Wednesday, March 16, 2011

WOW rally recap: Almost too many to keep track of

If it hasn’t come to your state, it is going to be coming to your state real soon. You need to stand proud. You need to stand strong. There are a lot of Governor Walkers out there. There’s probably one in your state right now.
Those are the words of Sen. Jon Erpenbach, one of the 14 Wisconsin Democratic state senators who left the state in an attempt to block Koch whore Gov. Scott Walker’s bill. He was speaking to the IAFF legislative conference on Monday, according to The Hill.

It has come to Tennessee, where people protested the Legislature's attempt to strip teachers of their collective bargaining rights.
Troopers forcibly carried out seven union supporters from the Tennessee's legislative office complex on Tuesday after their protest disrupted a Senate committee hearing
The disruption occurred after hundreds of labor supporters gathered for a midday protest near the Capitol to denounce a bill to strip teachers of their collective bargaining rights. The seven arrested were among those who stood up during the hearing and began chants about "union busting" by the Legislature.
Most demonstrators left the hearing room after a half-hour, but a small group tried to lock arms to keep from being removed.
Rally Girl tells us where else it has arrived:
In Eugene, Ore. on Friday, hundreds of residents took to the streets in the name of justice. Protesting against corporate greed, both public and private sector employees marched in solidarity with Wisconsin.
Two thousand miles away in Medina, Ohio, more than 500 people gathered to protest Senate Bill 5, which, if passed, would rewrite collective bargaining laws for public employees.
U.S. Rep. (and Teamster good friend) Betty Sutton, (D-Copley Township), spoke to attendees, calling the bill an attack on workers and the middle class.

It is the middle class that makes this country strong. We have to say "enough is enough."
In New Haven, Conn., Al Sharpton greeted protestors rallying against Mayor John DeStefano, who, in the name of budget cuts laid off dozens of city employees including 16 police officers.
And Democracy Now has more:
In South Carolina, thousands of teachers, religious leaders and state workers gathered at the capitol building on Sunday in opposition to cuts targeted at education, healthcare and other state services. In Austin, Texas, more than 10,000 protesters swarmed the grounds of the capitol Saturday to denounce Gov. Rick Perry’s proposal to fire educators, increase class sizes and cut programs. On Friday, protesters in Maine filled the capitol building to take a stand against Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to strip $18 million from the state’s Fund for a Healthy Maine. Also on Friday, concerned parents and citizens in Maryland’s Prince George’s County gathered at a local school to protest budget cuts that could leave hundreds of low-income, magnet high school students without school buses. Meanwhile, protests in response to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan to tax the public and private pensions of senior citizens are scheduled for Tuesday in Lansing.