It's in the Air and on the Streets!
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Vol. 71, No. 10 Thursday, October 27, 2011 It’s in the Air and on the Streets! America hits sidewalks to curb greed, demand jobs, oust the mulish Is anyone listening to jobless? he knows something about titles as Chief Operating Homemade signs lined the Occupy Milwaukee rally route Oct. 15. SOfficer of the Milwaukee Pledgees provided a brisk side-business near Zeidler Park. Area Labor Council and titled Why Occupy fever keeps spreading honoree of many community Game On to recall Scott Walker irst dismissed as amorphous, unfocused and naïve, the Occupy boards. But at a special o waiting. No compromise. The longer his half-baked philoso- Wall Street started with a few pitched tents and a hippie flavor ""America Wants to Work" phy is in control, the more Wisconsin bleeds. So say the vari- in mid-September along with an eloquent if uncompromising forum Oct. 12, as she introduced Nous recall committees. F dignitaries, economic specialists manifesto that damned the entire US financial system. They have talked, weighed and decided to start collecting signa- Inevitably, right-wing politicos feeding on contributions from and union leaders, Sheila tures Nov. 15 to recall Gov. Scott Walker, which gives them a 60 day that financiers’ row dismissed the Occupy effort as dimwitted. Even Cochran made a telling point. window (though the final date will probably wind up Jan. 17, 2012, the lowly $50,000 a year drones on the street wondered if the brush "We all have titles and are because of calendar issues the Government Accountability Board is was too broad. glad to have them," she said, but still working out). But now it's October and how things have changed! Occupy "the most important title in the Announced Oct.10 on national cable and immediately supported Milwaukee, one of hundreds of offshoots in a protest sharing inten- room is carried by this gentle- by major progressive organizations, the decision reflects several reali- tions and slogans from New Zealand to Asia as well as across the US, man: Unemployed Citizen of ties, noted the sponsors in interviews -- chief among them United drew enough thousands to fill Michigan St. corner to corner for seven Milwaukee.” Wisconsin (unitedwisconsin.com, responsible for the famous Recall blocks Oct. 15 in a march from Zeidler Park to the Chase Bank, fol- At Yatchak Hall all ears and Scott Walker Internet movement including Facebook and Twitter), the lowed by a daylong rally of drums, food, hand-made signs and lively eyes focused on Martin - and Wisconsin Democratic Party, and (while instructing all eager unions to interchange among strangers: Rose and Andrea, all out of work heed the PAC rules and regulations) the state AFL-CIO. Unions, libertarians, peace activists, Ron Paul fans, bank tellers and searching endlessly for one, In their thinking: and suburban clerks students, moderates, Reagan Democrats, immi- two, three years, often denied There is no other name to worry about than Walker, whose grant communities, senior citizens -- something that looked quite like unemployment compensation own party knows he has over-reached (but seem so glad to finally be the advertised 99% and certainly gave the lie to the “thugs” descrip- because of technicalities and back in power that only in media comments do they reveal their dis- tions of talk radio. bureaucracy, left dangling and tress or how cowed they have become). The Act 10 decision to deny The Tea Party never climbed above a 25% favorable rating in then hung out to dry by temp public workers meaningful bargaining rights can't even be justified on national polls, but Occupy has already roared up to 54% approval. agencies, used to hard work and the money side. It went from a temporary money saver to lingering There are hundreds of Occupy (Name Your City) offspring. Major denied the opportunity, willing to disaster when even conservatives scrutinized education, safety and organizations, political movements, unions and elected officials have flip hamburgers for bottom community survival in the second year of his fiscal budget. not only climbed aboard but are now helping set the agenda and activ- wages and passed over as over- It was a decision that many Republicans are now ashamed to have ities as joiners in a cause that resists any group taking charge. skilled or maybe just too needy embraced, since it basically decided that private sector workers The right-wing pundits simply can't believe that Occupy hadn't given their hunger to care for shouldn't aspire to good health care and retirement benefits - why else been paid off to become a left-wing clone, like their money did for the their kids and families. take those away from government employees? It rewards a few at the right with the Tea Party organizations. Instead, elements of all seg- While there are thousands expense of many - and tries to sell that as the American way. ments of the middle class have rallied to the movement -- and guess upon thousands of work-oriented More than 55% of state adults in respected polls now disagree what? So have many of those Wall Street drones that started out as citizens in the community who with Walker, and many once voted only GOP. "How many critics. could echo such stories, the lis- Republicans thought they knew Walker and discovered they didn't?" How unlike the Tea Party this is. That discontent also started with teners needed only a handful to noted one recall insider. "They can't be fooled again and that's our loose anger at big banks but was co-opted by conservative money into wonder what strange contagion edge." attacking reasonable health care and needed government stimulus. The had infected the hearts of those That's why the recall organizers don't want voters distracted when Tea Party was quickly perverted into an arm of big business, electing Forum continued Page 11 Recall continued Page 8 many veteran right-wing operatives instead of true believers. uch coercion is unlikely with Occupy, which keeps moving and growing because one reality keeps shining through - the 99% of Sthe population with good reason to be outraged at the uncaring wealthy among the 1%. That tiny sliver of America wields un-American power and mis- guided capitalistic principles. They seem to relish the increasing gulf of income disparity, they engage in the class warfare they accuse the Occupy continued Page 6 All articles and photos by Dominique Paul Noth, Editor, Milwaukee Labor Press. Marchers of all ages, causes and classes defy the stereotype Oct. 15 in a seven-block march from Zeidler Park to Downtown banks. That’s when Occupy Wall Street became Occupy Milwaukee. Page 2 — AFL-CIO MILWAUKEE LABOR PRESS, Thursday, October 27, 2011 www.milwaukeelabor.org Ready to create jobs, county officials insist t was a major Ready to Work demand for Milwaukee ICounty announced Oct. 13 at the Center of Excellence for WRTP/BIG STEP that will pro- vide key jobs training. But the press conference also threw down a gauntlet and signaled a "get on board" moment in county swagger. With a few other supervisors lined up behind him - co-creator Theodore Lipscomb, co-spon- sors Marina Dimitrijevic and Nikiya Harris - and others not present but also on board including Jason Haas and Peggy tor help bring this to life." West, Supervisor Eyon Biddle Biddle, Lipscomb and Abele not only detailed the initiative were already backing an but also stated bluntly: "We are enhanced Economic the new leadership of Milwaukee Development Fund to use some County." revenue generated from land He challenged the board and sales, but the Ready to Work ini- new County Executive Chris tiative does switch deposits Abele to back an immediate Supervisors announcing the effort at WRTP were Eyon Biddle (speaking), Nikiya Harris and directly to putting people to change in the budget to add $1 Marina Dimitrijevic at right and (inset upper right) Theodore Lipscomb. work. It could be a way out for million, funded by combining with high school (GED) diplo- Abele since some supervisors land sales and existing conduits, how urgent the demand is in the College, Milwaukee Public mas and driver's licenses -- and oppose creating yet another com- and develop ongoing private- community. It could start with 20 Schools, and Milwaukee Area reaching into the vast pool of mission to handle the land sales, publish fiscal and work partner- hours a week at $10 an hour for Building and Construction residents desperate for family as Abele suggested. For this ships through the existing eco- many and include job shadowing Trades, whose Ken Kramer was sustaining jobs -- the Ready to initiative, said Lipscomb, "Our nomic development department. and multi-craft WRTP construc- one of the speakers at the press Work Initiative would find entry own economic development peo- That $1 million would tion training to make up the dif- conference. level and higher positions,, use ple are ideal." quickly reach out to 1,000 ference. "Our congressional and state connections to create new ones With budget decisions loom- Milwaukee County residents and ut the key is getting leaders are failing us with hyper- and centralize training by WRTP ing in the first week of at least 750 immediate jobs, money in the county bud- partisan politics that almost and alongside existing skilled November, it will take quick existing and added, the planners Bget and flipping around always end up in gridlock," said workers. action to have any chance of get- say. Through screening, and some existing ideas. a visibly angry Biddle. "This As funding increases, so can ting Ready to Work ready for assessment, focusing on those Other partners include political wrangling does nothing the plan, noted Biddle, citing Milwaukee Area Technical to help people who need jobs - 2012, many insiders concede.