from The Badger Herald
Friday, April 22, 2005
Ralliers decry state job cuts
BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo
by Alyssa Kohler
University
of Wisconsin Madison students and members of the Teaching Assistants’
Association joined together with state workers at the Capitol Thursday
afternoon to rally for the betterment of high education, fairer wages
and increased healthcare.
The mixed crowd gathered atop Bascom Hill before attending the main
event, holding a small protest of their own. Led by Josh Healey, a
member of the Student Labor Action Coalition, their aim was to inspire
campus consciousness of statewide issues before joining forces with the
thousands of protesters at the foot of the Capitol building.
Speaker Eric Robson, a member of American Federation of State, County,
and Municipal Employees local 171 –– a local labor union of 15,000
blue-collar workers in Wisconsin –– spoke of the trials he faces as a
state worker.
According to Robson, the low wages and poor health care of public employees has left many feeling hopeless.
“The only way we can pay our bills is with a credit card or through getting a second job,” he said.
Robson added he is insulted by a Legislature that continues to cut
state wages and give money to for-profit corporations so that they can
cut state jobs.
TAA member Peter Brinson, who attended the rally, said the event gave
those on campus a chance to understand the issues going on around the
state in addition to those on campus.
“The TAA sees this as a great opportunity to stand in solidarity with
undergraduates and state workers,” Brinson said, “All of our problems …
they all come from the same source, and that is cuts to public
education and public employment.”
After their protest on Bascom, the group marched their concerns down
State Street, chanting and asking for support from bystanders. Once at
the Capitol, they were greeted by a large mass made up of mostly AFSCME
and American Federation of Teachers members. Public service employees
from these and other organizations were there to express frustration
with stalled contract talks and the state’s outsourcing of state jobs.
Roger Benson, president of the Public Employees Federation in New York,
spoke about the state’s practice of contracting out the work of public
employees, saying this hurts Wisconsin. Benson said many of these
companies also make monetary contributions to political candidates.
According to Benson, state workers can do the work that is being
outsourced better and cheaper. The result, Benson said, is that less
profitable work is being done, and it is costing taxpayers more money.
Benson added Gov. Jim Doyle’s overuse of the phrase “tough choices” has
allowed him to dodge the issues at hand, further stalling a contract
settlement.
“Let’s stop the easy rhetoric of ‘tough choices’ and start acting on the right choices,” Benson said.
According to Benson and others, the right choices include stopping
layoffs, settling union contracts and saving taxpayer dollars by not
contracting labor out.
Marty Beil, the executive director of the Wisconsin State Employees
Union AFSCME Council 24, said if Wisconsin wants to keep a clean
environment, safe streets and quality education, the government needs
to take better care of the state workers who are responsible for these
facets.
International president of AFSCME Jerry McEntee was the final speaker
at Thursday’s protest and said state employees deserve a system that
provides their families with proper care, not one that provides them
with pay cut after pay cut.
“It’s political football. We are the football, and we’re sick of being kicked around,” McEntee said.
Although he praised the protesters attending the rally, McEntee said
they had a bigger job ahead of them: spreading awareness to members of
their communities so that their demands can be met by Gov. Doyle.
During the march up State Street and to the Capitol, police prohibited
protesters from taking signs on pickets into the Capitol building but
did allowed stick-less signs through the doors.
Mike Prentiss, spokesman for Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said he
empathizes with the workers who feel like they are getting the raw end
of the deal. However, Prentiss said Wisconsin’s tight finances have to
be considered in the debate.
“It is no secret that the state budget is in pretty tough shape right
now,” Prentiss said. “But as much as we’d like to see state employees
getting raises, we are facing over a billion dollar deficit.”
Prentiss added that Fitzgerald views this mainly as a dispute between
the governor and state employees but that state workers have a right to
be angry since Doyle’s recent proposal may worsen the deficit.
“He has got a real drama on his hands with a fairly significant labor union,” Prentiss said.