Wisconsin Protests

News

Obama Visits WI and Flies the Union Flag, Er, Not Exactly

by Emily Osborne — February 15, 2012 - 6:01pm
  • Topics: Journalism, Media, Wisconsin Protests

    • President Obama visited Wisconsin today to speak at Master Lock, a union firm that that has brought 100 manufacturing jobs back from China to the United States. Because it was the President's first visit to the state since the historic fight over collective bargaining broke out over one year ago, everyone was watching to see if he would address the controversy or signal his support. Some saw signals where none were intended.

    News

    Students and Teachers Rally on Anniversary of Wisconsin Uprising

    by Mary Bottari — February 15, 2012 - 8:22am
  • Topics: Democracy, Education, Labor, Wisconsin Protests

    • 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.

    News

    Senator Grothman Tries to Mask WI Campaign Contributors

    by Dustin Beilke — February 13, 2012 - 8:30am
  • Topics: Corporations, Democracy, Wisconsin Protests

    • A bill moving through the Wisconsin Legislature would make it more difficult to track and accurately tabulate campaign donations from businesses and industries in state elections. Critics say it could also hinder investigations of illegal campaign fundraising like the one that resulted in the conviction of a Wisconsin railroad executive last year and others that could be part of the current "John Doe" investigation into Governor Scott Walker's staff.

    As Governor Walker sets a pace to collect more campaign money, from more corners of the country, than any candidate in Wisconsin history, State Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) is sponsoring Senate Bill 292 to no longer require that individuals donating to political campaigns disclose their employer. Current law requires that all donations of $100 or more include the donor's occupation and employer so that organized streams of special interest money to candidates can be identified and made transparent.

    News

    WI GOP Lawmakers Sign Secrecy Pledge

    by Harriet Rowan — February 12, 2012 - 7:37pm
  • Topics: Democracy, Wisconsin Protests

    • Governor Scott Walker signed Wisconsin's newest redistricting maps into law on August 9, 2011. The maps had drawn criticism when they were released to the public one month before, on July 8. Democrats in the legislature criticized Republicans for not allowing them input and many observers poked fun at the contorted districts that gave Republicans an edge. Redistricting is largely a partisan process, and the party in charge works hard to draw maps that favor their members. A short five days after the maps were released, the legislature held the first and only public hearing on them.

    News

    Americans for Prosperity, a Nonprofit, Campaigning for Walker?

    by Brendan Fischer — February 9, 2012 - 9:33am
  • Topics: Election 2012, Democracy, Labor, Politics, Wisconsin Protests

    • 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.

    News

    Upcoming Events for the Wisconsin Uprising Anniversary

    by PRW Staff — February 9, 2012 - 4:34am
  • Topics: Politics, Wisconsin Protests

    • For the anniversary of the Wisconsin Uprising, a series of events have been planned to commemorate the historic events of February and March 2011.

    News

    Secret Email System Revealed in "John Doe" Probe of Walker Staff

    by Mary Bottari — January 27, 2012 - 8:00am
  • Topics: Democracy, Wisconsin Protests

    • The morning after his "State of the State" address where Governor Scott Walker reassured Wisconsin "We are turning things around. We are heading in the right direction," the Milwaukee County District Attorney charged two more Walker staffers with multiple felony and misdemeanor counts of misconduct in public office.

    Darlene Wink and Kelly Rindfleisch were charged with conducting partisan campaign work while on the public payroll. The alleged crimes took place while Walker was Milwaukee County Executive and running to be governor. These charges are no joke in the state of Wisconsin, where in 2005, two Senate Democrats and the Republican Assembly Speaker were sentenced to jail time for similar crimes in an episode dubbed "the Caucus Scandal."

    News

    Spoof Program Handed Out at Walker's State of the State Address

    by Sara Jerving — January 26, 2012 - 10:51am
  • Topics: Democracy, Wisconsin Protests

    • Well-dressed women in suits handed out "official" programs at Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's State of the State address last night. The back of the program read "2011-2012 Legislative $ession Brought to you by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)," and featured pictures of the Koch Brothers and a long list of Walker campaign contributors.

    Following a welcome prayer in the pamphlet is the faux Walker address, which highlights actual statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor showing that Wisconsin suffered six straight months of job loss compared to consistent job growth at the national level.

    Op-Ed

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

    by PRW Staff — January 21, 2012 - 9:47am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Democracy, Labor, Politics, Wisconsin Protests

    • 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.

    News

    Filmmaker Seeks Support for "Wisconsin Rising" Film

    by Sara Jerving — January 13, 2012 - 9:29am
  • Topics: Right Wing, Democracy, Media, Wisconsin Protests

    • Hundreds of thousands surrounded the Wisconsin State Capitol building a year ago in response and protest of Governor Scott Walker's radical agenda, including his proposed "budget repair bill" to balance the budget on the back of state workers. There to document history in the making, was independent filmmaker Sam Mayfield from Burlington, Vermont. Sam was seen everywhere with her high definition camcorder, at Walker press conferences and climbing though Capitol windows with protesters. In the many months she was in Wisconsin, she obtained hundreds of hours of footage -- often at moments when hers was the only camera present. Among her hundreds of interviews with newsmakers and protesters, the Center for Media and Democracy's Mary Bottari was interviewed for the project on the role that ALEC played in shaping the Walker agenda. "People really need to pay attention to this and start bird-dogging these institutions, these legislators and these corporations and taking back their democracy," Bottari said of ALEC.

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