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.
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.
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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| Charlene Winchell, president of UE Local 1121 in La Crosse, WI |
UE members across the country have reason to celebrate two landmark election victories as voters in two states -- Ohio and Iowa -- overwhelmingly turned back corporate attacks on working people. UE members and retirees were very active in both contests as part of a massive labor-sponsored effort.
Members of UE's Iowa locals are involved in a special election that will decide the balance of power in the Iowa State Senate, and likely determine the future of collective bargaining rights in the state.
Back in March, the Republican-controlled Iowa House of Representatives, with the backing of Republican Governor Terry Branstad, passed an anti-union bill similar to the union-busting legislation in Wisconsin. But because Democrats held a one-seat majority in the State Senate, the bill was stopped in its tracks there.
The Battle of Wisconsin was at the center of last spring's struggle to defend workers' rights. For the next three weeks, ground zero in that struggle will be Ohio. A ballot-box victory there could be an important step in turning the tide against the enemies of labor.
On Election Day, November 8, we won't be watching for the outcome of a race between two candidates. Instead, we'll witness an exercise in direct democracy. The voters will directly decide whether to preserve workers' rights to build unions and collectively bargain in Ohio.
When Republican lawmakers declared full-scale war on working people and our unions just a few months ago, you can bet that many of them never expected the backlash that it has generated. Angry working people -- and many UE members among them -- have been pushing back against these outrageous attacks in all 50 states, something we have never seen before in our lifetimes. As this battle has unfolded, many elected Democrats have come to our defense.
With Republican attacks on working people underway now in all 50 states, keeping track of the latest news is a challenge. Below are several key web pages that have provided invaluable help as working people seek information on the rapidly changing situation.
Monday's mass demonstrations against the radical attacks of anti-labor Republicans and big business were even bigger than predicted. More than 1,200 mass rallies or pickets were held in all 50 states, with several hundred thousand working people participating.