"From Cairo to Madison"

I know not a lot of people in New Orleans have been following the attempt by Wisconsin's Republican Governor Scott Walker to crush the state's public employee unions but it's kind of a big deal.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Scott Walker proposed stripping nearly all government workers of their collective bargaining rights. And as a warning shot across the bow, he told Wisconsin reporters Friday that he's alerted the National Guard ahead of any unrest, or in the event that state services are interrupted. Under his plan, which he'll include in his forthcoming budget proposal, most state workers would no longer be able to negotiate for better pensions or health benefits or anything other than higher salaries, which couldn't rise at a quicker pace than the Consumer Price Index.

I don't think I need to explain how fundamental collective bargaining rights have been to the creation and preservation of the American middle class. An attack on anyone's right to unionize is essentially an attack on every individual's equitable treatment by his or her employer with regard to salary, safety, health care, retirement, and just general fairness and human dignity.

Following the sweeping Republican victories in state houses last November, it isn't surprising to see this kind of assault beginning now in several states.

Today Wisconsin is a flash point but it won't be the last. Here's some of what's going on there. (link via First Draft)

Hundreds Turn Out To Protest Bill

Meanwhile, protests and rallies are already taking shape in an attempt to thwart or modify the governor's plans.

Hundreds of University of Wisconsin-Madison students and their teachers told the governor to drop a bill that would strip most public workers of almost all their collective bargaining rights.

Chanting "kill this bill" and brandishing signs with messages such as "From Cairo to Madison Workers Unite." the students and instructors jammed the corridor leading to Walker's Capitol office. They poured valentines on the desk of Walker's office guard, which asked the governor not to break their hearts.

You may find it hokey but I actually like to see these union members frame their protest in the context of the Egyptian revolution. It will be interesting to watch American pundits who love to cheer on foreign human rights movements they aren't very familiar with turn on their own once the news cycle catches up to this.

At least the Green Bay Packers get it.

Present and former members of the Green Bay Packers, all members of the National Football League Players Association, have signed a letter in support of the AFL-CIO's efforts to derail Gov. Scott Walker's plan to cut some union bargaining rights.

The letter was signed by Curtis Fuller, Chris Jacke, Charles Jordan, Bob Long, Steve Okoniewski, Brady Poppinga and Jason Spitz.

The statements reads: "We know that it is teamwork on and off the field that makes the Packers and Wisconsin great. As a publicly owned team we wouldn't have been able to win the Super Bowl without the support of our fans.

"It is the same dedication of our public workers every day that makes Wisconsin run. They are the teachers, nurses and child care workers who take care of us and our families. But now in an unprecedented political attack Governor Walker is trying to take away their right to have a voice and bargain at work.

"The right to negotiate wages and benefits is a fundamental underpinning of our middle class. When workers join together it serves as a check on corporate power and helps ALL workers by raising community standards. Wisconsin's long standing tradition of allowing public sector workers to have a voice on the job has worked for the state since the 1930s. It has created greater consistency in the relationship between labor and management and a shared approach to public work.

"These public workers are Wisconsin's champions every single day and we urge the Governor and the State Legislature to not take away their rights."

The NFLPA's office in Washington is expected to make a statement later Tuesday.

Notice there's nothing in there about buying a second home in Dallas.

Meanwhile, they've apparently scared the Governor out of the Capitol.

MADISON, Wis. -- For the first time in many years, Gov. Scott Walker will deliver his annual budget address in some place other than the state Capitol.

Walker announced Tuesday he will deliver his budget address at Vita Plus, a livestock manufacturer based on Madison’s East Side. A joint session of the Legislature will meet at the plant at 1:30 p.m. next Tuesday.

Link, again, via First Draft where there are further updates and photos from Scout and I expect there will be for much of the day.