Tom Morello Receives Hillman Award for Supporting Madison, Occupy Protests

Rage Against the Machine musician and activist Tom Morello, who played for and inspired demonstrators in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol during the workers’ rights uprising last year, will receive a special public service award at the annual 2012 Hillman Prizes ceremony on May 1 in New York City. Previous awards have gone to such figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Harry Belafonte.

Last year, Morello also performed at Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. He donated the proceeds from his Justice Tour concerts in Madison, Flint, Mich., and Cleveland to the Nation Institute.

“Tom Morello’s work in pursuing social and economic justice — and in telling the stories of working men and women — is exemplary and inspiring,” said Bruce Raynor, president of the Sidney Hillman Foundation. “Tom’s music, energy and leadership brings attention to causes that matter and inspires others to become more active on the public commons. In the words of another American songwriter, there’s a battle outside and it’s ragin’ — and almost any time we look, there’s Tom Morello right out in front.”

More video: GRITtv’s Laura Flanders interviews Morello in Madison last February … Continue Reading

Students Protest Union Busting Move At U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Graduate students who teach at a University of Wisconsin college say the Dean there has broken his promise to honor their union contract. The students say Dean Rodney Swain of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s College of Letters and Sciences has sent out a letter saying there is no current contract, so UWM would be discontinuing summer tuition remission for the union members. This benefit allowed summer tuition remission for graduating assistants who must take a summer class to fulfill their degree.

The union says while cuts to the college’s budget may prompt the administration’s action, it is not right to pay for budget cuts on the backs of graduate workers. The union is pressing Dr. Swain to honor the spirit of his promise of March, 2011 and “do no harm” to workers’ contracts.

More than 200 emails and phone calls were made last week by union members, faculty, alumni, classified and unclassified staff and students at the University demanding that the Dean reverse his decision to eliminate summer tuition remission.

More than 300 postcards have been delivered to the Dean’s office. The first segment of postcards were delivered to the Dean’s secretary, April 16, she said the dean was busy and could not meet with MGAA; second segment of postcards were delivered to office that was locked, not allowing MGAA leadership to even speak with secretary to get a receipt of the postcards delivered (Monday they were given receipts).

Occupy/Union Led Protests Greet Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel In Milwaukee

Chicago Mayor and former advisor to President Obama Rahm Emanuel was in Milwaukee Wednesday to raise money for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. He also ended up raising a howl of protest from people upset over privatization of city services, union rights and the upcoming NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit in Chicago.

A coalition of activists from Occupy Milwaukee, Occupy Chicago, Occupy the Hood-Milwaukee, Occupy the Hood-Chicago, Occupy Riverwest, Students for a Democratic Society, Peace Action WI, Southside Together Organizing for Power, the Milwaukee Coalition to Protest NATO, Progressive Democrats of America, Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement, the Milwaukee Graduate Assistants Association, International Action Center, and the Chicago Mental Health Movement, and AFSCME assembled to protest Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel at a fundraiser for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee, Thursday. The cost of entry to the fundraiser ranged from $400 and $2,500.

Protesters say Emanuel has moved to privatize Chicago city services, including recycling, a push for charter schools while closing several public schools and closing community health centers. Chicago’s new city budget privatizes all seven of the cities neighborhood health centers as well as closing half (6 of 12) of the cities mental health facilities. In the last year, Emanuel has issued lay off notices for more than 600 city employees, replacing these positions with private contracted workers.

Impact of Chicago’s privatization … Continue Reading

2011 UpTake Stories With The Most Impact

Workers' Rights Supporter In Madison Wisconsin - Photo by Natalie Rosen	Representative Steve Simon talks about gay marriage
Sparking Occupy Wall Street-Robert Reich debunks six right-wing "lies"	Tornado Hits Economically Depressed Minneapolis Neighborhood

At the end of every year at The UpTake we’ve traditionally highlighted the most interesting videos of the year. But this year, several big stories transcended any one video. So instead, we’re looking back at those stories we covered that have had the most impact.
… Continue Reading

“Union Busting Language” Forces Strike In Wisconsin

Video by Tracey Pollock
Emboldened by Governor Scott Walker’s attack on public unions, private Wisconsin employers are attempting to bust the unions in their labor contract negotiations.

In Manitowoc, the machinists union is on strike not over wages, but because of “union busting” language the Manitowoc Crane company wants included in the contract.

An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people attended Machinists local 516 strike rally on December 10 in Manitowoc, WI. The machinists are on strike after a new contract was overwhelmingly voted down (183-2) that included language to eliminate collective bargaining rights for the union.

Several union leaders and members of the community attended the rally to show support of the nearly 200 machinists on strike. Leaders of several unions attended, including American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees (AFSCME), Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), Ironworkers, United Steelworkers (USW), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Professional Firefighters (PFF), and the WIsconsin state president of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

Union members say company trying to follow union busting example from the State of Wisconsin. … Continue Reading

Occupy Movement Targets Big Businesses That “Control” Political System

Video by Tracey Pollock

Todd Stoner and Anthony D Williams Jr discuss the importance of Occupy Milwaukee and why Milwaukee as a community is crucial to this movement.

Why is Occupy Milwaukee important to you both?

Anthony B. Williams: “It’s a way to bring light on a touchy subject that’s been going on in America for centuries. It didn’t just start.”

Williams says “The 99 percent will no longer stand for the things that have been going on in America that have brought us tot where we are right now as far as a recession.

Todd Stoner sees Occupy Wall Street as an opportunity to educate the public about inequality, corruption and the connection between “big business, big money and politics.”

“It’s working. We have wide support despite what you can see on corporate media, the vast majority of the people in Milwaukee agree that things are messed up. That’s there’s far too much money in the hands of the one percent. And that we the 99 percent need more of a voice.”

Income inequality and joblessness should be at “the forefront of the media” says Stoner. He sees Occupy Milwaukee is one way of doing that.

Poverty and segregation motivating “occupy” movement in Milwaukee … Continue Reading

Wisconsin GOP Senate Majority Remains At 1 Vote

Wisconsin Republicans failed to pick up any breathing room Tuesday, losing both Senate recall elections leaving their majority at just one vote. Before the recall elections spurred by anger over Governor Scott Walker’s anti-union legislation, Republicans had a comfortable five vote margin.

Senator Jim Holperin (D-Conover) beat challenger and tea party activist Kim Simac of Eagle River. Senator Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) easily topped Republican lawyer Jonathan Steitz.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said the recalls will force Governor Walker to take a more moderate approach. “The victories tonight of Senators Wirch and Holperin cap off successful recall elections this summer for Democrats, progressives, moderates and independents. Democrats won more races, recalled two Republican senators, protected every Democratic incumbent, shifted the balance of power in the state Senate away from conservatives, and forced Walker and the GOP to pay public lip service to moderation and bipartisanship for the first time since they took power in January. All of these facts show that voters gave Democrats the overall victory in this summer’s historic senate recall elections.”

Taking the Fight to the Ballot Box: Wisconsin’s Recall Election Primaries

By Sam Mayfield

Nine Wisconsin State Senators, including six Republicans and three Democrats, are running in recall elections this summer in response to voter outrage over the questionable process used when Republicans cast votes on the bill to strip public workers of their unions. Republicans forced Democrats to hold primaries in the six Republican incumbents districts by recruiting Republicans to run as “protest candidates” in the Democratic primary. All of the “protest candidates” lost.

For this video, we checked in on the primary race in Senator Luther Olsen’s district. Senator Olsen represents the Central Wisconsin communities of Baraboo, Wisconsin Dells, Portage, Waupaca and New London, among others. Senator Olsen faced two challengers today: Democratic Representative Fred Clark and GOP Protest candidate Rol Church.

We stopped in on all three polling places in Baraboo. Turnout was light, with each polling place reporting fewer than 200 voters as of 10am. Ida DeKeyser and Karen Lawson, two poll workers at Baraboo’s East School, said they usually see a thousand people vote in a typical spring election.

As voter Bill Schlewey said “Wisconsinites are known fighters and this is another fight we’re not going to go down easy on.” Sam Mayfield, is working on a documentary film about the gentle uprising in Wisconsin. For more information visit her blog.

Journalist Tells Her Story Of Arrest In Wisconsin

Video and text by Sam Mayfield- cross posted from her Sam Land blog
On June 6th two journalists were arrested at the state capital in Madison, WI.

I was one of them.

I was grabbed by an aggressive and very escalated police officer after walking in to the state capital on Jne 6th. Officer Corcoran told me to leave, to “get out”. It was bewildering because I was already in the building and was simply walking by him filming my way in to the rotunda.

He grabbed me aggressively. I told him, in the friendliest voice I could find, that I was with the press. He let me walk by.

I recognized him from the many times I have been in the building over the past four months covering the gentle uprising as it develops and unfolds around Governor Scott Walker’s controversial budget repair bill.

Assistant hauled away in handcuffs … Continue Reading

Police Detain UpTake Journalist For Helping Her Assistant

Earlier today, “BadgerGurl88″ shot this video of videographer Sam Mayfield being detained by Wisconsin State Police at the Capitol in Madison. Sam is in town working on a documentary film about upstart Republican Governor Scott Walker’s crusade to take away workers’ collective bargaining rights. She has shot video of the historic labor demonstrations periodically this spring for The UpTake.

Sam checked in with us immediately after this incident. She is being charged with disorderly conduct. Watch the video for yourself and decide if that’s an overreach by police. Watch what happens @1:31 into the video

The woman in the video who is initially being arrested by police is Sam’s assistant Alex Noguera-Garces who is helping her shoot the documentary. According to Sam, Alex was arrested after she videotaped police “roughing up” people. Alex was told to leave the public building, which she didn’t and then she was arrested.

As Alex is being ushered into the elevator she hands Sam the camera she has been using to shoot. Police drag Alex out of the elevator and chase down Sam, putting her in a bear hug. The two are both taken into the elevator. Sam is later charged with disorderly conduct and released.

Although being mostly ignored by the media, the workers’ rights movement in Madison, Wisconsin continues to maintain a presence at the State Capitol, now in “Walkerville” a tent city named after the Wisconsin’s Governor — much like shanty towns were named “Hoovervilles” to mock the Great Depression policies of President Herbert Hoover.

This isn’t the first time that police have arrested journalists trying to protect their helpers. You may recall during the Republican National Convention, Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman was arrested for protecting one of her journalists. Listen to Goodman talk about how she is suing over the incident here. You may find interesting parallels between the two situations.