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It Started in Wisconsin: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Labor Protest
First-hand accounts of the largest pro-labor mass mobilization in modern American history.
In the spring of 2011, Wisconsinites took to the streets in what became the largest and liveliest labor demonstrations in modern American history. Protesters in the Middle East sent greetings—and pizzas—to the thousands occupying the Capitol building in Madison, and 150,000 demonstrators converged on the city.
In a year that has seen a revival of protest in America, here is a riveting account of the first great wave of grassroots resistance to the corporate restructuring of the Great Recession.
It Started in Wisconsin includes eyewitness reports by striking teachers, students, and others (such as Wisconsin-born musician Tom Morello), as well as essays explaining Wisconsin’s progressive legacy by acclaimed historians. The book lays bare the national corporate campaign that crafted Wisconsin’s anti-union legislation and similar laws across the country, and it conveys the infectious esprit de corps that pervaded the protests with original pictures and comics.
In the spring of 2011, Wisconsinites took to the streets in what became the largest and liveliest labor demonstrations in modern American history. Protesters in the Middle East sent greetings—and pizzas—to the thousands occupying the Capitol building in Madison, and 150,000 demonstrators converged on the city.
In a year that has seen a revival of protest in America, here is a riveting account of the first great wave of grassroots resistance to the corporate restructuring of the Great Recession.
It Started in Wisconsin includes eyewitness reports by striking teachers, students, and others (such as Wisconsin-born musician Tom Morello), as well as essays explaining Wisconsin’s progressive legacy by acclaimed historians. The book lays bare the national corporate campaign that crafted Wisconsin’s anti-union legislation and similar laws across the country, and it conveys the infectious esprit de corps that pervaded the protests with original pictures and comics.
- GenresLaborNonfiction
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 2, 2020
I am a Republican, a union member, former military and a former elected politician. Reading books like this are challenging for me. As a Republican, I am supposed to be anti-union. Unions take from the productive class, we are told, to give to people who don't deserve it. If those aren't the exact words, it is certainly the sentiment.
However, as a union member, and an employee, I am acutely aware of how management/supervision can willingly violate union agreements; local, state and federal laws; and simple common decency to try to ram through whatever inane change they feel is the flavor of the day.
They do this, as often as not, under the guise of creating efficiency, all the while possessing levels of paid, benefit consuming, management far in excess of what is necessary creating their own built-in top heavy inefficiency. They often try to force through these so-called efficiencies to save a dime here or there while tripping over blatant dollars of inefficiency at other aspects of operations which could be corrected much faster with no union violations whatsoever.
As a worker, I cannot square my Republican Party sentiments with this high level of absurdity. As a former military man, I see such inefficiency as an affront to my concepts of right and wrong, of good order and discipline - this made worse when I discover other former military members are in the position of promoting this insanity.
My role as a once, and possibly future, politician leaves me angry and critical of a party that disregards the well-being of a good portion of its membership who are, themselves, union members, or at least workers, and only adhere to the Republican Party out of a perceived shared sense of common values. I am, however, unwilling (unable perhaps?) to jump ship to the Democrat or Libertarian Parties because I perceive a similar level of inanity in their positions on issues (and, in the case of the Democrats, a growing awareness that there is, in actual practice, very little difference between the two parties).
So what is a person like me supposed to do?
Good question.
It's going to take books like this to help me re-evaluate my future path.
I thank the authors for writing it and providing a different perspective from the mass media perspective we've been spoon fed.
However, as a union member, and an employee, I am acutely aware of how management/supervision can willingly violate union agreements; local, state and federal laws; and simple common decency to try to ram through whatever inane change they feel is the flavor of the day.
They do this, as often as not, under the guise of creating efficiency, all the while possessing levels of paid, benefit consuming, management far in excess of what is necessary creating their own built-in top heavy inefficiency. They often try to force through these so-called efficiencies to save a dime here or there while tripping over blatant dollars of inefficiency at other aspects of operations which could be corrected much faster with no union violations whatsoever.
As a worker, I cannot square my Republican Party sentiments with this high level of absurdity. As a former military man, I see such inefficiency as an affront to my concepts of right and wrong, of good order and discipline - this made worse when I discover other former military members are in the position of promoting this insanity.
My role as a once, and possibly future, politician leaves me angry and critical of a party that disregards the well-being of a good portion of its membership who are, themselves, union members, or at least workers, and only adhere to the Republican Party out of a perceived shared sense of common values. I am, however, unwilling (unable perhaps?) to jump ship to the Democrat or Libertarian Parties because I perceive a similar level of inanity in their positions on issues (and, in the case of the Democrats, a growing awareness that there is, in actual practice, very little difference between the two parties).
So what is a person like me supposed to do?
Good question.
It's going to take books like this to help me re-evaluate my future path.
I thank the authors for writing it and providing a different perspective from the mass media perspective we've been spoon fed.
July 12, 2024
ESSAYS ABOUT THE 2011 WISCONSIN WORKERS' PROTESTS
The 2011 Wisconsin protests were about the opposition to the "Budget Repair Bill" that was proposed by Governor Scott Walker (who faces a recall election on June 5, 2012) that would reduce benefits and virtually eliminate collective bargaining for public employees---ostensibly to address a state budget shortfall. As many as 100,000 persons participated in the protests, which also led to recall elections that removed two incumbent Republican state senators from office in 2011.
This 2011 collection of essays begins by noting that "The 'old fight' is on again, as a new generation of robber barons and their servant legislators seeks to undo not just the regulatory and programmatic legacy of the New Deal but of twentieth-century progress." (Pg. 8) The protesters included undergraduates and professors, firefighters, correctional officers, private-sector unionists, members of faith communities, and "graying-but-activist retirees." (Pg. 24) Rank-and-file Democrats and union members were "way ahead of their leadership in taking the initiative." (Pg. 67)
An essay notes that the 2007-2009 Wall Street financial crisis was caused by "years of deregulation and lack of government oversight," and cost Americans $14 trillion and 8 million jobs. But "Rather than being chastened for its starring role in the catastrophe, the GOP... (was) blaming budget shortfalls on reckless overspending and public employees who were living high on the hog." (Pg. 36)
Another essay charges that Governor Walker's administration "brazenly signaled a policy of disinvestment in public education, health care, and the environment and an assault on worker rights... (which) parallels the disinvestment by major corporations in Wisconsin's productive base since the early 1970s." (Pg. 127) But in contrast arose "mass movements of resistance," and "an upsurge of resistance from below." (Pg. 161)
This book (along with 'Wisconsin Uprising' and 'We Are Wisconsin') is an excellent addition to the chronicles of that fascinating series of events.
The 2011 Wisconsin protests were about the opposition to the "Budget Repair Bill" that was proposed by Governor Scott Walker (who faces a recall election on June 5, 2012) that would reduce benefits and virtually eliminate collective bargaining for public employees---ostensibly to address a state budget shortfall. As many as 100,000 persons participated in the protests, which also led to recall elections that removed two incumbent Republican state senators from office in 2011.
This 2011 collection of essays begins by noting that "The 'old fight' is on again, as a new generation of robber barons and their servant legislators seeks to undo not just the regulatory and programmatic legacy of the New Deal but of twentieth-century progress." (Pg. 8) The protesters included undergraduates and professors, firefighters, correctional officers, private-sector unionists, members of faith communities, and "graying-but-activist retirees." (Pg. 24) Rank-and-file Democrats and union members were "way ahead of their leadership in taking the initiative." (Pg. 67)
An essay notes that the 2007-2009 Wall Street financial crisis was caused by "years of deregulation and lack of government oversight," and cost Americans $14 trillion and 8 million jobs. But "Rather than being chastened for its starring role in the catastrophe, the GOP... (was) blaming budget shortfalls on reckless overspending and public employees who were living high on the hog." (Pg. 36)
Another essay charges that Governor Walker's administration "brazenly signaled a policy of disinvestment in public education, health care, and the environment and an assault on worker rights... (which) parallels the disinvestment by major corporations in Wisconsin's productive base since the early 1970s." (Pg. 127) But in contrast arose "mass movements of resistance," and "an upsurge of resistance from below." (Pg. 161)
This book (along with 'Wisconsin Uprising' and 'We Are Wisconsin') is an excellent addition to the chronicles of that fascinating series of events.
January 30, 2021
Sparks and Wildfires - CounterPunch.orgwww.counterpunch.org › 2012/03/02 › sparks-and-wil...
Mar 2, 2012 — by Ron Jacobs
"There is one essay that stands out from the rest of those that analyze the movement in that it does look beyond the façade of neoliberalism. That essay, titled “The Role of Corporations” by Roger Bybee, is the most radical in the book. Radical, that is, in the fundamental definition of the word: “of or going to the root or origin.” The essay is a clear and straightforward description of how neoliberal capitalism works, who it benefits and, to put it bluntly, who it screws. No other analytical piece between these covers quite approaches the clarity and depth of analysis like Bybee’s. "
Mar 2, 2012 — by Ron Jacobs
"There is one essay that stands out from the rest of those that analyze the movement in that it does look beyond the façade of neoliberalism. That essay, titled “The Role of Corporations” by Roger Bybee, is the most radical in the book. Radical, that is, in the fundamental definition of the word: “of or going to the root or origin.” The essay is a clear and straightforward description of how neoliberal capitalism works, who it benefits and, to put it bluntly, who it screws. No other analytical piece between these covers quite approaches the clarity and depth of analysis like Bybee’s. "
January 20, 2025
Solid set of essays describing the, now a decade old, occupation of the Wisconsin State Capitol. Fun to read an essay from Tom Morello about union organizing. Also gave me a glimpse into the progressive Wisconsin hero, Robert La Follette, a progressive Republican who transformed the government work in the state. Although I don’t think of Wisconsin as a bastion of progressivism, it’s a reminder that the heartland of this country was the heartland of labor.
March 1, 2019
Very insiteful
I would recommend this book because it is
S am
An accurate portrayal of the struggles between
An accurate portrayal of the labor unions struggle to maintain a fair standard of living for the working class I America today
I would recommend this book because it is
S am
An accurate portrayal of the struggles between
An accurate portrayal of the labor unions struggle to maintain a fair standard of living for the working class I America today
Read
October 31, 2017As with most ad hoc publications, this varies widely in quality. It also is in dire need of an update (at least a supplement).
Contents:
PART I HOW IT STARTED IN WISCONSIN
Introduction: Why Wisconsin? by John Nichols
1 We Dropped The Bomb by Nick Thorkelson
2 The Wisconsin Idea by Mari Jo Buhle
3 Frostbite And Freedom: The Battle of Madison by Tom Morello
PART II THE RIGHT-WING ASSAULT
4 The Sale of Wisconsin by Mary Bottari
5 The War on Schools by Ruth Conniff
PART III THE FIGHT BEGINS
6 What's So Funny 'bout Beer Brats And Cheese And Unions? (in cartoon format) by Nick Thorkelson & Paul Buhle
7 An Interview with Ben Manski of Wisconsin Wave by Patrick Barrett.
8 Eyewitness: "This Is What Democracy Looks Like" by Dave Polinkowski
9 Eyewitness: "Spread The Love, Stop The Hate: Don't Let Walker Legislate" by Charity A Schmidt
PART IV LABOR
10 Labor, Social Solidarity, And The Wisconsin Winter by Paul Buhle & Frank Emspak
11 Solidarity 1970 (in cartoon format) by Paul Buhle & Gary Dumm
12 A Wisconsin Teacher's Suicide by Matthew Rothschild
13 The Role of Corporations by Roger Bybee
14 Teachers on Strike (in cartoon format) by Sharon Rudahl
PART V BEYOND WISCONSIN
15 Wisconsin And US Labor by Kim Scipes
16 Wisconsin Is Global by Ashok Kumar & Simon Hardy
Afterword: How I Got to Wisconsin by Michael Moore
Postscript: From Wisconsin to Wall Street And Back (this is where addenda and updates could be added--or at the end of each essay)
Acknowledgments & Contributors (capsule bios of the authors, editors, etc)
Contents:
PART I HOW IT STARTED IN WISCONSIN
Introduction: Why Wisconsin? by John Nichols
1 We Dropped The Bomb by Nick Thorkelson
2 The Wisconsin Idea by Mari Jo Buhle
3 Frostbite And Freedom: The Battle of Madison by Tom Morello
PART II THE RIGHT-WING ASSAULT
4 The Sale of Wisconsin by Mary Bottari
5 The War on Schools by Ruth Conniff
PART III THE FIGHT BEGINS
6 What's So Funny 'bout Beer Brats And Cheese And Unions? (in cartoon format) by Nick Thorkelson & Paul Buhle
7 An Interview with Ben Manski of Wisconsin Wave by Patrick Barrett.
8 Eyewitness: "This Is What Democracy Looks Like" by Dave Polinkowski
9 Eyewitness: "Spread The Love, Stop The Hate: Don't Let Walker Legislate" by Charity A Schmidt
PART IV LABOR
10 Labor, Social Solidarity, And The Wisconsin Winter by Paul Buhle & Frank Emspak
11 Solidarity 1970 (in cartoon format) by Paul Buhle & Gary Dumm
12 A Wisconsin Teacher's Suicide by Matthew Rothschild
13 The Role of Corporations by Roger Bybee
14 Teachers on Strike (in cartoon format) by Sharon Rudahl
PART V BEYOND WISCONSIN
15 Wisconsin And US Labor by Kim Scipes
16 Wisconsin Is Global by Ashok Kumar & Simon Hardy
Afterword: How I Got to Wisconsin by Michael Moore
Postscript: From Wisconsin to Wall Street And Back (this is where addenda and updates could be added--or at the end of each essay)
Acknowledgments & Contributors (capsule bios of the authors, editors, etc)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews