WI Teachers and Students Organize Three Day March for Workers' Rights

Dozens of Wisconsin teachers, students and community members will walk three days and almost 100 miles from Milwaukee to Madison this weekend to protest Governor Scott Walker's attacks on public employee unions and public education.

"We are marching to Madison to defend the rights of all workers to collectively bargain and to make sure that all students are guaranteed a free public education," said Chris Fons, a Milwaukee social studies teacher and member of POWER, the organization sponsoring the rally.

Last month, Wisconsin became ground zero for Republican attacks on public unions when Gov. Walker announced he would "fix" an $137 million budget shortfall by eliminating collective bargaining rights for public workers. Outrage against the bill quickly spread across Wisconsin. Tens of thousands of workers, students, and supporters overwhelmed the capital building in Madison chanting "Kill The Bill!". Last Saturday, crowds topped 100,000 in Madison and were supported by solidarity rallies in all 50 states.

This week, Gov. Walker also announced he would cut state aid to public schools by over $800 million and limit the amount districts can increase revenues. Walker's plan could amount to a $74 million drop in funding next year for Milwaukee Public Schools, while simultaneously expanding the system's private school voucher program. Wisconsin's voucher program, a darling of the right-wing, has also been central to struggles over the privatization of public education for decades.

In 1990, after pressure from conservatives, Milwaukee began awarding publicly-funded vouchers for students to attend private schools. Since then, private and religous schools have exploded in the city, slowly draining precious resources from the public education system. Today, millions of dollars in vouchers are given out so that around 1/4 of Milwaukee students can attend privately-run schools. Such schools have minimal government regulation, are staffed by non-union teachers, and the efficacy of many is questionable at best.

Such drastic challenges to public education, coupled with the study of history in a Milwaukee public school classroom, helped spark the Milwaukee-Madison march.

The idea came from a discussion of the United Farmworkers' historic march to Sacramento in a high school social studies class, says Fons. That march inspired Wisconsin farmworkers to walk from the farm fields to the Wisconsin capital to protect workers' rights in the 1960s; today it's inspired some of the state's students and teachers to do the same.

Taking education beyond the classroom walls is one of the state's longest-standing traditions, referred to as "The Wisconsin Idea". Put simply, it means that education should improve the lives of those outside of the classroom. And for over 100 years, it has made the state a breeding ground for progressive, groundbreaking legislation that has supported middle and working class Wisconsin residents.

"Collective bargaining and public education are ideas that have created the conditions for a decent standard of living since our founding," says Fons. "In the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea we demand an end to Scott Walker's attack on all the people of our state."

The POWER march will leave Milwaukee this Friday, March 11th and arrive in Madison as massive protests against Walker's plan to smash public sector unions enter their fourth week.

If you'd like to participate, check out POWER's website and Facebook page for more information.

If you're not in Wisconsin, you can join the almost 20,000 Change.org members that have sent  emails to Wisconsin Republican lawmakers decrying Walker's union-busting bill. Be sure to click here to Tell Wisconsin: Don’t Sacrifice Employee Rights!

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Photo Credit: POWER