News and Views from the People's Struggle
Milwaukee, WI – At exactly 11 a.m. on Friday, September 22, about 100 workers at a Milwaukee auto parts distribution center owned by Stellantis exited the rundown brick building and joined the national United Auto Workers (UAW) strike. These brave workers lined up along the sidewalk and listened attentively to a short speech by Joseph Neu, president of the UAW Local 75 in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee, WI – On Thursday, September 21, the Milwaukee County board of supervisors discussed whether to file the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office’s (MCSO) report on the Milwaukee County Jail. If filed, this would mean the board of supervisors accepts the MSCO’s report, effectively eliminating the possibility of any further public discussion on the report at county board meetings. The MCSO produced this report after significant public pressure demanding transparency and accountability from the office.
Milwaukee, WI – On Thursday, September 14, UW-Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and supporting community organizations rallied together to demand justice for Déjah Welsh. Welsh is a Black former student who attended UWM in 2013. Like many students, she was struggling with mental health issues, and while having a mental health crisis, UWM police officers attacked her and nearly suffocated her to death. They only stopped when she said, “I don’t want to end up like Derek Williams.” Williams was suffocated to death in the back of a Milwaukee police squad car in 2011. Once they stopped, they put her in a mental health facility.
Milwaukee, WI – On September 11, at a Judiciary Committee meeting of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, community members took a stance against increased funding for the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO). The MCSO is seeking a 34% budgetary increase to “look into” the conditions of the county jail and solve their “staffing shortage.” There have been six in-custody deaths within the past year, with no changes in policy or preventative action taken by the MCSO.
Kerrie Hirte gave testimony about the treatment of her daughter Cilivea Thyrion, leading up to her death in December of 2022, describing the mental health care her daughter received as inadequate, lacking privacy and dehumanizing.
“Money is given to you to use wisely, but if it’s not used for the services we need, why give it to them? They’ve been given more money, and yet still people are dying inside the jail. They’ve been given all these things and yet here I am as a mother without a child,” said Hirte. She pledged to keep showing up and fighting in order to stop any other families from going through the same experience.
Representatives of the MCSO stated that more funding would help with better staffing and could help prevent further issues within the jail. County supervisor and chair of the Judiciary Committee, Ryan Clancy, pushed back against this narrative. Clancy asked the MCSO why they hadn’t included any policy changes or action plans in their proposal for a larger budget. He also referenced how the correctional officers have seen two recent raises, yet conditions in the jail have not changed.
“Sheriff Ball ran her campaign on accountability and transparency, and yet there has been none. We need an elected accountability council of the Milwaukee County Jails, now!” stated Tiffany Stark, a member of The Milwaukee Alliance and Coalition for Justice for Brieon Green. The need for transparency and accountability was stressed by all community members who spoke at the meeting, highlighting the larger struggle for police accountability that has been a nationwide struggle.
In order to prevent further deaths and significantly improve the conditions inside the jail, the status quo cannot remain. The Milwaukee Alliance and the Justice for Brieon Green Coalition are demanding the creation of a civilian accountability council with the power to hold the MCSO accountable, control its budget, oversee all investigations regarding issues inside the jail, and create MCSO policy.
Milwaukee, WI – On August 26, organizers with the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) and their supporters, numbering around 20 in total, gathered in downtown Milwaukee to protest the threats of the U.S. government at intervening in the internal politics of the west African country of Niger.
Milwaukee, WI – On August 25, 30 protesters gathered for a press conference, which was followed by a picket, to demand an end to in-custody deaths inside the Milwaukee County Jail. Beginning with the death of Brieon Green on June 26, 2022, six people have died in the custody of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office (MCSO).
Milwaukee, WI – Nearly 400 people marched in the streets of Milwaukee on the evening of August 23 in protest of the first Republican presidential primary debate. Chants like “Racist, sexist, anti-gay, GOP, go away!” and “Whose streets? Our streets! Whose city? Our city!” rang out as marchers ignored the 100-plus degree heat.
Milwaukee, WI – Nearly 30 protesters with the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024 massed outside the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee on the evening of August 22 to protest Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer turned right-wing anti-trans personality. Protesters chanted “Transphobic, anti-gay, Riley Gaines, go away!” “Can’t swim Riley” and “Sore loser Riley” as they picketed outside the hotel. They carried a large banner that read “Stop trans genocide” and received a great deal of support from passing cars and people walking by.
Milwaukee, WI – On the morning of August 14, 15 workers at Ascension Saint Francis Hospital (SFH) represented by the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (WFNHP) Local 5000 marched to the top hospital administrator's office with a stack of 144 individual grievances. Administration denied the union workers at SFH a bonus while providing it to the non-bargaining unit workers at the hospital and to workers at all of the other non-union Ascension hospitals in the state.
Milwaukee, WI – Nearly 30 people rallied outside City Hall in downtown Milwaukee, joining with others in more than 20 cities on August 9 for a National Day of Action to demand justice for the Tampa 5, a group of activists facing severe political repression following an action to defend diversity, equity and inclusion in Florida universities. All of these activists were members of the University of South Florida chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).