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News and Updates
Wisconsin
June 6, 2012
UFCW PRESIDENT HANSEN STATEMENT ON WISCONSIN RECALL ELECTION
WASHINGTON, D.C. Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), today released the following statement regarding the outcome of the Wisconsin recall election.
Scott Walker leaves this recall bruised and weakened. And he will now have a Democratic Senate holding him in check. Walker will try to spin last nights outcome as an endorsement of his anti-worker policies. Nothing could be further from the truth. In Ohio and now Wisconsin, weve seen the great possibilities when ordinary citizens band together to fight for their rights. Collective bargaining is a fundamental right like free speech, not some line item in a budget to be cut. Politicians across the country should take notice that if they attempt to take this right away from workers, they will be in for the fight of their lives. I want to commend the people of Wisconsin for their extraordinary efforts over the last 15 months. I have no doubt that they will finish the job on Scott Walker in 2014.
March 13, 2012
WISCONSIN: Voter ID Law Stricken Down by Judge
Click here for original article by Tim Mak on Politico.com
The move, which comes just days after another judge temporarily halted the law, will have consequences for the upcoming April 3 presidential primary in Wisconsin, which state officials had hoped to apply the law to.
“A government that undermines the very foundation of its existence — the people’s inherent, pre-constitutional right to vote — imperils its legitimacy as a government by the people, for the people, and especially of the people,” Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess wrote in issuing the permanent injunction, according to the wire service.
“Voter fraud is no more poisonous to our democracy than voter suppression,” he added in his eight-page ruling.
In Niess’s view, the law would have eliminated the right to vote for certain eligible voters who lack sufficient resources to obtain valid identification.
The voter ID law would have required voters to show photo ID, such as a driver’s license or other state-issued identification, in order to vote.
There are currently four lawsuits that are involved with challenging Wisconsin’s law, part of the ongoing national battle on whether voter ID laws are appropriate.
Currently, 15 states have voted ID laws, and pending legislation in 31 states propose to introduce or strengthen voter ID requirements, reports the AP.
Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has said he will appeal the injunction.
October 18, 2011
STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR OCCUPY WALL STREET MOVEMENT BY THE UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION
Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement issued by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union:
“The protest that began as Occupy Wall Street has now bloomed into a mass movement spanning more than 300 cities nationwide. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest corporate greed and demand good jobs now.
“The movement is spreading like wildfire, with Americans standing up for economic justice across the nation. This is a movement started by ordinary Americans, fed-up with the growing inequality in this country – people who simply want good jobs and a shot at the American Dream. The UFCW shares that vision for America.
“The people “occupying” cities across the country are workers, students, and the unemployed. They are our friends and relatives, our neighbors and co-workers. They are fighting for the same things we are: good jobs, fairness, and an end to corporate greed and attacks on workers. And it’s part of a larger movement, one that started earlier this year as workers fought back against corporate greed and right-wing politicians in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and across the nation.
“In Wisconsin, hundreds of thousands of workers and outraged community members stormed the capitol in Madison after anti-worker politicians rammed through legislation attacking the rights of workers. In Ohio, over a million signatures were gathered to repeal Ohio’s SB 5. Corporate America has launched an unprecedented attack on our jobs and our rights, but the other 99% aren’t just rolling over.
“So exactly what do we – the 99% – have to be so angry about? To begin with: worker productivity has been rising over the past decade, but wages have remained stagnant while the cost of health care has skyrocketed, leaving the average American struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile, the gap between the richest 1% and the rest of us has gotten even wider.
“What we have seen over the past few weeks is more and more ordinary Americans standing up and demanding their share of the success that’s being hoarded by the wealthiest 1% of the country. UFCW has been encouraging its members and local unions to join Occupy actions in their communities. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these brave Americans as they fight to make America a better, more just nation.”