Let's make sure
And let's do even more. Let's start a new movement. First in the districts where we recall the senators, then statewide. Let's work side by side with the people who marched next to us in Madison -- the moms, the elders, the doctors, the students, the non-union workers. Everyone, in fact, who who wants to live in a place where work is respected, where the rich pay their fair share, where businesses are rewarded for creating jobs in their communities and where the government responds to the people not the corporations.
Let's let the Democrats know that they won't get our votes until and unless they help us economically. Let's let the Republicans know that we won't vote for them just because of their position on guns, gays and God.
And let's NOT strike. A general strike will backfire badly. It will hurt the unions. It will cost us the public support we've built over the past few weeks.
Some details on the recall from Rally Girl:
Recall efforts are in full swing now, with public figures like Jesse Jackson urging protestors to join the movement. Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites are full of messages encouraging protestors to take recall petitions with them wherever they go.
Wisconsin lawmakers have made it difficult to recall elected officials, but the state’s Democrats say they are well on their way. According to one report, Dems have collected 15 percent of the signatures they needed over the weekend alone and groups supporting recall say they’ve raised $2 million.Forward!
UPDATE: Mother Jones offers a good reason NOT to call a general strike. The bill that the Assembly is scheduled to vote on at 3:35 CST gives state officials the power to fire workers if the strike. Here are the details:
But there's another explosive provision in the bill that's received little attention: The bill authorizes state officials to fire any state employee who joins a strike, walk-out, sit-in, or coordinated effort to call in sick.
According to an analysis (PDF) of the Senate bill by Wisconsin's Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB), the legislation gives state officials the power to fire workers during a "state of emergency" declared by the governor under several conditions. If a state employee misses three working days without an approved leave of absence, that's grounds for being fired. State workers can also be dumped if, according to the LFB's analysis, they participate in a "strike, work stoppage, sit-down, stay-in, slowdown, or other concerted activities to interrupt the operations or services of state government, including mass resignations or sick calls."
