Michigan firefighters, union members storm capitol in protest of anti-union legislation

[Bozita]

Source: Detroit Free Press

Michigan firefighters, union members storm capitol in protest of anti-union legislation
11:01 AM, Mar. 8, 2011
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

In a scene similar to protests in Madison, Wisc., hundreds of firefighters and union members from around the state have jammed the rotunda of the Michigan Capitol building protesting what they call anti-union legislation percolating in the Legislature.

Loudly chanting, "Shame on you" and "We are union," the protesters can be heard loudly in the Senate chamber, where bills to strengthen the powers of emergency financial managers for distressed cities and school districts were expected to be acted upon today.

It is the first time a union-led protest -- several in recent weeks -- has spilled into the Capitol and caused a ruckus. The Senate continued its agenda, but the shouts from the lobby were a distraction.

"They've awakened a sleeping giant," said Bill Black, a lobbyist for the Teamsters union who stood in the crowd closest to the Senate chamber.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20110308/NEWS06/110308021/Michigan-firefighters-unions-storm-capitol-protest-anti-union-legislation?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

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[xchrom]

1. solidarity! nt

[postulater]

2. The angry badger has been busy.

[notadmblnd]

54. Badgers? Nah, Michigan is full of Wolverines!

[postulater]

71. And wolverines are really, really, really mean when they get upset.

:evilgrin:

[BeFree]

3. Uh oh

Sounds like these people are out of control!!

[madrchsod]

4. did they have pitchforks,ladders, and torches?

[pansypoo53219]

5. guillotines?

only way to get zombie reagan.

[rpannier]

74. guillotines

After the state house, they need to pull it over to the governor's mansion then over to the plutocrats mansion.

[alfredo]

6. Don't fuck with the Michigan working man. They don't like

to be pushed around.

[handmade34]

15. don't I know it...

grew up with them all around me... all union people at the Oldsmobile plant in Lansing

[alfredo]

33. They've been on a slow boil since the Reagan years. Their

fear, instilled by Reagan, is being replaced with anger.

[Psephos]

16. If only there were more of us still around. n/t

[Bozita]

7. Channel 7 just posted the video ...

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/loud-lansing-protestors-pack-halls-of-michigan-capitol

People are pissed!

[Joey Liberal]

8. Great! Don't fuck with the Fire Fighters! nt

[Plucketeer]

17. Don't fuck with THE PEOPLE!!!!

Friggin' CONservatives and their wealthy owners need to be PUT IN THEIR PLACE! :grr:

[Lifelong Protester]

9. What the heck is an "emergency manager" (re: busting unions)

sounds like some capitalist code to me. Good on 'em I say. 'Bout time we awoke from our slumber. I want to see this replayed EVERYWHERE.

What are you doing in YOUR capitol??

[Bozita]

13. See reply #12 - An EFM can simply cancel union contracts in an instant.

It's kinda like Gov. Walker's plan, but faster.

A whole lot faster.

[Lord Magus]

76. Among many other things.

Basically, the EFM would be the town's dictator. Able to unilaterally dismiss elected officials, sell off the town's assets to himself or his cronies at fire-sale prices, etc. All without the consent of the local population.

[tclambert]

34. An Emergency Financial Manager would be someone the governor appoints

and the voters don't get to vote on, who would supersede the authorities of local elected officials. In other words, it's a way for the governor to grab powers he was not elected to. It's also a way to bust unions and break contractual obligations. You see, in an emergency situation, they can make anything legal.

[IamK]

52. deleted by author

[Lord Magus]

73. Capitalist? More like fascist.

And I don't mean that as hyperbole. The "emergency manager" would have the power to dismiss all elected officials and in fact to dissolve the entire local government.

[louis-t]

10. Governor Dumbass is getting a rude awakening.

He is also trying to drive the movie industry out of Michigan. He keeps playing the hero saying he's making the "tough decisions".

[Fire1]

11. The shit is about to hit the fan. As our Gov. said, "Wisconsin

and Michigan are two VERY different states!"

[Bozita]

12. Channel 2 video - Tim Skubick describes the situation pretty clearly

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/politics/rally-against-emergency-financial-managers

[54anickel]

35. Thanks. Quite the power grab, I'd imagine if following the Walker playbook,

the next step will be privatizing all these public sector jobs. Seems the state government already has been.
This is some scary stuff.

[alfredo]

44. Warren Buffett quote to make you e-mail signature.

“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” Warren Buffett

[Jester Messiah]

14. YES!!

Solidarity forever!

[WingDinger]

18. GO, you beautiful laboring beasts.

[JanDutchy]

19. Free at last, or just loan-slaves?

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."


PREAMBLE

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Some articles:

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.


Article 4.

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms


....


Article 23.

(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
^ Top

Article 24.

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.




-----------

Are you listening USA?

The world is watching.

[Bozita]

57. Good stuff, JanDutchy!

[bongbong]

20. Great!

This is great! I bet now that the union protests are spreading to more states, the MSM will start reporting on them!

:sarcasm:

[tclambert]

41. You know they're gonna call the firefighters "leftist thugs."

[defendandprotect]

21. Americans waking up -- ?

[JanDutchy]

24. Wake up call: What Does Social Justice Mean to YOU?

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/@webdev/documents/image/wcms_151713.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z754lhcX6qw&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SPFCB380AFEAF2D1D7

[tokenlib]

22. And the lucky school children touring the capitol....

It brought back memories of my 5th grade teacher bringing us past a Vietnam war protest while on a field trip to the University of Minnesota in my youth. School children visiting the capitol having to wander past agitated--- yet well behaved union members chanting "This is what democracy looks like!" and "Kill the Bill!." Now that's an education in civics!

It was inspirational to hear the rotunda rocking with chants--especially knowing that most Michiganders have yet to wake up. And so it begins...hopefully the nerd's nightmare...

[Libby2]

37. You would think with all the manufacturing

jobs lost in MI, they would be the first to wake up.

[Enthusiast]

43. But look at the Ted Nugent type

mentality that permeates the state. Too much militia bullshit. "Obama's gonna take our guns away!"

We need the people of Michigan to understand who the real enemy is.

[Guilded Lilly]

23. You are messing with the wrong Americans! SOLIDARITY!!!

[socialist_n_TN]

25. Solidarity with workers EVERYWHERE!!

:fistbump:

BTW, we need a new graphic showing the solidarity fist. Mods? Owners?

[valerief]

26. Just checked the idiot box. It's Charlie Sheen, 24/7. Too bad this isn't being covered. nt

[AlbertCat]

29. It's Charlie Sheen, 24/7.

Is HE getting paid by the Koch bro's too?

[valerief]

30. Maybe the coke bros. Ha! He's the new Natalee Holloway. Only not blonde and not dead. nt

[Mopar151]

79. Yet. n/t

[valerief]

27. self-delete; dupe

[AlbertCat]

28. Hmmmmm.... Looks like busting unions will be harder than....

... stealing the 2000 election! The Repugs have miscalculated again (they had to implement their emergency plan in 2000)

[plumbob]

31. Go! Go! Go!

Bee-you-tee-full!

[myrna minx]

32. K&R n/t

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[CLANG]

38. GO MICHIGAN GO!!!

:toast: :party: :beer: :pals: :fistbump: :headbang: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :patriot:

[Cieran_WI]

39. WI supports you. n/t

[Bill USA]

40. recommended.

[Enthusiast]

42. K&R!

Filthy Republicans!

[Chorophyll]

45. K&R.

:kick:

[upstatecajun]

46. Same thing in Ohio today

Here is a post with a link to a video of Police, Firefighters and teachers storming the Ohio State Capital

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x588407

[Bozita]

59. Yes, good post! ... And welcome to DU.

We've been keeping a spot open for you, upstatecajun.

[fascisthunter]

47. me thinks blue collar Americans will be abandoning the GOP

you fooled people for a while... now you shall reap your just rewards.

[blackspade]

48. The Rethugs don't understand that this is only going to get worse

for them.

[Bandit]

49. About time for my poster to make a come back

AGITATE, EDUCATE, ORGANIZE

[Kurovski]

50. K&R. (nt)

[Hardrada]

51. Hurray Michigan! (Or maybe the great old Civil War HURRAH!!!

IOWA supports you, Michigan!

[pacalo]

53. Go, Michigan!

The area in which I live has benefited greatly from both unions & industry.

The collective bargaining of unions made it possible for non-union workers to recieve comparable salaries & benefits.

The taxes paid by local industries have given our area good schools, good libraries, nice courthouse, good police & fire departments, & great recreational facilities.

Why would the RepubliCorporate tools want to do away with all that? Why wouldn't the corporations be proud of what their tax dollars could accomplish?

[bertman]

55. This old Southern boy LOVES the way you Yankees are KICKING ASS!! Rec. nt

[muntrv]

56. It's catching like wildfire.

[ClarkUSA]

58. It would be interesting if PPP polled how many MI union households voted for the GOP governor.

In WI, their polling showed it was union households voting for Walker that made the difference that swung his victory over the Democratic Milwaukee mayor. For example, both the WI police and firefighters' unions threw their support to Walker prior to November's vote. I'll bet they will never endorse a Republican for governor again in my lifetime.

[WillyT]

60. HUGE K & R !!!

:kick:

[demo dutch]

61. Yea for the firefighters

[AsahinaKimi]

62. The first salvo was in WI, for Republican Governors...

Now the dominoes are starting to fall, and its good to see the people of Michigan are rushing to the Capital to show their Solidarity against the Republican war on Unions. IF the Governors keep this up, THERE will be a lot of Republicans unseated after the next election.

[Blue Owl]

63. K & R

:kick:

[whathappened]

66. the noise was so loud

they hardly could hear to do there fooking around in the senate , boo fooking who , the only time these people are doing the peoples work is when the people are watching them , think its about time we discuss there wages and perks

[Casandia]

64. I have protested this bill in Lansing twice already..

I plan to be there again tomorrow. There are too many republican senators for the democrats to fight back like the fab. 14 in Wisconsin are doing.

[Bozita]

68. Thank you, Casandia. Welcome to DU, and ...

... I wish I could be there too.

When you go tomorrow, know that you also walk for many others, some too old, some too sick, some too young. Some just too far away.

[Casandia]

65. Rachel Maddow

talked about the situation in Michigan on tonight's show.

[MichiganVote]

67. Fucking RW slags in this country want every damn dime they can get their hands on

[shanti]

69. solidarity! n/t

[marasinghe]

70. excellent. shake those castle walls like jericho. (n/t)

[glinda]

72. It is NOT about the budget or the Unions check this out!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x560924

[fishwax]

75. an inspired k/r

:kick:

[indimuse]

77. KNR! n/t

[deacon]

78. Unions united again. GOP losing unions,independents,more women, more minority voters daily. n/t

[RedCloud]

80. When repugs say more than "no", they are out to starve us.