
Um…What happened to Freedom Fighter?
Apparently he couldn’t hold up to his lies. We have plenty of teachers here refuting his claims. What else could he do? At least he didn’t persist on.
We scared him away with intelligence. Ouch – low, but true blow! LOL!
he’s off fighting against freedom on another message board.
My emotions and inner reasoning feel at peace with the actions to support the unions (after all the union stands for the people). I don’t want to imagine how I would feel if the actions were reversed. I know I would feel crushed, similar to the feeling of a lost sport contest of a hometown team. Go Green Bat. Go Wisconsin. I guess this is not the finally or conclusion of the governments activity. Who is leading the opposition against the Tea Party?
The police have been with us all along…..Thank you!!!! and Thank you to the fire fighters as well !!!!! Both groups have always stood solidly at the side of all public workers and the public:)
As to Freedom fighter …that guy/girl is delusional! Teachers, GREEDY? WHINEY? Oh please Freedom Fighter come to my school and really SEE what public education is these days. As was posted before, you have to work through family turmoil, nutrition and proper clothing….and that’s BEFORE you start educating. I’ve gotten kicked, hit, spit on, called every four letter word you can imagine. DO I WHINE??? NO!!! As stressful as my job is, I love every minute of it. I love the smiles, I love the trust you see grow when they know they are safe in school, the confidence built when they are pushed and find out they CAN learn despite every obstacle life has put in their way. But to ask me to take care of your child and do it well for less than a babysitter….tells me how much you care about YOUR child or the FUTURE children that will vote about WHAT RIGHTS YOU will have when your in a nursing home my friend…think about it.
Thank you Cathy for being a teacher who obviously puts up with way more than you should especially for the $. To you it’s more than $. I found the “whiney, greedy” comments to be absurd! I have a great friend who is a teacher of troubled teenagers and the job is very tough, but very rewarding at the same time. She also has been spat at, hit, chairs through at her, cussed at, etc and is still teaching happily. Thanks to all teachers, (fireman, police officers and to the men and women fighting for our country. Especially to the policemen and woman joining up with the people of this state.
Walker is basically saying it’s his way OR the highway! Certainly not for the people – so, so very sad!
Are unions perfect? No, but they really have kept things/people/employment in check. We do need them. They should have the right to “bargain” for what they believe in. That doesn’t mean they should get it, same goes with private sectors and the rest of the ways of the world.
Walker- maybe you shouldn’t have given big tax cuts to the rich and maybe we wouldn’t have quite this problem?????
I am so hurt and disgusted by this whole mess. At the same time we are urging our brothers and sisters in the Middle East, the political mentality that they are fighting against have come into the very heart of America in the form of the politicians and Wisconsin. They have shown the world the very hypocrites that they are. I and other Americans have a lot to say about this situation. I am going to be checking across the network for more comments on the situation. I also wrote a blog on the situation because I had so much to say about it. I know one thing for sure, American connected this type of political behavior lying down. Keep the vigilant America, we have a true to life enemies in the camp.
Repsect most high to the police of Wisconsin, and all the comrade unionists resisting this breathtakingly immoral legislation. Wishing I could jump a plane from Australia to sit with you.
The workers, united, will never be defeated.
Our thoughts, hearts and minds are with you brothers and sisters. Whatever you need we will assist. Touch one touch all.
Unity is strength.
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Respect most high to the police of Wisconsin, and to all the comrade unionists resisting this breathtakingly immoral legislation. I wish I could jump a plane from Australia to sit with you.
The workers, united, will never be defeated.
Congratulations to the people of Wisconsin from an Australian observer. It is very heartening to see such a stand for justice against the vested interests of those in power.
Great news!! Its time for America to wake up and fight for your real freedom..
I second that emotion.
What wonderful news… I have been so saddened by the media published views of Palin and Tea party members that i had begun to think most of USA had lost the ability to care about ordinary people, who don;t have money and power behind them.
As an Australian, I guess you folks could tel me to mind my own business, bi hope you don’t see my comment as interfering…. I just want to you to know others are with you.
I don’t understand so called “conservatives” who claim they are for LESS government and then support Scott Walker’s move to make government the sole abitrator of employment conditions. What if Governor Walker decides that we are going to an 80 hour work week and that no overtime will be allowed? Wouldn’t his plan prohibit the employee from protesting this? What if the Governor decides that normal class room size/work load for teachers is 300 students and that the job hinges on performance achievements? My understanding is that the only things a worker will be able to negotiate is wages. There are far more things to employment than wages. What kind of jobs are the 250,000 new jobs he has promised to create, what will they pay, what will they involve and will they amount to enforced servitude? Or should we contact the Koch brothers for this information?
just remember unions are the only reason there are safe workplaces, decent wages anywhere in all work places, and that hiring practices have to be fair. If the unions are gone, everyones wages will drop, there will chained fire escape doors again, and only friends and family will be hired in jobs. Check your history books, before unions all these things were status quo. Countries without union rights like China,Russia, Georgia, India etc are the lowest paid in the world and starving. If that is what you really want for WI, that is very sad.
My hats off to the officers and all who are protesting in Madison!! KEEP up the good work!!! As for walker STEP DOWN OR BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE!!!!!!!
I am a Republican. I get most of my news via Fox and Drudge. I also think what the Wisconsin legislature is proposing is wrong. Republicans can’t cry about “personal freedoms” and then remove the right of people to collectively bargain with their employer, regardless of the employer. At least, IMO.
I actually found your article through the Drudge Report.
Interesting. I’m actually searching through the Drudge Report site and can’t find anything. Though, first time I’ve been to the page, so could be just lost. lol
Many have brought up many good examples of why we had Unions. Can anyone give us good examples of why we still have them?
There are so many protections written into Federal and State laws that actually make Unions irrelevent. What are they doing to earn that $700 to $1,000 dollars annually from each Union member. What activity even justifies that kind of expense?
Walker’s an ass, no doubt about it. I just fine the arguement from the left just as weak.
i know, its extremely immoral for unions to think theyre entitled to up to 30% more salary than non-unionized employees. its extremely immoral for unionized members to think theyre entitled to a pension that they contribute nothing too and let the tax payers foot the bill!
glad we see eye to eye sir!
Jerk (oh so apt), clearly we don’t see eye to eye you fool. Have you even thought through your argument for one second? If non-unionised workers want to improve their conditions there is a simple remedy – join a union and bargain collectively!
We are seeing this divisive drag-everyone-down message peddled via the Teabaggers of this world, seeking to pit the working and middle (or lower middle in the case of many of these Wisconsin public servants) classes against each other. It is the most banal crud I’ve ever heard, and that you have swallowed it is a sad indictment on your intellect.
If we all organised as working people the Koch’s of this world might have to live on a billion or two less (but still remain billionaires) and we could all live with a modicum of comfort and security.
Jerk (Off???), still reeling from the basic stupidity of your comments. Your position seems to be “everyone should be paid 30% less”.
If you are a working or middle class wage-earner: Can’t you see the craziness of not wanting to adopt the mechanisms (unionism) which could earn you “30% more”? It should also be ackowledged that the Wisconsin workers are quite prepared to make the economic concessions demanded by Gov. Wanker (community spirit, economic reasonability, socialism; call it what you will) – they just want to retain their right to keep their voice.
If you are wealthy: Stop peddling such sh*t.
HA HA ….”freedom fighter really IS a shill for the Koch brothers and the corporate elite. Check it out! Click on his/her avatar picture and you come up with “gravatar”. A site to manage “all your online avatars”. This paid A.H. is working for the same faceless, nameless people that actually pay the “good” governor of Wisconsin (sarcasm)!
It’s time to reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act! Tax the billionaires and end the f*&^king war, that’s how we get our economy and our country back!
Kudos to the officers who were off duty that walked into the capitol in unity to show their support for the protesters and call Walker out for his authoritative moves. I know plenty of teachers and they do not make as much as people working in the private sector. I work for a small retail owner and I can tell you I don’t make much but I back the unions and I protest against what Walker is doing to our state. I know many people are getting the facts wrong about unions because those that are not a part of one have no idea what they really contribute. If it wasn’t for unions we wouldn’t have the state and federal labor laws that we do now. You can thank unions for that! Of course many in the private sector take that for granted not really understanding that their 40 hour work weeks, overtime, weekend, sick days, paid holidays, and other things came from collective bargaining done by unions. Ignorance only gets you so far in life. Wake up people we need unions to back the working class of this country. Not only in the public but also in the private sector.
With all that in mind “ON WISCONSIN”
I have made this suggestion several times
All garbage collectors across the nation, especially if they belong to union, should stop collecting garbage for one month.
This will show clearly who is more important for our society
a)The lowly garbage collectors, or
b) the governor (would-be-dictator] of Wisconsin, the politicians and lobbyists, the Wall Street bankers, the billionaire Koch brothers (all of them together)
If all of group b) disappeared for one month, or even died, would anyone notice or suffer any consequences?
Anyone care to comment?
I don’t think the Governor is making the right decision when he doesn’t want collective barganing, I know it has to be tough to make a decision here, he doesn’t want to add more money to the deficit, there will be jobs lost in the end, it is ashame that this is playing out this way but the people are reserving their right to protest, but people are being brought in from other states to fight this,the democratic senators are MIA, they need to get back and help fix this.
I believe this is happening because of bad leadership starting from the top, everyone is greety, the republicans and the democrats they all have allot of money, they forgot what it is like to struggle. Put faith in God not in Men , and God will take care of mankind.
He/She is a paid shill. Click on “freedom fighter’s” avatar and see where it takes you. This A.H. has multiple online identities. Here to stir up trouble and attempt to confuse and disinform the people. There are many of them out there. Look for it, not too hard to smell BS when it stinks of obscenely rich people who want all the power they can get. It’s never enough for them. These sons of b*&^cths want to take the basic necessities for a descent survival away from the “common” people so they can bask in more and more power. They’re power junkies.
Our country was founded on breaking the law. Not all laws are just.
To put this in context here are some excerpts from USAToday a few days ago
Benghazi, LIBYA
Foreign mercenaries and Libyan militiament loyal to Moammar Gadhagi tried to roll back the uprising that has advanced closer to his stronghole in Tripoli, attacking two nearby cities that killed at least 17 people[[[on the news tonight, over 1000 people have been killed,,, the actual count will never be known, but is probably much higher]]
An army unit loyal to Gadhafi opened fire last night on a mosque where residents -some armed with hunting rifles for their protection – have been holding a sit-in to support the protesters…’
Is this America “the land of the free and th4e brave” or Libya, a dictatorship where one guy called the shots for 40 years and the population could not say anything because he was the”boss”?. [[guvnor Walker has been in office a mere 2 months and who knows might be impeached and kicked out, like the guvnor of Illinois not long ago.]]
Are the police servants of a dictator bound to do his will, or of the people whom they are sworn to protect?
Is the power of two guys named Koch who have billions of dollars greater than that of millions of “free ” citizens whose collective net worth is less?.
?
How about these for teachers salaries.
http://dailycaller.com/2011/02/21/wisconsins-teachers-make-a-little-more-money-than-theyre-letting-on/
Proud to be a Wisconsinite!!!!
This isn’t about teachers whining they don’t make enough, it’s about the people not having a voice anymore. Walker just gave over $65 million tax breaks to new businesses. Why, if we have no money? It’s obvious what his agenda is.
One of the reasons unions have to exist today is compliance. No police department or governmental oversight committee would have the time, money or resources to adequately investigate and remedy the abuses that would happen if unions didn’t exist. For example, if a collectively bargained contract specified that all teachers have 50 minutes of preparation time, but the principals tell the teachers that they need to cover absent colleagues’ classes (instead of hiring a substitute teacher), unions can force principals/districts to comply with the contract by filing grievances and providing immediate follow-up. If a contract did not allow a union to protect the provision protecting planning time, there is no guarantee that the abuses would actually stop in a timely or effective manner.
Again, we already know what the Unions did decades ago. What have they done for members lately? Also, the Unions never got the 40 hour work week. They negotiated a 48 hour work week. It wasn’t until 1938 that the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed by Congress creating the 40 hour work week(actually they wanted 30 but that never passed the House) As alluded to earlier, employees have protections under many State and Federal Laws. How are the Unions relevant today that they deserve the privilege of continueing to represent working men and women and dipping into their paychecks?
Nickel and Dimed : Undercover in Low-wage USA : Barbara Ehrenreich 2001
“Someday, of course – and I will make no predictions as to exactly when – they are bound to tire of getting so little in return and to demand to be paid what they’re worth. There’ll be alot of anger when that day comes, and strikes and disruption. But the sky will not fall, and we will all be better off for it in the end.”
From an Australian Unionist.
We are with you Brothers and Sisters
The above is pure fear mongering.
Tom,
” The above is pure fear mongering”.
I represent workers in Australia in the poultry industry. Have you ever walked the floor of a poultry factory? Tom you have no idea.
My post was referencing American life. I understand completely how other nations lag behind the work standards set forth my Union and non-Union actions in this nation.
Even if Unions were wiped out in the US, Laws and regulations would continue protecting employee and their woudlnt’ be a hiccup to missing Unions.
Tom,
Don’t kid yourself. Our labour market is strong and relatively well regulated compared to yours (we have recently won our industrial war). Our minimum wage is double yours, and our dollar has parity with yours. By any analysis we have a comparable standard of living to you.
But you’d be mad to think that in our country and yours alike there is any impediment, bar organised labour, preventing every lowballing, greedy scumbag from squeezing every last drop from those without the power to prevent it (this includes the public sector – a la Gov. Walker). Have a look at your own poultry or meatworking industries, or for that matter any number of myriad vocations and you will find workers unable to make ends meet on what they make for full-time work. Unionisation, and unionisation alone, can solve this.
Tom, you clearly have your head in the sand (or up your own ass). Right now, all over America there are people unable to survive on the wages earnt for a 40hr week. This is a deplorable situation for a country which would hold itself up to be the “world’s greatest”.
The tool to changing this is organised labour. ‘Nuff said.
No it’s not fear mongering. The reason why the unions were formed in the first place is because of unacceptable working conditions and lack of bargaining power. Workers had no say whatsoever in the terms of their employment. There is no question about this. Unions were hard won and people sacrificed so much to be able to have the unions and the bargaining power that they provide. Unions are the mark of a true democracy.If you want hard detailed facts, then read The People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn. It’s all there…and it’s irrefutable.
Unless I am mistaken, I think what tom was attempting to say was in regards to comments towards that unions are the “only” reason we have safe working conditions, fare wages, fare hiring practices. I worked at a non-union business who acquired a business which had a union which we dissolved. As an office manager and I can quote that unions, or at least theirs, no longer filled these roles since I had to work them into our payroll system and take care of all the human resource paperwork that went along with this process. After we dissolved the union, those who wanted to work harder were offered the ability to make up to triple the amount of money they made previously; whereas others who only wanted to perform similar to what they did under their previous union contract got paid exactly what they did in a commensurate hourly wage. Also, due to the removal of the often misused union seniority rules applying to advancement many of the younger hires were allowed promotions because they were hard workers who had the desire to do the work when they were previously held from advancement under their previous unions terms. This is what always confused me about how the unions help their workers. “If the unions are gone everyone’s [gr edit] wages will drop…” it seems this isn’t ALWAYS the case. Yes, I realize my example is a microscopic view as it’s only an experience with one union but it still shows some reason to question any given union and how much they REALLY work for the people they are there to represent.
Also back to Tom’s point, as an HR rep and an office manager I can say with 100% certainty that law and not union provide the safety nets Tom was rebutting in calling Heather’s statement “fear mongering.” As well, you have to read his other posts as well that talk about labor laws vs union now and not compare union purposed from over 60 years ago. In regards to more “fear mongering” I will post these:
Union is the only reason we have:
Safe workplaces – Clearly covered under OSHA laws which far exceed what I found in the one union I had experience with, so it was OSHA law and not the union that kept the workplace safe
Fair Wages – Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and as an office manager I admit to this needing a swift kick in the ass as the legal minimum wages covered here are less than what they should be for many jobs.
Fairness in hiring – Equal Employment Opportunity Commission did more for equal rights in hiring than any union that I have heard about historically. I can assure you as the HR manager EEO is quite serious business and that even an alleged EEOC infraction will have you tied up in legal so fast it will make your head spin. Even when a termination or non-hire decision was fully legal and justifiable the burden of proof still falls on the employer who is ironically guilty until proven innocent via documenting evidence, which is the opposite of how our presumption of innocence is supposed to be.
…chains on the emergency doors – I don’t off-hand know of a federal law but I know most states have laws that prohibit such practices and at least in my state the Fire Marshall does not announce his visit to check the business’ fire safety procedures. We had to keep fire escape route maps up in every main hall that were pristine, make sure all emergency lighting was functional including the rechargeable batteries, make sure all fire extinguishers were charged and ready for use, and we had to keep all emergency paths clear as well as all emergency doors clear and easily operable to all. These were all items that carried a $50,000 fine PER INSTANCE. As an example, our business was fined $100,000 because one of the maps was partially obscured because someone had put marker (graffiti) on it and one of our lights had a bad bulb (the other still worked mind you). I didn’t even know the Fire Marshall had been there because I was at lunch and when I returned no one thought to say anything, two days later we received our fine and inspection paperwork.
I still think that Gov. Walker is a douche bag so don’t get my statements incorrectly. I did find it odd that people are not seeing that Heather’s quoted comment is in fact argumentum ad baculum and is also just a bit straw man.
If you want to know what the Kochs, and their perverse ilk, have in mind, read Jack London’s 1907 “The Iron Heel.” They want to turn the clock back at least 100 years.
I say no.
Try:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Iron_Heel
and
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1164
where it’s freely downloadable.
All I can say is “Wow!” What a demonstration of solidarity!
I am sure some of you have read this, but tax payers don’t pay for public employee pensions. Public employees make less, since more of their salary goes into their pensions for retirement. Here is the link: http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/02/25/the-wisconsin-lie-exposed-taxpayers-actually-contribute-nothing-to-public-employee-pensions/
The last election the Republicans had 6 large corporations give for their campaign. The Democrats only 3 union corps giving for there campains. The Republicans would like nothing more fot the onion to stop giving money to ther democrats Then the Republicans womt have nyone in the way of the Republicans,
Well the Republicans and Democrats have done a mighty fine job of splitting up the private and public sector for the most part. Open your eyes and throw all of them out next election D and R! This is a speech from a speaker that some would consider right wing but I am sure the unions can also take his message to heart as you are fighting for your rights. A big salute to my fellow Wisconsinites standing up for their freedoms. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbOp_9VfR6o
AWESOME!!!!!!!!! You go Wisconsin!!! Thanks to the Wisconsin Police Department for standing up. This is the best video I have seen in a while.
Hero’s, all of you!
my grandfather was trying to get a union started for dam workers. my mother told me stories of how they tried to have him killed@the troubles they went through as a family. SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Freedom fighter??? Thats funny. I remember the “Critical Thinking” textbook in college which said:
Freedom fighter or Terrorist? It depends what side you are on.
I doubt that “FF” nut that posted here tonight has ever had any real schooling.
I live in Douglas County Wisconsin one of the northern most counties in this state. The average salery in this area is $44,000. My husband is a Hwy Dept. employee making $18.00/hr which less than the coal sweepers at the docks. The phone rings during the night a call out and he is gone for how long, 12-16 hours unknown. Many cold winter nights he is out there @ 4:00 am plowing the State Hwys, missing Christmas, birthdays, funerals, weddings and what have you to make sure that the people that depend on him have a safe commute to their jobs in the morning. On-call 24/7 with no on-call pay, Why? Because he is a whiney lazy no account public employee making big bucks? No because he works for the people of this State and is dedicated to his obligation to the working people. This fight is not about getting rich because we are Union members it is about the rights of workers everywhere across this nation.
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 23.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 29.
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Mr Walker you are violating the rights of the working people of the State of Wisconsin pay special attention to Article 30 it doen’t have a special exemption for you or the KOCH Brothers. United We Stand or Divided we fall!
Sing it, sister.
As much as I am not a fan of the Koch Brothers the United Nations is ten times worse. We got our own constitution and elected officials I don’t need other countries to help with that. While what you posted may be in good faith the United Nations is not our government.
Quit your whining, sister. Your husband has a job. He chose the job which includes the extra duties you are whining about. I have almost the same exact job and I am thankful to have it. I also am aware of the great benefits that come with that $18.00 / hr – these benefits are something that some of my friends working on the outside don’t have. Also, I have all kinds of job protection provided by my union. All in all, I would say we government workers have it pretty good. I guess you have to be really hungry to realize how cushy we have it. P.S. Quoting the United Nations Human Rights … is a real stretch. Get a grip on reality. The state is broke and our country is broke.
Oh TJS. Nobody would ever guess you’re a troll MAKING UP what you just wrote. : P Get a grip, indeed.
Tsk tsk… I wonder what’s happening in our world today? :(
“We know what is right and wrong.” “They told us to kick you out at 4:00pm.” “We will be sleeping here with you.” — Honest truth, right and wrong. It thrills my soul when individuals side with truth and justice when someone is protesting a wrong. Thanks for posting this event.
United We Stand is right! If there were a mass movement of say 600 civilians and 600 Law Enforcement from every state filling the streets of Madison to protest this dictator going by the name Walker as well as a demand from all that Walker be dismissed from his position by the people of Wisconsin a sound message from all of Wisconsin would be heard loud and proud “WE ARE UNITED STATES CITIZENS! WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY! BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE!” The unions/public workers were willing to make concessions. Walker refused to negotiate. It’s his way or the highway so lets all give him his walking papers!
This is great! Now what is Walker going to do, fire all police forces in the state and then fire all state workers? Nice governing Walker–are you now going to run to the Koch brothers for some thugs to insert into the crowds filled with state police forces. . .?
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I am a Unoion man bee there 40 yrs and I and all my commrads in NH in the private sector that is Union stand By you in Wisconsin
Walker need to be impeached
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A QUESTION FOR TEACHERS! I would assume you teach from the perspective that one should abide by the law. There is an old axiom that we are “a nation of laws, not of men”. Laws are paramount. One would quickly acknowledge that taking public funds (salary) when faking and going off to protest, is basically fraud and illegal. People in the private sector get routinely fired for this stuff. So, how do you rationalize and support the fact that MANY teachers have done exactly this–fake illness, accept wages for it, and go off to protest on paid time?? I hope some of you who have done this will attempt an answer. And no, an acceptable answer is not some whining about collective bargaining, which does not change the basic fraud issue
Public employees protesting in Wisconsin is to be expected. I would let them protest as long as the wanted to, as long as they were peaceful. No police were necessary. Just let them have their say. However, no one can deny the fact that government workers have better benefits than the average private sector worker. Government employees also are payed far better than private sector workers doing the same job. The governor should have gone after higher contributions from government workers for their insurance and retirement plans and negotiated a freeze in salaries but left collective bargaining out of the equation. It’s time to talk about smaller government and this includes bringing public employee pay and benefits more in line with the private sector.
Yes, yes, yes! Keep up the pressure. If Walker doesn’t back down, call a general strike!!!
Like a Cancer. Don’t give up, don’t ever give up!
First of all it’s not the unions house it’ the people’s house you know the ones you hosing. Well I guess this mean you have to have a union card or profess your loyalty to the union in order to get police, fire, ambulance, this is great I do not wan’t to pay these union leaches CAN’T THE GOVENOR SIGN AN EXECUTIVE ORDER LIKE THEY DID IN INDIANA STAND TUFF GOVENOR THE REAL WORKING PEOPLE ARE BEHIND YOU. And you union thugs are not the people people only way to send a message don’t buy union and let each place know why your not supporting there business.
I’ve never been more proud to be a COP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A big applause from Athens, Greece for the Wisconsin “cops”, and a “V” for the people’s fight. Your struggle is our struggle, everywhere.
We will make sure as many people as possible see this footage in Greece. Here, we are currently under occupation by an IMF puppet government, after …2 centuries of being more or less a “protectorate” [a “democracy” in name only, run by a corrupt elite, i.e. much like most of the world…], and we hope that one day soon we will have similar footage to share with you. For the time being, massive protests have been kept “down” by several thousands of rambo-like, nasty riot police and tons of -prohibited elsewhere- tear gas, which are used with the excuse of fighting “rioters” (at least some of which are professional thugs of the police state). Next step might even be a military junta, like 40 years ago. But, things cannot stand like this for ever. Hope so, at least!
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It is interesting that messages written on Walker’s side are hateful, almost brainwashed people and people who oppose Walker seem to be really trying to educate people on the facts. Doesn’t that say a lot? Thanks for everyone who is trying to get the facts out that. People have got to open their eyes, stop being so hateful and looking for someone to lynch and blame the problems of the world on. Could it be that working together might be a better idea? Walker has caused such a divide in this state and I’ll tell you, morale is down. The haters should think about their moms, dads, aunts, uncles, etc. who might be the absolute best employee in a company but because they make more than what younger workers might make that they’re fired. DO WE REALLY WANT EMPLOYEES TO BE FEARFUL OF SPEAKING UP AGAINST UNFAIR WORKING CONDITIONS THEIR MINDS FOR FEAR OF LOSING THEIR JOBS? PLEASE THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS REALLY MEANS.
It is very good to see that most People of America have an overall realistic view of how a society needs to function. With freedom, the right to speak, the responsability to care for eachother through a system that supports it.
I am a citizen of The netherlands and this means that I am a socialist, by your standards. Less is true. But where most Americans think that Obama is a lefty. Forget it. To our standards he is still a right wing politician. He’s okay though. Still, I can understand that most of you are fighting for better wages. Keep it up.
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