_Strange and desperate attempt to divide growing union movement _
On March 3, notorious right-wing FOX TV personality Glenn Beck launched a 12-minute attack against Fight Back! News, the Committee to Stop FBI Repression and many individual labor and anti-war activists associated with these projects. The purpose of his attack was to try to sow division among the many forces that have united in Wisconsin to boldly fight back against the anti-union agenda of Governor Scott Walker.
Minneapolis, MN – On March 2, Mario Colloly Torres was fired from his retail cleaning job at Cub Foods. Torres is a leader in the campaign for justice for retail cleaning workers. The campaign is organized by the Center for Workers United in Struggle or Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL) in Spanish. CTUL is organizing low paid, mostly immigrant workers at major retail stores such as Cub, Lunds & Byerly's, Target, and Supervalu to fight for better wages, working conditions, and the right to organize.
Trenton, NJ – About 6000 public workers turned up in a pouring rain here, Feb. 25 to stop New Jersey Governor Christopher Christie's campaign to strip their unions of collective bargaining rights. The main sponsors were the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) and Communications Workers of America (CWA). The rally strongly supported the heroic struggle of Wisconsin public workers to keep their collective bargaining rights. Unions contributed checks in support of the Wisconsin workers. Several ralliers wore cheesehead hats and many carried signs in support of the Wisconsin workers. Christie claims that since the state's finances are wreck, workers have to give up bargaining rights. He is particularly intent on destruction of the 208,000-member NJEA, one of the most influential teachers' unions in the country. This is the same guy who, immediately upon taking office, allowed an upper-bracket income tax to expire, costing the state $1 billion a year in lost revenue. Then he inflicted brutal cuts in state aid to schools and municipalities. The workers know where the blame lies and they aren't having any of it. The state's pension fund is over $100 billion in deficit in its obligations to employees. For 17 years the state has paid only a pittance, if anything, to the fund while workers paid full up per contract. Even more, the fiscal crisis is due to the Wall Street collapse of 2008. The masses know it, for the entire governor's plan is nonsense. The militancy is flowing upward to the union leadership. NJEA President Barbara Keshishian denounced the governor's “well organized and well funded war to destroy labor unions and public education.”
_Fighting back against Gov. Walker’s attempts to destroy public sector unions and slash funding for education _
Milwaukee, WI – Over 1500 students and workers walked out Mar. 2 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in protest of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's plan to destroy public sector unions and slash funding for public education. Initiated by Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society, the protest included a worker contingent of AFSCME, TAUWP and AFT union members. The protest took place on the National Day of Action to Defend Education.
Columbus, OH – Beginning at 10:00 a.m. March 2, over 25,000 laborers, firefighters, police, students, and community activists gathered around the State Capitol here to protest against Senate Bill 5, which eliminates collective bargaining rights for over 300,000 public sector workers. The “Rally to Save the Middle Class” had workers expressing their anger at Governor John Kasich's blatant attempt to bust unions.
Madison, WI – Thousands are still protesting at the Capitol here, March 1. Amidst tight security, including erecting concrete barriers outside the Capitol and denying the public entry into the building, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker delivered his budget address this afternoon.
Madison, WI – At 7:40 p.m. this evening, Feb. 27, a spokesperson for the Teaching Assistants’ Association told assembled protesters occupying the Wisconsin state capitol building that police will not make arrests tonight. A 4:00 p.m. deadline had been set by police for demonstrators to leave and the building was closed off.
![Group photo of students occupying University of Wisconsin Milwaukee](https://i.snap.as/uTULLMED.jpg "Group photo of students occupying University of Wisconsin Milwaukee \\"We stand in solidarity with the workers and students striking and occupying the Wisconsin State Capitol building.\\" \(Fight Back! News/Staff\)")
