Union rally draws hundreds
A handful of speakers, including Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, the head of a large state employee labor union, and the heads of the state counties and cities advocacy groups, talked this morning about the impact of the delayed budget. Each tried to prod the Legislature into reaching a budget agreement.
"Failure to act will mean real cuts that affect real people and cause real pain," said Marty Beil, executive director of AFSCME Council 24, at the press conference in the Capitol's Senate Parlor. Members from various state labor unions packed the room, while many more gathered downstairs in the Capitol and outside.
The press conference was scheduled in advance of a rally by anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity at the Capitol. The labor unions have joined to stage a counter rally. Early on, it seemed the number of attendees for the counter rally will dwarf the Americans for Prosperity rally.
Beil made reference to the AFP rally during the press conference, saying the counter-rally will send a "clear message to these right wingers that Wisconsin will survive."
"They're (the AFP) here to talk about how we strip Wisconsin of government," Beil said. "We're here to tell them they're wrong ... It's unfortunate that Republicans have allowed that group to hijack them."
Falk said she has done her job and submitted a budget.
"The taxpayers of Dane County hired me to do my job, and I've done my job every single year for 11 years on time, getting my budget to the citizens," she said. "It's time for the Legislature to do their job."
Ed Huck, executive director of the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, said while the current budget proposal doesn't include vital shared revenue increases for cities, it does include many provisions that mayors across the state care about, such as funding for the UW System, funds for public health and safety.
"The folks that are coming here today to talk about no budget and no new taxes ought to be asking the question, 'Why should they be paying more when so many are paying nothing?'" Huck said. "Because that's the real question in Wisconsin, that's one of the questions that needs to be answered for Wisconsin.
"Holding out on a budget is nothing more than posturing for those who already have against those who don't have," Huck said.
Listen to the press conference here.
