Recall Group Has Over 300,000 Signatures

     United Wisconsin, the group that is organizing the effort to recall Governor Walker, Lt. Governor Kleefish, and four senators, has announced that it has collected over 300,000 signatures in the first 12 days of its 60-day period in which to gather them. This puts them at approximately 50% of the number that they wanted to collect.  Executive Director Megan Mahaffey stated that even though they might have the required number of signatures earlier than required, they still plan to turn them in to the Government Accountability Board on January 17th, the last day before the deadline.  If you are interested in signing the recall petitions contact your friendly local union representative and they can direct you to whomever is circulating the petition.

Happy Thanksgiving

Looks delicious, doesn't it?

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from all of us in AFSCME Local 474.  We wish you safe travels and a joyous holiday.  Even though Governor Walker and his lackeys have seen fit to take aim at us, and the Vilas County Board of Supervisors has gone right along with them, we all still have a lot to be thankful for.  So let's put aside any differences and/or animosity and have a wonderful and safe holiday.  We'll see you all on Monday!

Reminder: Recall Petitions Available

     The drive to collect the over 540,000 signatures required to force a recall election of Governor Walker and Lieutenant Governor Kleefish is under way.  If you wish to sign the petition, please see your Union representative and they will either have a petition or will be able to direct you to someone else who is.  They will also have information as to how you can become a circulator yourself.  Please also encourage your friends, family, or anyone else to sign.  Signers need only to have lived in Wisconsin for at least 28 days, and to be eligible to vote.  THEY DO NOT NEED TO BE CURRENTLY REGISTERED TO SIGN THE PETITION, as Wisconsin allows voter registration on the day of the election.  Please remember as we go through the next sixty days that just as you have the right to sign the petition, others have the right not to, so be persuasive and polite but not pushy.  Thank you for you support.

Look Into the Future with Local 474

     There will be an important meeting of AFSCME Local 474 on Monday, November 28, 2011 at 4:15 pm at the Eagle River Inn, at which the Executive Council and representatives of AFSCME Council 40 will be on hand to tell you all about how the Union will look after Jan 1, what it can do for you, and Union plans for the future.  There will also be a question and answer session to answer all your important questions.  There will be free food and a cash bar available, so please don't miss this opportunity to get all the information you need about the future.  If you are unavailable to attend, please contact your Local 474 representative to get all the information.  Thanks, and we will see you on Nov 28!

Happy Hunting

All of us in AFSCME Local 474 are wishing everyone a safe, enjoyable, and successful hunting season!  We hope you all get the chance to bag the big one!

Recall Petitions Available

     Check with your Local 474 Executive Council reps if you want to sign the recall petition for Governor Walker and/or Lieutenant Governor Kleefish.  They will either be circulating the petitions or will be able to direct you to people who are.

In November We Remember: Joe Hill

The Northwoods Grassroots Labor Activists will be presenting Joe Hill and The Little Red Songbook: Still Fanning the Flames of Discontent as part of their "In November We Remember" series on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 6:30 PM at The Guild Hall, 39 South Pelham St. in Rhinelander.  The NGLA focuses on community action and labor history eduction.  Joe Hill was a Swedish-American labor activist and songwriter who was accused of murder and excecuted in Salt Lake City in 1915 in a very high-profile national case.  Learn all about him and his life at the NGLA presentation on Thursday.

Walker Recall Effort Begins

United Wisconsin and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has begun to collect the over 500,000 signatures that it requires in order to recall Governor Scott Walker.  Make sure to find someone who is circulating the petition and sign up today.  Offical circulators will be wearing lanyard to identify themselves, so make sure that the person who is circulting your petition is wearing a lanyard, or is in some other way trustworthy, as there is some concern that fake petitions will be circulated.  When you are done signing, make sure to get three other people to sign as well!

Wisconsin School Districts Hurting Under Budget Repair Bill

    A recent survey by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators has found that the majority of school districts across the state have had to reduce staffing levels and increase class sizes since the enactment of the Budget Repair Bill and the latest state budget, rammed through the Legislature by Governor Scott Walker and Republican lawmakers.  The administrators association sent the survey questions to all 424 school districts in the state and 83% responded.  The following graphic showing responses came from the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

     As you can see, the vast majority of those districts that answered, including Lakeland Union, Crandon, Mercer, and Hurley had to make some sort of cuts or incease class sizes in some way.  Other local districts such as Three Lakes, Rhinelander, and Phelps responded that they made no cuts.  Northland Pines did not respond to the survey.  The DPI and the administrators association released this statement: "Much has been made of the unremarkable fact that school districts across the state balanced their budget this year.  School districts are required to balance their budgets every year, so the important question is not whether they balanced their budgets, but rather how that balanced budget was received."
      Governor Scott Walker's office has issued a detailed rebuttal to the study, and contends that many of the districts that answered that they had to make reductions were unwilling or unable to adopt the collective bargaining changes allowed by the Budget Repair Bill.  Walker's spokesman, Cullen Werwie, stated that "Governor Walker's reforms are working, schools are staying the same or getting better...while the state will hold the line on property taxes over the next two years."

Ohio Rejects New Collective Bargaining Law

   In a statewide referendum yesterday, the people of the state of Ohio rejected recently implemented collective bargaining laws that were more restrictive than those passed in Wisconsin.  It is being considered a huge victory for labor unions in the state, and a defeat of Republican Governor John Kasich.  You can read more about it by clicking here.