Big Education Ape: What’s Next for Wisconsin?

Monday, March 14, 2011

Demonstrators Dragged from Wisconsin Capitol as Square Remains Packed
MISCHA GAUS
MAR 10
The Capitol Square in Madison is again packed with union members of every stripe, enraged by the surprise passage of a bill to gut public employee unions. A hundred were dragged from a sit-in inside the Capitol.

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Protesters Retake Wisconsin Capitol after Republicans Pass Anti-Union Bill
JANE SLAUGHTER AND MISCHA GAUS
MAR 9
Stunned and outraged, thousands of Wisconsinites forced their way into the Capitol tonight after Republicans suddenly passed their bill attacking unions, without Democrats.
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Airport Screeners Election Kicks Off
JENNY BROWN
MAR 9
The much-maligned airport security workforce will finally have a chance to vote on a union and bargain collectively. The election starts today and runs through April 19. A February decision by TSA administrator John Pistole set the stage.

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No Concessions Protest Jazzes Up Madison
HOWARD RYAN
MAR 7
Wisconsin showed its lively protest colors with 7,000 protesters joining a jazz funeral march. They challenged the governor's anti-union measures and service cuts, and also concessions offered by public sector union leaders.
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L.A. Teachers Use Privatization Fight to Build Community Power
NOAH LIPPE-KLEIN, SHERLETT HENDY
MARCH 11
STEWARDS CORNER
When the Los Angeles school district announced that Dorsey High School was subject to takeover by a corporate charter company, the Dorsey community was ready to fight. People were ready to spring into action because teachers had spent years building their union chapter and organizing the community.

How We Beat ‘Right to Work’
JERRY TUCKER
MARCH 8
LABOR AND POLITICS
In an astonishing turnaround, a 1978 ballot initiative by the National Right-To-Work Committee to turn Missouri into a right-to-work state was defeated by a 3-2 margin. Workers in 12 new states are threatened by right to work this year. What can we learn from labor’s victory in Missouri last time?

Take 'Em Down
DROPKICK MURPHYS
MARCH 1
SONG OF THE MONTH
Dropkick Murphys released an advance stream of Take 'Em Down from the band's new album Going Out In Style in February, in support of the Wisconsin public employee unions fighting the governor's attack on collective bargaining. Interview with Ken Casey.

Ontario's 'Days of Action' - A Citywide Political Strike Offers A Potential Example for Madison
DAN LA BOTZ
MARCH 9
With events in Madison unfolding by the hour, we are reposting the story of the Ontario "Days of Action" to offer practical advice for mounting huge strikes and demonstrations. In the late '90s, unions in Ontario, Canada, conducted 11 citywide strikes against the Conservative government's policies. The strikes featured cross-picketing in each other's workplaces and broad labor-community coalitions.