2011 Wisconsin protests
From February to June 2011 in the US state of Wisconsin, as many as 100,000 protesters demonstrated their opposition to 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, also called the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill. The bill proposed significantly limiting the compensation and rights, including collective bargaining, of public employees in the state.
Protests against the bill centered on the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, with satellite protests also occurring at other municipalities throughout the state. Demonstrations also took place at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. After the bill was upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on June 14, the number of protesters declined to about 1,000 within a couple of days.
The protests were a major driving force for recall elections of state senators in 2011 and 2012, the failed recall of Governor Scott Walker in 2012 and a contentious Wisconsin Supreme Court election in 2011.
Background
Wisconsin was the first state in the United States to provide collective bargaining rights to public employees in 1959. That year, the state's public-sector employee law was revised to not only allow municipal employees to unionize, but also to require municipal employers to bargain with certified unions. Over the past decades public sector labor unions had grown from 10.8% of public workers being represented by a union in 1960 to 36.2% in 2010. Over the same time period, the percentage of private sector employees in a union shrank from 31.9% to 6.9%. This increase in public-employee unionism coincided with the granting of collective bargaining rights to public employees. Total union membership for all employees, both public and private, had decreased substantially over the years, with total union membership in 2010 at 11.4%.When Jim Doyle, a Democrat, was governor, the state's budget deficits were filled three times by taking money from the transportation fund, in amounts totaling $1.257 billion. Subsequently, 53 counties throughout the state passed referendums to prevent government officials from taking money from the transportation fund for use in other projects.
In the 2010 gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Scott Walker and his Democratic opponent Tom Barrett each stated that they would not close the budget deficit by taking money from the transportation fund. Walker proposed that state employees pay more toward their pensions, saying it would save the state about $180 million a year. Walker was elected as governor in November 2010.
Under collective-bargaining agreements, employers and unions had negotiated health insurance considerations. In 2011, contributions for health insurance of active employees totaled 38.8% of wages, while for for private-sector workers nationwide the average was 10.7%. Some public-sector unions also provided health insurance for retirees. This is especially the case for teachers in many states, due to eligibility rules of their pension plans and Medicare. According to David Cay Johnston, prior to Act 10, Wisconsin state employers paid 5% of employee wages into their pension as was negotiated under the principle of "deferred compensation."
In January 2011, the state legislature passed a series of bills providing additional tax cuts and deductions for businesses at "a two-year cost of $67 million". In early February, the Walker administration had projected a $3.6 billion budget shortfall in 2013 and a $137 million shortfall for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. The Walker-backed bill proposed to alleviate the budget shortfall included taking away the ability of public sector unions to bargain collectively for pensions and health care, limiting pay raises of public employees to the rate of inflation, ending automatic union dues collection by the state, and requiring public unions to recertify annually. The bargaining changes exempted the unions of public safety officers, including police, firefighters, and state troopers. Walker stated that without the cuts, thousands of state workers would have to be laid off.
Protests and demonstrations began following Walker's introduction of Assembly Bill 11 to the Wisconsin State Assembly on February 14, 2011.
Protests
February
On Monday, February 14, the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Teaching Assistants Association distributed "We ♥ UW: Don't Break My ♥" Valentine cards to the governor, as a means of protesting the bill's negative impacts on working conditions at the university.On February 15, tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated in and around the Capitol building in Madison regarding the proposed legislation's limitations on collective bargaining for and against Walker's bill. "Kill the Bill" remained one of the main slogans of the protesters. That same day, union members, students and private-sector citizens took part in public hearings with the senators and representatives from both parties, which lasted 17 hours; some defenders of the bill expressed their position, but most participants opposed the bill.
By February 16, the number of protesters in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol was estimated at 30,000.
On February 17, about 25,000 people continued the protest. Citing concerns that Republicans were attempting to pass the legislation without scheduling adequate time for public review and debate, Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller led the 14 Senate Democrats in fleeing the state to prevent the quorum necessary for a vote on the Budget Repair Bill. On the same day, the protests spread to Columbus, Ohio, where about 3,800 protesters demonstrated against a similar bill to "eliminate collective bargaining" being considered by the Ohio legislature. According to Mike Lux, some protesters in the two states carried Egyptian flags, indicating their Egyptian revolution inspiration. Ed Schultz of MSNBC's The Ed Show appeared live outside the Wisconsin State Capitol on February 17 and 18.
On February 18, the AFL–CIO president, Richard Trumka, and other state labor leaders addressed the protest crowd on the Capitol lawn. Trumka asserted that Governor Walker's plan was part of a larger national Republican strategy. The number of protesters in Madison grew to over 70,000 on February 19, including some who supported Walker's plan.
On February 19, 11 faculty members from the University of Wisconsin's School of Medicine and Public Health established a "medical station" at the capitol, and signed sick notes for public employees abandoning their public post in order to protest. This shut down several school districts in the state.
By February 20, protestors had undertaken a physical occupation of the Capitol building, establishing a fully functioning community within the public spaces of the Wisconsin State Capitol, including an information center, a sleeping area, a medic station staffed by members of the Madison Community Wellness Collective, and food stations with food for protestors supplied by local businesses. Protestors also covered the walls of the Capitol with thousands of homemade signs. On February 20, a union organizer participating in the protests said that the protests would continue "as long as it takes." Other union leaders called for teachers to return to work. During this timeframe several members of the teaching and project assistant union of UW-Madison designed and implemented, a web site to help coordinate rallies, publish video footage by protesters, and relay general information about the bill and protests.
On February 22, Assembly Republicans began procedures to move the bill to a vote while Democrats submitted dozens of amendments and conducted speeches.
Also on February 22, Walker delivered a state address on the Budget Repair Bill.
On February 22–23, the public information officer for the Madison Police Department, claimed "almost all" of the protesters were from Wisconsin, while an independent reporter from the Daily Cardinal estimated one in four of the protesters were from outside the state.
On February 23, Buffalo Beast editor Ian Murphy placed a prank telephone call to Walker claiming to be billionaire David Koch, one of Walker's largest corporate supporters. During the 20-minute call, Walker discussed a method of getting the absent Senators to return, rejected placing agent provocateurs among the protesters, and that he spoke daily with like-minded Ohio Governor John Kasich. Walker's office later confirmed that the recording of the call was genuine, and stated, "The phone call shows that the Governor says the same thing in private as he does in public and the lengths that others will go to disrupt the civil debate Wisconsin is having." Two local public officials, including Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, expressed concern that Walker's comments could be considered ethics violations.
In the aftermath of the call, Senate Democrats refused requests from Governor Walker to return to Wisconsin and negotiate a compromise. Some characterized their wariness as a consequence of the fake call.
On February 23, the 14 Senators who fled the Wisconsin Capitol were seen at a hotel near Chicago.
At 1:00 am on February 25, following sixty hours of debate, the final amendments had been defeated and the Republican leadership of the Wisconsin State Assembly cut off debate as well as the public hearing and moved quickly to pass the budget repair bill in a sudden vote. The vote was 51 in favor and 17 opposed, with 28 representatives not voting. The final vote took place without warning, and the time allowed for voting was so short that fewer than half of the Democratic representatives were able to vote; many reportedly pushed the voting button as hard as possible but it did not register. Four Republican representatives voted against the bill.
On February 25, following rumors that the Capitol building would be closed and the protesters moved out, the head of the state's largest police union issued a statement urging Governor Walker to keep the Capitol open. Jim Palmer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, went on to state that his organization stood with the protesters, despite the fact that law enforcement officers were exempt from the budget repair bill's collective bargaining changes. Palmer then called on off-duty officers to sleep in the Capitol that evening. Later that day, the Department of Administration announced that the Capitol building would remain open.
On February 26, between 70,000 and 100,000 protested the proposed budget in Madison. They were joined by thousands at state capitals around the nation. Out of state union supporters continued to join the protests to show their support, with hundreds of protesters being bused by New York Teamsters.
Appearing on Meet the Press on February 27, Governor Walker said he did not believe the unions were sincere in offering the pension and health care concessions because local unions had recently pushed through contracts with school boards and city councils that did not include contributions to the pensions and health care, and that in one case, the contract actually included a pay increase.
On February 27, it was reported by the media that Republican State Senator Dale Schultz would not vote for the bill. However, Schultz refused to let his own intentions be known regarding the bill; he had previously attempted a compromise budget plan, which was rejected by Governor Walker.
On February 28, Democratic Representative Gordon Hintz formally apologized for threatening remarks made to Republican Representative Michelle Litjens on the Assembly floor following the vote. On February 28, the largest public union filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the state labor relations board, claiming that Walker had a duty to negotiate, but had refused.