Labor Day

Rumor has it

September 2, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

That in the great turnout of GOP luminaries turning out for Labor Day Parades, you might expect Scott Fitzgerald and Jeff Fitzgerald in the parade in Randolph. I couldn't possibly confirm or deny whether they'll be there. If they show up I assume that people will make them feel welcome.

Labor Day is for the workers, not politicians

September 1, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Bay View Rolling Mill Massacre

As we approach Labor Day, Americans ought to remember why it was created -- and by whom.

Organized labor gave the workers of this country (and not just the unionized ones) the 40-hour work week, safe working conditions, paid vacations, family and medical leave, child labor laws, decent pensions, health care benefits, sick days, unemployment compensation and much more.

And the unions gave us Labor Day. 

Labor Day is supposed to be a celebration of their achievements and a remembrance of their sacrifices over the past century and more.

GOP bludgeons labor unions once again in Wausau Labor Day parade dispute

August 31, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Making you work harderThe Marthon County Labor Council has blinked, saying it will now permit Republicans to particpate in Wausau's Labor Day parade.

According to the Wausau Herald, Labor Council President Randy Radtke sent an email late Tuesday saying everyone will be permitted to march in the parade, which is organized by the council. Radtke added, however:

So everyone can march on Labor Day in Wausau; will Republicans show up?

August 31, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Much ado about nothing -- the refusal by Labor Day parade organizers in Wausau to allow Republican elected officials to march -- has resulted in a change, and now everyone can march, the Wausau Herald reports.

If they dare to show up.

Marathon County Labor Council President Randy Radtke said … “we don't want to have community groups and school bands affected. We didn't start this fight in Wisconsin, but were responding to anti-worker positions and policies supported by local Republican politicians, including those who have complained about not being invited. With the track records that Pam Galloway, Sean Duffy, Scott Walker, and Jerry Petrowski have all put together this year, they should be ashamed to even show their faces at a Labor Day parade." 

Rep. Duffy -- the guy whose exclusion started all the hubbub -- wisely said he plans to attend a Labor Day celebration in Merrill on Monday instead of the Wausau event.

UPDATE: Duffy now says he's coming after all.

Wausau makes it official: Wisconsin Republicans are parasites and scavengers.

August 29, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Bloody Pullman StrikeDoes that headline sound overly harsh? Well, it needs to sound that way.

In recent years Republicans around the country have almost made a fetish out of appropriating progressive heroes, martyrs and symbols, using them for their own snively purposes. Newt Gingrich insisted that FDR was really espousing Republican ideals. Later, some Republicans quite baldly insisted that Martin Luther King Jr. was functionally one of their own (he was, actually, pro-labor union). GOP partisans even have claimed John F. Kennedy as kindred, because he once cut taxes (as if Democrats up to and including Obama have never done that before or since).