UE Political Action Updates

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UE's Chris Townsend Debates Republican Over Attacks on Unions

February 20, 2012
Washington

On February 18, UE's Political Action Director Chris Townsend appeared on the program "Inside Story" on the global TV news network Al Jazeera. The topic of the 25-minute program was "Attacking Unions." The host asked whether Mitt Romney was politically smart to be attacking unions in the campaign for the Michigan Republican presidential primary, but the focus quickly broadened to a discussion of unions and their role in American politics. The other two guests were Jason Johnson, a political science professor, and "Republican strategist" J.P. Freire.

How Much Have Republican Attacks Cost Wisconsin? Report Surveys the Damage

February 17, 2012
Madison

The radical attacks on unions launched a year ago by Wisconsin's Republican Governor Scott Walker, at the direction of his corporate sponsors, have come at a high cost to working people. An important report issued by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO surveys the damage. It's titled "Losses to Working Families Under Governor Walker," and you can download the report here.

Union Backers Submit Petitions with 1 Million Signatures to Force Recall of Wisconsin Governor

January 17, 2012
Madison

Opponents of Wisconsin's union-busting governor Scott Walker today filed more than one million signatures on petitions calling for his recall. The legal requirement was for 540,000 valid signatures. The petitions delivered to the state Government Accountability Board in Madison weighed 1.5 tons.

Labor Win in Iowa State Senate Race: What It Means

December 15, 2011
Iowa City

by Jason Whisler, Political Action Chair for UE Local 896-COGS, Teaching Assistant and Ph.D. Student in History, University of Iowa

The Senate race in Iowa's District 18 was just part of an ongoing struggle for us in Local 896, public employees in the state of Iowa, and across the nation. Last February, our membership was very involved in the protests against Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Republicans. Many of our members traveled to Madison and knew that we were only a slight majority in Iowa's Senate from having the same thing happen here.

Celebrating the Collapse of the "Supercommittee"

December 15, 2011
Washington

by Chris Townsend, UE Political Action Director

The political leaders of our nation - the politicians from both parties in Washington - stand in pretty low esteem these days with working people. Public opinion approval ratings for Congress are the lowest in living memory, hovering near single digits. President Obama does better than Congress, but his rankings continue to slide month after month. C-SPAN reports that than 80 percent of the public agrees that our rigged and undemocratic two party "system" is not working to fix our problems.

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