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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Professors to walk out of classrooms Tuesday By Alicia Goldfine The Daily Cardinal
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Ralliers gathered Monday to hear from local and famous musicians alike, including Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, who performed to show his support for union workers.
Famous rockers play for protesters at rally By Adam Wollner and Patrick Tricker The Daily Cardinal
Standing in front of American and Wisconsin flags, former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello played to an audience of 4,000 Monday at Monona Terrace at a performance set up by AFSCME to oppose the budget repair bill. “Whenever there’s an economic hardship, [Republicans] take advantage of that to ram through some legislation that’s going to roll back decades, if not a century, of social progress,” Morello said. “But they miscalculated. They miscalculated because they tried to begin doing that in Wisconsin.” Earlier in the day, Morello held a rally with Rise Against guitarist Tim McIlrath at the steps of the Capitol with thousands of protesters, despite poor weather conditions. “It is my belief that the future of the rights of working people in this country will not be decided in Congress; it will not be decided in the courts; it will not be decided on talk radio; it will not be decided on Fox News,” Morello said. “But the future of the rights of working people in this country will be decided on the streets of Madison, Wisconsin.” Morello introduced himself as a “union man,” being a card carrying member of the Industrial Workers
of the World and being a part of Los Angeles Musicians Local 47 for 22 years. Morello said his mom, a pubic high school teacher for almost 30 years, managed to make ends meet because of union membership, despite being a one-parent family. “It’s an honor to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in solidarity today,” Morello said to the protesters.
“You never know where the spark for the next big change is going to happen.” Tom Morello guitarist Rage Against the Machine
McIlrath, one of the first acts to perform, noted the variety of generations present at the rally and played a few older songs, including “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and “Who’ll Stop the Rain” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. “We may not be able to stop the rain, but we can stop Gov. Walker,” McIlrath said. Morello applauded the 14 Democratic state senators who fled the state to stop a quorum, which Republicans need before they can vote on the bill. He said their actions gave him new faith in the Democratic Party.
“The backbone of your state senators, who headed to my sweet home state of Illinois, changed my mind about [Democrats],” Morello said. “I’m like, at last somebody’s got a spine, man, come on. They can stay as long as they want. Illinois is nice, man.” Morello also read an e-mail that he received from one of the principal organizers of the protests in Cairo. The letter expressed support for the Wisconsin protesters and advocated for solidarity: “Breathe deeply, Wisconsin, because justice is in the air.” “No matter what Gov. Walker, the Mumbarak of the Midwest, says, this land is your land,” Morello said before singing a rendition of “This Land is Your Land” with McIlrath and other musicians. “Never give up and never give in!” At the Terrace, Mahlon Mitchell, the president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin, expressed solidarity with the protests, before heading off to rally and spend the night at the Capitol with other fire fighters. “We’re here with you because the house of labor’s on fire, and we’re going to put it out,” Mitchell said. “We will continue to be here until the job is done. If the house of labor crumples, we will be here again to rebuild the house of labor brick by brick.” rallies page 4
Public Representation Organization of the Faculty Senate, a membership organization consisting of UW-Madison faculty, has scheduled a march to the Capitol Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in response to the budget repair bill. The group will meet on Bascom Hill and join with UW Faculty Organizing for Change and the Teaching Assistants’ Association in the march. While it is not a union, PROFS is comprised of UW-Madison faculty who advocate for their rights before the governor, state legislators, members of Congress and members of the Board of Regents. According to the TAA, the march could be a turning point in the protest of Gov. Scott Walker’s bill, showing the city and the nation that some of the UW-Madison faculty wants to protect the collective bargaining rights of public sector workers. 333 UW-Madison faculty members signed a letter addressed to Walker, state legislators and citizens of Wisconsin, which was released Sunday. It states their support for collective bargaining rights for all workers. Associate history professor William Jones signed the letter and said he supports the faculty’s march
to the Capitol. “There are several aims [of the letter],” Jones said. “One is to register our support for the principal of collective bargaining as a right and as a democratic process that’s been established both in the U.S. and around the world, as a fundamental human right.” Members of PROFS said they are showing their solidarity with the tens of thousands of protestors who have filled the Capitol and the square voicing their protest of Walker’s budget repair bill. The march is meant to bring awareness to the repercussions that UW-Madison will feel if this bill is passed, according to the group. The faculty members who signed the letter wanted to publically support the collective bargaining rights of the teaching assistants and staff on campus, Jones said. PROFS, in support of the TAs’ ongoing occupation of the Capitol, strives to emphasize the important role that the staff and graduate assistants have in maintaining the high standards of this university, according to the faculty-signed letter. Members of PROFS said the staff and graduate assistants already have low wages and few benefits. The members said they are worried about the effects that additional cuts will have on their jobs and morale.
Legislature to meet Tuesday for budget, voter ID bills By Ariel Shapiro THE DAILY CARDINAL
Both the state Senate and Assembly will meet Tuesday as protests outside the Capitol over the budget repair bill are expected to continue and grow. Only the Assembly will be able to take up the bill, which seeks to increase pension and health care contributions from state employees and take away most of their
bargaining rights. In the aftermath of the 14 Democratic state senators fleeing the state to prevent the bill from being passed, the Senate lacks the quorum necessary to vote on financial legislation. However, the Senate can take up nonfiscal bills, including the hotly contested voter-ID bill, which it legislature page 4
kathryn weenig/the daily cardinal
The Assembly will take up the budget repair bill Tuesday after adjourning Friday because of a pre-emptive vote by Republicans.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”