For over a year, Wisconsinites have worked hard to block legislative attacks on working families and to demand real solutions to our state’s declining job market. The recall election on June 5th is our chance to vote for pro-worker, pro-family candidates who will make clear policy changes to reinstate collective bargaining rights, refund BadgerCare and education, hold corporations and the 1% accountable, and bring good jobs back to our communities. “Tom Barrett has shown a genuine commitment to working families in Mil-waukee and across our state,” said Mike Thomas, SEIU Wisconsin State Council president. “His job creation and economic development initiatives are the real leadership we need during our economic recovery.” You can vote early at your municipal building until June 1st. You can register at the polls and don’t need a photo ID.

On June 5th, vote for the candidates who will bring Wisconsinites back to-gether to restore critical programs, cre-ate good jobs now, and rebuild Wiscon-sin: Governor

Tom Barrett (D) Lt. Governor

Mahlon Mitchell (D) State Senate

Lori Compas (D) – District 13

John Lehman (D) – District 21

Kristen Dexter (D) – District 23

Donna Seidel (D) – District 29

Visit www.seiuwi.org for information about upcoming elections, voting and

GOTV volunteer opportunities.

Reclaim Wisconsin on June 5th! In this issue:

Rebuild WI: Hundreds gath-ered in Milwaukee for the Rebuild WI rally to cele-brate community and art, and kick-start recall GOTV. May Day March: Voces de la Frontera’s annual May Day march featured commu-nity leaders and local art-ists, calling for an end to racist and anti-worker ef-forts across the country. reFUND WI Town Halls: re-FUND WI town halls were held across the state to give voters a chance to ask the recall primary candidates what they would do to re-fund WI and create jobs. 99% Tax Day Rallies: Across the state, SEIU members and community partners called on corporations and the rich to pay their fair share to move our economy forward.

SEIU members protest Walker’s budget cuts and voucher school

expansions.

Member Newsletter Spring 2012

Hundreds gather to rebuild the dream for Wisconsin On May 19th, hundreds of union mem-bers, community leaders, and con-cerned citizens gathered in Milwau-kee’s Washington Park to participate in Rebuild Wisconsin. The festival was a grassroots, community-based event showcasing local singers, DJs, poets, speakers and activists. The festival, arranged in part by the Rebuild the Dream Movement and Wisconsin Jobs Now, was organized to inspire Wisconsinites to get out the vote to recall Walker, and help refund and rebuild the Wisconsin dream.

Among those performing was singer/songwriter and Wisconsin native Grace Weber. “I think we owe it to each oth-er, as Wisconsinites, to take care of each other and reach down a hand when someone needs to be lifted up,” said Weber. “I believe it’s time for Wis-consin to have a new leader in office and that's why we should recall Scott Walker and rebuild Wisconsin.” Rebuild the Dream’s founder, Van Jones, believes Wisconsin has been integral in progressive political efforts such as the occupation of the state capitol last year. At the event, Jones spoke to the im-portance of continuing in that spirit of reclaiming and rebuilding our state. “One year later, the fight is not fin-ished,” he said. “National leaders need

to be here to encourage people to fight on, because a defeat here will be a defeat nationally.”

This May Day, thousands marched from Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood, across downtown, to the lakefront for Voces de la Fronte-ra’s Annual May Day Solidarity March to speak out against attacks on immigrant and workers’ rights in Wisconsin and across the United States. “Let’s show our adversaries through

our union, courage, sacrifice and faith that when people unite they cannot be conquered, that when people unite, they can achieve their goals,” Voces de la Frontera Execu-tive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz said at the rally. “On us de-pends that this struggle not die, on us depends the triumphs, and this will be our history—yours and mine—and together, we will write that for the next generation. Today we march for all people everywhere whose human rights are being de-nied.” Marchers held signs that read, “Stop separating families: stop the depor-tations,” “In-state tuition for all,” and “Stop ripping families apart.” These messages speak to the out-rage about Gov. Scott Walker’s re-peal of the in-state college tuition

bill for undocumented students as well as the record number of depor-tations in the United States in recent years. Special guests included U.S. Con-gressman Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Al-derperson José Pérez, County Super-visor Peggy Romo West, and many local artists and activists.

Marchers call for workers’ rights on May Day

Photo by Brennan Balistrieri

On April 17th, while most Wisconsin-ites were sealing up their tax papers and sending them off, many more were flocking to major Wisconsin cities in protest. Hundreds of union members, activists and community leaders rallied in Mil-waukee, Madison, Green Bay, Racine and Wausau on Tax Day to call on the 1% to pay their fair share of taxes to help move our economy forward. “Today, private sector workers, public workers, folks who are looking for jobs, folks who are on BadgerCare, folks who have private health insur-

ance, we’re all coming together be-cause we need the 1% to share in the sacrifice to move our country for-ward,” said Jennifer Epps, community organizer for Citizen Action of Wiscon-sin, in Milwaukee. “We need invest-ment in people, not in the profits and pockets of corporations.” While Wisconsin loses funding for some of its most critical programs like BadgerCare, public education and em-ployment supports, the 1% repre-senting big corporations and the rich receive millions in tax breaks. The rallies exposed these unjust prac-tices and raised awareness about how Gov. Walker’s $117 million in corpo-rate tax breaks have hurt Wisconsin’s working families. “Our country's lopsided tax structure has fueled the most drastic income inequality in history,” said SEIU Presi-

dent Mary Kay Henry. “On this tax day, working people are rightly frustrated with a system that has failed to live up to our nation's ideals of widespread opportunity and instead rewards the rich and corporations with huge tax breaks and loopholes—sometimes even for sending jobs overseas.” For more information about the Tax

Day rallies or to get involved visit www.wisconsinjobsnow.org

The 99% rally for fair taxes on Tax Day

Recall candidates talk jobs at reFUND town halls

During April, reFUND Wisconsin toured the state hosting town hall meetings to give voters a chance to hear from the recall primary candi-dates and ask questions about how they will refund and rebuild Wiscon-sin. SEIU members and their families

gathered to hear from Democratic primary candidates Tom Barrett, Kathleen Falk, Kathleen Vinehout, and Doug La Follette who traveled to Milwaukee, Green Bay, Wausau and Racine to participate. At the meetings, voters urged the candidates to speak for the people to restore workers’ rights, refund education and healthcare, and invest in good jobs. At one town hall, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said, “I have gone toe to toe with Scott Walker time and time again and I’ve heard what he’s said: that he wants to reduce the tax rate for the wealthy people in the state of Wisconsin. I will oppose that

effort because people do have to pay their fair share. That’s what this soci-ety is all about. This is our opportuni-ty as a state to correct one of the biggest mistakes this state ever made, and that was electing Gov. Scott Walker in 2010.”

For information about upcoming elections and voting visit

www.seiuwi.org