Labor

Wisconsin Protesters Celebrate First “Palm Tuesday”

It was just another balmy-frigid February 28 for Andrea Musher. She stood outside the Wisconsin State Capitol with a green parasol, a pink frangipani, and a sign with palm fronds rising forth.

Madison's former poet laureate, Musher was one of about 25 protesters who gathered on what they called "Palm Tuesday" to celebrate the emergence of a new Wisconsin state tree, which could be dubbed the "O'Reilly Palm."

The event commemorated the anniversary of the day Fox News ran video of violent "Wisconsin" protesters, with palm trees waving in the background. Musher's palm was intended to help people understand that Fox "pretends to be a news source. Instead they are a source of propaganda and fabrication."

True the Vote? Or Skew the Vote?

-- By Brendan Fischer and William Dooling.

MADISON -- Claims by an out-of-state Tea Party group that the campaign to recall Governor Scott Walker is fraught with error do not stand up to even limited scrutiny.

Findings released this week from the Tea Party-led "Verify the Recall" effort allege that recall proponents fell short of the 540,000 signatures necessary to recall Governor Scott Walker. However, a cursory review of the pages they allege are erroneous actually include the information they claim is missing. Signatures the groups deem "ineligible" are very clearly legitimate. Some of the problems appear to arise from data entry errors on the part of True the Vote volunteers.

Walker Using Out-of-State Tea Party Group to Indirectly Challenge Recall

After news outlets reported Monday that Governor Scott Walker would not be challenging recall signatures, the governor quietly submitted a request asking that the state elections board accept challenges from an effort involving a Texas organization with a history of voter suppression.

Are You a Card Carrying Member of WI Local 1848?

Last week, the Center for Media and Democracy reported on the amusing mistake made by a Politico reporter who misidentified the blue Wisconsin state flag as a "union flag" that signaled President Obama's support for the Wisconsin labor struggle. The story rocketed around the state and caused many chuckles.

Challenges to Wisconsin Recall Resemble Tea Party "Voter Caging" Scheme

Questionable challenges to recall petitions for Wisconsin State Senator Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) bear a resemblance to a "voter caging" scheme led by Tea Party groups in the 2010 elections. Those same Tea Party organizations are also involved in the recall "verification" effort.

Fitzgerald is one of four Senators facing recall for supporting Governor Scott Walker's plan to limit public sector collective bargaining and cut education funding, among other issues. Governor Walker is also facing recall.

Students and Teachers Rally on Anniversary of Wisconsin Uprising

With two rallies on Valentine's Day, students and teachers commemorated the first anniversary of Wisconsin's historic struggle against Governor Scott Walker's attack on the state's 50-year tradition of peaceful collective bargaining.

Walker introduced his proposal to end collective bargaining for most state workers on Feb. 11, 2011. On Feb. 14, 2011 the Teacher's Assistants Association, the graduate student union at UW-Madison, organized a march from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus to the Wisconsin State Capitol to deliver thousands of Valentine's to Walker to protest the measure and planned cuts to the UW system.

Americans for Prosperity, a Nonprofit, Campaigning for Walker?

The Koch-founded Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit "charity" prohibited from intervening in political campaigns, is spending $700,000 on ads and holding events around Wisconsin that look like appeals to re-elect Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who is facing a recall election. The campaigning comes as secretly-funded nonprofits are playing an increasingly important role in elections nationally.

ALEC's Influence in Ohio Runs Deep

The influence of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Ohio runs deep, according to a new report released by Progress Ohio, together with the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), People for the American Way, and Common Cause. The report shows how Ohio's legislators are working in tandem with corporate leaders to deregulate key industries, privatize education and dismantle unions.

Right to Work in Indiana – Will This Battle Impact 2012 Super Bowl?

A guest post by Bob Sloan; read more from this author at the Daily Kos.

Indiana Republicans, who hold solid majorities in the state House and Senate as well as the governor's mansion, have once again taken up "Right-To-Work." Indiana tried passing anti-union legislation last year but the effort stalled amidst public outcry. Despite this, Right-to-Work legislation was one of the first pieces taken up by the GOP majority in the 2012 session.

Bosma and Daniels Push "Right to Work" Amid Controversies over Financial Backers

Governor Mitch Daniels (R-Indiana) and the state's Speaker of the House, Brian Bosma (R-88), are spearheading an effort to pass the controversial, corporate-backed "Right to Work" (RTW) bill, which has sparked huge protests by Hoosiers. The bill's opponents have called it the "Right to Work (for Peanuts)" bill, the "'Right to be Fired' Without Cause" bill, and other names.

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