Labor

Wisconsin Newspapers Create False Equivalency on Recall Spending

Two Wisconsin newspapers published front-page stories this week about the state's recall elections, suggesting that both Democrats and Republicans are evenly matched financially, and have even received the same level of support from out-of-state donors. But what is the real story?

Koch-Funded Mackinac Center Brings Wisconsin Act 10 Provisions to ALEC

With the recent publication of additional American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) documents, new questions are being raised about the source of certain provisions in Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's controversial collective bargaining legislation. Some of those provisions may be adopted by ALEC for introduction in other states.

Walker Says that "Job Creators" Will Be Back After the Recall

The banner headline in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this morning "State posts largest percentage job loss in U.S. over past year" underscores a serious problem that folks living in Wisconsin are already familiar with. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wisconsin was the only state in the country to have statistically significant job losses in the past year. Wisconsin lost 23,900 jobs between March 2011 and March 2012. The majority were government jobs, but that number included 6,100 private sector jobs, the most private sector jobs lost in any state.

The Incredible Shrinking $7.5 Million Damage Tab for the Wisconsin Capitol Protests

When all is said and spun, some will judge the veracity of Governor Scott Walker's administration by a single number it released in March 2011.

The "Wisconsin Uprising" hit its stride in February-March, 2011 with more than 100,000 protesters rallying outside the Capitol and thousands more inside, including hundreds who occupied overnight for up to three weeks. When the administration was seeking to limit public access to the Capitol during the protests, the Wisconsin Department of Administration's chief counsel Cari Anne Renlund, told a judge hearing the access case that the cleanup would cost $6 million to repair damaged marble inside the Capitol, $1 million for damage outside and $500,000 for costs to supervise the damage. The estimates (which were the same as the original cost of the entire construction of the Capitol nearly a century ago) were based largely on alleged tape residue damage from signs. Protestors countered that they had consulted with preservationists and used marble-safe blue painter's tape. Their militant adherence to the blue tape was visible to every Capitol visitor.

Federal Court Strikes Down Key Provisions of Walker's Act 10 as Unconstitutional

A federal judge has struck down key provisions of Act 10 -- Governor Scott Walker's controversial legislation limiting collective bargaining -- on grounds that the arbitrary, possibly politically-motivated distinction between "public safety" and other public employees violated equal protection and First Amendment rights.

Judicial Commission Charges Supreme Court Justice with Three Ethics Violations

In the nearly 40 years since Wisconsin created an ethics panel to try judges for misconduct, charges had been filed only twice against members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Justice David Prosser became the third on March 16, when the Wisconsin Judicial Commission announced that wrapping one's hands around the neck of another justice would establish probable cause of judicial misconduct. Under normal procedures, the complaint would now go to a three judge panel picked by the Court of Appeals who would then make a recommendation to the Supreme Court itself for final action. However, in his most recent move, Prosser has demanded his fellow justices recuse themselves from any final action.

Spring Has Returned to Wisconsin and So Have the Rallies

"Change is in the air and I'm not just talking about the weather," Lori Compas told a crowd of an estimated 50,000 people gathered at the Wisconsin State Capitol last Saturday on a sunny and unseasonably warm afternoon. "I'm talking about an awakening all across Wisconsin. A renewed sense that all of us matter, [that] all of us have a voice, and by working together we can bring our state back to its best traditions." The mass rally at the Wisconsin Capitol, marking the anniversary of the passage of Governor Scott Walker's collective bargaining bill, displayed a sense of celebration rather than protest.

Fox Attacks Wages of Working-Class Maids

  • Topics: Labor, Media
  • Fox Business News recently ran a segment criticizing a collective bargaining agreement struck between workers and management in New York City's hotel industry. Analysts on the program called the deal "a nightmare," singling out the provisions raising wages for housekeepers as "shocking." Fox's reaction is consistent with its past coverage of worker's issues, which has portrayed union efforts to secure higher wages and benefits for the working class as an affront to capitalism.

    Will Wisconsin Newspapers Write about the Smoking Gun?

    A video has surfaced that by any measure is critical to understanding Wisconsin's recall fight.

    Ever since he unveiled his plan to put an end to collective bargaining for public sector workers and make it much more difficult for them to organize, Governor Scott Walker has consistently argued that he campaigned on the measure and no one should have been surprised by his actions.

    Schedule of Events for "Reclaim Wisconsin" Weekend of Action

    This weekend, marks the one-year anniversary of the passage of Wisconsin's Act 10, the so-called "Budget Repair Bill" which stripped most public employee unions of their right to collectively bargain and sparked what has become known as the "Wisconsin Uprising." There will be a series of events in Wisconsin this weekend to mark the anniversary.

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