Roz Harris,vice president MTEA ( Milwaukee Teachers Education Association) and her husband Wendell Harris are pictured with members of the State NAACP Youth Council who joined more than 100,000 protesters this past Saturday in Madison.
The city of Madison, Wisconsin is ground zero for the nationwide plan to eliminate and abolish the power of unions in our country. The Wisconsin State NAACP Youth Council joined more than 100,000 people in Madison, Wisconsin on March 12, 2011 to protest the bill passed by Governor Scott Walker eliminating Collective Bargaining and limiting the power of Unions. Passions are high in the state of Wisconsin because of the lack of democracy shown in the process of passing the bill. It is felt that Governor Walker did not include his plan to abolish Collective Bargaining within his platform when he ran for Governor. Many people feel that they were tricked and fooled during the election.
During the rally, the Fabulous Fourteen returned to a heroes welcome. The fourteen democratic Senators who left the state to force negotiations before the passage of the bill were greeted with salutations and gratitude from all who attended the rally. There was solidarity amongst all in attendance. The common theme was solidarity and unity needed to fight Governor Walker’s passage of his Budget Repair Bill. Governor Walker’s premise is to provide tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy with a guaranty that jobs will trickle down to the middle class and poor. Historically, it has been proven that this methodology does not work. He is basically giving more to the rich and taking more from the middle class and poor.
Wisconsin State NAACP Youth Council members, Wisconsin State NAACP Youth Council advisor, Beverly Williams, and the Wisconsin State NAACP Education Chair, Wendell Harris were united with everyone who attended the rally. As we walked around the Capitol Square, many of the Youth Council members were randomly thanked for being at the rally and asked if they could participate in photos. They were also interviewed by one of the Union publications. This historical rally was an opportunity for Youth Council members to experience true democracy and unity in America.