How Wise Politicians End a Family Fight by Dominique Paul Noth Reality Is Hard After Emotion- Editor, Labor Press Al Commitment to a Candidate
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What kids see in Laborfest The universal language of juggling at the children’s stage (above). The entire parade from daddy’s shoulders (top left). A new T-shirt pledging to to be a future troublemaker for worker rights (bottom left). A ride on mommy’s lap in a Teamsters truck (top right). Being awed by the range of banners and flags (bottom right). Or just bundled snugly against the rain in an OPEIU shirt (above). There was no homework at the family Laborfest, just one big party where thousands of adults respect and celebrate each other’s work, and have fun doing it. But that’s a pretty big lesson for kids right there. More photos Pages 5-8 and other photos online at www.milwaukeelabor.org. Vol. 66, No. 9 Thursday, September 28, 2006 How wise politicians end a family fight By Dominique Paul Noth Reality is hard after emotion- Editor, Labor Press al commitment to a candidate. eg Lautenschlager joined a But reality also emphasizes that unity rally Sept. 16 and Falk and Lautenschlager have worked on the same issues and mZuri Ppledged support to the Democratic ticket and to share an understanding of the Kathleen Falk who beat her in civic and criminal law functions MCLC imports the close attorney general pri- of the Department of Justice. inspiring drama mary four days earlier. Falk worked as an assistant But even before that rally AG for 14 years ahead of her 10 t’s perfect timing for this arranged by Sen. Russ Feingold, years managing large government national touring show, given labor groups that had backed as Dane County executive. So she Ithe continuing controversy Lautenschlager (including the has miles more experience than Combining United Way’s labor kick-off party with a preview of a around voting machines, accura- state AFL-CIO and the MCLC) the GOP opponent, J.B. Van cy and access to the polls. A dra- new center to prepare hundreds of residents for good-paying jobs Hollen, who is trying to make the brought government and business together with unions Sept. 14. had escalated their consulting matic work of song, prose and process and switched endorse- race a narrowly focused law and Left to right: MCLC Secretary-Treasurer Sheila D. Cochran, Roberta real-life heroine of the Voting ments to urge support for Falk. order message about terrorists Gassman, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Rights Act will be brought to Realistically, the shift was a and “criminal aliens” hiding Development, and Frances Huntley-Cooper, administrator for the Milwaukee Oct. 29 by the foregone conclusion. under every kitchen table. Milwaukee County Labor state’s worker compensation division. FULL STORY PAGE 10 Both women are progres- His tone means this will not Council, AFL-CIO. sives who have enjoyed union be an easy race. It’s a low road It is a one-woman show put support in the past and both share that regularly tempts politicians together by an internationally rec- Labor cause becomes much the same philosophy and in races bearing any law-enforce- ognized singer and actress known concerns for working families, ment label. Expect constant cater- as mZuri, born in New Jersey but centrist campaign push the environment, and balanced ing to crime fears, “CSI” trained in Paris and Rome. She advocacy in an overly partisan simplicities and “lock them all really came home in the 1990s. By Dominique Paul Noth, Editor, Labor Press state. up” rhetoric to dominate Van She was driven to create this n a development with historic dimensions, a central issue for Agreeing to work hard for Hollen’s attack. piece by the life of a Mississippi labor unions has been elevated into a central campaign issue for Falk came with a measure of dis- That’s why, despite Falk’s sharecropper shot at, abused and Iall voters nationwide in the November midterm elections. appointment, pain, surprise -- and superior knowledge of the DOJ nearly beaten to death by police- The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) - the influential mid- even some anger as the vote num- and her winning personality, men in her efforts simply to vote dle of the road power of the Democratic Party - has embraced the bers suggested that Lauten- some observers now worry that during the civil rights struggle of Employee Free Choice Act and made it a major platform in its politi- schlager had lost largely because this race will actually be harder the 1960s. cal activities for the candidates it influences and works for. of a hard-hearted response to her for her to win than it would have Her name was Fannie Lou The announcement was made in Washington, D.C., by Iowa Gov. one alcohol-induced drift off the been for Lautenschlager. It’s a Hamer, and her testimony at the Tom Vilsack, new chairman of the DLC and frequently mentioned as road on the way home from view that defies the popular Democratic National Convention a 2008 presidential candidate. Vilsack, who has been meeting with Madison to Fond du Lac two “we’re home free” logic of in 1964 has been widely credited years ago. with touching an entire nation union leaders since spring, has promised to bring new partners, key Politics continued Page 3 and helping lead a year later to issues and a more accessible embrace of all sides to the DLC, which passage of the voting rights act. has often been criticized by unions as too moderate, too cautious and The reasonably priced event too swayed by corporate interests. takes place Sunday afternoon, As a signal of this new unity around a crucial issue, standing with October 29, at 3:30 p.m. at Amer- Vilsack at the Sept. 6 press conference were John Sweeney, national ican Serb Hall, Hall of the Presi- AFL-CIO president, and Anna Burger, chair of the Change to Win dents, 5101 W. Oklahoma Ave. federation. Also joining leaders and founders of the DLC (which was mZuri continued Page 3 Democrats continued Page 9 Page 2 — AFL-CIO MILWAUKEE LABOR PRESS, Thursday, September 28, 2006 www.milwaukeelabor.org How to stir up America’s women o help explain Stirring the Pot, an AFL-CIO campaign Oct. 10 aimed at non-union as well Tas union women, let’s take you to a union event, the Labor Kick-Off for United Way Sept. 14. Our executive guide is the vice president and gener- al counsel of Harley-Davidson, Gail Lione. In preparing for the labor event, Lione told the assemblage, she looked up the first contract Harley signed with a union back in the 1930s. It spelled out a wage for men of 60 cents an hour – that in itself a comment on changing economic times. But the contract also spelled out a wage for women employees – not a glass ceiling but a cash ceiling of 50 cents an hour, deliberately less than men. There was amusement from the union women in the audience – but not disbelief. Even today, a recent Gail Lione at the Kick-Off event (see Page 10). Labor in the Pulpits flooded more than 100 churches with AFL-CIO survey revealed, there is pay inequity, individualistic speakers the weekend before Labor Day, some though hardly so blatant. Today it would be illegal to It offers Oct. 10 as a national day for potluck speaking for a few minutes, some for a half hour as they took spell it out in a contract. gatherings, or discussions over coffee, or over drinks, their own road to the theme of “Jobs, Justice and Poverty.” The overwhelming majority of the 26,000 or after a sports event, for women to take the lead on For Journal Sentinel reporter Meg Kissinger, here being thanked a general discussion of issues of concern. The new women surveyed did see continued imbalance even after her talk in the emptying St. John’s Cathedral, her recent website, stirringthepot.org, offers tips on how to as two-income households have become a norm in articles on the county’s treatment of the mentally ill became the organize such a get-together. society for getting by. But their central shared con- doorway to the central subject. The timing and purpose of such individually- cerns were beyond money, particularly regarding organized gatherings are cheerfully transparent. Non- such issues as health care and quality of life. union participants get to hear how similar their goals A veteran labor activist The women also faulted corporate America for are to union women, and the issues in common could hurting them and the larger community by not striv- also provide a long-needed gathering around crucial ing to balance worklife and family life (including issues at the polls. joins MCLC liaison team parenting life) in their policies. An offshoot of Working America, a 1.5 million ay Reinke -- who has Realizing that women share basic goals – and strong initiative for non-union workers, Stirring the hosted civil rights may not know it – the AFL-CIO is urging home- Pot seeks to encourage that shared knowledge. Jevents for the United grown get-togethers in large cities and small, neigh- Women who work are a basis of American soci- Auto Workers, volunteers borhood by neighborhood, block by block — not ety, whether the work is in the home or outside it. It for community access tele- just among co-workers but among female friends and does seem high time, the AFL-CIO says, for women vision, served as a loaned even families. to work together for change. representative to United Way, and worked for more than a decade on joint train- ing and human resources with Delphi for UAW Local 438 -- has reason to think he is well known in the labor community.