Wisconsin and Ohio are now the front line in the USA in the fight to save public services, and if their governors have their way, the consequences for AFSCME members and the entire US labour movement would be devastating.
President Obama "...some of what I've heard coming out of Wisconsin, where you're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain, generally seems like more of an assault on unions... it's very important for us to understand that public employees, they're our neighbors, they're our friends... They make a lot of sacrifices and make a big contribution. And I think it's important not to vilify them or to suggest that somehow all these budget problems are due to public employees." February 16, 2011
Late last week, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker introduced radical legislation that would deny nearly 200,000 union members their full collective bargaining rights. Public employee contracts will be limited to one year. Pay for members of our three Wisconsin councils will be cut and capped. Home health care and child care workers will be denied all collective bargaining rights, as will many employees working in the state universities and hospitals. He has even threatened to mobilize the Wisconsin National Guard if needed to stop protests, intimidate workers, and break unions.
Click here to stand in solidarity with AFSCME members in those states.
Watch this video of AFSCME members as they file into the state Capitol to stand up for their rights here.