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| October 2014 | Vol 2, Issue 4 |
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| Greetings! | |
Get out and vote! It should be something we all do and a simple process, but this year neither are turning out to be true. In "off-year" elections, participation falls by nearly a third. According to the TV news show "Up" a survey had only 47% of Democrats saying they're planning on voting, with 59% or Republicans planning to vote. The last time that happened, in 2010, the aftermath brought drastic changes to our state, including, making our elections anything but simple, as the saga of Voter ID in Wisconsin continues. And don't forget the Membership meeting!
No need to wait! Early voting starts TODAY, October 20th.
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| SCOTUS Stops Voter ID in Wisconsin |
 | | via photopin |
As of October 9th, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) blocked Wisconsin's Voter ID law. However, Attorney General Van Hollen has stated that he's still exploring ways "to have voter ID on election day" despite the SCOTUS ruling.
Which means, less than three weeks out from the election, things may still change. Know what you need on election day by following sites like the AFL-CIO election page and be prepared to defend yourself against anyone attempting to intimidate voters by demanding ID despite the current status of the law.
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| Get Out and Vote! |
A bit of history: in 2008 and again in 2012, Wisconsin went "blue," giving clear majorities to both the President and Senate candidates. But in 2010, we went solidly "red" giving the entire state government over to Republican control - both state houses, the governorship and the one Senate seat. What was different in 2010 compared to either 2008 or 2012?
About a million voters. In 2010, just 52% of people eligible to vote bothered to show up, and early signs are that those same people - usually young people, or minorities, or women - are planning on staying home again. Without those million folks stating their preferences, we got single party in complete control, free to implement their agenda as they desired. Even 100,000 people marching on the Capitol Square wasn't enough to move the Republican majority from their plans. They had won the election, so they were entitled to move forward with their vision for Wisconsin. Four years later, it's time to ask: How has the state done since the Republican party took over? While they'd been elected on a promise of jobs, jobs, jobs, what happened next was not focused on jobs: 
- An austerity budget that forced massive pay cuts on teachers, prison guards, health care workers, and more.
- Gutting the rights of state Union workers, leaving thousands of people without a say in their workplaces.
- A "shameful" redistricting plan that allowed Republicans to retain control of the state legislature even after losing the popular vote in 2012.
- A restrictive Voter ID law that is even now causing confusion and disruption to the upcoming election.
- A refusal to take Federal money -- OUR money, that we've paid to the Fed in taxes -- for high speed rail, giving up the jobs that would have come with the rail and the growth in the economy that would have resulted from better access to the markets from connecting Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and Minneapolis. One company that had moved to the state, Talgo, has already left, the promised jobs gone.
- Refusal to create a State Health Care Exchange under the Affordable Care Act, ceding local control from the State to the Federal government.
- Refusal to expand Medicaid, causing thousands of our neighbors to lose BadgerCare.
Where has all this gotten us after four years of near-total Republican control? Job growth so poor we're at the bottom of Midwestern states, while Minnesota right next door ranks near the top of the country in job growth. We have poor people dying because they've been kicked off BadgerCare, we have a strip mine about to turn the pristine woods of Wisconsin into a lunar landscape. Scott Walker and the Republican party feel that they have done so well in the last four years that they deserve continued control. Their agenda for the next four years is more of the same (well, perhaps no more than two years for Governor Walker, because his plans may be bigger than Wisconsin), despite the proven fact that their policies have disenfranchised the working class and have failed to create the jobs the Walker administration promised.
We've talked in these newsletters in the past about job reviews. Well, here it is. Our chance to give a job review to those who run the state in our name. The Republican party had unfettered control of our state during most of the last four years to do what it thought best: best for economic growth and best for workers. How did they do?
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| Quarterly Membership Meeting | |
P.S. - OPEIU Local 39 Membership Meeting
Wednesday
November 19th, 2014
All union members invited and encouraged to attend
437 S. Yellowstone Drive Vantage II Building, 2nd Floor Conference Room Agenda
- Election Update
 - Unit Updates
- Financial Update
- Your Questions
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| Upcoming Membership Meetings | 
Membership meetings are held the third Wednesday of the second month of the quarter, at 5:30 PM at the Local office. What does that actually mean?
November 19th, 2014
February 18th, 2015
May 20th, 2015
August 19th, 2015
This is your Union. Your participation gives us the tools we need to face the continued opposition of both companies and politicians. We strive to make the meetings relevant and to the point. Please stop by and participate in the democracy that is your Union.
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Every election is important. Many of us believe that government works best when it is local, when the issues facing city we live in or the board of the school our children attend are decided by the people living here. And yet, if a president isn't on the ballot less than half of Wisconsinites vote (the spring election had only about 15% participation). Voting is ALWAYS important, the next election is ALWAYS the most election there is. Goes the same for November 4th. Please, get out and vote, give that "performance review" to those who have been running Wisconsin for the last two years.
Make your voice heard. Make a difference. In Solidarity, OPEIU Local 39 |
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Copyright OPEIU Local 39. Content written and/or edited by David O. Engelstad
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