Labor strategist Jerry Tucker, red shirt center, joins Unity Lunch at University of Wisconsin's Library Mall.
Protesters march to the Capitol on the day Gov. Scott Walker's pay cuts show up on state workers' checks.
MADISON, WI--Jerry Tucker descends on the escalator at Madison airport, white hair gleaming, eyes searching for his ride. At first glance he seems like a garden variety grandpa or someone who'd be a perfect department store Santa. But he's not here to play nice. He does, however, come bearing gifts: lessons in troublemaking, rabblerousing, and @!$%#-disturbing.
It’s Tucker’s second visit here at the urging of worker-activists embroiled in “The Cheesehead Rebellion.” With a small overnight bag that doubles as a briefcase, the biggest thing he carries is a reputation as a gutsy, battle-scarred labor sage who’s been there, done that and a lot more few could even imagine. At noon August 24, he has a packed schedule for the next 28 hours. Inquiring minds want to know: What does Jerry think? Inquiring minds would have to wait until after lunch.
Not that Tucker has any observable downtime. Whether in the car to/from wherever or over a brief meal, he speaks of a singular imperative: organizing workers in their own defense. It’s why he was here six weeks before when the Madison group, Labor Forward, brought together about three dozen hardcore public-sector trade unionists to map out a fight-back to Governor Scott Walker’s union busting. They turned to Tucker—a longtime labor strategist, United Auto Workers reformer, and co-founder of the Center for Labor Renewal—for guidance.
Out of that meeting, a University of Wisconsin “campus solidarity” group formed and, with help from labor, student, and community organizations, they planned an outreach and protest day for August 25, the first time Walker’s pay cuts show up in most state workers’ checks. Tucker will join them later but first he has a radio interview at WORT FM, a meeting with high tech workers looking to join the IWW, and a supper confab with Labor Forward at the UW Memorial Union Terrace overlooking Lake Mendota. As he speaks at and jams to one gig after another, you can almost hear Tina Turner: boom shaka laka laka, boom shaka laka laka… He seems indefatigable.
Around 6:15 p.m. he hooks up with the solidarity group. Some new faces, some missing faces, they go over plans for the following day: a “Unity Lunch” at UW Library Mall with free brats courtesy of the Building Trades and a march up State Street at 4:30 p.m. with a 5 o’clock rally at the Capitol. Workers will wear black and get a chance to speak at an open mic during lunch about the impact of the cuts; march marshals will keep things orderly; notable speakers are lined up to rally the troops; sign-up sheets to join the cause will be available.
The group is intent on logistics. Tucker is intent on the group. He speaks frankly.
“But the real question is how to organize, how to get to critical mass among coworkers. I don’t think you’ve explored that sufficiently yet.” The starting point, he says, are informal departmental meetings “for people to better understand their common grief… Discuss grievances and concerns, and the last question is the economics of work. Let people vent about how it feels to work just as hard or harder for less.
“When people are comfortable with each other they say, ‘I’m not alone; I’m not suffering by myself. Maybe we can put together a front to change that’.”
PAY CUTS, PAY BLEEDS
Walker calls them “contributions” as if workers had signed up to donate to the Red Cross. But there is nothing “feel good” or voluntary about the 7-13 percent pay cuts bleeding right into state coffers, leaving workers with tough choices and Walker with more money to distribute among his cronies and wealthy supporters. Far from producing the economic boom he claims, the pay cuts will take an estimated $1.1 billion to $1.42 billion out of Wisconsin’s economy.
“It’s an actual cash transfer,” Tucker says. “It’s a significant amount of money, and you want to hear people talk about that. That’s how they become a part of the movement.”
The group has its own stories to share about what the pay cuts mean:
“It’s either food for my kids or health insurance…
“Workers see it on their paychecks, and now they are pissed…
“A billion dollars worth of revenue is not going to be there. The hair dresser is affected; the insurance man is affected…
“It has everything to do with what Wall Street did and what the pseudo government did, and that takes that custodial worker all the way up to the President of the United States.”
Then this from Tucker: “A sinking tide lowers all boats.”
He explains the process for getting workers involved; it takes time and effort. He talks about why labor shouldn’t just “tow behind the Democratic party” but take its own place in its own interests. He emphasizes, “You want to maintain union, not just the unions,” and build solidarity. “The principle is to protect each other.” And the tactic: job actions to make the boss “squeal.”
But for his voice, you could hear a pin drop in the room.
As the meeting ends, everything is in order for the next day’s events. Organizers even recruited a United Way representative for workers who’ll need assistance with housing, health care, and other needs. There’s also help for getting food stamps. For such gloomy possibilities, the solidarity group is surprisingly upbeat about bringing public workers together at the hour of their “shared sacrifice.”
Tucker joins friends at the UW Rathskeller for a glass of wine and further discussion about the state of the state. He stays overnight at another friend’s house and is up in the morning for a 7 a.m. phone interview with “Sly in the Morning” on WTDY AM. After a meeting at the South Central Federation of Labor (SCFL, appropriately pronounced “scuffle”), he’s at the Unity Lunch by 11, speaks briefly and encouragingly, and hangs out with the people who’ve come for brats and solidarity.
Other speakers cue up for the open mic as event worker-bees buzz around making sure things run smoothly. Emotions run the gamut: furious, curious, glum, determined, you name it. Most workers are dressed in black. Two young protesters in black masks solemnly wave a red and black flag as people vent, sing, munch on free bratwursts, and eulogize their paychecks. German funeral meets labor rally.
At 1:30, it’s pretty much over. Tucker goes back to the airport to find his reservations messed up. He plunks down an extra $250 to get the next flight home, leaving at 4. In the coffee shop, he talks a little about his life (he hates the idea of an autobiography) and a lot about organizing (from the bottom up, of course), then heads out to the gate, leaving a smile, a hug, and a lot of good advice behind.
The late afternoon march and rally go off pretty much as planned, culminating with a spirited and all too temporary re-occupation of the Capitol. Labor troubadour Anne Feeney gives an impromptu concert from the second floor balcony. Between chemo treatments, she is bald, beautiful, and just as great as ever. The day before, she caught up with Tucker and others at the Memorial Union where she spoke quietly about her own challenge. “I hate all the military metaphors—‘waging a brave battle, fighting this or that.’ You just do what you have to do to survive.”
Exactly.
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HEADLINES
Public employees begin seeing smaller paychecks
Unity Lunch Coincides With Benefit Cuts For State Workers
13 Protesters Arrested in Wisconsin Capitol
Paging Paul Ryan and Scott Walker: Wisconsin protests are on the rise and protesters will find you
Wisconsin teacher retirements double
Why ‘Wisconsin Uprising’ Happened in Wisconsin
Despite Battles, Approval of Labor Unions Steady at 52%
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PHOTOS
Scenes from the Aug. 25 solidarity rally in Madison
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We Will Not Pay For Your Crisis! - March, Rally, Sit-In, and Arrests, Aug 25th
14-Year-Old Singer/Songwriter Performs at Rally
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THANK YOU!
Jerry Tucker, Anne Feeney, Jim Cavanaugh, Carl Aniel, Eric Cobb, Mike Konopacki, Norm Stockwell, Labor Forward, Madison IWW, and the UW Campus Solidarity Committee