The protests that erupted in the state of Wisconsin over a bill designed to strip public workers of most of their collective bargaining rights dominated national headlines for about two weeks. But, then the bill was signed into law by Governor Scott Walker, and other events came to dominate the news cycle. The American public’s eyes were turned overseas by news in Libya and Japan.
But, as measures similar to that in Wisconsin have been considered in such states as Ohio and Indiana, and as such measures produced sympathy protests in these other states. These activists are gearing up to put this issue back in the public eye.
“We Are One Week”
The week of April 4-9, 2010 has been designated, “We Are One Week” by activists who are trying to get the issues raised by the Wisconsin protests back into the spotlight. The week was chosen, in part, because April 4 was the day that Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot in Memphis. He was in Memphis to lend support to a municipal garbage worker’s strike. The events are being organized by public employees whose rights were targeted by legislation in Wisconsin and other states.
While alive, King lent his voice in support of unions, such as when he said to the sanitation workers,
’You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called big jobs. But let me say to you tonight that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth.”
The organizers of “We Are One Week” are trying to harness that same energy 43 years later.
The New Effort
While lawsuits and recall efforts are getting underway in Wisconsin, “We Are One Week” is about building solidarity.
Council 31 of the Association of Federal, State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) organizes public employee unions in Illinois. A news release on the website of AFSCME, Council 31 connects the protests of the 1960s with those of today:
“Today, that same demand is electrifying people across America. It's the demand of all people: the right to join together for our common dreams. The battles to defend collective bargaining in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Florida and other states have galvanized the labor movement and brought hundreds of thousands to our cause.”
The week of April 4-9, 2011 will feature rallies and educational events designed to bring the protests of March 2010 back to the front page.
Jon Pike - Pike is a Ph.D. in communication and writes about activism and popular culture topics for Suite101.
Join the Conversation