Thousands in Wisconsin say: ‘The fight’s not over’

An estimated 20,000 poor and working people protested at the State Capitol in Madison May 14. They declared their intention to stop all anti-union and anti-people attacks in Wisconsin. “We have to reclaim our moral outrage, our sense of indignation. We have to keep the pressure on and let them hear us,” said Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin at the main rally at the Capitol.

Other speakers included labor, community and student organizers from unions, including the Teaching Assistants Association-American Federation of Teachers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; the Wisconsin Wave; We Are Wisconsin; and Youth Empowered, the youth arm of Voces de la Frontera, the immigrant rights organization that organized the 100,000-person May Day march and rally in Milwaukee. The Wisconsin AFL-CIO and its member unions also mobilized for the May 14 action.

A mass march took place in the area, and then thousands listened to the rally at the Capitol, with people spilling into the streets. The banks, corporations and the Pentagon are attempting to continue their attacks on the people of Wisconsin (and across the U.S.) through Gov. Scott Walker and similar politicians. Walker has announced his intent to eviscerate collective bargaining and push through billions of dollars in cuts to social programs. He is also attempting to pass a racist voter identification bill through the Wisconsin legislature, among other draconian attacks.

But the thousands of poor and working people in Madison May 14 issued their message once again: “The fight’s not over.”

For updates, information, and how to support the people’s struggle in Wisconsin: www.wisaflcio.org, http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/, www.vdlf.org, www.defend wisconsin.org, www.bailoutpeople.org,

—Report and photo by Bryan G. Pfeifer