Unions Hope States’ Attacks Nurture Comeback

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/us/politics/06union.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

When Wisconsin’s governor, Scott Walker, began his crusade against collective bargaining by public employees, his state’s unions seemed woefully outmatched. But Wisconsin’s beleaguered labor movement woke up and mobilized, through e-mail blasts, phone trees and Facebook, getting tens of thousands of supporters to rally in Madison against the legislation and surprising itself that it could muster such a show of force so quickly.

For now, the two sides are at a stalemate, with protesters still swarming the Capitol and Democratic senators hiding in Illinois to deny the Republican majority the quorum needed to pass Mr. Walker’s bill. Meanwhile, governors in other states, most notably New Jersey and Ohio, have gone on the offensive against labor, deriding teachers’ unions, tenure and generous pensions.

Organized labor has been on a long decline, but the recent attacks against it in Wisconsin and elsewhere have had a surprising result — they have energized the nation’s unions. Instead of just playing defense to protect benefits and bargaining rights, labor leaders are plotting some offense, with several saying Mr. Walker may have unwittingly nurtured a comeback by unions.

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“The challenge for us is to take this moment and turn it into a movement,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. She acknowledged that she was not sure whether labor could accomplish that, but union leaders are quietly forging strategies to propel labor’s cause beyond the immediate statehouse battles.