Friday, February 18 2011

Chicago - Friday evening over one hundred pro-unionists turned out in Chicago’s Daley Plaza to support public union workers in Wisconsin. In a week long tumult over recently elected Republican Governor Scott Walker’s draconian anti-union legislation, popular support for unionists across the state, region, and even globe, have grown exponentially. By Friday over 40,000 protesters turned out in Wisconsin’s capital, Madison, to continue a rally that had occupied the capital building rotunda for two days.

One person at the rally who spoke was Dennis Kosuth. Kosuth, who used to be a nurses aide in Wisconsin, recounted how he would work an overnight and then often be required to work a second shift because of being understaffed. “an attack on public workers is an attack on all”, he stated. “At this time, when there is so much joblessness, we need more services, not less.” Kosuth currently works in the emergency room at Stroger County Hospital.

A group of Chicago Public School teachers were also present, including Chicago Teacher Union Financial Secretary Kristine Mayle. She spoke briefly, “ A lot of our members are in Wisconsin.” An on-line petition was started and can be found at www.petitiononline.com/ctu/petition.html. Mayle also noted that IFT Local 504 of Gurnee sent a bus. The Chicago Federation of Labor is also sending a bus on Monday. People interested in riding it can contact CTU Quest Center Coordinator Carol Caref at carolcaref (at) ctulocal1.com.

In a familiar twist of this post-modern society, a large television screen in the square began to broadcast a news sequence of that day’s events in Madison. Like Cairo, the popularity of the opposition had become too big to ignore.