Steelworkers Union Shifts Political Focus From Federal to State Elections

During an interview with The UpTake at Netroots Nation, United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard said that, in the future, organized labor would invest more resources in state politics. The Steelworkers have traditionally spent 70 percent of their political donations and manpower to influence national elections, and only 30 percent on state elections. But Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s assault on collective bargaining rights, and organized labor’s existential struggle in Madison this past winter, have convinced Gerard that state politics cannot be ignored.

Tens of Thousands Protest in Madison

Thousands protest in “Walkerville” outside the Wisconsin State Capitol as the Republican-controlled State Assembly debates the budget. Lawmakers in both the Assembly and Senate are pushing this week toward final passage of Governor Scott Walker’s union-busting legislation. The UpTake’s Sam Mayfield — who was briefly arrested by Capitol Police last week — is in Madison filming the demonstration.

Wisconsin Circuit Court Rules Against Anti-Collective Bargaining Law

Concluding that the Republican-led Wisconsin legislature violated the Open Meetings Law when it rammed through Governor Scott Walker’s anti-collective bargaining legislation on March 9 and 10, Judge Maryann Sumi of the Wisconsin Circuit Court Branch 2 (located in Monroe County, near the state’s southern border with Illinois) ruled overturned the controversial law today. The fight is expected to proceed to the state supreme court, whose political makeup rests in the outcome of the David Prosser-JoAnn Kloppenberg recount. Prosser, the conservative incumbent, defeated Prosser in a heated race, but the challenger could appeal to the courts.

Read the Circuit Court’s ruling here:
Wisconsin Circuit Court Ruling Striking Down Wisconsin Anti-Workers’ Rights Law

Wisc. School Teacher Announces Candidacy Against GOP Sen. Harsdorf

Shelly Moore, a school teacher in Wisconsin’s Ellsworth School district, has declared her candidacy to run against State Senator Sheila Harsdorf, one of four Republicans targeted in a recall campaign in the wake of right-wing Governor Scott Walker’s war on unions. According to the blog Uppity Wisconsin, Moore teaches English and drama in Ellsworth, and has been active in the local teachers union and the fight for school funding. She is the Wisconsin director on the National Education Association board, representing WEAC. The above video is from her announcement at Legacy Chocolates in Menomonie, Wis.

Kloppenburg Addresses Supporters on Election Night

By Sam Mayfield

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg addressed her supporters at 12:30 a.m. this morning at the Edgewater Hotel in Madison, Wis.
Earlier today, Kloppenburg declared victory over incumbent Justice (and self-described fan of Governor Scott Walker) David Prosser after the Associated Press gave her a 204-vote lead. The total showed Kloppenburg with 740,090 votes and Prosser with 739,886. A recount is expected.

Wisconsin Democratic State Rep. Pocan Pens Open Letter to Fitzgerald Brothers

Wisconsin State Representative Mark Pocan had the following letter delivered to Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald yesterday.

Dear Colleagues,

Usually a letter from me is filled with pointed humor. You will find none of that in this letter. I write today in the utmost somber of terms, out of fear for the institution of the Wisconsin State Legislature.

In the past few months, we’ve seen the State Capitol completely locked down to the public and, at times, our own members couldn’t even get inside this building. We’ve seen a joint committee end a public hearing with members of the public still on the speaking list. We’ve seen the Assembly also shut off debate with members of both parties still on the speaking list and deny members the right to vote. You’ve literally silenced the minority party and the general public. That alone should give you pause.

Rather than heeding that pause, you pushed ahead and violated the open meetings law on multiple occasions. It is a sad day in Wisconsin when our legislative leaders think they are above the very laws we make. … Continue Reading

Footage from Tractor Parade Around Wisconsin State Capitol on Saturday

The UpTake’s Jacob Wheeler hitched a ride on a vintage firetruck that led the parade of tractors to the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison on Saturday — a rally against Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s policies, which over 150,000 people attended.

Gov. Walker’s Budget Repair Bill Will Most Adversely Affect Wisconsin Minorities

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed the state’s controversial Budget Repair Bill last Friday amidst protests and disapproval from tens of thousands of citizens. Although it has not been on the forefront in the media, the bill will be most detrimental to the minority communities of Wisconsin and have a powerful effect on workers’ rights nationwide. Therefore, The League of Young Voters Education Fund teamed up with the Ebony Newsroom at a recent rally in Madison to give a voice to the people who are being affected the most.

The minority population of Wisconsin has not been given the proper platform to stand up for their rights even though this group will be hit the hardest by the new regulations of the Budget Repair Bill. The African-American community makes up 6 percent of Wisconsin’s population and over 25 percent of that is in Milwaukee County alone. This group has already been through hardship and cannot afford even more cuts to programs such as Badgercare, Medicare and Food Stamps. The Budget Repair Bill may have already been signed, but the minority population of Wisconsin is participating in rallies and protests until their voices are heard.

Did Wisconsin GOP Senator Hopper’s Estranged Wife Sign Recall Petition Against Him?

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” — William Congreve, The Mourning Bride (1697)

Upon returning to Madison and speaking at a press conference on Saturday, the “Wisconsin 14″ Democratic Senators who had fled the state for Illinois implied that the thousands of protesters gathered at the State Capitol would soon drop their signs and pick up clipboards as part of a nearly statewide recall campaign against eight Republican Senators from swing districts who supported Gov. Scott Walker’s union-killing bill.

Some of those clipboard-carrying demonstrators were met with quite a shock that day in Fond Du Lac, an hour and a half north of Madison, at the home of State Senator Randy Hopper, who reportedly worked closely with Walker on the unpopular legislation. Alysia Hopper — aka “Mrs. Hopper” — answered the door and told the crowd that Sen. Hopper no longer lived there, but had taken up residence in Madison with his 25-year-old mistress. On Monday, the Milwaukee television station TMJ4 reported that it had received a letter from Alysia Hopper — on letterhead envelope from her business — claiming that Sen. Hopper “started an affair in January 2010 with a then 25 year old Republican aide.” The letter claims “Randy moved out” and “now lives mostly in Madison.” Court records confirm that they have since filed for divorce. According to TMJ4, the letter also implied that Alysia Hopper might have signed the recall petition against her estranged husband.

Sen. Hopper’s affair contradicts the union-supporting family-man image he sought to portray on the campaign trail last year. Behold this photo of him in an AFSCME t-shirt, and this video of him with wife and children:

Who is Hopper’s new fling? According to the Daily Kos, it’s Valerie Class, a lobbyist for a right-wing lobbying firm called Persuasion Partners, Inc. — at least she was until this past weekend. According to her bio on Persuasion Partners’ website (which has since been removed from their site), prior to going to work for Persuasion Partners, Cass staffed the Senate Economic Development Committee, of which Sen. Randy Hopper happened to be a member.

Minneapolis Activists Rally to Support Wisconsin and Union Workers

Yesterday, local citizens in Minneapolis joined 270 separate rallies across the nation organized by MoveOn.org and endorsed by 50 other organizations. These rallies were a protest against the Koch-Walker style politics in Wisconsin. They were also an action in support of Wisconsin and of worker rights in Minnesota. Passionate speakers talked about how their lives have been improved by union representation, and the danger of attacks on unions. The 250-person crowd was boisterous but well contained. There was also a simultaneous rally in Rice Park in St. Paul.