Minneapolis, MN – The framework agreement reached by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and Republican politicians is a victory for big corporations and Minnesota’s wealthy. For the rest of us, it is a setback. It is the opposite of what a progressive solution to the state budget crisis should be. The Republican shutdown of state government appears to be ending with a Republican solution to the budget short fall – the burden of the crisis will be shifted onto the backs poor and working people. Again.
Rockford, IL – Laverne Huggins, Mary Sargent and L’seandra Anderson of AFSCME Local 473 lead an informational picket of close to 200 workers at the Zeke Georgi State Office Building in Rockford, Illinois. Workers are protesting Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s announcement that he would not honor the collective bargaining agreement negotiated with state workers.
Chicago, IL – An anti-bargaining bill disguised as an education reform bill has passed through the Illinois Senate and moved on to the Illinois House of Representatives. This bill called SB7, includes many components that will take away the Chicago Teachers Union’s (CTU) bargaining rights and rights to strike.
Raleigh, NC – A massive crowd of 8000 teachers, youth and community members wearing red shirts swelled outside the North Carolina State Legislative Building on May 3 to protest cuts to education. The rally was organized by the North Carolina Association of Educators. Dozens of community and grassroots organizations, including the NAACP, Farm Labor Organizing Committee and Students for a Democratic Society, mobilized to show their support for public school teachers and to defend education from attack by right-wing legislators.
_Dockworkers shut down ports of Oakland and San Francisco for 24 hours _
Oakland, CA – The power of workers to bring production to a halt was on dramatic display April 4, when longshore workers of ILWU Local 10 shut down the ports of Oakland and San Francisco for 24 hours, in solidarity with the heroic struggles in Wisconsin.
April 4 is a day to stand up and be counted. We urge all readers of Fight Back! to join the nationwide protests that are set for April 4, the anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Say no to the attacks on public employees and on the rights of working people.
Columbus, OH – Around 700 workers, students and community activists poured into and around the statehouse here yesterday, including 200 who were admitted to the House gallery to witness the passage of Senate Bill 5.
Milwaukee, WI – Hundreds rallied at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), March 14, as protests continue against Governor Scott Walker's anti-union, anti-people attacks. The rally was the third mass action taken at the university in recent weeks and included speeches by student, community and union leaders.
Madison, WI – As of 3:00 p.m. today, March 12, the number of protesters at the state capitol here has swelled to more than 150,000. Senators who had left Wisconsin in an attempt to block Governor Walker’s union-busting legislations returned to an enthusiastic welcome.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization salutes the workers, students and community participants in the March 12 protest in Madison, Wisconsin. Everyone filling the streets around the state capitol is sending a clear message to the rich and powerful – we will not sit back in silence while our right to collectively bargain is taken away. The moment has arrived to stand up and do whatever it takes to defend our unions, our standard of living, and our future.
