Speak Out Against "Divide and Conquer"

We - education professionals and other public employees - were the first target. In 2011,
Act 10 rocked our world, cutting our pay and undermining our rights to fair treatment and
a voice in our professions and workplaces. The pretext for Act 10 was an alleged budget
crisis, but the real goal was to weaken our power in the workplace and beyond.
Now, in keeping with the script, they are coming after the private sector workers. The socalled Right to Work bill which Walker's legislative allies plan to take up in extraordinary
session this week is the next big blow. The larger objective is to undermine the ability of
working people to stick together and win fair treatment, safety and basic respect in their
workplaces (see below for the details).
Countless private sector employees stood up for us when Walker launched his attack in
2011. Please lend them a hand and help to send a strong and clear message about what this
attack means for Wisconsin. Here are some things you can do.
1. Sign a petition against the legislation
2. Spread the word through Facebook and other social media
3. Attend a rally this week (Monday, 5:00pm, Zeidler Park, 3rd and Michigan Ave,
Tuesday and Wednesday, 12:00pm, State Capitol, Madison)
4. Help with phone banking (through Wednesday, 10am to 8pm, Wisconsin State
AFL-CIO, 6333 W. Bluemound Ave.)

Why It is Important to Act

This latest attack on private sector employees matters to all of us because it is part of a
much bigger plan. The people pushing so-called right to work legislation are the same
people who:
Propose to deprofessionalize teaching by allowing people to teach with no training
in education
Would altogether abolish the minimum wage

 Seek to weaken rights to unemployment benefits and workers compensation

Abolished equal pay for equal work protections for women in Wisconsin
The overall agenda is to strip away the security and freedom of working people on the job
and beyond. The real purposes is to hand over all power (and money) to the so-called "job
creators" so that the rest of us will work for peanuts and "be grateful we have a job."
The truth is that, as in 2011, Walker and his friends MAY have the votes to do whatever
they want. They may feel at liberty to entirely ignore whatever message they get from the
people of Wisconsin. But over time, they will pay a political price if we continue to speak
out and take action. It is our job to make plain what they are doing and convince as many
people as possible that there is a better way. Now is the time to build a better future by
exposing this anti-worker, anti-middle class agenda for what it is.

More on The "Right to Work" Deception

The Governor and his allies in the state legislature have plans to further radically rearrange
Wisconsin and make our state a very different place than the one we have known. The
next big blow is coming in the form of a so called "Right to Work" proposal.
Maybe you followed the scripted drama in the media, in which the Governor publicly
stated that "this is not a good time for this legislation," but would not commit to vetoing a
Right to Work bill? If we needed any more proof that our governor is dishonest and
manipulative, this should be it.
Remember how, on film, he confided to the richest individual in Wisconsin that he would
fulfill her wish to "make Wisconsin a red state" by implementing a Right to Work law
using the "divide and conquer" tactic of targeting public employees (like teachers) first? If
you need a refresher, here's a link to the video of Walker's chummy conversation with
billionaire Diane Hendricks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1S_Pxw2n-U&feature=player_embedded
As occurred with the roll out of Act 10, billionaires like Hendricks (who in 2011 paid no
state income taxes) and the Koch brothers are providing the help Hendricks offered in the
form of new conservative front groups to promote the Right to Work proposal and big
media expenditures in key districts.
The term Right to Work is certainly one of the more Orwellian titles ever given to a
legislative proposal - right up there with legislation introduced a few years ago called the
"Healthy Skies" initiative that was intended to gut clean air protections and allow
unlimited polluting by corporate interests.
Right to Work laws do not provide anyone with the right to a job, but rather they reduce
employees' rights to effectively stick together and win decent compensation and working
conditions. They do so by the inherently divide and conquer tactic of allowing represented

employees to not pay for representation even though they benefit from collective
bargaining. Right to Work laws literally outlaw the voluntary agreements that exist
between employers and organized employees in the private sector which require
representation fees of the people who benefit from having a union.
In the states that have had Right to Work laws for years, where employees have far less
power to deal with their bosses, the effects are pronounced and profound. According to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers in states with Right to Work laws make an average of
$5,680 less annually than in other states. A significantly higher percentage of employees in
such states are in low wage occupations. Most alarmingly, the rate of workplace death is
36% higher in Right to Work states than in other states.
Educators who are living through Act 10 know the situation well. The less power a group
of employees has to stick together and deal with their employer, the worse the pay and
working conditions will be. Often the quality of work suffers as well due to the less
effective top-down management that ensues. For example, union nurses attempt to bargain
for better staffing levels to improve patient care. With less power it is much less likely
they will be able to accomplish this.
The real, unstated motive for Right to Work laws is the reduction of employees' power vis
a vis their employers. Nationally, the reduction of employees' power is the primary cause
of our increasing income inequality, with fewer middle class, family supporting jobs, and
more billionaires and centimillionaires. This disparity is also the cause of our relatively
sluggish economy because employees are not making enough money to spend on the
goods and services which make an economy go.
The only beneficiaries of Right to Work are the Koch brothers of the world who
accumulate more and more money and power, while everyone else is less secure, less
prosperous and has less freedom on the job.

Check Out Our Website and Facebook Page

For ongoing information about issues that matter to professional educators,
check out our website at http://region7.weac.org and our Facebook page at
Region 7 - UEP Wisconsin and be sure to "like" the page.
This is an 11.29 communication with WEAC members