Faceoffs

Is WI the Tunisia of Labor Rights?

Labor battles brew in other states.

Could Wisconsin be the Tunisia of U.S. labor protests? This, says The New York Times, is the inevitable question raised by the events of the last few days. In Ohio, Tennessee, and Indiana newly elected Republican lawmakers are facing off against unions as they attempt to roll back long-held benefits and bargaining rights. Freedomworks, an organization that helped grow the Tea Party movement, says it's using its list of supporters to rally people around several states’ anti-union bills, while in Pennsylvania, union members plan to wear read in solidarity despite not currently being under attack. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Democrats remain on the run, trying to delay a vote on their state’s bill that would sharply curtail the power of public workers unions. The Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said he would not change his approach, and rebuked President Obama for saying the bill was an attack on unions. "When your budget is fixed, you can stick your nose in ours," said Walker.