Another great week on the road meeting with labor leaders provided some time to reflect on our ongoing mission to unify the labor movement. I had planned on writing up a blog post that updated all of you on the progress of so-called "Right to Work" legislation...until Gov. Scott Walker brought everything into crystal clear focus.
The Wisconsin governor and likely presidential candidate has shown over his time in office that he's no friend of the middle class. In his first term in office, he ended collective bargaining rights for public employees.
This week, Wisconsin was ground zero in the war on working families, with Walker pledging his support for Right to Work legislation being rammed through the Wisconsin legislature. Thousands of union members and supporters rallied against the bill at the capitol in Madison, exercising their rights to free speech, to assembly and to petition their government for a redress of grievances, but their voices fell on deaf ears. The public forum portion of the hearings were ended early by Republican Senator Stephen Nass due to what he called a "credible threat" that union members planned to disrupt the proceedings.
In the midst of this fight, Walker flew to Washington to address the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to burnish his credentials for a presidential run. And while he was there, he let us all know what he thinks of those working Wisconsinites who gathered to fight for their rights.
He thinks they're terrorists.
Asked about his ability to fight international terrorism, Walker said:
"If I can take on 100,000 protestors, I can do the same across the world."
I want to be clear about what Scott Walker was saying. He equated these guys with these guys. He thinks those working men and women who showed up in Madison to peacefully protest a piece of legislation.are no different than an army of murderous terrorists.
And the CPAC crowd responded with applause.
In our meetings with Business Managers, Secretary-Treasurers, Political Directors and Executive Vice Presidents we encountered a constant theme: the anti-union forces are unified. They are clear in their goal, organized and well-funded. They are determined to break the unions, and they're winning.
As Right to Work sailed through the Wisconsin legislature this week, it also passed the House in New Mexico. It hit a minor snag in Montana, but Senate Republicans still intend to run the bill. Right to Work is pending in Illinois. A bill passed the Kentucky Senate. Another passed the Missouri House.
This is not a coincidence. This is a coordinated effort.
Kentucky's bill died in the House. Missouri's governor has promised a veto. New Mexico's Senate is unlikely to pass the bill. But our opponents will keep fighting. These bills will be back: maybe next year, maybe the year after. But they'll be back.
Our opponents have spent years trying to divide us, to bog us down in administrative work and to weaken organized labor. With Right to Work, they think they'll be able to strike the fatal blow.
The best defense against that fatal blow is for labor to unify, organize and mobilize. We need to get our people to the polls, to make sure we elect legislators who will vote down these bills, governors who will veto them and - in places where they're elected - judges who will protect workers' constitutional rights.
Scott Walker has declared us the enemy and is mounting an attack on our livelihood. His allies have spent years trying to divide us and weaken our defenses.
In my last blog, I closed with a reminder of why we fight. Today, I'm looking to one of my favorite movies for inspiration. If we're going to stand strong against our well-funded opponents and make sure this country continues to look out for working families, we're going to have to change course. We're going to have to unite the clans!
In Solidarity,
Ken
