Politics & Government
Hudson Teachers, State Workers Protest Wisconsin Governor's Budget Repair Bill
The limits to collective bargaining called for in Gov. Scott Walker's bill drew ire from many state workers and caused some Hudson teachers to protest.
About 30 people dressed in red lined the sidewalk on Carmichael Road overlooking Interstate 94 and waved handmade signs to protest Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's state budget plan. The governor touts the plan at a budget repair bill, but the Hudson teachers who gathered on the overpass and their supporters don’t see it that way.
“We see this as an attack on all workers, not just us,” said Brian Huser, Hudson High School teacher.
According to a press release issued by Walker's office on Friday, of the many items in the legislation, the bill would “… make various changes to limit collective bargaining for most public employees … .”
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The change to collective bargaining has angered members of state workers unions, especially teachers.
“Think about how the children will be affected,” said Julie Zamzow, Hudson Prairie Elementary School teacher. “That’s why we’re all here. We’re all very passionate about jobs and our profession, and we think children are important.”
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While the teachers are passionate about their jobs, and the children they teach, they also acknowledge something needs to be done about the state budget.
“We certainly understand the budget shortfall, and teachers and state workers as a whole want to cooperate with the governor,” Huser said. “We want to do what’s right to make things so that people don’t lose jobs and we can get through these hard times economically. But we don’t feel that destroying the collective bargaining that we’ve had for 50 years in the state—and has worked successfully—we don’t understand how that should be part of a budget bill.”
While the governor is trying to pass his legislation quickly so the budget imbalances can be fixed soon, opponents are calling for a more deliberate process.
“We’d love to sit down with the governor or our elected representatives and find common ground on it,” Huser said. “But to simply legislate that they’re going to take away our collective bargaining, our right to negotiate—I don’t understand taking away the local decision-making.”
State workers around Wisconsin are planning more protests, including a mass demonstration in Madison later this week.
