Labor & Employment Law

Wisconsin Union Members Already in Gear for Election Season

By Mike Hall

Wisconsin working families aren?t waiting until Labor Day to mobilize for the fall elections.  They are already knocking on doors, leafleting worksites and more to get out the vote.

Rep. Steve Kagen (D- Wis.) won?t know until the Sept. 14 Republican primary who will be his general election opponent. But in the meantime, unions and their members are mobilizing to re-elect the Green Bay physician.

Denny Lauer (see top photo) of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2-1279 took part in a recent labor walk where he talked with other union member families about Kagen, who has voted for job-creation legislation to put people back to work. Says Kagen:

It?s Main Street, not Wall Street or Big Business, that will provide jobs that will complete our economic recovery.

Earlier this week, a group of military veterans from the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council met with Tom Barrett, Democratic candidate for governor. Barrett has the backing of Wisconsin?s unions. The group discussed vital issues, including jobs, the economy and veterans? health care.

Unlike either of the leading candidates in the Sept. 14 Republican primary who have endorsed jobs cuts and furloughs, Barrett has proposed a detailed jobs plan that is estimated to create as many as 180,000 Wisconsin jobs in his first term.

Find out more about Labor 2010?s action in Wisconsin here.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on September 03, 2010 (boomark / email).