[image: sacbee.com] This story is taken from Sacbee <http://www.sacbee.com/> / Our Region<http://www.sacbee.com/101/index.html>/ Top Stories <http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/index.html>
California public employees rally in support of Wisconsin counterparts [email protected] Published Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011 About 2,500 public employees gathered Tuesday evening at the state Capitol in Sacramento, their minds 2,000 miles away with counterparts in Madison, Wis. They assembled in solidarity with government workers in the Badger State fighting its newly elected Republican Gov. Scott Walker and GOP-majority Legislature's plan to limit public employee unions' bargaining power. "I'm here to fight the propaganda against the working class," said Holly Ruff, a Richmond first-grade teacher who fears something similar could happen in California. "In fact, it already has," Ruff said, referring to buzz in the crowd that a Republican assemblyman on Tuesday had introduced Wisconsin-style legislation to end collective bargaining for public pensions. It seems virtually impossible that Walker's overhaul of Wisconsin's labor politics could gain traction in the California Legislature. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law that gave state employees bargaining rights during his first term in office more than 30 years ago, and his labor-friendly party controls the state Senate and Assembly by wide margins. Still, efforts are under way to put an initiative on the ballot next year that would strip public employees of their bargaining rights. And, two labor experts say, events in Wisconsin could embolden both sides of the aisle in California to make deeper cuts in state employee compensation. Organized by some of California's largest government employee unions, the vigil at the Capitol drew teachers, custodians, engineers, court reporters and other public employees concerned that labor strife in Wisconsin symbolizes an attack on government employees that could ripple across the country. Participants in the union-sponsored rally waved printed and handwritten signs: "We stand with Wisconsin workers!" and "United we bargain. Divided we beg!" A few signs called for labor action: "Wisconsin general strike NOW!" As they sang, "Solidarity forever, for unions make us strong," to the tune of the chorus of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," about 35 tea party activists gathered across the street holding their own signs: "No more free lunch!" and "Scott Walker for President!" Richard Woods, a retired contractor who lives in Penryn, stood with the smaller group wearing a red visor with "Tea Party Patriots" stitched on the the front. "I think the unions are right to be running scared," he said. "Middle America is coming after them." Wisconsin unions have said they'll accept the higher out-of-pocket payouts that together equal an 8 percent cut to take-home pay, but tens of thousands of employees mobilized in the last week to protect their union bargaining rights. Ironically, an outright win over the unions by Walker would mean less to California government employees than if he and Wisconsin Republicans compromise by taking the money and leaving union bargaining intact. "If (Walker) triumphs, the same thing won't happen in California. It would be seen as too extreme," said labor historian Daniel J.B. Mitchell of UCLA's Anderson School of Management. "But a compromise one could see Republicans here saying, 'Well, they did this in Wisconsin,' and it would be taken as a model for California." Nelson Lichtenstein, director of the Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy at UC Santa Barbara, said that a Wisconsin compromise could have a cascading effect as Brown grasps for solutions to close the state's $26.6 billion deficit. Gov. Jerry Brown has been in talks with six unions still without contracts. "It would give Brown cover," Lichtenstein said. "He could look at Wisconsin and say (to the unions), 'I can take a little more out of your hide.' " The Sacramento vigil was one of more than two dozen demonstrations and news conferences planned by unions and their allies in at least 27 states, according to the Washington Post. On a different political front, a Santa Barbara-based organization filed with the state last month to collect campaign contributions toward a 2012 ballot measure aimed at ending California public employee unions. Although Californians for Public Union Reform hasn't taken in any money yet it filed the necessary papers only last month events in Wisconsin have stoked interest and promises of cash, said Lanny Ebenstein, the reform group's treasurer. He figures it will take about $1.5 million to gather enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot. "Two weeks ago, what seemed utterly impossible politically is now becoming public policy," said Ebenstein, who is also a UC Santa Barbara economist. "If it can happen in Wisconsin and Ohio, it can happen in California." Meanwhile, Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, R-Costa Mesa, has introduced legislation, Assembly Bill 961, to end collective bargaining for public pension benefits. When asked late Tuesday about what's happening in Wisconsin, Mansoor said, "I think it's great. Governor Walker is taking a stand for citizens." When asked why he stopped with public pensions instead of a broader Wisconsin ban on union bargaining, Mansoor said, "I think the public understands (the pension) issue. And I just want to take this one step at a time." © Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.<http://www.sacbee.com/copyright> LA County unionists joining Wisconsin protest The Associated Press Published Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011 LOS ANGELES -- Members of Los Angeles County labor unions are on their way to Wisconsin to support government workers there who are battling to keep collective bargaining rights. City News Service says about 160 members of the county Federation of Labor left Los Angeles on Wednesday morning. They'll join tens of thousands of protesters outside the Wisconsin state Capitol. The demonstrators oppose a plan by Republican Gov. Scott Walker to strip government employee unions of their right to bargain collectively on anything except for salaries. Some Democratic senators have blocked a vote in their chamber by fleeing the state while Democrats are filibustering in the Assembly. February 22, 2011 Conservative group distances itself from rally infiltration plan<http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/2011/02/tea-party-distances-itself-fro.html> *Editor's note, 11:09 a.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly reported the rally's start as 5:30 p.m. today.* A call to conservative activists in the Sacramento area to infiltrate a union rally scheduled for the Capitol this evening has prompted a national organization to distance itself from the plan and *remove a blog that promoted the idea*. The rally, set for *6 p.m. *, is intended as a show of support for embattled government workers in Wisconsin. PatriotActionNetwork<http://www.patriotactionnetwork.com/forum/topics/get-ready-seius-purple-army>, which supports the Tea Party's <http://topics.sacbee.com/TEA+party/> limited government ideals, found itself caught up in a controversy started by *Mark Williams <http://topics.sacbee.com/Mark+Williams/>*. The former Sacramento conservative radio talk show host, according a report on *The Daily Kos<http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/20/947672/-Baggers-Plans-To-Infiltrate> *, posted this on his blog: Here is what I am doing in Sacramento, where they are holding a 5:30 PM event this coming Tuesday: (1) I signed up as an organizer (2) with any luck they will contact me and I will have an "in" (3) in or not I will be there and am asking as many other people as can get there to come with, all of us in SEIU shirts (those who don't have them we can possibly buy some from vendors likely to be there) (4) we are going to target the many TV cameras and reporters looking for comments from the members there (5) we will approach the cameras to make good pictures... signs under our shirts that say things like "screw the taxpayer!" and "you OWE me!" to be pulled out for the camera (timing is important because the signs will be taken away from us) (6) we will echo those slogans in angry sounding tones to the cameras and the reporters. (7) if I do get the 'in' I am going to do my darnedest to get podium access and take the mic to do that rant from there...with any luck and if I can manage the moments to build up to it, I can probably get a cheer out of the crowd for something extreme. Our goal is to make the gathering look as greedy and goonish as we know that it is, ding their credibility with the media and exploit the lazy reporters who just want dramatic shots and outrageous quotes for headlines. Even if it becomes known that we are plants the quotes and pictures will linger as defacto truth. *We're trying to reach Williams for comment.* *Darla Dawald*, national director of Patriot Action Network, acknowledged in this Sunday update<http://www.patriotactionnetwork.com/forum/topics/get-ready-seius-purple-army>on the organization's website that *she removed Williams blog* from the organization's site: We had listed what Mark Williams and some others in Sacremento (sic) CA were planning to do as far as infiltrating the SEIU rallies. We never asked our members to take that kind of action nor was that our intention. ... I have since removed the blog to make it clear we are NOT calling for that action to be taken but rather as it states below, this was a call to action to organize and support counter protests. Williams' plan was published after the network invited Tea Party<http://topics.sacbee.com/TEA+party/>activists in California and around the country to unite and protest at union rallies around the country. As part commission, Dawald wrote on the network's website, This is a CALL to ACTION for the TEA PARTY<http://topics.sacbee.com/TEA+party/> Time to get into to gear and organize your troops at the local level in the areas listed below. Contact your tea party<http://topics.sacbee.com/TEA+party/>and anyone else who will support our side. It's time to show these big labor goons and the country we can organize without big Union and DNC money! Let us know about your planned counter protests and we will promote it. Today's 6 p.m. union candlelight vigil<http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/2011/02/light-a-candle-for-bargaining.html>rally on the Capitol's west side is being sponsored by the *California Teachers Association<http://topics.sacbee.com/California+Teachers+Association/> *, *SEIU Local 1000*,* AFSCME*, the* Sacramento Central Labor Council* and the *California Labor Federation<http://topics.sacbee.com/California+Labor+Federation/> *. 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