REPORT FROM THE FRONT LINES

[AFT Local 212 is an affiliate of USLAW in Milwaukee.]

Dear colleagues,

I have been in Madison for the last two days with tens of thousands of teachers, firefighters, veterans, nurses, police officers and students who have drawn a line in the sand against Governor Walker's outrageous attempt to take away our rights.  We need your help in Madison tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 19th.

The wind is strong, but we are dressed for the cold.  Congressman John Lewis, the great freedom fighter, will speak tonight because worker rights are human rights.  We are united.  We are fighting for all the right reasons.  There are too many 212 members and their families here for me to count.

The mobilization in Madison has become nothing less than a movement to save democracy in Wisconsin.
14 Democratic Senators, including Senator Spencer Coggs, the husband of an AFT Local 212 part time faculty member, left the state yesterday so that the Senate did not have a quorum and could not pass this draconian legislation.  It is rumored that Governor Walker will send the National Guard after them.

We salute all 14 members for standing up for our nation's basic democratic values.  They are American heroes Unions, workers, their families, students and your colleagues have drawn a line in the sand in Madison.  Today, MPS is shut down.  This afternoon the entire Wisconsin Department of Revenue staff walked off the job.
There are supporters joining us from all over the nation, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Illinois and Indiana.  Support rallies have been held in New York City, Albany, New York, Milwaukee (by Local 212) and California.  Support emails are coming from all over the world.

Today Richard Trumka, the President of the AFL-CIO spoke to the tens of thousands who attended the noon rally.

For years Local 212 and all public employees have been attacked and scapegoated by mean spirited Republican politicians and the right wing media who want to blame us for an economic recession we had no role in creating.  Check out the reactionary Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial today if you need evidence.  They want to use the recession to cut funding for education, Social Security, Pell Grants, Medicare, Badgercare, our salaries and more.  Why?  To redistribute even more wealth to millionaires through tax breaks like the $130 million Walker has passed since he was elected.

We can win this battle.  But we need your help.

We need you to come to Madison on Saturday!  Walker is organizing his tea party base to come to Madison on Saturday to show he has support.  We outnumber them, but we need to dwarf their numbers and send a message that we will not go back to the days of arbitrary authority and administrative disrespect.  We are American citizens.  We are patriots and we will not allow our rights to be taken away.

Please come to Madison on Saturday and Sunday and stand up for yourselves and your families.  Please come and be a part of history!  This is something you and your families will always remember!  The whole world is watching!  We need you this weekend!

In solidarity, Michael Rosen, PhD President AFT Local 212

The USLAW Leaflet

LITTLE KNOWN DETAILS OF GOVERNOR WALKER'S ATTACK ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS

• Walker has created this "crisis".  The State of Wisconsin started 2011 with a $121.7 million dollar surplus per the Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo of 1/31/11.  The Legislative Fiscal Bureau is a nonpartisan dept..  Memo is here.

• Walker came in and immediately pushed through $140 million in new spending for special interest groups.  Now Walker is saying we have a "Fiscal crisis" of $137 Million, but if the Legislature rescinded the spending promises Walker made there wouldn't be a "fiscal" crisis and we wouldn't need this kind of repair bill.

• The media is focusing the portion of the bill affecting the unions because of the protests, but this bill is full of massive changes like putting more areas under the Dept of Administration and out of legislative control.  The Dept.  of Administration reports directly to the Governor so this allows him to make lots of "administrative" changes without any due process.
  

• The bill contains a plan to "significantly modify" Medicaid, the state-federal health plan for the poor, according to a Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis.  Department of Health Services would be given responsibility to restrict eligibility , increase premiums, modify benefits and revise reimbursements.  The elected Legislature currently is responsible for these duties.  This would affect more than a million state residents from infants to the elderly and include the services provided by all of the BadgerCare plans, FamilyCare and SeniorCare.
  

• The bill would do away with the Wisconsin Quality Home Care Authority which trains, screens and places workers in homes, where they bathe prepare meals and provide assistance to the elderly and handicapped.  The Bill would transfer the Home Care Authorities services to the overworked Department of Health Services.
  

• It also converts 37 Department agency positions from civil service positions to appointments made by the Governor.  The converted positions could be hired and fired by the Governor without following the civil service process.
  

• Limited Term Employees (LTE) would lose all of their benefits (health and retirement) under this bill.  LTEs currently do not get sick, holiday or vacation pay.  Some of these LTE positions are seasonal or temporary, but LTE's frequently attain full time status by working 2 part time LTE jobs.
  

• The bill also gives the Department of Administration the authority to sell the state owned power plants or to contract for their operation.  This would result in the lost of jobs plus the state would end up paying more for power.