Wisconsin Workers 'Undaunted' in Face of Supreme Court Ruling

July 12 Recall Elections, Federal Lawsuit Keep Activists Fired Up

Gearing up for recall elections and a federal lawsuit, thousands of Wisconsin union members and allies rallied at the capitol in Madison this week to continue to fight Gov. Scott Walker's anti-collective bargaining law. Pictured at the tent city that protesters set up last week, calling it "Walkerville," are Local 4630 members Cynthia Chamblis, Lindy McGraw, Mark Frey and Denise Williams.

Wisconsin workers aren't down or out, despite the blow their state's Supreme Court dealt this week as it gave Gov. Scott Walker a green light to strip collective bargaining rights from public employees.

CWA members and thousands of other union members and allies in Madison and around the state are campaigning more fiercely than ever to recall six of the Republican state senators who rushed to pass Walker's budget bill with its anti-union language.

A lower court ruled that legislators violated Wisconsin's open meetings law, invalidating the budget bill. Tuesday, the state Supreme Court's anti-worker majority overruled the decision 4-3.

"While we are disappointed, we are ready to fight on," CWA District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen said. "We are building a broad movement that will eventually correct this injustice and restore collective bargaining rights to public workers in Wisconsin."

Toward that end, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO and a coalition of unions filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday challenging the law, which goes into effect June 29. By August, it will be taking sizable bites out of public workers' paychecks for pension and health care costs that the legislature imposed without negotiations.

Meanwhile, union members, allied groups and concerned citizens — including angry Republicans — are rallying, making phone calls and knocking on doors to get out the vote for recall elections July 12.

"We remained undaunted, even by the Republicans' attempt to insert fake candidates into the primaries," CWA Local 4621 Vice President Betsy LaFontaine said, referring to a dirty-tricks campaign that is recruiting Republicans to run as phony Democrats on July 12 and force a run-off later. National right-wing groups with millions to spend would have weeks longer to flood the airwaves with anti-union ads.

But their money may be no match for the fierce determination and grassroots power of a state full of angry workers, made even angrier by the Supreme Court ruling Tuesday that effectively put legislators above the law.

"The recall effort is feeding off of this affront to democracy," CWA Staff Representative Frank Mathews said. "Our members and working families throughout Wisconsin are even more driven and motivated than they were just a few days ago, and that is going to translate into victory for us in the recall elections."