A blog post by Sara Adams on continuing activism in Eau Claire, WI

[Jackpine Radical]

http://blackbookcv.ning.com/profiles/blogs/locals-demonstrate-for-public
(Again, this information is free for distribution)

Local activists continue to demonstrate against Governor Scott Walker’s Budget Repair Bill.

This afternoon 55 people attended what has become a daily rally to support public employees, at the downtown city parking lot at the corner of Farwell and Gray.

The daily protest of the Budget Repair Bill, which would strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights, began last week and continues each day at 5:14 p.m., in recognition of the fourteen Democratic senators who left Wisconsin to prevent action on the bill.

The protest was initially organized by Paul Kaldjian an Associate Professor of Geography and Marc Goulet, the Associate Dean of Students at the University.

Kaldjian says the demonstration gives locals an outlet and an opportunity to have their voices heard, and to show that Scott Walker is not supported by a silent majority of those outside Madison.

“We’ll be here daily as a way of voicing our opinion and to share with and inspire people driving by,” he said.

The daily protest is only one of many recent local events addressing the current showdown in Madison. The City Council and the County Board both passed resolutions opposing the Budget Repair Bill. University students staged a walkout. Saturday over a thousand people protested an Americans for Prosperity “Stand Against Spending, Stand with Walker” rally at the Holiday Inn.

Protestors stood on the sidewalk facing Farwell street with signs supporting unions and public employees. Supportive drivers frequently honked as they passed the demonstrators, and a dissenter yelled his support of Scott Walker while driving by. Midway through the rally a group of public transit employees briefly congregated on the sidewalk opposite the demonstrators and waved and cheered. Public transit workers are among those who would be affected by the loss of collective bargaining rights under the Budget Repair Bill.

Alan Moose, an Eau Claire resident, retired professor and former public school teacher and union member, said he attended the rally because of the many problems with the Budget Repair Bill.

“I totally and completely disagree with all the extraneous nonsense that went into the Budget Repair Bill, including putting Medicaid under his direct control,” he said.