 | Audrey Barbakoff, a librarian at the Milwaukee Public Library, is being anything but quiet. In a column in American Libraries Magazine, she says the vilification of public workers--teachers, fire fighters, police officers, nurses and, yes, even librarians--could cause immeasurable long-term damage beyond the loss of jobs and the middle-class lifestyle. She says when Gov. Scott Walker and others plant the notion that public employees only work for the benefits, they ignore the real sacrifices they make and tremendous good they do every day. And public workers need to speak out loudly about their value to their communities: I won't apologize for making a living wage, for being able to visit a doctor when I need one, or for choosing a job that will help me build adequate retirement savings. I deserve and expect those things....But that isn't why I became a librarian....I became one because I wanted to give. |
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     |  | AFL-CIO Buttons & Banners |
 In state after state, some politicians are playing politics by launching a coordinated attack on working families. They’re not giving up their pay or pensions—but they want working people to give up theirs.
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| People from around the nation are joining in solidarity with embattled workers in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states. |