Part of collective bargaining law cut down | Wausau Daily Herald | wausaudailyherald.com

"Make no mistake, this ruling raises the stakes in the recall election, and AFSCME members from across Wisconsin are energized and now more than ever ready to lead the fight in the upcoming recall elections of the governor and state senators," said ...


Part of collective bargaining law cut down | Wausau Daily Herald | wausaudailyherald.com

Wisconsin Governor Walker to face recall vote on June 5 - chicagotribune.com

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Wisconsin's controversial Republican Governor Scott Walker will face a recall election on June 5 over a new law he championed that strips public sector unions of most power, becoming the first US governor to face a no-confidence ...


Wisconsin Governor Walker to face recall vote on June 5 - chicagotribune.com

Public employees challenge anti-worker agenda at state Legislature | Twin Cities Daily Planet

Members of AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, provide services at the local, county and state levels across Minnesota. Some 1200 rank-and-file members took part in Tuesday's “Day on the Hill.


Public employees challenge anti-worker agenda at state Legislature | Twin Cities Daily Planet

Goldman Sachs Loses Battle with Largest Public Union in U.S.

President of AFSCME, Gerald W. McEntee, released a statement on their agreement with Goldman stating:


“Wall Street greed and conflicts of interest drove our economy into a ditch. This move is a step in the right direction to make sure Wall Street CEOs are held accountable to their shareholders and that taxpayers are not on the hook for their risky bets. AFSCME members participate in state and local government pension plans that are clients of Goldman Sachs. As clients we’re concerned that the practices of Goldman are not in the best interest of the clients they serve. The appointment of a lead director will provide a much needed and vital check on the company’s practices and conflicts of interest.”

Goldman Sachs Loses Battle with Largest Public Union in U.S.

Milwaukee rallies for Trayvon Martin, demands justice for victims of Milwaukee Police Department | Fight Back!

Milwaukee, WI - Students and community members rallied at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, March 29, to demand justice for Trayvon Martin. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized the rally with the Black Student Union, AFSCME Local 82 and the support of Occupy the Hood Milwaukee and Occupy Milwaukee.


Milwaukee rallies for Trayvon Martin, demands justice for victims of Milwaukee Police Department | Fight Back!

UW-Madison will open meetings for personnel policy redesign to public

UW-Madison officials have decided to open human resources meetings to the public after a group of faculty and staff complained that new work rules for the university's 17,000 employees were being discussed in private.


UW-Madison will open meetings for personnel policy redesign to public

AFSCME alleges Columbia County Board members violated open meetings law

A representative of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on Thursday asked Columbia County District Attorney Jane Kohlwey to prosecute some or all members of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, alleging that the County Board violated state open meetings laws while discussing the policy and procedure manuals for county employees.


AFSCME alleges Columbia County Board members violated open meetings law

Sign Of The (Wisconsin) Times: Gov. Scott Walker For President | Northwest Public Radio

Suggested Revised Story Title: Wisconsin Conservatives Are Out of Their Minds...

There's a Republican presidential primary next Tuesday in Wisconsin. But as the accompanying photo taken by NPR political correspondent Don Gonyea in Delafield, Wisc. suggests, a lot of Wisconsinites have other political matters on their minds.


Sign Of The (Wisconsin) Times: Gov. Scott Walker For President | Northwest Public Radio

Elections officials say Walker recall a go | Green Bay Press Gazette | greenbaypressgazette.com

MADISON — Wisconsin elections officials are recommending that a recall election against Gov. Scott Walker proceed. Staff of the Government Accountability Board say in a memo released Thursday that more than enough signatures were collected on ...



Elections officials say Walker recall a go | Green Bay Press Gazette | greenbaypressgazette.com

John Nichols: April 3's most important vote is collective bargaining referendum

…. The Dane County ballot features an advisory referendum that asks: "Should all Wisconsin workers have the right to seek safe working conditions and fair pay through collective bargaining?" Placed on the ballot by the County Board with support from Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, the measure provides an opportunity for voters to signal their clear opposition to the anti-union policies of Gov. Scott Walker.


John Nichols: April 3's most important vote is collective bargaining referendum

AFSCME | AFSCME to Honor Workers with 75 for 75 Awards

For 75 years, AFSCME members have helped make America happen. Now, as we celebrate 75 years as a union, we want to celebrate some of the women and men who have made our union a leader and a champion for working families. The AFSCME 75 for 75 Award is designed to honor the best of our union, from 1936 to the present. Help us identify 75 individuals, councils, local unions or organizations that have made an important contribution to our union, our communities and our country.


AFSCME | AFSCME to Honor Workers with 75 for 75 Awards

The Badger Herald: Stakeholders provide insight to future of retirement system

A public forum hosted by an organization of the Faculty Senate Tuesday addressed the future of the Wisconsin Retirement System and answered questions about possible changes to the system and its financial state. … Stella said the funding status of Wisconsin’s retirement system today is in the top five in the country. He spoke to the work the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds has done in the study required by budget provision. He said it is dangerous to politicize the study, as ETF will look at it in a nonpartisan way. He said those looking at the study should not read anything into it other than that it is a fact-gathering study.


The Badger Herald: Stakeholders provide insight to future of retirement system

Correctional employees stage protest in Waupun to highlight work issues | Fond du Lac Reporter | fdlreporter.com

…. State union boss Marty Beil said the DOC administration has been non-responsive to serious concerns raised by workers about staff assaults and soaring position vacancies. "By blowing up work rules and local agreements that ensured smooth operations, they've created chaos and confusion. Worse, they obviously have zero interest in finding workable solutions to the problems they're creating," said Beil, executive director of the Wisconsin State Employees Union, AFSCME Council 24.


Correctional employees stage protest in Waupun to highlight work issues | Fond du Lac Reporter | fdlreporter.com

Wisconsin voter ID lawsuits headed to Supreme Court | News - Home

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Two lawsuits challenging Wisconsin's law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls may be headed directly to the state Supreme Court.


Wisconsin voter ID lawsuits headed to Supreme Court | News - Home

Wisconsin Department of Corrections is Treating Their Staff Unfairly and Endangering Their Lives

The Informational Pickets & Rally's have begun. The below video is from the kickoff picket and rally at Waupun Correctional Institution.

The second picket and rally will be at Jackson Correctional Institution on Monday, April 9th, from 12:30pm - 3:30pm.

Union sues Monona Library Board over use of collective bargaining law

A public employee union has filed a lawsuit accusing the Monona Library Board of wrongly using the state's controversial new collective bargaining law to invalidate a signed contract. …. Three Monona library workers are affected, along with about 15 public works employees, but many more could find themselves in the same situation. Fitchburg and McFarland employee unions have the same back-to-back contracts as Monona, but so far those pacts are being honored, said Jennifer McCulley, staff representative for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 60, which represents several bargaining units in the county.


Union sues Monona Library Board over use of collective bargaining law

Labor Department names auditorium for Cesar Chavez - Management - GovExec.com

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis hosted hundreds of members of the United Farm Workers, Cabinet officials and Labor Department employees at a two-part ceremony on Monday to induct farmworker activists into the department’s Hall of Honor and to rename its auditorium for the late labor leader Cesar Chavez.


Labor Department names auditorium for Cesar Chavez - Management - GovExec.com

The Top Five Most Despicable Laws Passed By Corporate Front Group ALEC

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the most powerful corporate front group you’ve never heard of. …. Here are five despicable laws that ALEC has helped pass in states nationwide: 1. Banning Living Wages: … 2. Crippling Collective Bargaining: … 3. Privatizing Our Schools: … 4. Attacking Voting Rights: … 5. Selling Prisons To The Highest Bidder:


The Top Five Most Despicable Laws Passed By Corporate Front Group ALEC

Fired for a Short Skirt? The Realities of Anti-Worker Laws in Wisconsin and Ohio | | AlterNet

… “One of the things people we represent now see is the value of their collective bargaining agreements,” Marty Beil of AFSCME Council 24 told AlterNet. “Workers come in and they take for granted all the protections and benefits and processes. Now that there's no collective bargaining agreement and management can do what they want with you, folks are getting a better understanding of the value of their union.” …. Beil told a story of guards at a women's correctional facility, who get sent along with inmates when they have to go to the hospital to hold a “vigil.” If one of the guards has to use the bathroom while waiting, they are now required to call the prison, get a replacement sent out, and not use the bathroom until they have returned to their post at the prison. “Workers are every day subject to this kind of abuse and degradation. There's absolutely no dignity in the workplace anymore,” he said.


Fired for a Short Skirt? The Realities of Anti-Worker Laws in Wisconsin and Ohio | | AlterNet

Editors Weblog - Gannett journalists disciplined for signing political petition

... blog that Kevin Corrado, president and publisher of the Green Bay Press-Gazette has harshly criticized 25 journalists working for Gannett Wisconsin Media for signing a political petition, advocating the recall of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker.


Editors Weblog - Gannett journalists disciplined for signing political petition

John Doe investigation documents name sheriff’s comm. director | FOX6Now.com – Milwaukee News & weather from WITI Television FOX6

MILWAUKEE — Another name has surfaced in the ongoing John Doe investigation that has led to criminal charges against several aides to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, back when he was serving as Milwaukee's County Executive.


John Doe investigation documents name sheriff’s comm. director | FOX6Now.com – Milwaukee News & weather from WITI Television FOX6

AFSCME Council 24 Press Release

March 26, 2012                       
Contact: Marty Beil
608-836-0024 

Ignored by Administration
Waupun Correctional Staff to Rally 

Waupun Correctional Institution staff and supporters will rally outside the facility on Tuesday to draw attention to safety concerns and other issues that are being ignored by Department of Corrections administrators. 

Staff members at correctional institutions all across Wisconsin are raising concerns about wholesale policy changes adopted by the department that are creating confusion and potential danger inside and outside correctional facilities.  The concerns of workers are being ignored – creating considerable danger, especially at maximum-security facilities like WCI. 

Low morale has led to system-wide vacancy rate of more than 5%, which is driving up overtime costs to record levels and creating rapidly deteriorating conditions – a situation employees are urgently struggling to see addressed. 

Workers and supporters will be outside the front gate of the facility between 12:30 and 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27.  

Speakers will address the crowd beginning at 2:15 p.m. The facility is at 200 South Madison St. in Waupun.  

###

Sent from Steven Williams BlackBerry smartphone

Jauch To Hold Listening Sessions In Ashland, Hurley | Ashland Current

State Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) will be holding listening sessions in Hurley and Ashland on Sat., March 31. “The legislature has just finished an ...


Jauch To Hold Listening Sessions In Ashland, Hurley | Ashland Current

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recall vote: Big money fuels small-government fight - The Washington Post

At the state prison where Adam Sutter works as a sergeant, the scrapping of collective-bargaining rights means bureaucrats in Madison now set rules on everything from vacation time to work assignments, sending morale to rock-bottom lows, he says. So Sutter, an officer in his union, welcomes help from the national headquarters. And he’s not worried about the big money on Walker’s side...

SEPAC NOTE: Adam Sutter is President of AFSCME Council 24 Local 903 (Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution)


Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recall vote: Big money fuels small-government fight - The Washington Post

How the Wisconsin primary works | Wausau Daily Herald | wausaudailyherald.com

Wisconsin will have 42 delegates up for grabs in the Republican presidential primary April 3, two more than in 2008 because of the election of Gov. Scott Walker and US Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh. With more than half of the primaries completed, ...


How the Wisconsin primary works | Wausau Daily Herald | wausaudailyherald.com

Health reform advocates: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker stains state's reputation | Appleton Post Crescent | postcrescent.com

WASHINGTON — Over much of the past two decades, Wisconsin basked under a national spotlight as a pioneer in health care reform. Former governors Tommy Thompson, a Republican, and Jim Doyle, a Democrat, received wide recognition for leading the state's ...


Health reform advocates: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker stains state's reputation | Appleton Post Crescent | postcrescent.com

Santorum to pitch in for Walker - POLITICO.com

Rick Santorum dove into local politics on his visit, saying that while campaigning here before the Wisconsin primary, he hopes to help out Republican Gov. Scott Walker in the upcoming recall election. "Of course I'm looking forward ...

Santorum to pitch in for Walker - POLITICO.com

Rick Santorum Calls Unions ‘Bullies’ - ABC News

MILWAUKEE — Rick Santorum took on the unions today, calling them “bullies” as he pledged solidarity with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in his fight to strip public employee unions of much of their bargaining power. “Look, I come from southwestern ...


Rick Santorum Calls Unions ‘Bullies’ - ABC News

Genia Lovett column: Post-Crescent journalists shouldn't have signed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker recall petitions | Appleton Post Crescent | postcrescent.com

Today, in the interest of full transparency, we are informing you that 25 Gannett Wisconsin Media journalists, including nine at The P-C, also signed the Walker recall petitions. It was wrong, and those who signed were in breach of Gannett's Principles of Ethical Conduct for Newsrooms.


SEPAC COMMENT: This acknowledgement by Gannett Wisconsin should raise a red flag with every reader. Will workers lose their constitutional rights by merely being employed? If Gannett Wisconsin prevails in its discipline of the journalists that signed any Wisconsin Recall Petition then how will other employers proceed in the future?
 
Genia Lovett column: Post-Crescent journalists shouldn't have signed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker recall petitions | Appleton Post Crescent | postcrescent.com