Local 107 (Milwaukee) members Jerry Maciejewski, the lodge’s vice president, and Josh Brockman take part in massive union protests at the Wisconsin state capitol.
Workers turn out for rallies in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana
BRAZEN ATTEMPTS by two Republican governors to strip away public worker collective bargaining rights — and a GOP push for a so-called right to work law in Indiana — have sparked angry protests from union members and their supporters in three states.
Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio — both elected last November — have come under fire for attempting to neuter public worker unions in the name of budget reductions. Proposals that would prevent public workers from bargaining collectively are now under consideration in both states. Tens of thousands of protesters have flooded the capitol in Wisconsin. Large groups have also rallied at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.
Unions and their supporters see the actions of Walker and Kasich as the opening salvo in concerted Republican efforts to undermine organized labor at the state level. Although such efforts are frequently described as deficit reduction or job-creation measures, they are more often a cynical strategy to subvert the democratic process by undercutting political opponents who rely on labor backing.
Meanwhile, in Indiana, state lawmakers are considering a Republican initiative to weaken unions by allowing workers to opt out of unions under a right to work (for less) law. Local 374 (Hammond, Ind.) BM-ST Paul Maday told the Lafayette Journal & Courier, “In my opinion, it’s blatant union busting. If they [state lawmakers] want a fight, we’re going to give it to them!”
Twenty-two states currently have right to work laws on the books. Such laws allow workers to reap the benefits of union representation without requiring them to join the union.
BCTD President Mark Ayers, in a letter to unions of the Building and Construction Trades, summed it up this way, “What these radical conservative charlatans are attempting to do is use these fiscal crises as a phony pretense for their true aim; which is the eradication of ALL unions from the American landscape. In this environment, no member of any union can be considered safe from these attacks.”
